With her duffel bag reluctantly packed once more, Karen Charleston went into her parents bedroom, where she found them hastily packing to evade the Gambonis once again.
"It's just not fair, you know?" she said out loud, but to no one in particular, which made her parents stop and look at her.
"I mean, sure—we've all suffered to a point. You and Mom had to uproot our entire lives to flee that stupid—"
"Language young lady," her mother warned, as Nichole resumed packing.
"But I'm the one Marcus Gamboni is after, so we have to run again, and as far as I know, the only crime, if you can even call it that, I've ever committed is existing," protested Karen. "Why me?"
"I have absolutely no idea what is going through that criminal's mind," admitted her father, as Moe stopped what he was doing to hug his daughter. "You are beautiful, physically as well as emotionally, for I know your mother and I raised you well, so you have a good heart. Any man would be honored to have you in his life," he added, as Karen wondered if that included Peter Brooks.
"None of this is your fault," hastily added Nichole to reassure Karen, who joined the others to make it a group hug. "We'll get through this as we always have, together," she promised. "But you have to keep your promise to us," Nichole reminded her daughter. "No becoming a were until you've finished your research and announced your decision to us first."
"And no doing so just because you might be afraid," chipped in Moe. "Daniel tells me that joining were society is a special occasion for a regular human being," not going into details on exactly how that happens, "and when it does happen, we want you to be the were you want to be for the right reasons and enjoy the experience."
"Yes, and not make a hasty decision just because you want to stand up to the Gambonis," added her mother.
Karen thought about it as she moved away from her parents. Finally, she said, "I know you're both right, and I do want to find out about werelions before I make my final decision, but still..."
"The Gambonis will be caught and punished to the full extent of the law," promised Daniel Brooks, as he walked in through the open bedroom door. "Sorry, but I wanted to see if you were ready to go and I couldn't help overhearing the conversation."
"That's okay," reassured Moe, as Karen's parents resumed packing. "Just give us a couple of more minutes."
"Sure." Then Daniel turned to Karen and asked, "Did Samantha Twist give you anything concerning weres?"
"There was this book..." began Karen.
"You better bring it with you. While the Gambonis don't know about weres, we certainly don't want any information about us falling into the wrong hands, so better safe than sorry."
"Okay. I'll go get it," replied Karen, before heading back to her room.
Alone for the moment, Daniel turned back to his friend and said, "I couldn't help overhearing the entire conversation," he told Moe in a low voice so Karen couldn't hear them. "Under the circumstances, I can talk to the Town Chancellor in case Karen winds up needing an extension on joining were society, let alone make arrangements for her to talk to Dr. Frances Twist, who's a therapist, if necessary."
"Thanks Daniel," replied Moe, as he and Nichole sealed their bags and moved to leave the room. "First we get the Gambonis out of our lives once and for all, then we'll heal this family and move onward."
MEANWHILE...
Blissfully unaware of the new developments in the ongoing Charleston versus Gamboni situation, Peter Brooks was on his way to his next to last class for the day at Moon Lake High School, but there was one problem he still hadn't resolved yet.
"Where am I going to find a werelion?" he asked himself in the hallway between classes.
"What do you want with a werelion?" asked someone behind him.
Peter turned and saw a red haired boy that he had seen around the school, but didn't have any actual classes with.
Although both were within their normal human forms at the moment, one covert sniff told Peter that the kid before him was a weretiger.
"My girl—, that is, I have a friend who's a normal and wants to become her family's were since they just moved to Moon Lake. But she wants to be some kind of feline and has talked to just about every species available on her list except a lion," explained Peter.
Then whatever tiger she talked to, sadly it wasn't me, realized the other boy, while discretely sniffing to discover that he was talking to a weredog. "Well, there's plenty around the school, so what's the hang up?"
"While I do know a few, none of them either have the time or actually want to talk to her for some reason."
"Oh. Well then, the best thing to do would be to go directly to the source."
"What do you mean?"
"Call Talbot Restorations and ask to talk to Leon Talbot. He's their King, so if anyone can make arrangements for a werelion to give your girl the straight info..."
"Duh! Why didn't I think of that!" protested Peter.
"Maybe you're too close to the situation?" suggested the other boy.
"Maybe," agreed Peter, as less than purely platonic thoughts of Karen crossed his mind once more. "Thanks. By the way, I'm Peter Brooks," he said, holding out his hand.
"Fred O'Toole," replied the other boy, holding out his.
"I've seen you around the school, but we don't have any classes this semester, do we?" asked Peter, while completing the handshake.
"Except for maybe lunch, not that I recall," agreed Fred, "but it was nice meeting you. Do you know what your girl actually wants to be?"
"Not yet. She promised her parents she'd complete her research before making a decision."
"Understandable. Joining is a lifetime commitment," said Fred, as the 2 minute warning bell rang. "Well, we'd better hurry if we want to avoid being late. By the way, if she decides upon weretiger..." he added, thinking how great it would be to usher in a new weretigress, let alone maybe get the chance to have sex with possibly a virgin human too, since his sister Ginger believes Fred thinks more with his libido than his brain.
"We'll have to see how it goes once she does make a decision. See you around," replied Peter, as he hurried off to his next class.