Becoming the Luna

"Where's Virgil and Dale?" I ask politely, pretending to not see their stunned expressions, Apple meows from the floor beside me and I don't hesitate to lean down and pick her up.

Mae and Shana are sitting close together like Mae is offering her comfort and I smile inwardly at that, maybe I would act up for a couple days until it seemed like they had learned their lesson then I would let them know that - hey! I'm not mad anymore but lie to me again and I'm going to choke slam each of you to the fucking floor - I definitely couldn't do that but it was the thought that counted, right?

"Um, t-they were called by t-the Alpha, that's Virgil's dad for a meeting I think." Shana replies shakily and my eyes widen fractionally, it was the truth - it's a little weird but also refreshing to be told the truth.

"Oh." I murmur quietly, musing over her words. 

That's what Virgil's dad was huh? Wait that meant that a lot of Werewolves lived in Pine Creek?

That is mind-blowing, they didn't seem as dangerous as the articles made them out to be.

"Hay… B-Baby?" My mom stutters softly, leaning forward earnestly and I turn my head in her direction, expectant.

"Are you okay?" She whispers in a choked voice, her eyes glassy like she had cried a bit and would soon begin again.

I nod in affirmation. "Of course." I reassure her coolly, biting back the sarcastic reply I wanted to add to that, they looked miserable enough already, it would be cruel of me to rub it in.

"Are you one of them too?" I eagerly ask Shana, unable to hide my curiosity even though I try hard to.

She gulps, looking slightly terrified. "Yeah." 

"A Werewolf?" I ask again, managing to keep my excitement under wraps, I needed to act serious enough anyway or they might take me for granted not that they did but I wanted to feel like I had the upper hand for once.

They all wince at this but Shana nods. "Pretty much." She shrugs.

I blink, stunned - maybe I had been expecting her to deny it, to tell me that I was just hallucinating and Werewolves didn't exist but I guess not, the truth wasn't a soft cushion after all, it always hit hard.

"Even Mae?" I can't help asking, I didn't see the need to ask my mom because there's no way I could be a Werewolf too right? I mean, then it wouldn't make sense that she didn't tell me.

"Erm…" Mae chuckles nervously, rubbing her arm. "I'm more part Werewolf, part witch."  She says with a nervous smile. "My dad's a Were and my mom's a witch."

I flinch back in shock. "What! Is that even possible?" 

She shrugs again and I just stare at her with my mouth parted in surprise. "It's not common, because Werewolves like to keep to themselves but it happens often enough."

I whip my head around to my mom who doesn't even look surprised at this bit of information, she just looks anxiously worried. "How long have you known, mom?" I ask curiously without any hint of anger or spite in my voice and she must have heard it too because her shoulders sag in a silent sigh.

"A pretty long time." She says nervously, playing with her fingers. "Your Aunt Candy is one."

I reel back from the shock, my head spinning slightly. "Oh? Wow. Just… wow." I mutter blankly, holding my head in my hands.

"I know this is a lot to take in but we kept it secret just to…"

"Protect me, I know." I interrupt my mom's earnest excuses, she sobers again at my cool words and I put myself together again.

I understood the whys of it but that didn't dampen the fact that they had been lying to me.

Oh wow! Even my Aunt Candy??!!!

Who else was one then? It's so ridiculous that I hadn't even caught on to the popular secret.

"Does Grammy know?" I ask, it seemed it would be just me that didn't know.

"Yes, my mom knows."

"Oh wow." I whisper in a blank voice, holding Apple closer.

"Are there other supernatural creatures, like I don't know… Vampires? If Werewolves and Witches exist then they probably should too right?"

Shana shakes her head, "They're just myths."

I blink in shock at her reply, bold of her to say that. "Really?"

"Yes, Vampires aren't real." Mae replies to me this time. "Werewolves have always existed long as humans and they easily stay hidden within the human population while Witches are more or less humans born with unnatural power that runs in the bloodline."

"So can someone become a Werewolf?"

"Nope, you have to be born one."

I nod, scratching off the possibility of getting bitten or scratched, that was a good thing or else the rest of the world would have already found out about them and knowing humans, they would have all been killed off.

I get up quietly to go make myself a sandwich while trying to process all the answers I've been getting, it makes me happy to know the truth even if the truth is so scary.

That meant Virgil's older brother's were Werewolves too, no wonder Leon could bravely stroll back into the woods even though there was still a wolf in there.

How many of them were in Pine Creek then? There had to be a lot if there was an Alpha, an Alpha was the head of a pack, right? 

Turns out that my little research did come in handy.

"How many are in Pine Creek? Are there a lot of you guys?" I ask when I get back, carefully settling down again.

"Um, don't freak out." Shana says quickly. "But currently, you and your mom are the last humans left in Pine Creek, the rest moved out slowly over the years."

I freeze in shock, choking on the bite of sandwich in my wait. "Wait, what??" I cough, whipping my head around to look at my mom who gives me a little wave. "Everyone else is a Werewolf?" I demand in disbelief.

"Yeah." Shana answers.

I take a while to let this sink in, it was just stunning but it would make sense because Werewolves apparently liked nature which explains why the forest is still intact even though a lot of companies wanted to invest in the town as it was easily accessible from the city.

Something clicks into place in my head and I snap out of my thinking to ask a question. "Wait, the wolves in the woods are Werewolves too right?" I ask, biting into my sandwich.

They had been huge, okay, Virgil was bigger but that wolf had been unnaturally large, a normal wolf couldn't be that size."

"Yes." Shana says gravely, her hand tightening over Mae's own. "They are, although they're different, they're what we call Rogue Werewolves."