The night was mighty dark in these woods. Luckily, my canine eyes could make out the outlines of tree trunks and fallen branches, while my girlfriend tripped a couple of times. If her delicate paw weren’t encased in mine, I reckon she’d have tracked mud on her weird costume. Or her beautiful striped fur.

            “How long do we have to keep walking again?”

            “We’re almost there, Nat!” I chirped. “Be patient.”

            “Ugh,” she whimpered, “Why didn’t you warn me about not wearing high heels tonight?”

            I rolled my eyes and chuckled, hurrying us to our destination.

            Normally in a small town, you brought your love out on dates. In the Midwest, that either meant a local drive-in theater to see the latest scary movie, to a fancy Italian restaurant, or to a local game or even a local event in town. In a Midwestern town on Halloween Night, you brought your girlfriend with you to celebrate with the guys at the All Hallows Eve Fest on main street, where hard apple cider, soda pop for the religious folk, candy, costumes (like she wore today), pumpkin carving and pumpkin pie could be found around any festive corner.

            Nat though, she wasn’t like any girlfriend. At least, by our town’s standards.

            “Oh, for!” she chuckled in slight annoyance when she nearly tripped.

            “You okay?” I asked, holding a branch aside for her.

            “I’m good,” she stumbled over a few piles of crunching leaves. “How close are we now, John?”

            I grinned wolfishly when rays of moonlight peeked through the trees. “Almost there.”

            At long last, we came to an open hayfield. As we walked out from the wilting trees, the harvest moon shone down on us and the rows of dozens of round hay bales. A cool wind came from the south, so my bushy tail wrapped protectively around Nat’s legs as we walked.

            “You cold?”

            “Nah,” she wrapped her jacket around herself. “I just regret wearing a miniskirt….”

            I chuckled. “What are you dressed as again?”

            Normally, her black headfur remained dark, except tonight she had a red streak that curved along her forehead. Her black miniskirt and jacket were connected together with two belt straps, while a red bandana wrapped around her collar like a sailor uniform.

            “I keep telling you, silly!” she playfully smacked my broad shoulder. “I’m Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill!”

            “I didn’t know ‘Ryuko’ loved to show her bare midriff,” I commented slyly, flicking my tail as I stared at her exposed bellybutton. “Not that I’m complaining…”

            “You should see her battle form them, John,” my tigress giggled.

            I sighed. “I know you love anime, but it just ain’t my thing…”

            “I know, I know,” Nat waved a paw. “Now where’s this…oh.”

            Smirking, I raised a paw and announced, “Happy Halloween, sweetie.”

            Underneath a single willow tree in the middle of the immense field, lay a big blanket adorned with a basket of food. I’d already warned Nat not to eat heavily tonight, so that way we could enjoy ourselves some grub: fresh pumpkin pie, my mom’s famous carnivore-themed potato salad, some sandwiches and some chocolate bars to celebrate the festive season.

            We eagerly sat down together, though Nat seemed hesitant at first.

            “Won’t Mr. Raster be awfully sore if he catches us out here?” she asked, “This is his property after all.”

            “Nah, he won’t mind.” I waved it off. “He told me he don’t mind so long as we clean up afterwards, and we keep to ourselves.”

            My tigress thinly raised an eyebrow. “He really said that?”

            “I know, I was surprised too!” I laughed. “Now come on, let’s eat!”

            Natasha used to be Nathaniel once upon a time, my childhood friend and girlfriend for several years now. Despite her getting an operation after we graduated high school, it didn’t erase the mean looks or curious stares we got. Not that I cared. Nat is still the tiger-turned-tigress I fell in love with. She always used me to work hard as a farmhand assistant, helped me when I felt I couldn’t stand no more, yet never coddled me. Nat’s pouty growls always made me giggle, and seeing her eyes shine like that harvest moon reminded me why I really brought her out here.

            Nat was focused on nibbling at the candy bar when I felt it was time.

            “Hun? C-Can…” I stammered at first, feeling my filled stomach coil nervously, “Can I ask you…s-something?”

            Nat licked away some melted chocolate off her pert lips.

            “Course you can, John,” she smiled at me, her form still beautiful underneath the moon.

            “I…I…You know how much I love you, right? I was wondering—”

            “Wait! Don’t tell me!” she gasped, then grinned. “You’re actually a werewolf!”

            At first, I couldn’t help but groan, but then a thought crossed my mind and I went along with her joke.

            “Actually, yes. I am a werewolf!” I began, baring my canine fangs out in full view. Nat was eating it up. “As an alpha of my pack, I like to roam these woods for delectable meat, but most of all,” Without thinking, I reached into my pocket for my items, and fished them out in full view, “I’m…I’m looking for a mate…to be by my side.”

            My tigress immediately grew silent at the two gold rings in my paw, both of them shining under the harvest moon that smiled brightly above us. Nat’s expression transformed between shock and disbelieving awe. Her eyes, blinking away some tears, locked with mine.

            Without a beat, she nodded, and pulled me into a kiss.

            “Yes,” my tigress purred, “I would love to be your mate.”

            My grin widened. “I love you, Nat.”

            “I love you too, John…” she hiccupped happily.

            I carefully placed each ring on our fingers, and kissed her once again. Wagging my tail against hers, I held her close to me as we enjoyed the rest of this Halloween Night.