By the time the afternoon rolled around, Tad was waiting downstairs in the living room for Samantha Twist to arrive. He was trying his best to contain his excitement to see his old friend again and finally tell him everything.
At around noon, Tad noticed a car through the window. Standing up from the couch, he walked over to the window and watched as the car pulled into the driveway and parked before the driver’s seat door opened and Samantha Twist stepped out. She seemed like she was about to go up to the front door when she noticed Tad watching her from the window. She smiled politely and waved to him.
Tad stepped away from the window and walked towards the front door. As he put on his shoes, Tad yelled to his mom.
“Mrs. Twist is here! I’m going now!”
There was a brief pause before he heard Jen yell back “Alright! Love you!”
Tad opened the front door and closed it behind him as he stepped outside.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Twist,” Tad said with a smile.
“Good afternoon Tad,” she responded. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Tad walked over to Samantha’s car and opened the passenger door, getting in and putting his seatbelt on before closing the door.
“Your friend and his family didn’t move too far from here,” Samantha said as she got into the car. “They’re about 3 blocks away. I would say that we should walk, but I have to get back to Town Hall after this.”
“That’s fine,” Tad said as Samantha began to back out of the driveway. “At least I know that they aren’t far from here.”
Samantha pulled out of the driveway and began to drive down the road. The drive was relatively short, like Samantha said it would be. It basically amounted to taking a left turn at an intersection before taking a right turn shortly after.
As they turned on to the street, Tad could now clearly see a moving truck parked in front of a cream colored two story house. A few movers were taking boxes out of the truck and moving them into the house while a man who looked to be in his early-forties was supervising them. The man had short brown hair and a 5 o’clock shadow. He wore a white collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants.
Next to him was a woman who also appeared to be in her early-forties. Unlike the man standing next to her, she had long blonde hair that went down past her shoulders. She appeared to be instructing the movers on where they should put the boxes.
A girl with short brown hair then came running out of the house with a smile on her face, and she began to speak with the man and woman. The girl didn’t look much older than 14.
As Samantha parked next to the curb, Tad watched as a boy his age came out of the house. He had messy blonde hair and was fairly fit. He proceeded to say something to the man and woman before he noticed Tad getting out of the car that had just parked.
“Well look who it is!” The blonde said with a smile on his face. Tad jogged over to him, and the two boys pulled each other into a friendly embrace. “Couldn’t wait to see us, huh?”
“There’s no way I could wait!” Tad said. “I can’t believe you guys are actually here!” Tad finished his hug with Connor before proceeding to give Ms. Ross a friendly hug.
“Great to see you again Mrs. Ross,” he said before shaking Mr. Ross’ hand firmly. “You two Mr. Ross.”
“And it’s great to see you again Tad,” Mrs. Ross said.
“Connor wouldn’t shut up about you when he found out we were going to live in the same neighborhood again,” Mr. Ross said. He then noticed Samantha walking towards them from the car. “And who is this with you?”
“Oh, I’ll let her introduce herself,” Tad said.
“Thank you Tad,” Samantha said. “My name is Samantha Twist. I’m the Town Chancellor here in Moon Lake.”
“It’s nice to meet you Samantha,” Mrs. Ross said, shaking Mrs. Twist’s hand. “My name is Diana. This is my husband, Kent.” Kent proceeded to shake Samantha’s hand when his wife was finished. “And these are our children: Connor and Ava.”
Connor and Ava proceeded to shake hands with Mrs. Twist.
“It’s lovely to meet you all,” Samantha said. “Now, there’s something that I must discuss with your family in regards to moving into Moon Lake. May we discuss this inside?”
“Oh of course,” Kent said before turning to the movers and saying, “Take a break guys. We need to discuss something in private.”
Kent, Diana, and Ava proceeded to lead Samantha inside, while Connor stayed back to walk in with Tad.
“What’s this all about?” Connor whispered to Tad.
“You’ll see…” Tad said, winking at Connor.
The family walked into the living room. Thankfully, the movers had already gotten the couch set up so the Rosses could sit down somewhere.
“You might want to have a seat for this,” Samantha said.
The Rosses gave each other an uneasy look before they all sat down on the couch with Tad and Samantha standing in front of them.
Samantha proceeded to let out a sigh before saying, “This never gets any easier.”
“What doesn’t get easier Mrs. Twist?” Ava asked.
“Well, Moon Lake isn’t a normal town,” Samantha began. “The town was founded many years ago with a single purpose in mind: to be a sanctuary for Weres.”
“Weres?” Diana asked. “What do you mean?”
“Werecreatures,” Tad chimed in. “You know, like werewolves and werecats.”
“You’re joking,” Kent said, shaking his head. “Those things don’t exist! They’re just creatures from fairy tales.”
Tad turned to Samantha. “Should I show them?”
Samantha nodded, and Tad proceeded to hold out his right arm. He couldn’t help but grin at how the family’s faces changed from ones of disbelief to ones of shock and awe as black fur began to cover Tad’s right arm.
“Wh-What the hell?!” Diana exclaimed. “What did these people do to you Tad?!”
“Nothing Mrs. Ross!” Tad said quickly. “This is just how I was born.”
“So...you were born a Were?” Connor asked. “Dude...that’s awesome! What kind?”
“Werewolf,” Tad said proudly. “And my mom is a werecat.”
“Can I feel your fur Tad?” Ava asked. Tad nodded and held out his arm for her to see. The girl stared at his arm in awe before gently beginning to feel the black fur.
“It’s so soft…” she said quietly, pulling her hand away after a minute. Tad then proceeded to change his arm back to normal.
“Alright...you’re Weres…” Kent said slowly. “And this town...is full of them…”
“So...why are you telling us?” Diana asked.
“Because of a rule made by the town elders,” Samantha said. “When a family of normals move in, they’re told about the town’s secret. However, the rule also states that at least one member of the family must become the ‘Family Were’.”
“So you’re saying that one of us needs to become a Were…” Kent repeated.
“Yes, that’s the rules. I didn’t make them, and I can’t change them. I’m only the messenger here.”
“Well...what would be our best course of action?” Diana asked.
“Personally, I think that you should discuss it amongst yourselves,” Samantha said. “However, I think there’s already one of you that seems eager to become the Family Were.”
Kent and Diana both exchanged a nervous look before looking at Connor, who seemed to be eating up every word that Samantha was saying.
“It’s perfectly safe, Mr. and Mrs. Ross,” Tad said, trying to help reassure them. “And besides, being a Were has a bunch of benefits! For one, you have an extended lifespan. There are some Weres in this town that have been alive since the Civil War!”
Connor turned to his parents with a smile. “Come on Mom and Dad, let me be the Family Were! This will be such an awesome experience for me! I’ll get to be half animal! Half of the kids here probably are as well, right Tad?”
“They are,” Tad confirmed.
“See?! I get to be like all the other kids my age,” Connor said. “And hey, if I wanted to be a werewolf, Tad could transform me!”
Tad shifted uneasily, as Connor obviously didn’t know how people were transformed. “Yeah...I’d do that,” he said, trying to sound normal.
Kent and Diana exchanged a look again before looking back at Connor.
“Are you sure?” Diana asked.
“Yes, I’m 100% sure.”
“Well...I don’t see a problem with it,” Kent said. “But be sure to discuss this stuff with Tad first!”
Connor’s eyes lit up, and he proceeded to hug his parents. “Thank you! I promise you won’t regret your choice!” He then turned to Tad and said “You’ve gotta teach me about this stuff while we unpack the stuff in my room!”
“Sure thing!” Tad said. “Lead the way!”
The two teens proceeded to run upstairs, laughing and talking all the way until they were out of earshot.
“I’m going to go and unpack my room too,” Ava said, running upstairs.
Once all the kids were out of the room, the adults sat there in silence for a few minutes
“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Diana asked Samantha, breaking the silence.
“I’m positive,” Samantha said. “You all will enjoy it here. And if you feel so inclined, all of you are able to become Weres. Now, while they have their own discussion, how about I inform you about what being a Were entails?”