Heather immediately realized she had made a mistake. Her loud noises were sure to attract attention from the faculty member monitoring the halls this period. Heather quickly pulled up her pants and tried to compose herself before venturing into the hall and heading to Ms. Cooper’s classroom.
She was not quick enough though, as the door to the bathroom swung open.
“Okay, who’s in here? And let me see your hall pass,” the person entering the room said before Heather could even identify them
Oh no. It was the bullheaded vice-principal Randi Perini who was at least as strict as her namesake in “One L”. To her credit though, she was also very fair. She crossed her fingers as she opened the door and greeted her.
“Heather Peters?” He was confused; Heather was hardly ever a problem. “Is there a reason you’re here without a pass?”
Heather shrugged her shoulders in a guileless admission. “Not really ma’am. I was coming back from lunch with Dita Deeta Singer and started feeling strange. I just came in here to recover a bit.”
Bullshit, Perini thought to herself. “I see, Miss Peters. I heard a pretty loud moaning coming from here, and I’m pretty sure that the plumbing is brand new. Why is half your blouse untucked?”
Heather took the bait. “Miss Perini, I wasn’t feeling well and went to the bathroom, is there something else you are imply…ing.” Heather swooned slightly, supporting her weight on the sinks.
“Heather!?” Miss Perini asked with concern, gently pulling her upright. Heather gasped for breath. “I’m okay, I’m okay, sorry.”
“I’m sorry too, Miss Peters. We had a boy, er…pleasuring himself in the stall a few weeks ago; made a mess of it I’m afraid. Suspended him for two weeks. Do you need somebody to pick you up? Can you make it through class all right?”
Heather nodded. She really DID want to go to class. “I can make it through the rest of the day, but I do need to get somebody to pick me up at three. May I use the phone?”
“Let me write you out pass to get back to class and use the payphone in the hall. Need any change?” Embarrassed, Randi was trying to be as helpful as possible. “No thank you, I have some quarters I was looking to get rid of anyway.”
“Damn I’m good,” said Heather to herself as Miss. Perini walked away. She walked to the phone.
“What do you want from me?” Wendy asked.
“I told you,” Lisa said with a smile. “I’m impressed by you. I’m impressed by your abilities. You’re quick, intelligent and cunning. Why, even getting yourself into your present, rather compromised position deserves some accolades. Anybody else would probably still be sitting in that loveseat trembling in fear.”
Lisa paused to let her praise sink in. “I want you to join us, Wendy. Join my pack. Become a werewolf. Pledge your allegiance to the moon, to your pack sisters and to me.
“You’d be quite a valuable asset to our group based on your abilities alone. But you bring something far more useful to the table. Your position in the government would be invaluable to me. I have spies, yes, but they are only friends or friends of friends.
“If I were to have one of my own, a sister, in your position, there’s no telling how far we’d be able to go!”
“And if I refuse?” Wendy asked.
“Well,” Lisa said, picking at her nail with an exaggerated frown on her face, “I’ve had lunch already, but my girls here haven’t eaten yet…”
Lisa looked at Wendy with searing, luminescent yellow eyes, “… and I hate to be a bad hostess and not offer them a snack.”
Wendy’s heard skipped a beat as she heard the four women surrounding her growl softly.
“So this is it if I refuse,” Wendy asked. “You’ll just murder me in cold blood and eat me like cannibals?”
“Good heavens, Wendy! Of course not! Solange, what is the legal definition of murder in the United States and Indiana?”
“Well, I don’t think we need to go into the particulars Lisa, but murder is defined essentially as the knowing or intentional unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.”
“Merci, Solange. I don’t think you understand what you are dealing with, my dear Wendy. I have NO intention of harming you, but my power is immense even over people who are not part of the pack…as little Heather has probably discovered by now.”
Wendy swallowed hard, determined. “Don’t you think my disappearance into YOUR car, and YOUR house would arouse more than a little suspicion? Don’t you realize that you are already facing a federal felony charge of threatening a federal officer? What are you going to do, turn me into a deer or something and eat me thinking a murder charge wouldn’t stick?” Wendy glanced around the room. “Right now it’s just Lisa in trouble, the rest of you are in the clear,” she lied slightly. “Do you really want to throw your lives away on account of her?”
Solange shrugged. “We would just testify that Lisa invited you into her home, and then she invited you to join our group. It was in fact YOU, Miss Patel that became aggressive. You brandished what can only be considered a deadly weapon; in fact it was designed with the intent to kill us, wasn’t it? And what is more, neither I nor anyone else heard you identify yourself as a law enforcement officer. Lisa, did Wendy show you any kind of badge?”
Lisa shook her head in mock sadness.
With a slightly clawed hand, Solange displayed her Assistant District Attorney’s badge. “I’m afraaaid…the law is on our side, Wendy. But I like a good argument. What is the content of the threat that Lisa allegedly made against you? “
“She said you would eat me!!”
“No…no she said that she would be a bad hostess if she didn’t offer us a snack. She also said that she has no intention of harming you, isn’t that true?"
Wendy’s shoulders slumped. She nodded. Damn, why did the FBI stop requiring law school of all its agents?
“No hard feelings Wendy, but you can put the silver nitrate down, your fingernail is turning blue.”
She did so. Wendy thought she might as well try to get a false imprisonment or kidnapping charge out of this. “Can I go then?”
Lisa oozed charm. “Of course you can go Wendy…but I’ll need you at work in an hour. We have a meeting with some advertising executives at three this afternoon, and I need your expertise. If you aren’t there, well, I would be forced to terminate your employment. On the other hand, if you’d like to stick around, we can answer anything you’d like to know. The promotion is still open to you.”
Wendy knew there was no way that she could get back within an hour, and the thought of asking a group of werewolves whatever she wanted could be a huge help. “Okay then,” she said quietly. “Let’s talk.”
The five werewolves and one badly-shaken junior FBI agent made it down to the basement that doubled as a recreation room. “Let me say again, Wendy, you are in no danger from us, “Lisa said.
The phone rang.
“Hmm, hold on girls, let me see who this is. Hello?”
“Mrs. Singer, its Heather. What did you DO to me??”
Lisa smiled. “Hey girls, it’s Heather Peters!!” This announcement was followed by a chorus of four “Hi Heathers.” Lisa returned to the phone. “Hi sweetie, how badly did I get you?”
“I have FUR between my legs and under my arms,” Heather whispered harshly.
“Oh…oh I really am sorry honey. Your little body must be more sensitive than I thought. Heather, I can release my control of you so it reverts back to human hair, but that’s all I can do.”
“I want it gone!!!”
“Heather...Heather calm down. It was going to happen to you anyway. Your body is just preparing itself by creating more hormones, and that will give you more hair. Your mom and I will explain more tomorrow evening. I just accelerated the process a bit, but I didn’t think it would become actual fur so easily. Even in human form we have lots of hair.” Lisa sighed slightly, relaxing,
Again Heather felt a pleasant tickling between her legs and under her arms. She felt her armpits and discovered that the fur had been replaced with crisp, curly hair.
“Ok…can I shave it off?”
“You can, Heather, but I suggest you leave most of it alone. In our case it really DOES grow back much thicker if it’s removed, and you’ll find that you’ll soon need lots of natural protection down there.” Lisa lowered her voice to a whisper, “and the pheromones there will make you VERY attractive to men.”
Heather whimpered. “okay…uh, bye Lisa.”
“Bye Heather, I love you!”
Biting her lip, Heather returned to class.
“What did Heather want,” asked Wendy.
“Heather is a werewolf too, but she hasn’t transformed yet. Her eighteenth birthday is this Sunday, and Dita has hers on the twenty-eighth. They’ll change on the October moon. Heather was calling about one of the natural side effects.”
“So they know what will happen?”
“Dita hasn’t been told directly, but with Heather telling her about the video she found and being so serious in telling her, my Deet can be pretty perceptive.” Lisa spoke with obvious pride. “As for Heather, she knows that we are all werewolves, but she is refusing to believe that she and Dita are.” Lisa shrugged. “I can’t say I blame her.”
“Mind if I undress?” Ebony asked. “All that legal stuff stressed me out.”
“Mmmmmm…me too,” offered Solange.
“I think we’ll all get undressed,” said Lisa. “Werewolves have few inhibitions.”
Werewolves also wanted their pheromones to influence Wendy.