Teethmarks and Wolf Pelts

"Mom, why is Aunt Charlotte here?" I ask slowly, trying to tip toe around the subject. My frowns and turns to her sister-in-law. The distance between their eyes holds so much emotion and compassion. She softly touches my aunt's hand.

"Is she?" She whispers. Charlotte nods. "Then this is where you should step in and explain a few things," she suggests and Charlotte's eyes meet mine. I can feel what she feels and it kills me. She feels regret of secrets that are being kept, secrets that may have never been an issue.

"Can we go outside and talk about this?" I bite my lip and nod.

"Could you you guys go upstairs and start packing for me? Just throw whatever you want in a suitcase," I gesture toward the staircase. They boys nod and start heading up the stairs. My mother's eyes follow them with a questioning gaze but she stays put on the couch. Charlotte stands and I take in how tall she is. Much taller than my mother and I, but maybe that's part of being two natured. She puts her hand on my shoulder and leads me out onto the porch. I steal a glance back at my mother who's eyes had begun to water.

"When were you turned?" Charlotte asks, not wasting a single second.

"A few hours ago, actually," I admit. I can trust her, and from what Elijah told me during the lessons, being bitten breaks the bond between me and Lewis. I have free will to speak about it, but I do have to be careful. But, since I can sense there is an animal side to her, I feel safe to talk to my own family about it. "What about you?"

"I was born this way," she tells me, "Your father was too. We're purebloods." My mouth drops open. There is no possible way my father had been two natured! It's impossible, improbable, and there had to be no truth in her words- right? Then again, he sometimes did take off now and again. Several times, he'd get up in the middle of the night and go for a midnight walk, which accidentally would wake me up. He could have been using this time to Shift and run around the woods.... No. I refuse to believe it.

"Grandma and Grandpa were like us?" I ask, trying to get this subject away from my father. Charlotte nods. My grandparents died before I turned seven, but I remember them fondly. They had had soft, round features and caring eyes. It's weird to imagine them shedding their skin and becoming old wolves together.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I suddenly feel completely offended. Sure, this is a big thing to take in but when I found out from Lewis, I like to think I handled myself pretty well. It's a big thing to keep secret and I would have liked to have known before I had to find out this way.

"It was pretty clear that you weren't going to turn, so we figured we could just keep it from you until you were planning on having kids.... They'd have the gene then and we'd have to explain it too you."

"I think is something that should have been taught to me regardless if I was going to turn!"

"Your dad was going to teach you but," she choked on her words.

"He croaked," I say coldly but then something hits me. Lewis had said that when two natured kill another while in animal form, they covered the crime up as a animal attack or a car accident. My father had died in a car accident. Charlotte seems to catch onto my thought process and nods.

"Your mother will explain some things, she jut thought I should talk to you first. I just have to ask you one thing... Why? Why did you turn?"

"My friend, Connor, is missing. He is two natured and through troubling events, I discovered this secret part of the world. He called me and gave me his location," I explain and she nods intently, "And the Alpha here sent some people to check it out. They called him and told him that Connor has been de-scenting. I'm the only human they trust who has his smell. I'm the only one who can find my best friend."

"I understand," she says and tries to smile. She truly does understand but she feels as if my thinking has been a little misguided. "I heard you tell those boys to pack for you- where you going?"

"To find my friend," I say, trying not to give away his location. I love Aunt Charlotte but who knows if she'll try and stop me from finding Connor.

"But why tonight? Why right after you were turned?" She narrows her eyes and I find myself pondering this a little as well. Lewis had given orders, though, and since he's Alpha, there's something inside my body that makes me want to carry out his orders.

"I woke up to being ambushed by a pack of werefoxes. If they know I've been turned, they'll kill me easily. I need to leave now, find him, and come back as soon as possible." I turn, ready to head back into my home and have a nice little talk with my mother. Charlotte starts down the steps and heads to her car but stops.

"If you ever need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"Okay," I smile and head back into my house. I'm sure the boys are done packing by now, but they're being kind enough to let me say my goodbyes and let me talk these things out. My mother raises her head and I just glare at her. She's kept the most secrets, to be honest. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't Change when you hit puberty and that's what happens when you're to natured, Priss. You didn't, so I knew you weren't. We were humans and I didn't want to have to explain this life until you were ready to have kids," she says, basically repeating what my aunt had said just moments ago.

"Why didn't I Change?" I ask, generally curious. A two natured-human breeding always produced one two natured child and that would be the first born. I'm an only child, so I should be two natured, right?

"You technically weren't the first child your father and I conceived," she sniffles. My eyes widen. I'm not the first? "The first got miscarried two months into the pregnancy. Since it wasn't technically born yet, we weren't sure if our next would inherit the powers, but you didn't. You were the first born, but not the first conceived."

I swallow this information. Why the hell wouldn't my family tell me things like this? My eyes wander to the clock on the wall. It's nearing seven o'clock now but I know we have to hit the road soon. I just need a few questions answered before I can leave. "How did Dad really die?"

"Well you farther and your aunt were part of the pack in Langster," she explains. Langster is the nearest city to our town, Allanville, and was only a few miles to the west of us. I remember Lewis mentioning that teenagers lead small packs of two natured in small towns and that the adult two natured lead packs in the cities. Those packs tend to be larger but more organized. "They got into it with another werewolf pack from a few counties over. Your father lost his life protecting the Alpha of his pack." Her eyes fall down to the coffee table and I've had just about all I can handle for tonight.

"You've realized I'm leaving, right?"

"It has to do with Connor, doesn't it?" She asks, her voice fragile and broken. I nod. "And there's no chance of making you change your mind?"

I shake my head. "I'm the only one who can bring him home." My mother frowns and I notice a tear starts trailing down her left eye. "Mom, I promise I'm coming back. I don't plan on being there for more than a few days. When I get back, I promise that we'll talk more about this."

"I love you, Priscilla," she offers.

"I love you too," I say softly. Despite the secrets, I know it's true. There was so much revealed to me tonight but right now I just don't have the energy nor the time to really consider and process it all. One day, when this is all said and done, it'll hit me like a ton of bricks and I'll deal with it then. "Felix! Let's go!"

The two men bound down the stairs and I could tell they'd been listening to the conversation. I wave my hand, making them go ahead of me. They go out and get in the truck, but I linger behind in my living room for just a moment longer. My mother sighs. "You're one of them now, aren't you?"

"Yes," I say, my cheeks becoming red.

"Then I wish you all the luck in the world. Bring Connor home. Come home safely," she pauses. "Please."

I don't say anything. I don't give her any sign that I can promise her my safety. I just wander out of the house and into the night air, climb into the truck and tell Elijah to drive. I close my eyes, but I refuse to let myself think about my father or even my aunt. I keep my eyes closed as long as I can and just stare at the image imprinted on my brain- my mother, all alone and crying, as I left her without knowing if I could truly make it back unharmed.