“Last week..James and I ran into each other,” Cathy said. “And..as it turns out, he knew my secret.”
“What? How?” my mother gasped. “James? How in the hell did you find that out?”
“That's not important, Jules...I mean..what's done is done.”
My mothers eyes narrowed slightly, and she clenched her jaw. “What happened?”
“The wolf met him, Jules,” Cathy said quietly.
“Oh..” my mother said quietly. Her expression was unreadable, but I thought I could detect a hint of sadness. “And?”
“She's fond of him,” Cathy replied. “Just like we suspected might happen.”
“Wait..WHAT?” I was caught off balance by the last exchange. “You mean this is a situation you guys have discussed???”
“Jules, do you have anything stronger? I think all of us could use at least a shot or two,” Cathy said, before looking at me. “You..you in particular are probably going to want at least one.” My mother disappeared into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a bottle of Jack Daniels.
My heart was hammering at a pretty noticeable clip by the time that my mother handed me a rocks glass with ice and Jack. I took a sizable gulp and winced slightly at the burn. While I'd had liquor before, I was hardly experienced and had never had it straight. My mother and Cathy sipped theirs more reasonably, and I made a mental note to follow their lead.
“James..” Cathy began, “..it's not a coincidence that I was rather rude to you for the past couple of years. When you hit high school, I couldn't help but..notice you....and I did what I could to avoid that side of me noticing you more than I felt was appropriate. The best way to do that was to all but literally push you away.”
I blushed, hard. This talk was somehow going to be more awkward than I could possibly have imagined. “Uhhh..alright?” I responded. This would have been weird if it was just the two of us, but with my mom sitting RIGHT across from us, it was so much worse.
“I kind of feel like I need to back up a bit,” Cathy said. “You need to know that the only other person that the wolf felt comfortable around was your mother. That side of me..when it comes out, it's wild, and sometimes very unpredictable. Your mom was there for my first change, and for whatever reason, my animal nature accepted her very quickly. In some other life, I'm probably your stepmom, and your mom is my mate.”
“Let's omit some details, okay, Cathy?” my mother said, blushing bright red and immediately sipping her Jack quickly. Nan's words echoed in my mind, with her mentioning of my mom being part of a lesbian werewolf pack. Oh dear. Cathy probably had no clue how right she was. (Well, assuming that Nan was telling the truth. I was willing to bet that she was, however.)
“Well, at any rate, you suddenly came into the picture...and one night, I was babysitting you while your mom was at work. Unfortunately, whatever show was on television happened to show the full moon, and I wolfed out. Logically, I should have eaten you. You were a tasty little ball of soft flesh, and utterly defenseless.”
“But instead, when I came home, I found the wolf curled up on the floor, with you fast asleep against her,” my mom added. Her voice was tinged with nostalgia, and there was a bittersweet smile on her face. She and Cathy exchanged a long look, before my mother broke eye contact to focus on me.
“Our best guess is that she recognized the smell of you, and since you smelled like me, she regarded you as special,” Mom said, “So you were safe. For what it's worth, I didn't ever worry that you'd be in danger from her.”
“So then why exactly did that change when I got to high school?” I asked. Admittedly, it was a fairly obvious question in hindsight, but I could feel a stronger than normal buzz starting, and so I'm going to blame the alcohol.
Now it was Cathy's turn to blush. “Because for a minute, I wasn't thinking of you as my best friend's kid,” she half-mumbled. She took a breath and composed herself. “I told your mom what had happened, and..I explained what I was going to do. This was NOT supposed to happen, James.”
“And then it did anyway,” my mother said. Her voice was as close to emotionless as I'd ever heard, but in such a way that I could tell she was fighting to keep it that way. It was flat, and I was fairly certain that she didn't approve at all.
“I'm sorry, Julia,” Cathy said. Her voice wavered. “I..” she sighed heavily, “I did everything I could do to prevent this.”
“I know,” my mom replied. Her voice was kinder now, softer. “So what happens next?”
“Jules....you say the word, and I'm gone. I'll move far enough away that no...complications happen,” Cathy said. Her hands shook slightly, and she downed the remnants of her drink.
“Wait,” I interrupted, “Don't I get a say?”
“No, you don't,” Cathy replied quietly. “Your mom's my best friend. I'm sorry, James..but it's her call. Not yours and..” she chewed her bottom lip nervously. “It's not mine.”