Cathy hung limply, her hands bound above her head, suspended from the ceiling. Her clothing was cut and bloodstained. Her face was swollen. They'd taken their time with her. Eli ran to her, and in my enraged panic, I shoved him out of the way. “Don't touch her!” I roared. Her eyes flickered open and she let out a soft whimper. “J..James..”
With a swipe of my claws, I severed the thick rope and took off running, cradling her in my arms. Her heartbeat was faint; while she wasn't in danger of dying, I needed to get her home. Eli followed, watching my back. If I had been more calm, perhaps I would have thanked him, but all of my attention was on Cathy.
I avoided wishing anything more, at least right now. I knew I could fix her without wishing, and inwardly cursed myself for using the ring multiple times in my adrenalin-fueled panic. I knew what careless wishes could do, and I didn't want the butterfly effect happening again.
“We'd better split up,” I told him as we got further away from the fortress, and were more easily able to fit into the shadows. “Be safe. I'll be in touch. Thank you.” He nodded hesitantly, then darted off.
I think he expected something more out of me, but that wasn't going to happen, not tonight. Things had gone completely off the rails, and I wasn't giving him the opportunity to find out where I lived. I wanted to trust him, but I was not willing to put Cathy or my mother at risk to find out just yet.
Cathy's arms were wrapped around my neck weakly, and she moaned in pain. Her eyes flickered open, or at least as far as they could. They were nearly swollen shut. “James..” she croaked. Her voice was raw; she'd screamed herself hoarse during the torture she'd endured as I searched for her.
“I wish we were home.” I know I'd literally just tried to force myself to avoid using wishes, but this was simple, and carrying her through the streets as I headed back to the apartment, all while in my werewolf form would draw a small army's worth of attention, and as far as I knew, they'd have no reason to know where we lived. Immediate safety trumped any fears of abusing my power.
I appeared without warning in the living room, materializing literally out of nowhere. A teacup crashed to the floor. My mother stared in shock at us, and I honestly don't know what concerned her more; the fact that I'd simply appeared, or the condition of the woman she'd declared her love for.
“James? How did..” her eyes darted to Cathy, and a hand covered her mouth. “No..no..”
“She'll be fine,” Nan said, and that's when I realized she'd been sitting there the whole time, with my mother. Hooboy.
“Are you sure?” My mother asked, still staring in horror at Cathy's face.
“We're far more durable than one might expect,” Nan said reassuringly. “You will be, too.”
Instinctively, I knew what to do. She had to heal, and the best way to do that was for her to transform. I took her into the master bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. I leaned my head back through the doorway, and asked my mother, “Did she turn you yet?”
“No,” she responded, “We hadn't gotten to that point in the evening.”
“Come in here, then,” I said, mildly annoyed I was about to have the equivalent of the sex talk with my mother. She hesitantly came into the room, and I shut the door. “Mom..I don't know how to tell you this..but..you NEED to get turned, ASAP. If they'd taken you with Cathy, or INSTEAD of Cathy..I..I might have lost you. I would never forgive myself if that happened.”
Mom looked at me and over to Cathy, then back to me. “I understand,” she replied. “We just thought we had time to take it slowly.”
I smiled kindly at my mother. “I know, mom. And you should have. And...I hate to force this issue, because it's not fair. Fuck, I love you so much, for everything you did for me as a kid, and so yeah, I would love to allow you to have your romantic evening with candles and music as you join the pack."
“But it's not practical, not now,” she replied. “I understand.” She glanced over to Cathy, whose eyes flickered open and closed as she drifted from sleep, to awake, back to sleep.
“She'll heal up when she changes,” I told her. “She's already healing now, but the process is slower in this form.”
“I want revenge on them,” she said.
“All of the ones I met tonight are dead,” I replied. “I hope that makes you feel at least a little better.”
“I want revenge on ALL of them,” my mother said. “They want to take her away from me, and they want to take YOU away from me..” She walked to the end of the bed, where she had a small chest with the spare bedclothes. She reached under them and pulled out a coffee table book. On the cover was a picture of Earth, a photograph taken from space. “I got this when Cathy and I were still in school, after she got bitten. Page 45 has a beautiful shot of the moon. It was her favorite.”
She walked over and laid a tender kiss on Cathy's lips. “Babe..wake up,” she whispered. “I need you to open your eyes for me, just a little.” She held the book open, and as Cathy stirred, I saw her eyes lock onto the pages.
I got instantly hard as I smelled Cathy's scent start to increase. Her legs twitched. Her eyes opened wider. “M..mooon..” she said weakly.
“That's right,” Mom told her. “I need you to change for me, okay? I need you to heal..so don't look away.”
“Moon!” Cathy said, her voice already sounding stronger. The first pops of transformation were starting. Her feet were stretching, and her toenails were growing. Her scent was intensifying by the second. I could feel the pull to transform as well, and I quickly left the room, not wanting to be an active participant.