While Julie, Nate, Eric, Ben and Alex each prepared for school, the newest student of their high school was dragging her feet through her family’s new kitchen. Her parents woke her up at dawn, and then Evan dragged her outside for a run. As far as he was concerned, his daughter was still going to military school, even if there weren’t any around Moon Lake.
The movers from the airport arrived only two hours later. The Lawsons weren’t expecting them until much later in the day, but it would be nice to finish breakfast on an actual table and not the floor.
Having decided to catch them before they left for work, Samantha Twist was just as surprised to pull up to their house and see moving vans and cargo boxes from the airport. She was careful not to get in the way of the movers. They had their hands full with boxes, furniture, and pierce of equipment she couldn’t hope to identify.
“Maggie did once say Evan had a hobby of rebuilding old cars” Samantha thinks. In the days since that blissful night with Francis, William and Martha, she hadn’t been able to find the time to come over to welcome Moon Lake’s newest residents. Partially due to the unpleasant business with the FBI, and partially because she wanted to give the family ample time to adjust.
Samantha hadn’t even recognized Maggie’s picture when she first went over the files. She knew Maggie married a werewolf named Evan, but that was the extent of her knowledge. The Margret Sara Lawson Samantha had seen in the file was nothing like her high school friend.
Maggie’s hair wasn’t midnight black as it had once been, she’d since dyed it to a dark auburn, and she was obviously older looking, even for a were. Samantha attributed it to the worry lines Maggie must go through due to her husband’s job. She herself had never personally met Evan, the couple had their wedding in London, and she wasn’t able to leave Moon Lake to attend.
Samantha knocked on the tall oak door, and was surprised to see that it was Spencer who answered it. From the far too infrequent letters and emails, Maggie had briefly summed up Spencer. And in a word, Spencer was wild. It was clear Spencer got most of her looks from her mother. But there were a few things that were alien to Samantha, and presumably from Evan. A quick sniff told Samantha that Spencer was a were. But as for what kind, it was hard to tell. Her father and mother’s smells seemed to be covering her own, which was extremely weird.
“Uh, hello?” Spencer said, who was obviously not expecting Samantha to be on the other side of the door.
“Hello. My name is Samantha Twist, I’m the chancellor of Moon Lake.”
“A chancellor? I didn’t know those really existed. Is that a regional thing, or is it a Moon Lake thing?” Spencer asked. Something about that sentence greatly amused Samantha. Maybe that it was Spencer’s disbelief that chancellors existed, when normally new families were skeptical about weres.
“A little of both. Are your parents around…?” Samantha didn’t need to finish the sentence, Maggie walked right into the room carrying a box of what looked like books. And thankfully Evan was standing behind her because she screamed and dropped the box when she saw Sam. She nearly knocked Spencer over in her rush to the door. Samantha was glad to return the hug, but did feel a little bad since Evan and Spencer were staring at the two women like they were Martians.
“Oh my god it’s so good to see you!” Maggie almost cries. Thought she’s not the first to offer hugs, Samantha does return the friendly gesture. After the two break away from each other, Samantha gives Maggie a chance to collect herself. Once she does she asks what took Sam so long to show up.
“Sorry, I got caught up at town hall.”
“Are there a lot of families moving in right now?”
“No, but there have been a few problems with those FBI agents roaming around looking for that escaped convict. While the mayor is away in Seattle, it’s been my job to mediate the fights between his office and the FBI agents who have taken up residency in town. And making sure no one blows our cover.”
“Sounds more fun than being stuck around here,” Spencer mutters under her breath, which is futile given everyone’s hearing abilities. Evan glares at Spencer, she gets the message, and excuses herself. There’s a distinct slamming sound, something that Samantha isn’t all that accustomed to since Ben usually behaves himself. Neither Maggie no Evan appear startled by the sudden noise. Samantha doesn’t say anything, but Maggie does give her one of those “sorry” looks.
“I’ve got a teenager, don’t worry about it. Ben has had his fair share of moments.” Samantha reminds her friend.
“That’s right, Ben! I couldn’t remember his name the other day. How old is he now? He and Spencer must close in age, right?”
“He’s sixteen, will be seventeen in May.” Samantha said.
“Wow, sixteen. Spencer’s fifteen, but we’ve enrolled her as a freshman since the education system on the west is a bit different than the east, even with the common core and all. And she’s had a rough year,” Maggie doesn’t bother going into specifics. She told Sam how her daughter was a lot like she was when they were in high school. She had even asked Samantha to be her maid-of-honor in her foolish plan to get married to Tony Davis.
Maggie guides Samantha through their mess of a living room and to their still partially wrapped couch. Evan sits on a box, careful not to crush the contents (not that it would have mattered seeing as the box was stacked with throw pillows).
“I don’t believe you’ve met Evan before.” said Maggie as Evan reached over their coffee table to greet Samantha. Samantha was impressed, Evan was much handsomer in person than in photos. Though he was still an active duty sailor, Evan had let his hair grow out a bit since his has tour. His dirty blonde hair isn’t as “dirty” as it used to be. Samantha wonders if it’s a dye job, or a natural lightening.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Maggie’s told me a lot about you and your wife.” Evan said, extending a hand. Samantha notes the callouses and scars that cover Evan’s arm. A number of tattoos cover some of the scars on his upper arm, and a bit of his forearm. But the long burn marks and serrated lines over his hands are as visible and obvious as the nose on his face. If she didn’t already know he was a Navy SEAL, she’d think he was a some sort of pyrotechnician.
“Likewise. I hope you’re settling in alright, I know this must be a bit of a culture shock to you. You grew up in Texas right?” Samantha asks.
“Yes. My father was stationed at the Naval Airbase in Corpus Christi for almost eleven years. Before lived in Austin, of course I was too young to remember any of that.” Evan says.
“Are you parents also weres?”
“Yes. But my father only became one after meeting my mother. Before he was as clueless about weres as any other normal person.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what kind of were?”
“I’m a fourth generation wolf.” Evan said proudly. Not that it was extremely important to his grandparents whether or not their daughter married a human, or another kind of were, they were still overjoyed when Evan’s father, Daniel, agreed to join his soon to be father-in-law’s pack.
“Are you planning on joining one of the local packs? And what about you Maggie, you’re always welcome to join our pride again.” Samantha said.
“Thank you, but Elle and her pride offered me a place with them a few weeks ago. And, no offense, Elle’s pride was a better fit for me.” Maggie said, a bit embarrassed.
While her friend’s generosity was much appreciated, Samantha’s pride was entirely made up of domestic breed werecats. Before she moved away, Maggie had been in a mixed species pride of lions, tigers, jaguars, and many other cats. Despite the overall friendliness, there were still sub-prides formed among the exotics and domestics. And many of the exotics, like tigers and leopards, were solitary species. Aside from mating and rearing cubs, they spent most of their lives alone.
“It’s alright, I understand. Elle’s husband, Jonathan right, is he a werewolf too?” asked Samantha, wondering if he had offered the same to Evan.
“No, he’s a weredog. A golden-mix I think. And I’m in a ’traveling pack’ headed at the base.”
“A traveling pack?” Samantha repeated.
“In nature wolf packs don’t remain in one area. Sure they have territories, but those territories can span several dozen miles. Traveling packs are similar, in that members spread themselves through a region, but have a central home. Most military wolves and dogs are members of traveling packs.” Evan explained.
“What about Spencer?” Samantha asked, unaware of the awkward subject she’d just brought up.
“Uh, well, she’s never assimilated into packs or prides. Both of ours have given her honorary membership, since technically she can’t really join either, but Spencer isn’t that interested. She’s more of a ‘lone wolf’ in that way.” Maggie said. Something in that sentence didn’t make sense to Samantha.
“She said that Spencer ‘technically couldn’t join’ either the pride or pack. Why not? Austin extended honorary membership to both Francis and myself when Ben joined. Even the Skulk gave Eric and Nate honorary membership.” Samantha thinks. She eagerly asked Maggie to clarify.
Samantha kind of expected them to say Spencer was whatever leopard subspecies her mother was. Like wild wolves, werewolves stayed together. Ben, Nate, Alex, and even Eric could be thought of as a tiny pack of friends. But Spencer, she seemed more like the “lone wolf” type.
“You’d think right? Actually she takes more after Elle, their both being melanistic were.” Maggie said.
“So she’s not a wereleopard?”
“Not exactly. She’s something of a hybrid.” Maggie said.
“Really, a hybrid? That’s incredible! I didn’t think that could happen between canine and feline were.” Samantha exclaims.
“It hasn’t before, Spencer’s the first recorded feline-canine hybrid. Apparently the odds of something like that happening were, according to the geneticists back at Norfolk, about one in a billion. And also the first hybrid in about twenty-five years.” Evan adds.
Actually the odds of Spencer being a hybrid were even slimmer than that. The only thing that dogs and cats had in common, from an evolutionary standpoint, was the fact they were both mammals and carnivores. Try and imagine a German Shepherd mating with your every day house cat. And then try to imagine what kind of kittens/puppies they would have. Ya, weird right? Not like “Cat-Dog” weird, but still weird.
“So, anything else new around here?” Maggie asked, once Samantha recovered from the initial shock of her daughters’ were-status. Even among weres, hybrids maintained something of a folklore status. Most hybrids stayed in the same family of animals (i.e. Tiger/Lion, dog/fox).
“Aside from the recent incidents with the FBI, nothing. Oh, there was a bit of an incident with a normal.” Samantha said, remembering her trip to Seattle about a year ago.
“What happened?”
“The usual. Some normal wandered off the beaten path, ended up seeing something they shouldn’t have. Unfortunately with modern technology, it’s harder to police these kinds of occurrences. Thankfully the story didn’t make it past the local news, who all agreed it was a hoax. But even so, the spectacle was quite hard to digest, for a normal that is.” Samantha laughed, and tried to her best ability to describe the video that the normal has posted on YouTube.
The story soon had all three in stitches. The video in question was shot at dawn, in the middle of the woods that surrounded Moon Lake. Samantha described the five minute video of a two weres chasing each other around the woods almost stark naked. The actual video, which Evan easily found on the internet, was even more ridiculous to watch.
A couple of promiscuous teenagers, a wereracoon and werefox, had made the poor decision to chase each in the early hours of the morning. The vixen was in nothing but her Victoria Secret underwear, and the male was wearing bright pink boxers. The normal who had been lucky, or unlucky, enough to catch the two lovers was an older man, who was already something of a nut. After the video was uploaded, and everyone brushed it off as a prank, he was rightly sent away.
“It goes without saying, but the laws around here are still the same.” Samantha said, switching gears from friendly to professional. It was nice catching up with Maggie, but she still had a job to do. Though there wasn’t much to do in that regard.
Maggie grew up in Moon Lake, and Evan was a military man. Following rules and respecting boundaries was something that was all but branded into his. As for Spencer, Samantha was certain her parents had instilled a decent sense of right and wrong. Even if she was a bit wild, she didn’t seem like the rogue type.
“That’s one thing I’ve been meaning to ask about,“ says Evan, “Are there any exceptions to the rules? About when you can and can’t transform? I understand you can’t shift in public during the day, but what about in closed quarters?”
“That’s alright, so long as everyone present is aware of the situation. Private affairs, like dates, family events, or the like, are free ground,” said Samantha, “And while we’re on the subject, is Spencer aware of the rules as far as school goes?”
“And then some. She may not like rules, but she knows which ones must obeyed.” Evan said flatly. In her short thirteen years of education, Spencer had gone to six different military academies. The reasons for leaving were anything from the family moving to Spencer “accidentally” putting a firecracker under a teacher’s chair.
“You don’t have any further questions, do you?” Sam asked Evan.
“Maggie’s been able to answer most of mine. As for Spencer, if she did have questions she hasn’t asked us.” Evan said.
“I gave her a talk,” Maggie added.
Samantha stood and prepared to leave. As much as she wanted to stay and spend hours chatting, she did have other places to be. Though she was seriously dreading the meeting she was due at. Martin and the lead agent, Patrick Baldwin, did not see eye to eye on… anything.
She leaves the Lawsons with a copy of her contact information, and then only to Maggie she gives her copies of her personal numbers, home and cell.
“Oh wow, you live pretty close.” Maggie remarked after reading Samantha’s address on her business card.
“Yes, and before I forget Francis and I would love to have you three over sometime. Our neighbors, the Andersons, would be there too. They have two sons, one Ben’s age, one about the same as Spencer.”
“That’s be lovely. What works best for you?”
“The closer to the weekend the better, what about you? You’re working late hours at the hospital right?”
“Only Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. I’m on the late morning to late afternoon shifts otherwise. Evan works fairly regular hours, the nine to five sort. And I seriously doubt Spencer has any plans.” Maggie said.
“Does this coming Friday sound good?”
“Perfect, I’ll see you then!”