The deputy that was about to ring the front door bell of the Lawson's residence stopped and smiled. Not only was the scent of multiple weres having sex VERY strong coming from the house, but at least one of the ladies' inside was QUITE vocal in expressing her pleasure as well.
Sad to break up what was apparently such a great party, but knowing he was on duty with a job to do, the deputy leaned against the doorbell and kept ringing it until a man, not in his fursona, answered.
"YES?" he snarled, before realizing he was addressing an officer of the law.
At least he's wearing shorts, thought the deputy, as he asked "Are you William Anderson?"
"No. I'm Evan Lawson. What's up?" replied the man.
"Then I've also been instructed to inform you that your father Michael Lawson, as well as Eric, are at the emergency room at Moon Lake Hospital and—"
"WHAT?" screamed Evan, as he stepped outside. "What about my daughter Spencer? She was with them the last I heard and—"
"Sir, please calm down. All I know was that Eric Anderson was wounded in an altercation and your father is being examined as a precaution. The injuries are minor, but since Eric is underage..."
"Right. Treatment consent forms. My wife's a doctor. Otherwise, they would at least render emergency care if the situation was life threatening," realized Evan, leaning back against the door frame in relief. "Do you have the forms with you?"
"Afraid not. How soon before..."
"We'll be there within a half hour," promised Evan, even as he rushed back inside to alert the others.
MEANWHILE...
With his first Elders' Council meeting on hold until the current matter was settled, Lance Knight rode with Tachibana no Akane to Moon Lake Hospital in her car, with the leader of the Skulk filling him in on what she knew about the friendly relationship between Eric Anderson, Spencer Lawson, and his niece Frieda.
"So the three of them might be more than friends?" he asked.
"So I hear," revealed Akane. "From what little I have been told by his parents, who are members of the Skulk, Eric and Spencer are in love. He was a normal and wanted to be a werepanther to be with Spencer. However Spencer is a hybrid were, with no guarantee of what the results would have been if she had inducted Eric into were society herself."
"So Frieda did the honors," said Lance, tactfully.
"Yes, but doing so apparently upset Julie Stovall, who had plans of her own for the boy after Eric broke up with her for cheating on him. I have been informed that this led to the lady's recent arrest, but that matter is still pending before the courts."
"And I thought high school was tough when I attended," quipped Lance, as Tachibana's limo pulled into parking lot of Moon Lake Hospital.
INSIDE OF THE EMERGENCY ROOM...
It was a slow night, and the representatives of the Were Elders' Council soon found the teenagers, along with the older gentleman still wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. although someone had gathered what remained of his clothes and personal belongings and put them in a plastic bag for him.
Spotting him, Frieda shouted "Uncle Lance!", and rushed to hug him.
As Lance returned the hug of his only niece, who he hadn't seen since the opening ceremony of her own induction into were society at the beginning of this year's summer, Akane inquired as to the status of the hospital's current patients.
"Mister Lawson was just stunned, but will make a full recovery within the hour. We're just keeping him under observation for the moment to be sure," began the doctor on duty. "Eric Anderson was badly scratched. Deep enough to draw blood, but not severely enough to affect any internal organs. Since he is a minor, we're still waiting on his parents to formally sign the consent of treatment forms but with his constitution, the wounds are already starting to heal on their own and by morning, there won't even be so much as a scar remaining. However, if this boy wasn't already a werepanther, he would be starting his first transformation into one right about now, whether he wanted to or not."
"I see," said Akane, acknowledging the report, before the doctor left the treatment area.
Except for Frieda and Eric, everyone else present only knew Akane from news reports. Eric had met her in person when his parents joined the Skulk and he became an honorary member as their son.
However, when Frieda started to introduce her uncle, "Knight?" said Mike Lawson with a snarl, as he and Spencer positioned themselves between him and Eric.
"Whoa!" said Lance, holding up both hands as a sign of surrender. "I come in peace. My only crime is being Benton's younger brother, and he considers me the black sheep of the family."
"Then what are you doing here?" Spencer demanded to know, protective of her boyfriend, despite the fact that Eric could now seriously defend himself if need be.
"Well, among other things, I'm now representing the werepanthers of Moon Lake on the Elders' Council until Frieda can legally assume the position," answered Lance, which totally surprised his niece.
But before any of them could talk further, shouts of "WHERE'S MY FATHER?" "WHERE'S OUR DAUGHTER?" and ''WHERE'S MY SON?" rang throughout the corridor.
"Hail! Hail! The gang's all here!" quipped Mike Lawson, as his son and wife, along with Eric's parents approached them.