Lone Wolf.

I stood there in surprise, more in shock than either the two of them looked. It was completely still, even the water seemed to quiet and the crickets had gone dead silent. I looked between the two, leaning in to each other, but too afraid to make contact just yet. Serena had her foot out and hands closed at her sides, while her other crouched in front of her, both oddly in the defense.
"I...I don't understand," she breathes out, her eyes glistening. "I thought it had been a dream I...it was actually you?"
My brows furrow in confusion as I come to the realization that they've had this encounter before.
"Dream?" I ask curiously, staring at her astounded expression. She doesn't look away as she replies; "I was a little girl. It was a few months after she...after I thought she'd died and I'd come out here."
Her glance is steady as she pauses for a moment. "I thought it was a guardian angel. I never saw it again after that day."
Finally, she turns to look at me, then back at the. "Can she...can you understand me? Can you shift?"
The wolf gracefully steps back, raising her head firmly. Serena huffs out, her body slumping. How much was this truly affecting her? She'd spent so many years missing and needing her mother, and now to find out she had been here all this time...I couldn't imagine what she was feeling.
I clear my throat and rest a hand on her shoulder. "I...look, I don't want to speak for her, but she has to be willing to open up to give you some answers."
She nods, looking almost frightful with the uncertainty in her eyes. Maybe she was scared that the truth wouldn't be what she wanted to hear.
But she looks back at her mother and clenches her fists. "He's right. You pretended to be gone for this long, so I think I deserve an explanation."
Her ears twitch and droop and her frame weakens submissively. She felt regretful.
"Please just talk to me," Serena begs, a desperate edge to her voice.
The she wolf looks to the water for a moment before padding over quietly, tail swishing side to side femininely. Her body emerges into the lake, swimming towards the center before completely disappearing underneath. Serena looks to me, and we wait in utter silence.
Like something from a movie, a human emerges, the top of her hair flowing out, black locks swirling, as she rose and walked back out slowly, as graceful and effortless as a gazelle. The water flowed around her as if she were the one to draw it in and-
And I was staring at Serena's naked mother.
She approaches Serena and gives a small tilt of her lips. "Hi, my little ReeRee."
Her breath comes out in a rush and her chin trembles before falling into her, her arms wrapping around tight. Her mother rests her hand on her back and smooths down her hair, her cheek on the top of her head as she closes her eyes shut. Her eyebrows furrow and she whispers, "My baby."
I rub the back of my beck and move away, letting them have their moment. I wonder how long it's been since either of them has felt true solace like this. Everything was not as it seemed, and they both had to live without their bond.
Serena pulls away and her mom kisses her forehead, then turns to me. Her smile reaches her eyes and she holds out a hand, making my eyes widen.
"I'm Accalia. It's nice to meet you officially...John, is it?"
Shit, she was talking to me.
I nod and lock my hand to hers, averting my eyes from the rest of her body. This was so weird. "I...yes. Serena's told me a lot about you."
"I'm sure," she chuckles, pulling her daughter into her side. Serena smiles before gasping. "Oh my god. Mom, you need clothes."
She laughs. "Oh right. I've gotten so used to being without 'em. I'm sorry."
"I-I'll get you a blanket," I mutter, rushing back to the truck with Serena to go get one. When we return, she drapes it over her mother's shoulders who was sitting peacefully on the ground.
"I guess this is the part where I start telling you what really happened," Accalia sighs. Serena sits directly across from her as I stay standing.
"Why didn't you come back?" she mumbles. "If you knew how much we-" She frowns. "I felt so abandoned."
"I know," Accalia whispers. "And I'm so sorry, babygirl but I didn't know what was happening to me. I didn't know what I was and neither would you believe it if I came back." She looks down and rubs the blanket between her fingers. She looks to the trees across the lake on the other side, pensive as she glanced over the hills.
"The day of the accident, I...it didn't happen because of another driver or unlucky circumstance. The reason I crashed is because I was turning." Her eyes look distant, searching for something in the water that she hadn't been able to find in herself yet. "I was trying to get away. The cancer, it was a cover up. The hair loss, the vomiting, the fevers, it's just what made the most sense. It was the only logical reason. It was such excruciating pain, such an intense burning that I was convinced I was going to hurt your father or anyone who got near me. That night was the worst of it. It'd been going on for a few weeks, and I knew eventually whatever was happening to me would reach its peak but I never thought it would be this."
I feel myself grow tense and I swallow. "You were shifting."
She nods. "Yes. And I had fully completed the transformation when I crashed. It happened like a flash. I thought for certain that I truly would die. But I think the change saved me more than anything."
"I..." Serena's brows scrunch together, staring at her mother frustratedly. "Is that why you let us believe you were actually dead? They didn't even find your body. We couldn't even mourn properly at the funeral, we-"
"I couldn't, Serena," she muses, forlorn. "I couldn't show up alive without having to explain what happened and how I was even alive. I didnt have any possible explanation for it, for them or for myself. I couldn't adjust. I spent so long having to hide and not even understanding how I became an animal."
I wince, relating to the overwhelming confusion and feeling of loss of control. I knew more than anyone what it felt like to seek answers for a question that didn't make sense. You were the question.
But the hiding, having to live a lie and stay away from everything you once loved...I couldn't begin to imagine how hard that had to have been.
"Did you ever find others?" I ask hopefully, still on the never ending search.
Sadly, Accalia shakes her head no. "I've never come across a half breed before you. I remember the first few weeks when I would actually find ways to do research. There are myths, but nothing different than what you would find on the internet written by werewolf fanatics."
Serena looks away with a hurt expression, and her mother sighs. "I wanted to come back. You have no idea. I wanted to tell you, baby. I tried that day, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was so worried you would be afraid." She pets Serena's hair paternally. "I couldn't come back, no matter how much I wanted to, for your sake, and I figured you'd move on. I was better off as a ghost to you to save you so much heartache, sweetie."
Serena exhales shakily. "I'm pretty sure I could've handled having you as a wolf. I would have taken that over not having my mother at all." She looks up at her firmly. "I missed you so much."
"I know," she coos. "But I'm here now."
I smile softly as she leans into her shoulder, speaking silently. If I knew Serena like I thought I did, she forgives her mother and would leave the past in the past. Being with her mattered too much to let it go. She had her back now, and she wasn't going to take that for granted.
Talk about a family reunion.

~

After the long and draining day, Serena decided to go home and meet her mother later. The forest had become her home, so she stayed put, promising she'd be there when she came back tomorrow.
I drove her back, trying to process everything that had happened as much as she was. Things really were getting crazy, but I'm glad we finally got to the bottom of one mystery and Serena had her mom again.
I pull up in front of her house and sigh, shifting into park. "Is your dad home?"
"Lights are off," she chuckles. "But knowing his schedule, he will be in about ten minutes."
My lips twist into a smirk and I lean in for a kiss. She stops me with a pointed look. "That means you better hurry your ass inside before he gets here."
I laugh and we hop out of the car, racing inside like two teenagers hiding from their parents, which wasn't completely off.
Serena yanks me into her room before closing the door and kissing me deeply, arms locked around my neck. I rest my hands on her hips, inhaling her scent. She pulls away softly to rest her forehead against mine. "I can't thank you enough for this."
"I didn't do anything, darlin'," I murmur. "I just pieced some details together, but your mom stepped up and showed herself. She told you the truth." I lower my head to nudge her jaw with my nose. I feel her smile against my cheek and she sighs. "She did."
"Is that why you acted so weird before when I..when you thought I believed you to be her?"
Serena nods. "It just seemed so...I don't know. You described the same wolf I had seen years ago, it felt like I was missing something and I was scared to find out what it was." She bites her lip as she rests a hand over my chest by my heart, over the wolf necklace. "I think maybe deep down I knew."
My mouth captures her and she giggles, our tongues tangling as we exchanged breaths for a long time until we hear a door open. She gasps quietly and shoos me off inside her closet, her dad coming in once to check up on her and say goodnight. Apparently he was still on his shift but needed a hot shower.
Once he's left, she tugs me back out with a quiet laugh, sniggering. I pull her to me with a grin, until a noisy static makes my ears twitch, picking up the frequency.
It was the chief's radio, and there were multiple codes being spoken but there was a simple phrase I picked up.
"We've got a sight of an animal out here in Bartlett."
The noise cracks out and I've long stopped breathing. My face falls as I hear Perry grumble a curse and respond to the call. "Copy, this is Perry, in the area and on my way."
"Ten four."
Serena touches my cheek lightly. "John? Hey, what's wrong?"
I pull away and hold a finger up, stepping closer to the door. I listen intently, and my senses are honed stronger than ever. I could hear the shift of his stance, the shuffling of his feet, the clatter of picking up keys, the swish of his belt, and the weight of his gun as he drops it in the holster.
I can feel my heartbeat threatening to overbear the rest of the sounds, but I keep my breathing even and wait for the sound of the door, the car starting up, before bolting to her front door.
Serena calls out. "John! What are you-"
"Your mother's in trouble."
Her face grows pale and she freezes. "What?"
"They're going to look for her. She's out in Bartlett and there's been an animal sighting."
Her breath gets shaky and she shakes her head. "B-But...it can be anything, it-"
"I've been going out to that lake for almost nine years," I say in a rush. If I didn't hurry they'd get to her before I did. "There's nothing else out there in the forest, Ser. If they find her..."
She shakes her head as her eyes widen. "John, y-you can't go out there."
I turn towards the door and she grabs my arm. I could feel my chest thumping. This was a risk I couldnt ignore. I couldn't stay knowing her mother was in danger. It was a risk I was going to take.
Slipping out of her grasp, I bolt out into the street, not bothering with my truck down the block. I could run faster than it would take to drive.
I shed out of my clothes and like that, the instinct kicks in and courses through my veins and down my spine like a string of DNA. It was as easy as breathing now, shifting into a wolf. And my heart knew what I had to do, which only pushed me farther than I'd ever gone. I was a blur in the night, merely a flash to the naked eye. In a few minutes, I'm already dashing through the trees and on the lookout for Accalia, trying to pin her scent. I pause for a moment and yowl, my nose pointing towards the sky as my call echoes. It might put us in more danger, but I had to save her. For Serena.
My ears stay alert for any other approaching presence as I scavenge the area, heading towards the lake. If she was anywhere, she'd be there.
I don't get quite that far though, when I notice the distant beam of a flashlight and the sound of crackling leaves. I stop in my tracks and make myself invisible behind a tree trunk, crouching low. They were a few yards away, but I could hear it. I heard it all; the hand securely resting over the holster, the occasional call coming in from the radio, the even breaths. I recognize the voice when he mumbles something and I move slowly away, my paws sticking strictly to dirt and earth and avoiding any noise
That's when the rustling bushes happen. Then a soft click. Then a soft gentle whine. Then a drawing of a gun. Then the smell of dust powder. Then a growl. Then a loud bang as I lunge forward.
Then nothing.