Rick sighed. “Let me guess? You've got my family held captive.”
Romulus smirked. “Not exactly.” He picked up the phone on the desk and simply said, “Would you come to the office for a second?”
The door opened up, and Rick saw his wife, Tess. She worked for NASA as well, in administration. She wasn't held captive. The men stood aside for her as she walked in. She paused, however, upon seeing Rick. “... Oh..”
“Babe?” Rick said, his voice uncertain. He didn't want to believe what her reaction was telling him.
Dr. Greene and Romulus smiled at each other. “We'll give the two of you some privacy,” Dr. Greene said, sounding charitable. They walked out, taking the men with them, though Rick heard the click of the door locking a moment later, and had no doubt that there was a guard posted either by the door or nearby.
“Hon..” Rick said, his voice heavy, “Please tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true.” He collapsed into a chair, his stomach in knots.
“Sorry, love..” Tess said sadly, “I..I can't do that.” She brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. A face that Rick had stared at for over 20 years, yet now seemed foreign to him.
“How?” Rick asked, feeling frustrated. “How can you be on board with this?”
Tess sighed, and knelt in front of him, wanting her to meet his eyes. He reluctantly did, still seeing the face of the beautiful woman he'd married almost twenty years earlier. She took one of his hands in hers, and simply said, “I know this is a lot.”
“You're goddamn right it is!” he said. “You're part of an attack on the US. How the hell does this happen??”
“You're mad..and..I understand, babe..” Tess said, standing up again. “But let me explain.” Rick glowered at her, saying nothing. “When Doctor Greene had me cross-referencing genetic assay data, I had questions. And..even more questions when my own information came up on a list as a candidate for Project Lycan.”
“Wait...WHAT?” Rick asked, his stomach knotting even more tightly.
Tess nodded. “Yeah. Apparently somewhere on my family tree, there was a werewolf. And just like Tom, I was carrying the gene in a dormant state.”
“No fucking way,” Rick said, not wanting to believe it.
“That was my reaction. Well..” she said, “Until they put a moon rock in the same room as me, and I couldn't deny what I was. I was the proof of concept for Project Lycan.” She had a half smile on her face, and Rick could tell by the slight tremor in her voice that she was turned on. She smiled at him, playing with the waist of her pencil skirt. “God, that first change..was..amazing. Everyone should feel this way.”
Rick suddenly realized that it wasn't just Tom who'd changed. It was the whole family. “Oh shit, Tess..the..the kids?” They had a set of twins, Bella and Baker, their daughter and son. Both students at the local community college.
Tess nodded. “Yeah..they are too. The gene, even switched off, is a dominant one. It passes on easily, efficiently. The first priority of this condition is propagation of species. Naturally, I brought them here to wake them up a couple days after my condition went active.”
“Jesus...” Rick said, his voice full of disbelief.
Tess arched her back and smiled, stalking around the room a bit. Her body language was starting to get..odd. She had a smirk on her face that he recognized: it was one she often got when she was horny and ready to pounce on him in bed, but now there was an animal edge to it.
“Don't worry; they love it. It's what they were always destined to be,” Tess said. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Any minute now and they'll be changing, letting loose the second prong of the gifting on the city tonight. They won't need a moon rock; they're already awakened.” She turned back to Rick, and added softly. “Like me.”
Rick buried his face in his hands. “So this is it, huh?” he asked. “You're gonna kill me?”
Tess looked horrified. “What? NO!” she said, darting to him and again kneeling, grabbing his hands. Her face was naked with raw emotion. “I could never do that! You're my husband! My love! My..mate.” Her voice softened. “Just a little bite..and you're part of the pack.”
"Tess.." Rick replied softly, "I.."