It was lunchtime at Moon Lake College as newlyweds Jenny and Harry Jenkins were joined by their mutual friend Karen Yuletide.
"So, you go furry Friday night?" Jenny asked, after Karen brought the couple up to date on developments in her life.
"Yes," Karen said happily. "Peter has this entire romantic weekend planned out for the two of us and I become a lioness, but I don't officially become his lioness until the wedding next year."
"I'll admit, Valentine's Day does sound like a beautiful choice for a wedding ceremony, but under the circumstances, Jenny and I couldn't afford to wait," said Harry, taking her hand in his.
"You know how much I love you, and you certainly proved your love to me by locking yourself in that isolation room with me at the hospital and becoming my werefox," Jenny whispered in her husband's ear before kissing his cheek.
"And I haven't regretted a moment of it since my vixen," said Harry, before giving her a passionate kiss on the lips.
"Do you two want some privacy?" Karen asked.
"No. We're good," said Jenny, after reluctantly breaking the kiss. "If you don't already know, a were's libido is higher than a normal human being's," she added since, because they were in public during the day, the Jenkins were still in their human instead of vulpine forms right now.
"Peter told me, and one of the many things I'm looking forward to experiencing first hand, or maybe I should say first paw, for myself," replied Karen with a smile.
"Even I could tell there was something special between the two of you when we first met Peter," observed Harry, "but you're cool with the whole lion/harem thing?"
"I'd be lying if I didn't say there were still some reservations in the back of my mind, especially considering how much of a cheating bastard my father was before mom divorced him," admitted Karen. "But if I want Peter, and I do–heart, soul, and everything in between–then I have to accept that too. Peter's explained it all to me, and I'll still be his one and only wife. We'll just have an open marriage during pride meetings. After all, don't you two..."
Harry and Jenny looked at each other for a moment, then she said, "Actually, the situation hasn't come up yet."
"The only Skulk meetings we've attended so far have been our welcoming ceremony and the Halloween Trick or Treat planning session," explained Harry. "Guess we'll have to decide whether or not to explore that territory whenever we actually attend whatever passes for a 'regular' Skulk meeting."
"But would your vulpine life/soul mate bond allow the two of you to share partners?" wondered Karen.
"Our love for each other is as strong now as the day we first met as normals," answered Jenny. "The bond just strengthens our connections so if we ever do take on other partners during a meeting or whatever, I know we'll just be in it for the fun and will still have and love each other afterward."
"Good," said Karen, "because there's something I have to tell you." Then she paused before saying, "Once I am a lioness, any other lioness I... explore or share with Peter won't be my first time checking out a honey comb, if you know what I mean," which caused her to blush a bit.
"Okay," said Jenny, uncertain where this was going.
"And I must admit, if it wasn't for you becoming a werefox and me loving Peter as much as I do, I've wondered about the two of us from time to time Jenny."
"What?" said the other woman in disbelief.
"Well, I'm definitely not a virgin, and we've seen each other naked before in both our dorm room and the showers, so I can't deny the thought never crossed my mind. You definitely had a nice body even before joining were society," said Karen, which made Jenny blush because she always believed her old self could only beat Popeye's Olive Oyl in a beauty contest. "But while I can still count all of my female encounters on one hand, I never go anywhere I'm not invited and when you went furry, I didn't want to risk my life with Peter. But since I'll be sharing him with other women, and maybe sometimes enjoying those other lionesses too, I was just thinking that maybe sometime..."
"I'm flattered," admitted Jenny, "but although Dieter Wilhelm certainly tried, I was a virgin before Harry. The only lesbian experience I've ever had was when I had to be with the rogue who scratched me to become whole. I'm not saying no and this will certainly not spoil our friendship, but that's another bridge I can't make a decision on crossing until I come to it."
"I understand completely," said Karen, but now I can't stop thinking about a swinging foursome between the three of us and Peter.
Thankfully, that topic of conversation ended as Jenny's cellphone rang.
Checking the Caller ID, Jenny answered it by saying, "Hey James. What's up?" she asked her oldest brother.
"Are you sitting down?" he asked in return, calling her from Alabama.
"Yes," said Jenny, moving the phone so the three of them could hear the conversation. The weres present had no problem, but Karen had to lean forward to listen.
After all, if Jenny didn't want me to hear, she wouldn't have moved the phone.
"Okay. First off me, mom, dad, and the lawyer went to family court this morning to petition a juvenile court judge to arrange emancipation of Janice and John with you and Harry as their legal guardians in Moon Lake," announced James.
"How'd that go?" asked Peter.
"Dad had to travel and sit in a wheelchair to conserve his strength, which didn't make him happy, but he was pretty subdued for most of it. The folks did sign all the pertinent documents, but it still has to go through the legal system."
"Which entails what?" asked Jenny.
"The court has to post a legal notice in the local paper as a formality about what's going on and give anyone who might have a comment on the matter a chance to respond. Then, depending upon any responses, the judge will sign the order making emancipation and the transfer of guardianship official," explained John.
"How long will that take?" asked Harry.
"I wouldn't attempt to enroll Janice and John in school there until around the first of December at the earliest. If it happens sooner I'll let you know."
"That's not going to be much of a school year for either of them. They might wind up having to repeat the same grades next year," observed Harry, since Janice was a year younger and a grade behind her brother.
"Sorry, but it can't be helped. The lawyer is taking this case pro bono as it is, since I got him through the legal aid system down here. He said considering dad's condition he'll try to expedite the matter on medical grounds, but even then, the best we can hope for is around Thanksgiving."
"Okay, but other than how long this conversation has lasted so far, I don't see why you asked me if I was sitting down before we started talking," confessed Jenny.
"That's the bad news. After we got out of the court house, mom brought up the subject of dad's will. You know, the existing one where if he dies first, everything they own is given to the church and she's out in the cold with nothing?" John reminded her.
"Yeah. So?" wondered Harry.
"Well, I'm afraid that set dad off on another tirade and in the middle of it he had another heart attack. Mom and I are currently pacing the hospital waiting room floor while they perform an emergency operation on him to correct that aortic aneurysm or whatever it was your Doctor Tachibana discovered back there. I would have called sooner and told you all of this, but I got into a major argument with a representative from dad's insurance company."
"How major?" asked Jenny.
"If the guy was here in person instead of just on the other end of the phone, I would have decked him," confessed John. "Anyway, the lawyer says the emancipation and guardianship transfer can continue no matter what happens since dad's court appearance this morning proves intent and mom's still willing to do it, but right now I'm not sure if dad even has 50/50 odds of surviving this."
Jenny looked heartbroken as Harry said, "We're sorry you're stuck dealing with all of this back there. Keep us informed and we'll keep all of you in our prayers," before taking the phone from his wife and ending the call.
Then Harry set the phone down on the table and lovingly put a comforting arm around Jenny.
Jenny was silent for a while, then turned to look at Harry and said, "Despite what a rotten person, husband, and father he's been, I've never wanted anything like this to happen to him. But what happens to mom if he passes before the will is changed?"
"Either John makes arrangements for her to live independently down there or we somehow take in another refuge here," was Harry's answer.
"But even if she knew about them and wanted to, mom's too old to risk becoming a were," observed Jenny.*
"Just because she moves here doesn't mean she'd have to join were society to begin with," said Karen, hoping she wasn't intruding. "After all, you said it yourself. You're the Harper family were, according to the town's Mandatory Were Law, so even Janice and John don't have to join unless they want to."
"But I'm also hoping that James and his lady move here after they graduate college next year. I'd somehow like to keep the good parts of my old family together with my new one if I can," said Jenny, as she leaned against her husband.
"I know honey. We'll work it all out somehow," promised Harry, doing what he could to comfort her.
Karen Yuletide smiled at them, then said, "I'm afraid I have to get to my next class. Will you keep me informed? And if there's anything I can do to help..."
"Thanks," said Jenny, smiling at her. "And I hope you enjoy your entry into were society and all the days afterward furever."
"With Peter by my side and in my heart, I certainly will," said Karen, before she left.
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*Sex(ual intercourse) is usually used by an existing were to welcome a normal human being into were society because, considering the physical stress of anyone's very first transformation, while it's rare (but not totally unheard of) for a normal human being age 40 or older to join were society, it is medically impossible after age 60 without risking death. Granted, the normal life span for a were is almost four centuries, but any were is extremely careful around normal senior citizens, since the very first transformation totally rewrites a person's genetic code at the micro-cellular level from normal human to whatever they want to be.—tmw.