Eternal Love

Chapter 13: Life changes

The next day, Sheila had slept straight through the whole day. It was nearly dinner time when she awoke. She noticed a burning sensation on her right shoulder, she got up and went to the bathroom. She turned around and looked at her shoulder. Five long scratches reached from the middle of her back to her right shoulder.

She sighed in shock; he must have gotten real wild last night. She had a fuzzy memory of the night before. She remembered everything up until they went to the bedroom. She couldn't imagine anything bad happening with Thomas; her love. She cleaned it up and bandaged it, then went downstairs.

When she got down there, she realized the only other person there was the cook. Even the Butler Was gone. She went to the fridge and grabbed herself a apple. She took a bite and watched out the window; hoping to see everyone outside. Still, there was no one.

She decided to go to the servants quarters; maybe the servants knew what was going on. The cook was at her quarters and she told Sheila that John; and the kids went into town hours ago. She informed her they should be back at any moment. Cook hadn't been informed about Thomas possessing John; Sheila wanted to keep it that way. A couple hours later, Thomas came back with the children.

The children looked very refined and were humble and much calmer than Sheila remembered. Thomas insisted the private school was the culprit for changing the children. Sheila suddenly felt a rush of heat shoot through her and she dropped to her knees. Her daughter, Bella came to her side and helped her up. Her son just looked on in shocking bewilderment; he had never seen his mother in this sort of state.

Thomas took her upstairs and explained to her why she was feeling so strange. He had informed her that the scratch on her shoulder was a werewolf scratch. He told her she was changing; and it would make her somewhat superhuman. Sheila didn't like what she was hearing; why had he done this?, she didn't understand. Thomas told her this would be better; she would be immortal. He said if she stayed human; he would eventually bite her or even kill her due to the uninhibited aggression that came with being a werewolf.

Sheila listened and finally understood. Their love could only grow stronger this way. Thomas was right, even with his mind powers, the werewolf instinct would take over. Her becoming a werewolf as well would only be better for them. The great thing was, she could still eat regular food like a human. The only difference was that she would change every full moon; other than that nothing would be different.

Sheila wondered what they would tell the children. Thomas didn't think it was a good idea to tell them anything at all. She was adamant about not lieing to her children; but Thomas reminded her they would not understand at their ages now. She thought about it for awhile; then decided not telling them isn't lieing. She figured Thomas was probably right; it would be better to wait to tell them when they were closer to adult age.

Madam Gabriela came in the afternoon, right after lunch. She informed Sheila that the townsfolk were growing suspicious of John. They were saying things like he wasn't acting like himself and every full moon, he just seemed to disappear. This made them suspicious of John; many were afraid of the old folklore of vampires and werewolves and witches. The townsfolk were a superstitious bunch, madam Gabriela informed her.

Sheila thanked her for the warning and invited her for a afternoon brunch. Thomas insisted he joined them, even if to just protect them. The idea of the townsfolk growing suspicious of him made him a bit more on guard. They sat on the front porch, enjoying a cup of English tea and triscuits. They finished up the enjoyable conversation and tea and triscuits; then madam Gabriela suggested she go into town to see what she could find out.

Sheila and Thomas thought it to be a excellent idea. Madam Gabriela bid them both good evening and went back to town. Sheila and Thomas sat for a while longer on the front porch. They both thought it was such a nice night; why waste it sitting inside. Sheila layed her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Thomas picked her up and took her upstairs. She was heavy, but it was worth it to him. He had never loved someone as much as he did her. This was his second lifetime; he couldn't believe how blessed he truly was. The only thing that could make it better was if she was with child; the first two children were John's and he truly desired to have his own heir with Sheila.

However, the only reason he didn't speak with her about it was because of the town gossip about him. He didn't want her and her children to bare the humiliation the townsfolk could dish out towards him. He knew eventually, the townsfolk would become physical in their torments. Therefore, having a heir with Sheila at the present time wasn't a prudent choice.

He tucked Sheila in and went downstairs. Thomas decided he would use glamour magick to disguise himself. Then he would go into town and find out for himself what the townsfolk were saying. He knew Sheila would sleep through the night. He had put a little belladonna in her tea, so she could finally get a good night rest.

As he had gotten into town, he saw a crowd of the men of the town gathering together in front of the town pub; with torches and swords. He thought the choice of weapons was curious. Being as superstitious as they were, surely they knew those swords wouldn't do much to any beast, much less a werewolf. He went inside the pub and ordered a ale; then sat outside and watched them. He was amused, knowing they weren't going to find anything that night.

Suddenly, they all started mounting their horses and were riding towards Sheila's estate. He wasn't sure if he should follow considering he was the one they were looking for. Then he remembered Sheila was in the middle of her transformation cycle; if they saw her looking half werewolf, it was likely they would kill her. He dropped his ale and mounted his horse; then rode as fast as he could to the estate. He only hoped it would not be too late.

He fortunately got there a few minutes before the townsfolk did. He corralled his horse and ran inside the mansion. He instructed the Butler to gather all the servants into the mansion straight away; while he began barring the doors and windows. He could hear their distant yelling; credit to his super hearing, he could hear up to five miles in either direction. He then went to their room upstairs and barred the window.

He led Sheila downstairs and they all gathered in the kitchen. They all sat quietly listening to the outside of the mansion. Suddenly, yelling and shouting could be heard right outside the front door. Fortunately, the mansion was made entirely of bricks and trying to burn it down wouldn't work for them. The only choice the townsfolk had was to try and get inside.

Thomas sat closest to the foyer, with John's rifle, ready and waiting. Sheila sat in the corner of the dining table with her two children in her arms. Cook stood behind Thomas with her own rifle, ready to back him up. Thomas informed them things could get a bit hairy out there; so stay alert. They waited patiently for the townsfolk to make their move.