"...But dealing with that can wait for another time," Alice's mother gave a soft and knowing smile, "I'm sure we can think of some ideas on how to help your father."
Alice only looked over to her mother for the moment. There was plenty for her to be surprised over concerning the evening's events. Her boyfriend and his whole family were werewolves, and the condition had been in the Harris family for generations, but they had only just transformed under the effect of the night's blood moon. Now, they didn't seem to be like the monsters from the movies or folklore, which was good and Alice didn't want to admit this to her mother, but the fact that Hunter was a werewolf made her want him even more. However, she could wait, as she didn't want to cause any trouble. She also felt that Hunter would be patient enough to wait as well. The thing that had been really surprising was her mother's revelation that she was an Oracle and could see the future. That was actually the biggest surprise she'd had of the night.
"Why didn't you tell me or dad you were an Oracle before?" Alice asked.
"Would that have changed how you thought of me?" her mother asked.
"Well... no... you are my mom," Alice replied, "And I do find it interesting. Which is why I would have thought you'd want to share it with me..."
Her mother looked down for a moment and then gave a sigh, "Well... I did want to... but an Oracle's magic is a naturally occurring magic. They're born with a certain level of magic that enables them to see the future. However, because it is a naturally occurring form of magic, if an Oracle marries a human with less magic than the Oracle, their offspring will have less magic than the Oracle. And I'm at just barely above the level at which an Oracle could get visions of the future... It's why my visions are patchy and not completely clear. I had hoped you might have enough magic to see the future as well... but you never did, and I felt telling you would simply be silly..."
There was a silence for a moment before her mother finished.
"And I love you regardless of what you can or cannot do, just as I love your father, regardless of his inability to cook," her mother finished, "You don't need to be an Oracle for me to love you."
Alice gave a slight smile as her mother had answered an unasked question with that answer. That did make her feel better, though she didn't want to say it.
"What about the Harris family?" Alice asked, "they told me that all the females in their little pack were bitten or clawed yet all the males were born with the gene..."
"I'd think they meant anyone descended from the original lycanthropic bloodline," her mother clarified, "a man or woman could be born a werewolf... but as far as I know, the magic that created lycanthropy was originally considered a curse as it was forced on humanity... and even if it wasn't a curse, it is still an outside magic not naturally generated. In that sense it is unnatural magic and thus doesn't follow the standard rules of genetics. Thus why Hunter inherited lycanthropy from his father, apparently, and May didn't become a werewolf until she was bitten or clawed... though I'm not good enough with magic to be able to fully comment on the situation."
Alice could only blink. The earlier revelation had given her the idea that her mother might know more and could be of help to the Harris family with the monster hunters in the future, if they did come around. But, her mother's answers weren't complete and didn't sound fully sure. That'd make it quite possible that her mother was right that her levels of magic weren't as high as what one would think.
"And anyway, all of this... be it your father's hurt feelings, your heritage or your future... is not why I came in to talk," Her mother than said with a smile. "I mostly came to cheer you up and see how things went on your date tonight..."
"Mooooooooooom!" Alice gave a surprised groan, feeling herself blush.
"What? I can't ask how things went?" her mother teased.
"I told you things went fine," Alice answered.
"When you thought I didn't know about their condition or future," her mother answered, "so how did it go?"
"Well, it did go well," Alice answered, "They had steaks, and apparently only had steaks prepared. Hunter's grandpa and Uncle knew that they were going change beforehand and expected for the family to change. So, we had to wait a few minutes for them to bake a potato for me in the microwave. They're werewolves, but they aren't mindless monsters like in the movies."
Her mother smiled, "and I trust you had a good time?"
"Yes," Alice nodded, "I learned about their family history and how lycanthropy got into their family line and why it went dormant..."
"See anything you like?" her mother asked.
"MOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Alice blushed again, her voice getting more shrill in surprise at the tease her mother had made on her.
"What? They are naked in wolf form, being too big and muscular for clothing," her mother snickered, "among other things..."
Alice could only blush as she couldn't believe she was having this conversation with her mother. It took her a moment to realize that while her mother's visions may not be complete, the ones she'd showed Alice were rather clear. That she would get her "happy ever after" with Hunter and would become a werewolf in the future. Her mother may be teasing her, but it wasn't quite something she could easily hide.
"He does look rather buff in his wolf form, mother," Alice finally said with a blush, "and every bit as noble as he was before."
Alice felt her mother give her a hug and felt comforted by it.
"I'm glad you had a good time," her mother assured her, "and don't worry. Whatever may come... your future will be happy."