The First Tribrid

Chapter 4: Revelations

Lara:

The rest of the week went by fast. I finished my history assignment, though I had to delay turning it in so Mr. Peterson would actually accept it. I went to my other classes, talked to my mom yet again about getting a part time job to help her out (she refused), and did everything I could around the house.

I got home earlier than normal Friday because my last lecture of the day was canceled, so I scrounged through the kitchen trying to decide what to make mom for dinner as a surprise. I found some chicken in the freezer and set it out while I perused the cupboards. Luckily, I found all the ingredients to one of our favorite meals, chicken enchilada casserole. I did a little happy dance as I got everything out of the cupboards and found the pans I would need along with a spatula. I put the stopper in the sink and filled it with cold water and put the chicken in to thaw while I started prepping the rest of my ingredients. When the meat was thawed, I cut it up and cooked it, then added the rest of my ingredients and put my casserole in the oven.

I put my laptop on the kitchen table and started working on my homework while waiting on dinner to bake. I didn't actually have anything due within the next week, but I liked having it done so I didn't have to worry about it. I finished my English paper and scheduled it to email to my teacher on the due date. While I had it open, I checked my new emails and deleted the spam, read the one about the new school newsletter, and sent a quick reply to my email penpal from Europe. She said she was visiting the states soon and thought maybe we could meet. I pointed out there are quite a few states, so we still may not be close enough to meet as she didn't say where she'dbe visiting. As I was shutting my computer down, I heard my mom's car pull into the driveway. I checked on dinner and pulled it out of the oven, sitting on a potholder on the counter to cool a bit.

"Something smells delicious!" I heard my mom's cheerful voice as she came in the front door. "Did you finally play hooky from class today?" I rolled my eyes while I knew she wouldn't be able to see me.

"No, my professor did!" I shouted back. "I made our favorite!" I got out plates and forks and started dishing up some food.

Mom walked around the corner through the kitchen door. "Smells wonderful! Thank you! How long have you been home?" She hugged me from behind and took her plate to the table I had recently vacated. I finished filling my own plate and followed her.

"About an hour and a half. Made dinner, did homework, read some emails. You didn't miss much."

"That's mostly my fault." My mom sighed and stared down at her plate. "One way or another it'll change on Sunday." See, now this would be an excellent time to c**k an eyebrow! Mom has never been cryptic before, so I'm about 50% intrigued and 50% scared.

Intrigue won out over fear, so I asked, "What are you talking about? Why would my birthday change anything?"

Mom looked up at me and several emotions flitted across her face in rapid succession. I recognized fear, determination, sadness, and defeat before she settled back to a neutral expression. That particular set of emotions made me want to withdraw my question and finish my dinner quietly, but I had a horrible feeling that was no longer an option. The determined set of my mom's shoulders made it seem like she had something to share, and as much as neither of us would like the following conversation, it was now unavoidable. I sighed to myself, trying not to imagine what could possibly be on her mind. It wasn't a hard task, as I had never seen my mom act this way, so I had no frame of reference as for what to expect. I could feel my muscles tensing as I waited for her to begin. The silence in the room was broken only by the sound of my heartbeat in my ears.

"Do you remember what I told you about your father?" my mom asked suddenly.

I jumped slightly, trying to remember the past conversations. We didn't talk about him often. In fact, I could only clearly recall one conversation about him at all. I think I was about 10, and a kid in school had made fun of me for telling my teacher I wasn't going to the daddy-daughter school dance. I hadn't planned on even telling my mom about the dance, because I didn't want to upset her or make her think she wasn't enough for me, but I got home from school crying and mom wouldn't leave me alone until I told her what happened. My mom was always more than enough for me, but I couldn't help asking her why I didn't have a daddy like all the other kids at school. What did she tell me about him...?

"You told me you were in love and couldn't wait to start a family together. You were both excited to find out you were pregnant. He helped you set up my room with my crib. One of you painted it to look like a meadow with wolves on a hill. I assume he did it, cause I don't think I've ever seen you with a paintbrush!" I chuckled. "Then he had to leave. Something happened right before I was born, and he had to go fight someone? I was little when you told me; did you mean he was a soldier?"

Mom nodded. "In a way, yes. Is that all you remember?"

I scoffed. "Well, yeah! We only talked about him once. I was little, so I'm sure I didn't get the whole story. Why are you bringing him up now? I assume he died since he obviously never came back."

"I thought so too." Mom said wistfully with a faraway look in her eyes. "Now, I'm less sure."

"Why not? What do you mean?" I couldn't hold back the excitement in my voice. My father could be alive. That means I could meet him some day!

Mom shook her head slightly, and her eyes focused back on me. She stared for a few seconds. I thought maybe she forgot what we were talking about, and was just about to remind her, when she finally spoke.

"No, that's not important right now." Mom shook her head again, and I'm certain my disappointment could be seen plainly on my face. "What is important right now, is who he was. Or what he was." She scrubbed her face in her hands and sighed. "This is so much harder than I expected it to be. Then again, I never thought I'd have to be the one to tell you. You're never going to believe me again if it doesn't happen." My mom looked so defeated, I wanted to give her some sort of reassurance, but I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Of course I'll believe you mom. I know you would never lie to me." That seemed to have the opposite effect as I intended. Mom covered her face with her hands and then ran them both up through her hair.

"That's worse! You'll think I'm crazy! After the day I had, I kinda feel crazy." She took a deep face and pushed away her still half full dinner plate. "It doesn't matter now, you need to know this. Your dad wasn't human Lara. He was a werewolf."

I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. In my head, all the cinematic werewolves I'd ever seen flashed before my eyes. I couldn't help wondering if her werewolf was more of the old-school traditional kind that stands on two feet, or the newer version that was basically a muscle bound man who turned into an actual wolf. Then I realized I was asking what kind of fictional creature my mom was trying to say my father was, and I laughed harder. I didn't think my mom was crazy, but she definitely got me good! That was not the direction I thought the conversation was going when she started talking about my dad. Eventually, I got myself under control and wiped away the tears I hadn't realized were streaming down my cheeks. I looked across the table at my mom. Her face was filled with compassion and understanding. She nodded at me.

"That's how I reacted at first too. I thought Marcus was pulling my leg." She chuckled to herself at the memory. "But then he showed me in a way I couldn't deny it without denying my own eyes. Seeing is believing after all." Mom sighed. She actually believed he was a werewolf! I could see that now, and felt bad for laughing so hard. "That's why we always agreed he would tell you the truth when the time came. He could show you and you would believe him. I don't have any kind of proof for you. All I have are my memories of the amazing things he showed me from his world. He could turn into the most beautiful, gigantic brown wolf. It wasn't like in the movies where they relied on the phases of the moon; he could turn whenever he wanted. Apparently that was the truth of werewolves that got lost in Hollywood. Being a wolf wasn't a curse so much as a gift, and the full moon made them so much stronger than they normally were. He couldn't take me to his pack. They would never have accepted a mere human. The wars made them hate and fear humans. If they didn't kill me on sight, the other wolves would've chased me away for trying to take their alpha. Mates don't matter so much as they'd like everyone to believe."

"Mates?" I interrupted. "Why do I get the feeling you don't mean that like just a friend?"

Mom laughed. "Mates are so much than friends, though that is part of it. Think of it like an abbreviation for soulmates. They're your other half; your perfect compliment; sometimes your exact opposite; always your best friend; and there's a chemical attraction between you that feels like nothing else. Every touch is an electric current powering you up and making you stronger. But then the opposite can also be true: too much time apart can make you feel weaker. I'm not explaining this very well, but if you ever find you have one, you'll understand what I mean." If that wasn't described very well, I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it if it happened to me.

"So, you and dad, Marcus, were mates?"

"Yes we were, but it was more complicated than that. You see, normally when a wolf finds their mate, it's a sacred bond they can't ignore. When an alpha finds their mate, she's supposed to become the luna, or female leader, of the pack. Marcus' wolves never would've accepted any human mates into their pack, least of all for their alpha. They couldn't let a human help lead their pack. You see, the wars I mentioned were between human hunters and the supernatural creatures they believe shouldn't exist. As far as I know, the wars are still being fought. The point though, is that it made the supernatural world turn their backs on all humans. Hunters blend so well into normal civilizations, there's no real way to tell them apart until they attack, so their distrust is completely understandable, but it did keep me and Marcus apart. He came when he could, and for those brief periods of time we could pretend we were alone in the world and we could be happy. When he had to leave again, my world would come crashing back down to earth and I'd have to wait until the next moment of happiness." I got so engrossed in the story, I didn't realize my mom was watching my face until that moment. "Then I found out I was pregnant." Here's where I come into the story, and dad presumably leaves. "Marcus and I were overjoyed! I couldn't wait to be a mother, and he became so much more attentive when he visited. He came more often for a while too, though I could tell he was under a lot of strain with his pack. He had hoped he could show his pack that not all humans were bad, and planned to show you as proof that human mates were still possible and fruitful. He hoped that when you were born, he would be able to bring us to his pack and protect us there. Unfortunately, about a week before you were born, there was an attack on his people. They all looked to him, as their leader, for retaliation and retribution. He warned me that he wouldn't be able to return for a while, but promised he would come back for us." My mom was silent for so long, I thought she had finished the story. I sat at the table processing all the information when I heard her take a deep breath and sigh sadly. "I never saw him again." She said softly and with a tone of regret.

My heart went out to my mom. I always knew she loved my father, even though she wouldn't talk about him. I knew something had to have happened to him when she told me so long ago that he had to leave to fight. She was always so strong, taking care of me my whole life, I never thought she was still pining away on the inside for the dad I had never gotten to meet. I didn't know she was still hoping for her lost love to return, though it was obvious now that she never lost that hope.

I even understood now, why she never talked about him to me. I would've either stopped believing in my father as I grew and stopped believing in magic, or I would've gone looking for that magical world my 10 year old brain would've believed was out there. I would've wanted to believe I belonged there. I would've wanted fairy tale friends. I would've wanted to be a magical creature myself. Wait, was that what my mom was trying to tell me?

"Am I a werewolf too?" I asked incredulously and a bit louder than I intended to in the quiet house.

"I honestly don't know yet Lara." She reached for my hands from across the table and held them both between hers. "That's the part I haven't told you yet. The part about human/wolf hybrids. The part I have to tell you before your birthday comes and the real reason you can't have a party this year." She paused and took a deep breath. "Marcus only explained all this to me once, but if I remember it all correctly, you may or may not get a wolf on your 20th birthday, and you may or may not shift for the first time at your exact time of birth on that day."

"Do you not know for sure? What does 'get a wolf' mean?" I couldn't keep the panic out of my voice, and I didn't even want to think about shifting.

No, Marcus wasn't sure if you'd get a wolf or not, being half human. If you do get one, she should start talking to you before your first shift, but it will or won't all happen on your 20th birthday. That's the one thing he was absolutely sure of. All human/wolf hybrids get their wolves on that specific birthday, or they don't get one at all."

"So, I'll either have a voice in my head talking to me in less than 2 days, or everything will go back to normal?"

"That's the basic idea to begin with. As soon as you hear that voice, assuming of course that you will, you have to tell me so I can get you somewhere safe. That's why I wanted to spend Sunday with you, so I can get you out of town if it does come. I know a place nearby we can go and theyll take you in. You'll be safe and you'll learn more and see more and do more than you ever would've thought possible."

"Wait, why are you just saying I'll be safe and they'll take me in? What about you? Can't we go together?" I started panicking and hyperventilating over something that may never happen. I had to close my eyes and concentrate on my breathing to get calmed back down. When I opened my eyes again, my mom's were filled with sadness.

"They don't accept humans anywhere that would be safe for you Lara. And if you get a wolf, you wouldn't be safe in town anymore. Hunters could be anywhere, and your safety is so much more important than you realize." She got that weird faraway look on her face again, so I knew she wasn't really in the present anymore. I didn't think I could handle anymore weird news, so I didn't ask what she meant. I yawned. I don't think I was ever so tired before in my life. That whole conversation was draining. Mom looked at me with sympathy in her eyes and worry etched across her face.

"Go ahead and go to bed my sweet Lauren. You've had a long day. I'll clean up dinner. When are your friends coming tomorrow?"

"Ummm... Around noon I think." How am I going to be able to be in the same room as them now? I could tell them, but they'd think I was crazy. If I don't, Heather will know I'm hiding something. Maybe I should just cancel it and sleep all day. I begrudgingly got myself out of the dining chair and went around the table to hug my mom. Who knows how many times I'll be able to do that again? She kissed my forehead and told me goodnight. I mumbled something unintelligible and trudged upstairs to my room. I kicked my shoes off, closed the door, and face planted on my bed, not even bothering to change my clothes. It really had been a long day.