Her mother looked nothing like the fully transformed figure she had seen on the DVD, but a quick second look at Debra's furred fingers caused Heather to stammer out the only truth available to her, "Mom, you're a werewolf!"
"I thought we'd already established that, honey," her mother said in a familiar voice, yet far huskier than her usual one.
"Umm...mom," Heather sheepishly said, "Do you think you could, you know, change back? This is seriously too weird for me to handle right now.
"Oh, right," her mother said, sounding a little surprised, as though she'd forgotten she'd slightly shifted. Within seconds, the fur retracted along with the claws and the fangs, and her ears had returned to their normal size. Heather once again saw herself with the woman who'd raised her, and felt more comfortable.
"So..." Heather began, searching for the words, a myriad of questions scrambling through her mind, "Everything I saw on the DVD was real?"
Her mother nodded, "Along with anything you might've found on my computer, not that I appreciate you snooping around like that."
"So all those women, they're werewolves too?" Heather asked, knowing she was asking questions with obvious answers, but not really caring. She wanted to make sure she had every detail correct.
"Yes, dear," her mother said.
"All of those women have daughters, and you said that I'm a werewolf too. So are their daughters werewolves as well?" Heather asked, wondering if she'd been wandering around with a werewolf pack in her high school.
"No, darling, aside from Dita," her mother said.
"Wait...what?" Heather asked, suddenly getting concerned. Her best friend was a werewolf??
"Let me explain," her mother said, "She's a werewolf like you are. Shortly after your father left me, carrying you in my womb, I met Lisa at a women's support group. Lisa was pregnant too. We were both less than two months pregnant, and so we bonded quickly...and soon found ourselves rather attracted to each other. What Lisa had failed to mention to me, was that her previous boyfriend had been a werewolf, and had attacked her. One night, we took a moonlit stroll, and she transformed. I didn't run from her; I found her too beautiful for words, and instead offered my body to her. She bit me, making me as she was. Unbeknownst to us, you two girls became infected in the womb, leading you to be born as werewolves."
Heather couldn't have been more shocked, her jaw hanging open. "So let me get this straight; you've been the lover of my best friend's mother for almost 18 years?"
Her mother nodded.
"Wait-if I'm a werewolf, why don't I change during full moons?" Heather asked, almost trying to prove her mother wrong.
"Werewolves don't mature until they're 18. You'll change in a couple of weeks, right along with Dita," her mother said, a strange tone in her voice, almost a rapturous pride.
"I think you're wrong, mom," Heather said, "You might be a werewolf, but I'm not."
"Tell me, sweetie," her mother asked, "Did you watch the whole DVD?"
"Yeah," Heather replied, slightly ashamed.
"And how did you feel, when you watched us all transforming? Did you feel a heat...deep inside yourself?" Her mother asked, smiling slightly.
Heather blushed, "I...I don't remember. It was just freaky.
Her mother smiled broadly, "I think you do remember, and you're just not sure how to admit it. You know, inside your heart what the truth is. You've seen the signs of it for a year or two, and just haven't had the explanation. But now I've given it to you, and you can't accept it."
"I'm not like you!" snapped Heather, "I...I..I'm not a monster!" Heather leapt off the couch, heading for her bedroom, slamming the door behind her, locking it. She buried her head in her pillow, clutching a stuffed bear to her tightly. She couldn't be this...she couldn't be this....could she?