Mary made breakfast for all three siblings that morning and to Jonathan’s surprise, Joseph was ecstatic about his new body, he said he couldn’t be happier despite the tail and silver tipped cat ears. They were currently sitting in the living room together eating BLTs and drinking coffee. Jonathan was so stressed he’d practically demanded that half his coffee mug be filled with baileys Irish creamer. He was sporting a light alcohol buzz by the time he’d drank half his coffee and was quietly munching on his sandwich. For some reason the bacon tasted awful to him so he picked off the strips and settled for just tomato and lettuce on his sandwich. 

Mary and Joseph were currently talking with each other excitedly and Jonathan rolled his eyes while he listened to their conversation.

“I can’t explain it but I feel so comfortable in this body, my old one just never felt right.” Joseph sighed as he took a sip of his coffee. 

Mary nodded in agreement.

“I feel the same, I feel so strong and confident now, I can’t wait to go back to school and show off my new look!” Mary exclaimed excitedly.

Jonathan felt his ears twitch in irritation and he felt himself growing more agitated.

“NEITHER OF YOU ARE GOING BACK TO SCHOOL!” He screamed, causing the two teens to jump. 

“Don’t be ridiculous John, no one is going to say anything, what’s the worse that could happen?” Mary said with a huff as she glared at her older brother.

Joseph awkwardly shifted in his chair and practically shrunk from being yelled at, he looked like he was on the verge of crying which Jonathan noticed, he sighed and got up to hug his younger brother then walked back to the sofa and sat down beside Mary.

“I’m sorry for yelling.. I’m just worried about our safety… changing into beasts once every full moon was hard enough to hide from people.. but now we have this to deal with too.” He said softly with a deep sigh. He leaned back and closed his eyes. 

“Mary, you asked what could happen? Well what about us being sold to the government or some lab where we get dissected or experimented on? You know how superstitious the townspeople are, they might think we’re demons or something awful and try to kill us. I don’t want that to happen to any of us.” Jonathan said with tears in his eyes as he looked at his two siblings.

Mary sighed and reached over to pull Jonathan into a tight hug.

“You’re right.. I wasn’t thinking about those things. I’m sorry John.” Mary said solemnly. 

Jonathan nodded and wrapped his arms around Mary and returned the hug she’d given him. 

Joseph decided to speak up at this point.

“So what are we going to do? We have to figure something out.. we can’t just hide in this house forever, people will come to inspect if we just disappear.” He said looking back and forth between his two siblings.

Jonathan looked up at the ceilings for several moments and looked to be in deep thought, suddenly he jumped up and had a big smile on his face.

“I’ve got an idea! It might not be the best but.. I think it could work.” He said excitedly.

Mary and Joseph nodded.

“What do you have in mind John?” Mary said.

“We own this land right? Well our parents used to farm up here in the hills, it’s the perfect spot for a few cows and goats and maybe even some sheep, I’ve got enough money saved to buy several animals and hire a manager to sell milk and meat to the town.. that way no one will see us and we can communicate with the manager over the phone.. what do you two think?” Jonathan finished explaining as he looked at his brother and sister. 

They sat there for several moments in silence , thinking about what their eldest brother had proposed.

Mary was the first to speak up.

“It’s not a bad idea.. although it does have quite a few flaws.. what do we do if whoever we hire wants to meet face to face? I can’t imagine anyone wanting to work for someone they’ve never met in person?”

Joseph piped in next.

“I can’t really see myself working on a farm, it sounds hard and exhausting.” Joseph said with a pouty expression.

“I didn’t really think about that.. Mary would have to do most of the hard work.. you and I are about the same build, Joseph, so I doubt we’d be much help.. but we can milk the cows and shear the wool off the sheep? That doesn’t seem too hard.” Jonathan replied.

“Let’s think about it for awhile, like you said John you have money saved up so we have awhile before we need to worry about things like this.” Mary said. 

Suddenly a loud knock from the front door startled the trio of siblings and they all jumped up from their seats. 

Mary quickly pulled a baggy beanie over his head to cover his ears and walked to the door, cracking it open slightly to peek outside. 

“Ahem yes is this the Jacobson residence?” A voice from outside asked Mary.

He nodded and opened the door fully for whoever it was. 

Jonathan and Joseph’s mouths practically fell to the floor at the sight that greeted them. 

A literal one foot tall man that resembled a garden gnome walked inside and bowed to the three siblings.

“I am here on behalf of your surrogate mother. I am to relay a message on her behalf if you will kindly hear my words kind masters.” The small gnome said in a most professional manner. 

The siblings nodded, too shocked to say anything.

“Your mother has felt the presence of your change, she will arrive in three days time. Had you remained only half Lycan this meeting would not be necessary but because of the blood moon you are now full blooded Lycan’s. Your mother, Leto the Goddess of motherhood and wolves has agreed to take full responsibility for the three of you.” The small man said with a bow. 

“Lycan?” All three siblings said in unison. 

The small man nodded before replying.

“Yes, beings that take the form of a beast at will.”

The siblings all had shocked expressions.

“That’s what we are?” Mary asked with a raised eyebrow.

The tiny man nodded and with a bow he continued.

“Your mother will explain more, I am simply a messenger. Your mother will be here in three days. In the meantime stay out of sight of the humans. I cannot stay in this mortal plane longer than necessary so I must take my leave. I bid you a good day, young masters.” 

And with that he vanished in a puff of purple smoke. The trio of siblings simply stared at each other in silence with shocked expressions.