The Midnight Wolf (Part 2)

After Ezzy left, I sat on my bed and just thought. Yes, there is a big possibility that the werewolf in Ezzy’s vision could be me, but I desperately hope it isn’t. I could never imagine doing something like that. But… that would mean…. Dad is back. And who is the man? What is he doing and why is he being attacked by the Midnight Wolf? That was my nickname for him as it seemed like he would attack the man at night.

“EEETTHHAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!” One of the kids called from probably in the kitchen, based on the echo that followed it. I sighed.

“I’m not deaf!” I call back, a lot quieter as all of us werewolves have great hearing. I get up and walk into the kitchen, my long legs getting me there quickly. I saw Mum and John standing by the stove-top, ladling out bowls of steaming soup from the huge pot we usually use. I walk between the crowded bodies of my siblings, coming to stand by Mum.

“Need some help?” I say, reaching for another ladle as I smile down at her. I had been taller than her for a while now, only by a foot or so, but it still made the difference between me and the rest of my siblings that much more obvious.

“Thanks, Ethan, you’re a great help, you know that?” Mum said, smiling gratefully at me as my siblings formed a third line behind me. Soon everyone had bowls and we all sat around the huge dinner table, some of the kids fighting over the cheese.

“Hey, Mum,” I said quietly, leaning towards her and away from prying ears. She looked up at me, a bit of soup on the corner of her mouth.

“Um… have you… I mean, is there, uh…” I took a deep breath, deciding ot just say it. “Have you heard from Dad recently?” I said, my voice low but intense. All the noise around the table stopped, making me glance around at my family and notice all my siblings were staring at Mum and me. Mum looked around the table too, and sighed when she saw all the curious eyes. She looked back at me, shaking her head.

“No, Ethan, I haven’t heard anything from your father for years. You know this.” She replies, giving me a look that said: ‘Why would you bring this up when you know the answer?’. She turned to John, who was beside her, grabbing his hand and giving it a loving squeeze.

“And I’m very grateful for it. All of our lives are better without him.” She said, turning back to me. “Now, how about everyone tell us how their day went?” And, with that, everyone starts talking at the same time, creating an impenetrable noise barrier between Mum and me. I sigh, turning back to my soup, and swirling my spoon through it without eating much.

Once everyone had finished eating, I stayed behind to help with the clean-up; something I usually leave to the younger kids.

“What now?” Mum asked, her hands on her hips as she watched me usher the last of the young ones out of the kitchen.

“Mum, I want to know more. I’m old enough and mature enough to handle the full story. I know there’s more to it than what you’ve told me so far, mostly because I know YOU.” I said, looking at her pleadingly, a tiny, wolfish wine coming out with my words. Mum sighed deeply, her face morphing from cold to something softer, something like weariness.

“Fine. Your father was a lot like you in certain ways, but not in others. Obviously, you take after him genetically; tall, white-haired and an Alpha. But then… he didn’t act like you much, he was confident and charming.”

“What?! I’m confident! And, ok, I might not be the most charming person in this family, but I think I do pretty well.” I said in mock defence, crossing my arms. Mum gave me a slightly exasperated look and then continued.

“He was cocky and sly. Is that better?” She said, raising an eyebrow. “Anyway, I first met your father at college where he was the Alpha of our tiny college pack and he was into me. So naturally, none of the other werewolf boys wanted to date me because they knew he wanted me. At the time I didn’t mind. I mean, he was tall, well-built, and had a way of looking at life as if it were a fairytale waiting to happen. As we got older we grew closer and eventually moved in together once we were out of college. But that was when we discovered that we weren’t a good pair. I realised that his outlook on life was too naive and careless. He didn’t want to get a job, and when I got one he just spent all of the money on trivial things. Then, one evening on a full moon, he came in and… well, you know how these things go. So when I discovered I was pregnant and I told him, he flipped. He just walked out and didn’t come back. I tried contacting him but he wouldn’t answer. Eventually, I found him and I confronted him. He didn’t like that much so he used his power as an Alpha on me, telling me to never seek him out in any way again. Obviously, I couldn’t ignore a direct order from an Alpha so I never talked to him or saw him again.” While she was talking, the two of us worked together to clean the kitchen, washing up bowls and wiping down counters

“But would you know if Dad was back? Like, would he contact you or something?” I said, hanging up the wet towel I had just used to wash the dishes. Mum sighed, wiping her hands on a dry towel.

“No, probably not. I doubt he even knows where we live.” She said, sadness in her voice. I walked over and gave Mum a bit hug, letting my chin rest on her head. She inhaled slowly, relaxing into my arms.

“It’s ok, Mum. He’s out of our lives now.” I said, rubbing her back a little. Silently I hoped that he would return, if only to prove that it might not be me in Ezzy’s vision.

Later that night, when I was lying in bed, thinking about what Ezzy had told me, my phone buzzed, the screen lighting up. I quickly picked it up and saw that it was a text from Ezzy.

I had the rest of my vision

It’s my lizard

She’s a fairy disguised as a lizard and she does something that makes you angry.

It’s you.

Crap, she can see me.

HELP!

I frowned as the texts kept coming until they stopped. My eyes widened as I read the last one, my heart beating frantically.