The days turned into weeks and their training continued. It was hard, most days. The physical training would leave each of them so exhausted that they could barely move by the time they got home in the afternoon or evening, depending on how far Pedro or Clarissa decided to push them. The theory/weapon days weren’t much better, usually. Roxy struggled to come up with an excuse as to why she was coming home with gun oil covering her hands every few days, or even for where she’d been all day. It was worth it, though. Roxy could already feel herself getting stronger, and she knew how to take apart and maintain at least ten different pistols, as well as a few rifles. She knew it wouldn’t be long until she could rival Sam in a contest of muscle definition, and the idea filled her with pride.

Leif and Brooke started going out officially, and while Roxy was happy for her best friend, she was struggling to decide how she felt about the spectacled girl. Every time they all hung out together - barring Sam, due to her condition - Brooke would act really strange towards her. She would constantly ask her seemingly meaningless questions and Roxy swore that she kept catching Brooke staring at her out of the corner of her eye. That wasn’t even mentioning the way she’d practically sighed in relief when she heard that Sam wouldn’t be joining them. It just didn’t sit right with Roxy. Brooke was acting like a pre-teen with a crush who didn’t know what to do about it, despite the fact that she was supposed to be dating Leif. She would keep up the benefit of the doubt for now, but part of her was worried that her best friend was being duped, and if that was the case? Well, Roxy wouldn’t just sit by and let her friend’s heart be played with like that, that was for sure.

Ross’s different brand of training was going well, apparently. He was still joining them on their morning runs, and he was still doing a little bit of physical work in an attempt to keep up with his friends, but most of what he was doing seemed to be training his brain more than his body. Pedro would give him old, de-classified case files from his detective work, occasionally with some key pieces removed, and Ross would have to try and solve the case. He’d also been given maps of hunter outposts that Pedro had raided in the past, as well as security details, and he’d have to figure out the best course of action for a raid. Honestly, it sounded like he was having a great time. Roxy was happy for him. He also somehow managed to get his driver’s licence in between all of the classes, so that was exciting.

Through it all, Sam’s condition seemed to be getting worse, which brought no small amount of stress upon Roxy. Her random transformations became more and more frequent, to the point where it became dangerous for her to leave the house, even when she’d already had an episode that day. She was hungry all the time, despite eating at least three times more than she usually would. She could only participate in the training if she was driven directly to the gym and back, rushing inside before she could spend any significant amount of time in the open. She’d usually end up transforming mid-way through the training more often than not, anyway.

One time, Roxy got a call from Ava that Sam had just completely disappeared. She rushed over to her house and learned that Sam had had an episode and Ava had accidentally left the back door open, leading to Sam getting out in her half-transformed state. This was obviously a problem, for a number of different reasons. Roxy geared herself up and called everyone to look for her, but right as she was about to set out, Sam returned. She sauntered out of the woods, dragging a whole deer carcass in her jaws by its neck, looking incredibly pleased with herself, her tail wagging like no tomorrow. Roxy would have pissed herself laughing if it wasn’t for how terrified she’d been throughout the whole situation. Pedro ended up revealing that he had some ‘hunting’ experience of his own and butchered the body into manageable chunks, ready to be cooked in whatever way Carol could come up with. Once she came back to her senses, Sam was at least proud that she’d managed to help feed her pack, despite her guilt at making everyone worry so much.

Roxy just hoped that they could find a solution soon, mostly so that Sam could have her life back, but partially just because she missed having Sam in her bed. She’d gotten used to sleeping with the blonde’s arms around her, or vice versa, and waking up alone so often was starting to leave a bad taste in her mouth. She could still sleep with Sam at her house, of course, but that ran the risk of her waking up with a tuft of fur in her mouth, which wasn’t much better. Pedro wasn’t kidding when he said the Council could take a while to do things.

—

The sound of metal clashing against metal filled the air. Roxy’s heart was pounding. She was exhilarated by the rush of combat, wielding the sword in her hands like she’d been born to. They’d finally graduated from wooden practice swords and Roxy couldn’t be happier. Leif shot a stab at her torso and Roxy parried with precision, twisting her weapon and yanking Leif’s out of her hand in one smooth movement. The swords were blunted for safety reasons and she knew that Leif would never intentionally hurt her, but the thrill of danger was still there, setting Roxy’s body ablaze with adrenaline every time she narrowly blocked or dodged a swing.

“Fuck! How do you keep doing that?! Have you been practising at home or something?” Leif complained at being disarmed yet again.

Roxy shrugged as she slipped her sword back into the sheath on her hip. “Nope. I guess I’m just good at it. Maybe I was a sword-fighter in a past life or something.”

“Ugh. You are such a lesbian.”

Pedro, who had been supervising the spar, raised an eyebrow with a curious smirk. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Leif shook her head. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Yikes, Leif. I thought you were better than petty stereotypes?” Roxy said with a grin.

“Do you deny my claims?”

Roxy unsheathed her sword, admiring her reflection in the polished metal. Simply holding the weapon was enough to put a grin on her face. It was a masterpiece of metalwork, perfectly weighted for one-handed use to free up the other hand for counter-balance or a side-arm, light and easy to manoeuvre in the heat of battle, and elegantly designed. A simple steel hilt wrapped in rough off-white cloth for a grip, a no-nonsense dome on the end for a pommel. The blade itself was high-carbon steel, one-sided, the same width across as the hilt the whole way until the point, which was a sharp diagonal cut from the otherwise straight edge, similar in shape to the pre-WWI German Imperial shortswords. As it was originally a hunter’s sword, the blade used to have a silver coating, but it had since been stripped off to allow for Pedro and other werewolves to handle it without getting sick. Since its original purpose was hunting werewolves and not fighting against other people with swords, it lacked a crossguard, which made it even lighter and made the shape of the weapon even more uniform and satisfying. Honestly, Roxy could’ve gushed about it all day. It was just so cool. It was just a shame she couldn’t take it home. “I mean… You’re not entirely wrong.”

Pedro just shook his head in exasperation. “I have no idea what you two are talking about. Are you speaking in code?”

Roxy was about to help him out of his confusion by explaining what was so amusing about her new status as a certified sword lesbian, but before she could get a word in, the back door of the gym opened and Clarissa walked out into the outdoor training area. 

“Sam’s wolfed out again. It’s, uh… a little… different this time, though. You should come see.”

Roxy sheathed her sword again and followed the older woman inside, slightly nervous about what she was about to find. What she wasn’t expecting was to find Sam, half transformed in the usual way, sticking her hand down the front of her tank top and stroking it through the fur that was sprouting out of her chest. She looked up when everybody walked in, the ears on the top of her head twitching towards the sound. And then she spoke.

“Thude, my fur ish sho shoft. Why thid no one thell me how shoft my fur wash?”

Her voice was gravelly and deep, like her voice box wasn’t quite capable of making regular human noises, but she was forcing it to speak anyway, and the lisp caused by her too-big teeth was utterly adorable. Roxy heard Leif burst out laughing behind her.

Sam frowned, looking every part like an angry puppy. “Thon’t laugh! Thish feelsh really weird!”

It was no use. Leif was literally slapping the ground, completely overcome by her amusement to the point where she seemed to be struggling to breathe in between fits of violent laughter. Honestly, Roxy was struggling to hold back her giggles as well, though that was mostly due to the contagious nature of Leif’s laugh.

She swallowed down her amusement and walked over to her girlfriend, who was currently trying to figure out how to stand on her half-transformed feet without the assistance of her wolf instincts. Surely it couldn’t be a bad thing that Sam still had all of her human senses intact, but Roxy was still unsure. Everything about Sam’s condition was just so enigmatic that there was really no way to be sure of what any change meant.

“WAH!” Sam suddenly jumped three feet into the air. “Whath just thouched my leg?!” she exclaimed, frantically looking behind her.

Roxy sighed. “That was your tail, Sam.”

“My thail?!” She whirled around and managed to grab the new appendage, wrenching it into a position where she could see it clearly, though clearly not expecting it to hurt. “Ow! Man, thish ish sho weird!” She laughed in amazement at the discovery.

Clarissa clapped her hands and got everyone’s attention. “Don’t think this means you can get out of training, Sam. You’ve got a lot to catch up on, and if you can think, you can work, so let’s get back to it.”

Sam looked around helplessly. “Uhhhh, woof?”

Roxy snorted.

—

Roxy woke up in her own bed, painfully aware of the lack of a warm body beside her or the smell of pine in her nose. She sighed deeply. You don’t miss something until it’s gone, she supposed. With a painful grunt, she forced herself out of bed and groggily dragged herself to the shower. Every inch of her body was sore from her training yesterday, but at least it was the weekend now.

She sighed as the scalding water ran down her body, soothing the bruises that had blossomed overnight from her various sparring matches with Leif and Sam the day before. While the blonde usually pulled her punches, she had a habit of forgetting to when she was getting overwhelmed, which was starting to happen quite often when she was against Roxy. While she wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of beating up her girlfriend, Sam undeniably represented a higher challenge level than Leif did, and Roxy was determined to beat it. Either way, they were both having fun and it was a great way to relieve tension, even if it did occasionally cause another type of tension to grow. They weren’t given any pads or gloves, as they wouldn’t have them in a real fight anyway, so Roxy’s knuckles were quite sore as well.

Once she was done, she stepped out of the shower and threw on a tank top and some comfy shorts, intent on spending the day wasting away her hard-earned muscles on the couch eating chips and watching movies. She made her way downstairs into the kitchen, where her parents were going about their business. Her mom looked up as she walked past towards the fridge.

“Good lord, Roxanne! When did your shoulders get so big? You’re going to look like a man soon enough!”

Roxy sighed loudly. Just the thing she wanted to hear about a part of her body that she was actually proud of. “Gee, thanks mom.”

“I for one think it’s wonderful that you’re so committed to working out, Roxy. Sam’s clearly had a real impact on you,” her dad said, managing to put a bashful smile on her face. He had no idea how true his words were, even if it wasn’t in the way he intended.

She rubbed the back of her neck self-consciously. “Yeah, I guess she has.”

“I still say that girl is a bad influence on you. You never used to go out so much, and we don’t even know where you are half the time! You could be hanging out in a crack den for all we know!” Martha whined.

Welp, there went Roxy’s smile. “Ugh. Since when have you ever cared where I was? If you must know, I’ve been spending a lot of time at the gym, and other than that I’m either at Sam’s or Leif’s. It’s summer, it’s not unusual for me to be out a lot. I just have a lot more incentive to leave the house than I used to.” She wanted to say ‘especially with you around,’ but she knew better. That would probably earn her another slap. She opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice, pouring herself a glass as quickly as she could so she could get herself out of the room at her earliest possible convenience.

“C’mon, Marth. We talked about this. Sam is a lovely young girl and she’s been nothing but pleasant since we’ve met her. Why is this still an issue?” her dad argued.

“Pleasant? Damien, the girl started crying at the dinner table for no reason! What sort of behaviour is that? Do you really want someone that volatile around our daughter?”

“Martha, you’re being ridiculous. I made the food too spicy for her, you already knew that! You weren’t much better when you first met my parents, either!”

“Why is this still an argument that we need to have?! You don’t get to control who I date, mom! I thought that was clear by now! Why are you still bringing this up?” Roxy butt in.

“Because!” Martha yelled. “It just bothers me that my only daughter is dating another girl! Is that so wrong?!”

“YES!” Roxy and her father both yelled in unison.

Damien rubbed his eyes and continued. “Martha, please. Why does it matter? Roxy’s happy, that’s the only important thing. You know I don’t want to argue with you, but I’m not going to let this go until I understand. Why do you have a problem with Roxy dating a girl?”

“What about grandkids? Don’t you want grandkids? We’ll never get them if Roxanne doesn’t marry a man!”

“Fat chance of that happening,” Roxy mumbled angrily. She didn’t even know why she was still there, listening to her mother spout her bullshit.

“I’d love to have grandkids, you know that. But that isn’t our choice to make. Besides, there are ways for two women to have kids together, anyway, so I really don’t see the issue,” her dad calmly explained.

“What if word gets out, Damien? What if word gets out that my daughter is a lesbian? Do you know what kind of damage that could do to my brand?” Clearly out of any sort of even remotely justifiable reasoning, Martha finally showed her hand. It was never out of concern for her daughter or some sort of ‘carrying on the family name’ bullshit. All she cared about was her fucking real-estate brand.

The sound of glass smashing broke Roxy out of her angry stupor. Her bare feet were now covered in orange juice. She must have dropped her glass without realising it. That wasn’t really important, though. Her dad seemed just as shocked as she felt.

“Well,” Roxy started, struggling to keep her voice even in the wake of her growing emotions. “If that’s how you feel, then I guess you don’t have to worry. I’ll just take dad’s last name and be done with any sort of connection to you, since I barely even look like you, anyway. That way, you can have your stupid fucking brand and I can have my girlfriend and we can both be happy never speaking to one another again. Have a nice life, Martha.”

With that, Roxy stormed out the front door, not even bothering to put on shoes or a real pair of pants. She had her phone and she wasn’t going into the woods this time, so there wouldn’t be a repeat of what happened the last time she’d stormed out after an argument with her mo- Martha. She would just spend the day with Sam or Leif instead. Or maybe find a crackhouse to hang out in purely out of spite.

Her phone chimed from her pocket. She pulled it out and opened the message from her dad.

Dad

(9:24am) I’m really sorry about what just happened, Roxy. I’ll try and talk some sense into her, but I understand if you want to spend some time away. Just let me know where you are. Love you.

I love you too, dad. Thanks for sticking up for me. Going to Sam’s. (9:25am) 

She sighed and tucked her phone back into her pocket, only for it to immediately start ringing. She scowled and fished it back out again, finding Pedro’s contact lighting up her screen.

“Yo,” she answered flatly.

“Roxy, I have great news! Meet me at Sam’s house as soon as you can.”

“I’m already on my way there anyway. What’s up?”

“Not over the phone. I’ll see you soon.”

 

With that, he hung up. Roxy sighed again. That guy was always so cryptic. Well, whatever, it wasn’t like it was a detour for her, anyway. She continued to trudge down the street, trying to ignore the way the pavement was starting to burn her feet. Where the hell did Martha get off, anyway? Why would she even have a child if she was just going to ignore it in favour of her career? Was she just pressured into having one by her family, or was Roxy just a happy little accident? Considering that she could count on one hand the amount of times she’d met her maternal grandparents, it was more likely the latter. Not that she minded. She much preferred her phwa - as her dad’s mother insisted she be called - over her grandmother, anyway. Roxy didn’t really care if she was an accident. Her dad still loved her, at the very least, and that was all that mattered to her. Martha could stub her toe for all she cared.

She reached Sam’s house after about five minutes of walking. Pedro’s car was already in the driveway, which was mildly annoying. As much as she was eager to hear this good news, she also just wanted some time to have Sam all to herself so she could flop on top of her and vent out all her frustrations. Whatever, it wasn’t like Pedro would stop her from doing that, anyway. She opened the front door without knocking and stepped into the living room. Pedro wasn’t in the room, but Sam and Leif were already lounging around waiting for her.

“Jeez, Kindley. Didn’t even change out of your PJs!” Leif teased from an armchair. 

Roxy grunted as she made a direct beeline towards where Sam was slouching on the couch. “Don’t call me that. My mother is dead to me and I reject her surname. I’m Roxy Thura now.”

Sam saw what was coming and caught her as she limply flopped face-down onto the blonde’s mostly prone form. “What’s wrong, Rox? Did something happen? And…” She heard Sam sniff the air. “Why do you smell like orange juice?”

“It’s a long story. My mom’s a bitch and I’m nothing but a burden to her all because I like girls, yada yada yada, you’ve heard it all before. I was already going to come here before Pedro called me. Speaking of which,” She lifted her head and looked across the room to Leif. “How on earth did you get here before me?”

The girl shrugged. “Pedro gave me a ride cuz I was on the way for him.”

Roxy frowned. “No fair.”

A toilet flushed somewhere in the house and Pedro walked into the room. “Oh, Roxy, you’re here!” he practically shouted. He had an uncharacteristically excited grin on his face, showing off his pronounced canines. “Alright, now that everyone’s here, here’s the good news.” He paused for dramatic effect. “We have a potential cure for Sam’s condition, and we can try it out as early as tomorrow night!”

“Wait, really?!” Sam asked, voice full of excitement.

“Sam, you’ll be able to go outside again! We can finally start going on dates again!” Roxy exclaimed, unable to suppress the grin on her face even if she wanted to. She tried to pull her girlfriend into a hug, only for Sam to pull her into a deep kiss instead. She could hear Leif making gagging noises in the background, but she was far too happy to care. Sam would finally be okay again!

They pulled apart and fell into a hug, laughing all the while. This was the first real bit of hope or good news any of them had heard in a long time, and the excitement was almost overwhelming.

“That’s not all, though,” Pedro continued, his smile clear in his voice. “The method we’re using is apparently some sort of ancient werewolf ritual that used to be used to amplify or restore our natural magic, which, if it works, also confirms that the history books are right, and we actually do have some sort of power in us! This is a huge deal! This is the first time that anyone will partake, or even witness the ritual in centuries! I can’t even begin to express how excited I am. This is a huge moment for our entire species, and I get to be part of it! We all do!”

His excitement was infectious. Whatever this ritual was, it sounded like something straight out of a fantasy book. “Wait, does that mean that on top of fixing her silver sickness, it’ll also give Sam all of those pack abilities that you talked about? Like the emotion sharing and stuff?” Roxy asked.

“I’m not sure, but if it does, that’s a very exciting prospect. I don’t know all of the details, obviously, but the Council said that they’re flying in an expert on the subject; a member of one of the last remaining recordkeeper packs. She should be getting here later today, so we can ask her all of our questions then.”

“Wait, hold up,” Leif interrupted. “If this ritual can supposedly restore a werewolf’s natural magic, then why hasn’t everyone been using it? Why just let the magic dilute and degrade like it supposedly did?”

“I’m not entirely sure. It would take too long to send another message to the Council, so I didn’t ask, but I’m curious too. We can ask the recordkeeper when she arrives, I suppose. My guess is just that the knowledge was just buried after the hunters started becoming a serious threat. It’s not unthinkable that the packs that knew about it just died off until only a select few remained, and at that point it would’ve been too hard to spread the word. It sounded like the Council was aware, though, which does piss me off a bit, the fact that they would hoard that information. If it really can restore our magic, I feel like we should know about it.”

“I guess governments are the same regardless of species, huh?” Roxy quipped.

Pedro chuckled. “Quite.”

“Oh man, this is so exciting!” Sam exclaimed. “I can finally run around in my wolf form again! A-and go outside without covering my eyes! I’ll be able to hang out with everyone again! A-and this ritual! What’s it like? What will I have to do for it? Will restoring my magic make me stronger?”

“I don’t know, Sam, but…” He checked his watch. “You can ask the lady when she gets here, and speaking of which, I need to go pick her up. Her bus should be arriving soon. She came all the way from Lyon, so she might be a bit jet-lagged, but we should manage alright.”

“Lyon?” Leif asked.

“It- it’s a city in France. One of the biggest actually. You didn’t know that?” Pedro replied, slightly befuddled. 

“Leave me alone, I failed geography.”

He huffed a laugh. “Well, I’m gonna get going. Oh, and Roxy?”

“Yeah?”

“It might be a good idea to put on something other than pyjamas before I get back. Also, you smell like orange juice, so maybe do something about that, too. First impressions, you know?”

She flipped him off grumpily as he walked out of the door, chuckling to himself.

—

Pedro pulled up outside of the bus station. He knew what the recordkeeper looked like, but that was about it, so he couldn’t exactly stand around holding a sign with her name on it like he was at an airport. He just had to try and pick her out of the crowd, which shouldn’t be too hard. Dewsbury wasn’t exactly a hot tourist spot, so the station wasn’t at all busy. 

He found a parking spot that had a good view of the station and settled down, not eager to leave the air-conditioned interior of his beloved car for anything less than a guaranteed sighting of the woman. He remembered being surprised at her age when he first saw the picture. He was expecting some old librarian type, but the recordkeeper didn’t look like she was much older than he was. She had pale skin and dark brown hair, accented by a single streak of silver. She exuded a friendly energy in the picture, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover, not that it really mattered. She could be the biggest asshole he’d ever met and he’d still thank her for what she was doing for them.

It took a few minutes of waiting, but eventually he caught sight of the woman as she left the station, looking around curiously and seeming quite out of her element. He turned his car off and stepped out, making his way towards her. She looked quite different in the mid-morning sun. The way her hair swayed in the breeze and caught the light reminded him far too much of someone he used to know.  He shook his head, banishing the thought before it could take hold. The past wasn’t important right now.

She locked eyes with him curiously as he walked up to her and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Pedro. I take it you’re the one the Council sent?” In truth, he already knew that she was, but it was a good idea to clarify, especially if she didn’t know who to look for.

It took her a few seconds, but eventually realisation dawned on her face and she shook his hand enthusiastically. “Oh! Yes, that’s me! Good morning, Pedro. My name is Valerie, it’s very nice to meet you!” She had a heavy French accent, which wasn’t too surprising, considering.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” He smiled, letting his wolf leak out so that his eyes flashed amber, as was customary when meeting a new werewolf. To his surprise, she didn’t flash hers back. He noticed that she lacked the pronounced canine teeth that most werewolves bore, and a thought occurred to him. 

“You… you’re human?” he asked, not accusingly, but out of curiosity. He had no doubt that the Council would send him the right person, he was just surprised she wasn’t a werewolf.

Valerie sighed. “Yes, sadly. A simple human born from a werewolf womb. I considered myself the unlucky one of my siblings when I was younger, but now that I’ve inherited the family records, I see that I was actually the lucky one. All of that ancient knowledge, right at my fingertips! There is no place else I would rather be.”

Pedro indicated for her to follow him and started walking back to the car. “A werewolf-borne human? I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“It’s rare, but it happens in interspecies relationships. It has become more common following the decline of Lunin in the werewolf population.”

“Lunin?”

Valerie looked at him incredulously. “Yes, Lunin. You know, the stuff that allows you to turn into a wolf? And bestowed our ancestors with their strange supernatural communication abilities?”

“Huh. I didn’t know there was a name for it. I’ve just been calling it ‘magic.’”

She laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, it seems there is a lot you do not know, Pedro. I’m very much looking forward to teaching you!”

He huffed with a smile. “Save it till we get back, at least. I’ve got a gaggle of curious teenagers just waiting to bombard you with questions. Best save your strength.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard about your ward! I must admit, I am very excited to meet her. The records I’ve found regarding the ancient direwolves were very interesting, and I’d very much like to compare her with my notes!”

Pedro laughed awkwardly. “She, ah, she’s not my ward. She was adopted by a friend of mine. I’ve just been looking out for her and teaching her what I can about us. Also, I’d temper your expectations if I were you. Even without her current affliction, she’s still not that different from a regular werewolf. The only real difference is her wolf’s red eyes and her genetic disposition towards being freakishly tall. Her mother was the same, so I can only assume it’s a direwolf thing.”

“Either way, I’m looking forward to-” Valerie suddenly paused. She was staring at his car in amazement. “Oh mon dieu! Is this your car?”

Pedro puffed up his chest in pride. “Yep. She’s a ‘65 chevy caprice. I fixed her up myself.”

She laughed giddily. “Oh, this is great! I’ve always wanted to ride in a muscle car!”

“Well, she won’t reach her full potential on the ride back to the house, but there are some real nice roads out of town where she can really cut loose. I can take you for a ride out there after we’re finished with everything, if you’d like?”

Why the hell did you just say that, Pedro? You don’t even know this woman!

She turned to him with pure excitement in her eyes. “Would you?!” 

There it was again. That little hint of a ghost that made his heart ache and his stomach feel weird. He shook it off.

“How could I say no?” he said with a grin.

—

Roxy begrudgingly pulled on a pair of jeans that she had left at Sam's house, lamenting the loss of her comfy sleep shorts. She kept her tank top on, though, partially out of spite and partially because she still wanted to show off her shoulders. After washing the sticky remnants of orange juice from her feet in the bathroom, she made her way back downstairs and rejoined Sam on the couch, flopping over her lap and sighing heavily. She was surprisingly drained.

A hand found her hair and stroked through it gently. The action made Roxy feel fuzzy. “So,” Sam began, a slight nervousness apparent in her voice. “Do you wanna talk about what happened with your mom? It’s fine if you don’t! I just thought it might… make you feel better.”

Roxy rubbed her face exasperatedly. “Ugh, she’s just…! Every time I think she’s hit rock bottom, she pulls out another pickaxe. First, she gives me a hard time about my shoulders - which are hot as hell, by the way!” Sam muttered an agreement. “Then, after dad defends me, she starts bitching about you again! She tried so hard to make it out like she was just, in some messed up, deluded way, trying to look out for me and my future, but nope! Once dad and I pushed her enough, she just went full mask off and said that she was worried about her fucking reputation as a real-estate agent! She said that if people saw us together, it would somehow reflect badly on her or something, as if I’m just nothing more than some sort of walking advertisement to her. I don’t even fucking look like her! Who’s gonna know that I came out of her?!”

She paused and took a shaky breath. “I- I just… She doesn’t even care about me, Sam. She doesn’t give a single fuck about her own daughter. Did I ever mention that she didn’t even show up to pick me up from the hospital after Shepperton Street? When I almost died? When I next saw her, she just told me to ‘be more careful’ because I apparently worried her. As if! I… I just don’t understand. Did I do something wrong as a kid? Did she ever even want me?”

Roxy realised she was crying when Sam wiped a tear from her cheek. She sniffed it back and roughly wiped her eyes. Today was a big day for Sam and she wasn’t going to ruin it by wasting her emotions on a heartless bitch who wouldn’t do the same.

“I’m so sorry, Roxy. That sounds awful.”

She sighed and sat up. “It’s whatever. Let’s just talk about something else. What do you think this ritual is gonna be like?”

The three began theorising about the mysterious ritual and quickly lost track of time. They had basically no information to go off of, so there was nothing stopping their theories from getting a little ridiculous. They ranged from “Sam has to chant some magic words” all the way to “Sam has to prove her hunting skills by killing a deer and bathing in its blood.” Leif got a few weird looks for that one.

Eventually, the front door opened and Pedro entered, followed closely by an unfamiliar woman who could only be the recordkeeper. Everyone immediately jumped to attention, the excitement and curiosity in the air palpable after their frantic theorising session.

“Everyone, meet Valerie, the recordkeeper. Valerie, these are the trainees I told you about; Sam, Leif, and Roxy. It should be pretty obvious given her eye, but Sam’s the direwolf. The other two are human,” Pedro introduced.

Valerie bowed her head. “It’s very nice to meet you all,” she said. “I’ve been told you all have some questions about this ritual, yes? Rest assured, I am very excited to share what I’ve found. It is a truly groundbreaking discovery for werewolves everywhere!” 

“Um, I-it’ll cure me, right?” Sam questioned, unsure.

“From what I’ve been told about your condition and what I’ve found regarding the ritual, I believe so, yes. The act of restoring Lunin to your body is believed to have a purifying effect that should hopefully wash out whatever is still lingering around inside you.”

“What’s Lunin?” Roxy asked.

“Ah, yes. Lunin is the academically agreed-upon term for what Pedro has been calling ‘magic.’” She swatted at the man playfully as he awkwardly coughed into his fist. “It is what is believed to have created werewolves in the first place, and what allows them to transform, among other things. Due to the decline of Lunin in the population, many of the abilities that ancient werewolves had have been lost, but with the rediscovery of this ritual, it may be possible to restore them! And Sam gets to be the first!”

Roxy and Sam shared an excited look. Pedro patted Valerie on the shoulder. “Make yourself comfortable. I expect you’re going to be answering questions for a while.” He chuckled, acting like he wasn’t just as curious as they were. Roxy could see right through him.

Valerie followed his advice and sat down in an armchair. “I assure you, it’s no bother at all. What is the point of having all of this knowledge if I’m just going to keep it to myself? As I said, I’m very excited to teach everyone, and that includes you, Pedro.”

The man awkwardly joined Roxy and Sam on the couch. Leif was the first one to speak up. “So, what will this ritual entail?” she asked, shooting a glance at the two girls on the couch. They had a bet riding on this.

“Well,” Valerie began. “First, I will have to paint some symbols across Sam’s body with a mixture of wolfsbane, vervain, thistle, and other various herbs, as well as a small helping of blood from a mammal, preferably a goat or deer, to help the solution dampen and adhere to the skin. I’m not sure if the symbols and mixture are vital to the ritual or simply an old tradition, but we’ll stick to the records as closely as possible, just to be safe. Experimentation can come after Sam is cured.

“Next, we’ll have to find a place with an unnaturally high concentration of Lunin, referred to as a Lunin site. It’s said that they were formed from the massive output of energy created when one of the original direwolves were born. They used to be places of worship for werewolves, but the practice has obviously fallen to the wayside. There should be one near Dewsbury, according to the Council. It is likely the reason for the high proportion of werewolves that have found themselves drawn to this place. They weren’t exactly… precise with where it was, but apparently it should be easy to find so close to a full moon. You werewolves should feel a tug that pulls you towards it, and apparently it will be very clear when you have found it. We will need to perform the actual ritual on the night of the full moon, which is tomorrow, so we need to find where the Lunin site is tonight.

“Once everything is set up, we’ll lay Sam down on a stone slab at the Lunin site when the full moon is at its highest in the sky. Now, obviously, there likely isn’t a stone slab at this Lunin site anymore, but I believe any flat surface, such as a fold-out table or even just the ground, shall suffice. Once everyone is in position, the chief of the pack will need to recite a vow towards the longevity and good health of the werewolf receiving the ritual, and apparently that’s when it’ll happen. Sam, you should try to find some clothes that you don’t mind being destroyed, as apparently the ritual will induce a full transformation. You could always just go naked, of course, but given how many people will be in attendance, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Boom, magic words! You owe me five bucks, Leif,” Roxy grinned.

“Ah, ah, ah! She mentioned deer blood. That counts for at least two-fifty,” Leif argued.

“Uh,” Sam started, ignoring the other two entirely. “I-I’m the chief of my pack, and everyone else in it is human. What should we do?”

“Well,” Valerie responded. “Once again, I’m unsure if that detail is vital to the ritual or just tradition, and I can only assume it’s the latter, as otherwise, what would one do when the chief of the pack needed the ritual performed on them? I believe Pedro would be the most fitting candidate for the vow, given the circumstances, but I can substitute in should he have trouble memorising the words. The original texts were written in a dead Celtic language, Gualish, to be precise, and have since been copied down for retention purposes. I’m unsure if the ritual needs to be recited in the original language for it to work or not, or even if the vow is necessary at all. The texts were less about instruction on how to perform the ritual and more an accounting of what usually happened during one.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if it didn’t matter what language the vow was made in? Otherwise, no one except those who knew that language would be able to perform it,” Pedro mentioned.

“My thoughts exactly. Sadly, it is impossible to know if the ritual was performed anywhere else in the world, given that mine is the only recordkeeper pack left. Personally, my theory is that ancient werewolves everywhere around the world found different ways to perform the ritual, but our record of the Western European tradition is the only surviving one. Just the fact that there is a Lunin site here implies that there is likely a long lost Native American tradition for it, given that werewolves came about long before European settlers found the Americas, let alone settled the west. I believe it should be fine if you wanted to perform the vow in English, or any language of your choice, really.”

“Uh, when did werewolves come about? And how?” Roxy asked.

“Well, according to all of the surviving histories, we know it predates the common era by quite some time. Most signs point to around the time when Ancient Greece was flourishing, so that would be somewhere between 700 and 400 BCE, but there is evidence that points to our species being much older, coming into being sometime around 2500 BCE. There’s really no way to know for sure, with so many of our records being destroyed. As for how, it’s not entirely known, but there are a few good theories. The leading one and the one I choose to believe, especially following my discovery of the texts regarding this ritual, is that there was a Lunar Eclipse one night in ancient times that, for some unknown reason, flooded the world with Lunin. Every child born under the red moon was said to be a direwolf, signified by their blood red eyes, the same shade as that of the moon at the time of their birth. As I said, it’s just a theory. There’s really no way to know for certain. I’m sure many werewolf cultures have their own creation myths as well.

“The reason I believe the discovery of the ritual strengthens those beliefs, is that I also found evidence of a different ritual, one that is meant to be performed on a lunar eclipse. It was apparently forbidden, as the sheer power that the eclipse poured into the werewolf was said to temporarily amplify their pack bonds to such a degree that it was possible for permanent physiological changes to be made. If a werewolf undergoing the ritual was sick with some sort of cancer, apparently their pack would also be afflicted with the same illness, regardless of the fact that it wasn’t transmissible. There was simply no reason to risk performing the eclipse ritual over the regular one, so the practice was permanently banned, at least in Europe. The ban apparently goes double for direwolves, who’s connection to the species as a whole meant that every single werewolf in existence would be affected by the ritual. Obviously, not a very good idea. A direwolf with a fertility disorder could potentially end the entirety of the werewolf species in a single act. I loathe to admit it, but it may be a good idea to destroy the record of that ritual. Just imagine the harm it could do if the hunters found out about it!”

“I agree. That is knowledge that definitely can’t fall into the wrong hands,” Pedro said. “Do you think that’s why the knowledge of the ritual was buried? To prevent hunters from finding out and misusing it?”

“Almost certainly. This is a ritual that every werewolf tribe was likely aware of at some point, but the ritual clearly stopped being performed, otherwise modern werewolves wouldn’t be so lacking in Lunin levels. I theorise that it was likely to prevent hunters from co-opting the knowledge of the ritual for their own gain.”

“Out of curiosity,” Leif asked. “What would happen if the ritual was performed on a human?”

“Ah!” Valerie’s face lit up. “There was a section about performing the ritual with human pack members as a way of formally inducting them into the tribe. Obviously, a human isn’t able to transform like a werewolf, but apparently the influx of Lunin in their body would briefly bestow them with certain werewolf abilities, such as heightened senses and accelerated healing. Apparently it was also possible to manually give Lunin to a human through the application of a marking bite, though that would only work for a brief period after the ritual, when there is an excess amount of Lunin flowing through a werewolf’s body, and obviously it would only be proper between those in a committed relationship. I believe such a mark would enable the human to briefly mark the werewolf back, enabling the shared emotional transfer that would normally only be possible between two werewolves.”

The thought of that sent a flutter through Roxy’s body. She shared a look with Sam, the same thought clearly going through her head as well. Leif continued on, not noticing their silent exchange. “That’s so cool! Aw man, now I wanna try!” 

Valerie laughed. “I imagine the heightened senses would be quite overwhelming for one who isn’t used to it, but it certainly sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

“They can be overwhelming for me at times, and I’ve had them for my entire life!” Sam complained. She looked back to Valerie as though she was about to ask something, but she couldn’t seem to find the words.

“Yes, Sam? Do you have a question?” The woman asked.

“Will…” the werewolf started, unsure. “Will the ritual… change me at all? I… I’ll still be myself afterwards, right?”

“I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t be. That being said, I’m not sure I can confirm that there won’t be any physical changes. Ancient werewolves likely only used this ritual as a formality or to top up human-borne werewolves on Lunin so that they could be at the same level as the rest of the pack. The amount of Lunin in their bodies prior to the ritual was still much higher than that of any werewolf today, and they likely didn’t need as much Lunin to reach their full potential. For you, it’ll be like going from an almost empty tank straight to full. There’s really no way to be sure about any potential changes you might face, especially to your wolf. All I can say for certain is that you will almost definitely receive a significant boost in power. As for your sense of self, as I said, there is no indication that there will be any significant changes.”

“Man, I hope you don’t get taller. I already have to stand on my tippy-toes to kiss you without you bending down,” Roxy muttered so that only Sam could hear.

Sam laughed, her worries clearly assuaged. “Don’t worry, Rox. If that happens, I can just pick you up instead!” 

Roxy rolled her eyes. “My hero…”

—

Pedro made his way into the woods just as the sun started to ease its way down towards the horizon. He’d given himself basically the entire rest of the day to search for the Lunin site, as it was one of the few things that was pretty much confirmed to be vital for the ritual. Valerie had been set up in the Walkers’ spare room and was currently resting off the jet lag from her long trip. A fifteen hour flight to Seattle plus a bus trip across most of the state couldn’t have been pleasant. Honestly, Pedro was just impressed at how lively she’d still been throughout the whole introductory process, only really seeming to crash once all of the questioning was done.

Pedro trudged through the woodland aimlessly. He really didn’t know what he was looking for, only that he’d apparently feel a ‘tug’ of some sort when he was near it. That was still a lot of ground to cover. Dewsbury was pretty much entirely surrounded by woodland, with a few undisturbed patches even residing within town borders. It quickly became clear that there was no way he was going to be able to find it as things were.

Sighing and resigning himself to his fate, Pedro begrudgingly stripped down and neatly folded his clothes, placing the pile next to a distinctive tree that he would hopefully be able to find again. He cracked his knuckles and his neck, took a deep breath, and let the pull from the unrisen, almost-full moon envelop him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d fully shifted, but it had definitely been a few months at the very least. He just didn’t have the time to indulge his base instincts like that anymore.

After a few uncomfortable and mildly painful seconds, he was transformed. Greying-black fur covered his body and his eyes shone a bright amber. His wolf form wasn’t anything too impressive, barely even larger than a regular wolf, which was why he usually preferred to remain mostly human in most combat situations. His wolf would be far more useful than his human form in this situation, though. To cover so much ground in such a short time would require the speed and fine-tuned senses that only his shifted form could give him. He got to work and sped off through the undergrowth.

The enticing scent of potential prey on the wind threatened to distract him, but Pedro had more control than that. All he had to do was keep running until he felt a tug. Hell, maybe he’d get lucky and instinctively just head in the right direction without even realising. Wherever his destination was, he hoped that he would know once he got there. What the hell did a Lunin site even feel like, anyway?

 He quickly lost track of time, all of the identical foliage blurring together into a singular repeating pattern. He had no idea where he was going, just taking turns at random and hoping that his gut would lead him in the right direction. He could smell remnants of Sam at certain points, her lingering scent floating through the trees from places where she’d clearly spent a lot of time. Occasionally he also came across a spot that Clarissa or even Dr. Parker had claimed. There were even a few spots where he could faintly recognise Roxy, although the scent was usually overwhelmed by Sam's, aside from a decently long trail that was marred with the coppery scent of old dried blood, as well as that of something unfamiliar. He could only guess that it was Blaine's doing, from what little he knew about the late werewolf.

Slowly, Pedro realised that he was drifting in a certain direction. He still couldn't feel anything, but the fact that he seemed to be unconsciously heading towards something seemed to be a good sign. Sam's scent was getting stronger, which wasn't surprising. Considering how much time the girl spent in the woods and the fact that he didn't even realise he was being drawn in, it made sense that she would unconsciously spend a lot of time near the Lunin site. He exited into a slight clearing bordering a cliff wall, inset with a cave. Sam's scent was practically everywhere, but there was something else, almost imperceptible, mixed in there as well. It was a scent he hadn't smelled in a long, long time, but he knew right away what it was.

He followed the bittersweet scents of Debby and Marcus Reed to their source in the cave. A large part of him wanted to enter, just to revel in the memories of his old friends, but he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. This place clearly meant a lot to Sam, and she clearly still spent a lot of time here, if the strength of her scent was anything to go by. She would know if he intruded. This wasn’t the Lunin site, anyway, so he shouldn’t linger regardless. He couldn’t tell how, but he knew he was close.

Pedro followed his gut back through the trees. He could actually feel it now, a sort of static in the air, making his fur rise on end and his heart race. It was exhilarating. He wondered how Sam hadn’t stumbled across it, given how close it was to her den. Perhaps it only felt so strong this close to the full moon.

Just as Valerie had said, Pedro knew right away when he found it, as much as he desperately wished he was wrong. The sheer energy in the grove he’d found himself in was too strong for it not to be the Lunin site. It was a seemingly perfectly circular clearing of trees, with grass and wildflowers blooming all around. In the direct centre sat what looked like a gravestone. He didn’t need to read the inscription to know what it said. The overwhelming presence of Sam’s scent was telling enough.

He really wasn’t looking forward to telling the kid this.

Pedro sat down and paid his respects to his old friends for a few moments before setting off to retrieve his clothing and share the good/bad news. The sun was almost fully set by the time he made it back to the house. He ended up finding Sam in the basement, blankly staring at the TV while Roxy napped, her legs resting on Sam’s lap. It was a nice domestic moment, and Pedro desperately didn’t want to ruin it, but he needed to get this out of the way. Better to let her know now than have her find out tomorrow night.

“Hey, kid. Can I talk to you?” Pedro asked softly.

“Hmm? Oh, sure. What’s up?”

He pointed with a nod of his head. “Upstairs. I don’t want to wake her.”

Sam nodded and carefully manoeuvred her way out from under Roxy’s legs before following him out of the basement. He closed the door behind them once they reached the top of the stairs.

“So? What is it?” Sam asked.

Pedro took a deep breath. “I… I found the Lunin site.”

“Oh! Isn’t that a good thing? Why do you seem so serious?”

“Because… it’s a… a place that you’re quite familiar with.”

She cocked her head to the side curiously.

Pedro sighed. “There was a gravestone there. I couldn’t read it because I was in my wolf form, but I think you know what I’m talking about regardless. Your scent was all over the place.”

Her face dropped in understanding. “Oh…”

“Yeah… I wanted to let you know so you had some time to… I don’t know, prepare yourself.”

She smiled sadly. “Thanks, Pedro, but it’s okay. It’s unavoidable, right? At least this way, my parents will get to be there with me.”

He smiled back and put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Sam.”

“Uhh, thanks. A-and you’re a good… man?”

Pedro snorted and shook his head fondly. “Just go back to your girl, you dork."

Sam coughed, a smattering of pink on her cheeks. "Right."

—

It was time. Pedro led Roxy, Leif, Ross, and the rest of Sam's pack through the woods towards the Lunin site while Valerie prepared Sam for the ritual. The excitement in the air was palpable. Everyone was curious to see what the ritual would be like. Sam had told Roxy where the site was the night before, so at the very least she wouldn’t be surprised when they entered the grove. She couldn’t say the same for everyone else.

They arrived. Clarissa and Dr. Parker were already there, chatting amicably. There was what looked like some sort of altar in the centre of the clearing, right where the headstone should have been. Pedro must have come by earlier to prepare it to preserve Sam’s privacy. It seemed to just be a simple foldout table covered by a nondescript maroon tablecloth, but it got the job done quite effectively.

“Pedro!” Clarissa turned to the man once he got close enough, a bright smile on her face. “You can feel it, right? This is so weird!”

 He chuckled. “Yes it is. I can only imagine what it’ll feel like during the actual ritual.”

“Speaking of which, where’s the kid?”

“On her way. Valerie got a little overexcited with her prep-work and started trying to find a dress that was as close to the traditional garb they used to wear as she could. I’m not sure if she succeeded, considering I don’t think I’ve ever even seen Sam wear a dress.”

“She has a few hidden away somewhere,” Roxy butt in. “Her favourite one was destroyed at Shepperton Street, though.”

“Hmm.” Pedro acknowledged.

A few minutes of mindless mingling passed before the stars of the show arrived. Roxy wasn’t sure what she was expecting Sam to look like, but when she spotted her walking reverently through the trees behind Valerie, her jaw dropped. She was wearing a simple white dress that flowed down to just below her knees and her pale skin was marked by black paint. it swirled up from her wrists in vibrant patterns and intricate symbols, up her arms and across her shoulders coalescing in what seemed to be a motif of a horizontal crescent moon, right in the middle of her forehead. She was wearing a headband to keep her bangs from smudging the paint. 

She spotted Roxy and smiled brightly, the paint on her cheeks warping slightly. Roxy’s stomach fluttered at the sight. She couldn’t explain it, but something about her appearance was… ethereal.

“Roxy!” she greeted, running up to her. “How do I look?” She did a little spin to show herself off.

"G-great! You look… you look great!" Roxy truly tried her best to find something a bit more eloquent or intelligent to say, but after the little flash of paint-covered back muscle she managed to catch in the dim moonlight, her gay little brain was pretty non-functional.

Sam didn't seem to catch her floundering. "I know, right?! This paint smells pretty weird, but these symbols and stuff are so cool-looking!"

“I’m so sorry for being late, everyone!” Valerie called out. “If everyone’s ready, we can get started right away!”

“Oh,” Sam said. She looked back to Roxy. “Well, I guess it’s time. Wish me luck!”

She leaned down and Roxy gave her a quick kiss, being careful not to touch any of the paint marking her face. She could sense Sam’s trepidation as she made her way over to the altar and laid down on it. Everyone around the grove fell silent as Valerie made her way to the head of the table. She cleared her throat.

“Hello, everyone! For those who don’t know me, my name is Valerie, and I’m a recordkeeper. One of the last, actually. Tonight, we will be performing an ancient werewolf ritual that, as far as we know, hasn’t been performed in centuries, maybe even millenia! Of course, we’re mainly doing this so that we can cure Sam of her unique form of silver sickness, but this is also a massive leap for the entire werewolf species. I’m so glad that we can share it with all of you, werewolf or human! Now, without further adieu, let’s begin.”

A silent tension filled the air as Valerie opened an old looking book and began reciting from it in a language Roxy didn’t recognise. As soon as she began to speak, it seemed as though the moonlight that was filtering into the clearing through the trees amplified, bathing Sam in otherworldly light.

The blonde’s eyes were wide and her breathing was fast. Roxy could faintly hear Pedro and Clarissa whispering to each other. Something was definitely happening. Valerie continued her speech.

Roxy almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her at first. It almost looked like the paint that was covering Sam’s skin was starting to glow. She knew she wasn’t seeing things when the black paint turned bright white, making Sam look like she was covered in the sort of magical tattoos you’d read about in a fantasy book. Sam squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, her hands bunching up into fists. It was hard to tell if she was in genuine physical discomfort or just scared, but Roxy sincerely hoped it was the latter.

Valerie finished speaking and closed the book, but the weirdness surrounding Sam didn’t stop. If anything, things started to get even weirder. Everyone around the grove, including Sam, let out a gasp of surprise when the blonde was gently lifted up off of the altar by an invisible force. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around frantically, her arms flailing in an instinctual attempt to regain a balance that she didn’t need. Her irises were glowing red, brighter than Roxy had ever seen them before.

“Is this supposed to be happening?!” Sam shouted, her voice shaky. 

“Just stay calm, Sam! Everything will be alright!” Valerie replied.

“I-I don’t-” 

Sam was cut off with a cry as her body suddenly jerked, all of her limbs tensing at once. Roxy instinctively took a step towards her, to see what was wrong, but she was suddenly stopped as a bright light burst out from Sam’s body, blinding her and everyone else in the clearing. There was a crash from Sam’s direction and Roxy desperately tried to blink the light out of her eyes so she could see what had happened. When her eyesight finally returned and she looked back towards the altar, she froze.

Picking herself up in the centre of the clearing was a truly gargantuan golden-haired wolf, far bigger than Sam’s wolf form had ever been. Where before she was only ever a few inches taller than Roxy, she was now completely towering over every person in the clearing. Her paws were bigger than Roxy’s head and her canine fangs were at least as long as her fully outstretched hand. 

The wolf shook herself off and peered around the clearing curiously, looking at everyone in turn. She hesitantly made her way towards Valerie, who seemed completely frozen in shock and awe, before giving her a thankful lick across the face with a massive tongue. The woman sputtered and fell onto her backside before laughing giddily.

“This… this is incredible! I’ve never heard of a werewolf this big before! A-and the ritual! It worked! It actually worked! I can’t believe it!”

Her excitement and amazement was matched by everyone in the clearing. Roxy felt like she’d just experienced one of those ‘conversion’ moments that the youth pastors who occasionally came to her school talked about. She felt like she’d just witnessed something truly divine and unexplainable, something that would have completely shattered her view of the world as she knew it, had her mundane worldview not already been completely destroyed by the fact that she was dating a werewolf in the first place.

Was it even fair to call Sam just a werewolf anymore? As she was now, she seemed more like some sort of deity made physical. A being beyond comprehension, straight out of a myth. This was what it meant to be a direwolf, she thought. 

She hadn’t even realised that Sam had made her way towards her until she was being nuzzled with a huge wet nose. Laughter bubbled up from somewhere in her chest and she hugged Sam’s snout, elated tears prickling the edges of her eyes.

“Hey, Sammie,” she whispered. “Welcome back.”

Sam gently barked in her face, blasting her with hot, unpleasant, dog breath. She playfully recoiled and pushed Sam’s snout away. Sam took it as an invitation to play and immediately dropped into an excited prone position, ready to bound up at any second. Roxy glanced around the clearing only to realise that everyone was watching their interaction. A heat started burning in her cheeks from the attention.

Apparently not satisfied with Roxy’s lack of reciprocation towards her playful advance, Sam took matters into her own paws. She suddenly bounded up and, before the girl could even flinch, caught the back of Roxy’s shirt in her jaws and lifted her straight off the ground, running off into the trees with her. Roxy screamed, more out of surprise than fear, as the ground rushed by below her.

She didn’t know how fast they were going, but by the speed at which the trees were zooming by, she knew she definitely didn’t want to be dropped. While she had no doubt that Sam wouldn’t let her fall on purpose, she didn’t have the same faith that her shirt wouldn’t just rip from the pressure, leaving her with nothing to stop her from hitting the ground that was now speeding by dangerously fast. Anxiety bubbling up in her chest, she reached out and grabbed a handful of Sam’s neck fur, hoping that the slight bit of support would stop her from immediately getting into a life-threatening accident should the integrity of her shirt fail.

Thankfully, Sam reached her apparent destination quickly enough that the only real danger was the elastic in her shirt stretching out. She gently placed Roxy on her feet before backing away and bounding around the clearing excitedly. Roxy looked around and, although it was only dimly lit by moonlight, she recognized the place where they’d first met. A flood of emotions surged through her at the realisation. There was the familiar sound of a werewolf shifting and Roxy turned back around, not prepared for the sight that was about to greet her.

Sam stood before her, back in her human form. Her wild mane of hair, usually only reaching to the middle of her waist, now grew down to her knees. Roxy had been right, Sam had grown taller from the ritual, though thankfully it didn’t seem to be by more than an inch or so. She grinned at Roxy cheekily, her hands on her hips, proudly showing herself off. Her fangs were longer too, and there seemed to be a slight coat of fur along her shoulders and the backs of her arms. It made her look almost regal. Well, as regal as one could possibly look while standing butt-naked in the middle of a forest.

“Well?” Sam asked, one eyebrow raised over glowing blood red irises. “What do you think?”

Roxy realised that she’d just been staring at her girlfriend with a stupid, open-mouthed grin. She shook her head. “You’re… incredible, Sam.”

The girl laughed and looked down at herself. “I do feel pretty damn incredible right now. Wait, I wanna try something.” She stuck out an arm and concentrated. After a second, all of the fur on the back of it fell out, leaving it completely bare. Another second passed and all of the fur grew back. Roxy just stared on in amazement as Sam tested it out on other parts of her body, getting roughly the same result each time.

“This is amazing! I’ve never had so much control over my wolf before! I wonder what else I can do?”

“Before you get too distracted, do you think we could… um…” Roxy, oddly, found herself blushing, unable to bring herself to say what she was thinking. Honestly, she hadn’t been able to get the idea out of her head since Valerie had suggested it. Despite the constant fear of the situation when Sam was stabbed, those brief periods where Roxy had been able to feel what Sam was feeling through her mark were the closest she’d ever felt to the other girl, and she desperately wanted to feel that again.

Sam seemed to understand, despite her failure to properly articulate with her words. “Oh! Right! We should get that done quickly, shouldn’t we?” She walked up to Roxy and took her hand. “Are you sure you want to do this? I’m not sure if we can undo it if we regret it.”

Roxy smiled up at her reassuringly. “Well, you’ve already marked me once. Might as well finish the job, right?”

Sam smiled back. “Sure.”

They both silently agreed to lay down. Roxy was on her back and Sam was leaning over her, blocking out the moonlight with her silhouette. Roxy put a hand on Sam’s cheek and Sam kissed her, softly and slowly. After a moment she pulled back and rested their foreheads together.

“Ready?” the blonde asked.

“Ready.” Roxy replied.

Sam slowly moved to her neck and Roxy’s heart rate picked up. There was a gentle hesitation of teeth against her skin before Sam committed and bit down. Roxy gasped. A weird feeling started to build up in her abdomen.

She yelped on instinct as she felt Sam’s teeth pierce her skin, but there was no pain. Her body was flooded with something indescribable. It was pleasure and elation and love and relief and every other positive emotion that she could think of. It felt like a drug, flowing through her veins and lulling her into a state of pure bliss. It was Sam.

The whole forest around her lit up like it was no later than twilight, despite the fact that it was well past midnight. She felt like she could hear every sound in the universe, her and Sam’s rapid heartbeats mingling together as one in her head. She could hear the leaves rustling above them, every tiny animal scurrying through the bushes around them. She could hear the little noises Sam was making as her teeth sunk into Roxy’s skin. And the smells. There were so many of them. Sweat, dirt, blood, shampoo, laundry detergent, and a whole host of other things she couldn’t even begin to name, but above everything else was that ever-comforting pine, holding her down, keeping her safe.

Her mouth felt weird. She could taste a little bit of blood on her tongue. Sam continued to bite down on her neck as she prodded her tongue along her teeth. Her heart lurched when she found something that wasn’t meant to be there. Her canines had lengthened into fangs, much like Sam’s before the ritual. The blonde sensed her sudden shock and pulled back, observing her. Roxy realised that she felt Sam’s confusion, somewhere deep inside of her.

“Woah, your eyes!” she exclaimed, far too loudly for Roxy’s sensitive ears.

“What?! What’s wrong with my eyes?!” Roxy asked as her nervousness grew at the unexpected changes.

“They’re glowing! The same colour as Pedro’s do!”

Roxy stupidly reached up and touched just beneath her eye, as if that would somehow show her the difference. “It… it must be the Lunin, like Valerie said. I… I th-think my senses have increased as well. I can… hear everything. Your heart’s beating really fast.”

Sam giggled. “So’s yours.”

Roxy touched her neck where Sam had bitten her, expecting to find blood. Instead, she found nothing but smooth skin, slightly sunken in a hopefully invisible scar where Sam’s teeth had broken through. It must’ve been the accelerated healing, she thought. Her whole body was shaking. This was too weird.

“Alright, quickly! Do me!” Sam begged.

Roxy chuckled. “Alright, alright. Come here.”

Roxy pulled Sam back down and shifted until she reached her neck. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she bit down and was immediately filled with the inexplicable urge to bite harder, so she did. She bit harder, and harder and harder until her new fangs pierced Sam’s skin. The blonde gasped and writhed, all of a sudden biting back down on Roxy’s neck at the same time.

Her body felt like it was in a feedback loop. Sam’s emotions and Lunin flowed into her as her’s flowed into Sam. It was indescribable, incredible, euphoric in a way she’d never felt before. Her arms wrapped around Sam’s torso and latched on, desperate to somehow get even closer to her. Sam did the same.

They stayed like that for a few moments more before Sam finally pulled back, laughing giddily. Roxy followed her lead and pulled away too, watching as the wounds her fangs had made closed up before her eyes. She ran her tongue back along her teeth and was relieved to find them back to their normal lengths. Lord knew how she would have explained that one to her dad.

“I can feel it, Rox,” Sam said, the pure joy in her voice resonating through Roxy’s body. “It worked. I can feel your emotions.”

“I can feel yours, too.” Roxy replied tiredly, yet happily.

They spent a bit of time just lying there, looking up at the stars together, silently communicating through their newly shared emotions. 

“So,” Sam started. “What now?”

“Well, what do you want to do?” Roxy asked, already knowing the answer from the feelings swimming through her body.

“You,” the blonde said with a smirk.

“Sounds good to me.” Roxy smiled back.

—

Pedro looked around the clearing as people mingled and talked about what they’d just witnessed. There’d been a slight uproar when Sam suddenly stole Roxy and sped off into the woods with her, but it stemmed more from surprise than any outrage. Most of the people present were well aware of their relationship, and those who weren’t quickly learnt about it. Valerie in particular had been especially confused until Pedro explained it to her, despite the fact that he knew Roxy had spent the night at the Walkers’ house, just as she did. He expected that their constant physical affection would have tipped her off, but apparently not.

He checked his watch. It was almost one in the morning, yet he wasn’t even the least bit tired. He theorised that it had something to do with the high amount of Lunin in the grove, but he wasn’t exactly an expert on the topic. 

“Pedro?”

He turned around to find Valerie. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”

She smirked at him. “Oh, I was just wondering when I’d be able to cash in my ride. I have fulfilled my end of the bargain, after all.”

Outwardly, Pedro didn’t react much, but inside, his heart and emotions were racing. What exactly did she mean by that?!

“Wh-what ride?” he asked, swallowing heavily.

She pushed his shoulder playfully. “The ride in your car that you promised, silly! You said you’d take me out once all this was done! What were you thinking?” She raised an eyebrow, and Pedro couldn’t tell if she was just teasing him or if she was genuinely curious. She was so much like her it was almost painful.

“O-oh, nothing.” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “How does tomorrow afternoon sound?”

“Great!” Without warning, she suddenly leaned up and gently pressed her lips against his cheek before sauntering off. “See you then!” she called over her shoulder. Pedro could do nothing but stare in the wake of her energy. Just like with her, he could already feel himself getting pulled along, and he knew there was nothing he’d be able to do to stop it. Maybe it would be better to just stop fighting it.

“Oh my, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that stone-hearted Pedro Luna was actually just flustered. Did I get that right?” Clarissa said as she crept up behind him and looped an arm around his shoulders, ruffling his hair. Her attempt at pack-scenting him didn’t go unnoticed, but he didn’t really care enough to resist it. They’d grown closer over the few weeks they’d been training the girls, and it’d been too long since he’d been part of a real pack anyway. He welcomed the platonic connection.

“I’m not stone-hearted, chica. Where did you get that idea?” he asked, completely ignoring the rest of her accusation. She might not have been wrong, but he wasn’t going to admit it, that was for sure.

“You know I’m just teasing you. Besides, you didn’t answer my question.” She smirked at him.

He shrugged off her arm and continued ignoring her, instead calling out to the rest of the crowd. “I think it’s time to head back. Anyone who needs a guide, follow me!”

Clarissa shrugged. “Suit yourself, Peddy. I see right through you.”

Despite her teasing, they continued to walk together as they led the way back through the forest. The way was long, and, not for the first time that night, Pedro was wishing he had the freedom to tear off his clothes and just head back in wolf form. It would’ve been much faster, and it would have eased the near-constant tug from the full moon, amplified by the incredible amount of Lunin radiation he’d just been subjected to.

Pedro yawned, the excitement of the night finally wearing off. It truly had been an incredible experience, all things considered. He wondered what it would take to have the ritual performed on himself.

A weird sound drifted through the trees into his sensitive ears and both he and Clarissa simultaneously stopped. It took him a few seconds to identify what it was, but when he did, an exasperated chuckle bubbled up from his chest. Clarissa just sighed awkwardly. It looked like they would have to take a bit of a detour.

“Those two,” the woman muttered. “They’re like rabbits, I swear.”

“You were a teenager once too, y’know. They’ve been through a lot of stress lately. Let them have their moment.”

She sighed. “I guess. I’ve never really understood it, personally. Don’t really see the appeal.”

“That’s fair.”

She was silent for a moment as they changed direction to take a wide berth around the noises they were hearing. “You know, it would be really funny if we jumped out and interrupted them. They’d probably piss themselves.” She chuckled.

“How old are you, again?”

“Thirty-eight.”

Pedro sighed. “Of course.”