For as tired as Shawn had felt earlier, he stared out the window, wide awake, the entire drive back to Philadelphia. A weight had settled on his heart, but something about the world prevented him from despairing, becoming a sixth sense he couldn’t help but trust. ‘He’s okay, for now,’ it told him, and what spaces it left for him to worry became rapidly filled by a strange filter that started to affect the way he looked at things. As the sun set, the scenery became sharper, even before the lights of the city had a chance to lend their aid.

“Something’s happening to me,” Shawn said, breaking an extended silence.

He saw Dominic glance at him from his periphery, convinced he was frowning at him and too afraid to look and verify his suspicion. “Should we take you to Jefferson?” Dominic asked.

“No, it’s not a hospital thing.”

“As much as it sucks, you shouldn’t rule out the fact that whatever bit you could’ve been rabid, man. If you’re feeling off, a doctor should be looking at you.”

“Dom, my boyfriend bit me and he’s not rabid.”

Dominic sighed. As Shawn finally glanced at him he shifted in his seat, keeping his focus on the road. “You think your boyfriend bit you, Shawn. I think your memory is playing tricks on you and if you’re sick, then that could explain why.”

“I’m not sick.”

“You think you’re not sick, but you’re making me nervous. I expected by now, you’d be coming to and saying, ‘Wow, Dom, that was one weird hallucination.’ The fact that you’re doubling down is convincing me that you should get seen again.”

“Let me get ahold of his cousin. Okay? If his cousin thinks I’m nuts, then you have my permission to take me to Jefferson.”

While Dominic refused to respond, he continued driving into the city and when they reached Center City, didn’t veer in the direction of Jefferson Hospital. They found a parking space down the street from Edwin’s apartment and while Dominic fed the meter, Shawn walked up to the large, brick building and fished in his pocket for his keys. Dominic had joined him by the time he got the front door open and followed behind him until they walked into the large loft.

“Being an artist pays better than I thought,” Dominic quipped.

“He does well enough,” Shawn said, racing to where Edwin had left his MacBook and sitting at his desk while it booted. He tapped in Edwin’s password and started to look for his messaging app. “Most of it is from the graphic design work. He has a few high-end clients.”

“Noted.” Dominic fell silent, and although each of his movements sounded deafening to Shawn, he fought to keep his focus on the computer, and continued searching until he figured out the unfamiliar machine. A few unread messages commanded Shawn’s attention, and when one of them belonged to ‘Robert Chambers’, Shawn clicked on it, reading what loaded in the message window.

‘Your parents are pissed,’ one message said, followed by, ‘Not sure where you’re at, but you picked the wrong month not to come home.’

Shawn typed into the comment field, ‘I wish he’d seen this. Rob, I need your help. It’s Shawn. Please, call me.’ After hitting enter, he added his phone number, then fumbled for the pocket where he’d slipped his phone. Dominic wandered closer and sat in one of the empty chairs nearby, keeping silent vigil while both watched Shawn’s phone. It took several minutes for the screen to light up, but when the unfamiliar number flashed onto the screen, Shawn answered it immediately.

“Hello?” he said.

“Hi, is this Shawn?” the male voice on the other end asked.

“Yeah, Rob?”

“Yeah. What’s going on? Where’s Ed?”

“He’s not here. Things went clusterfuck last night and I only just got back to Philly.” Shawn took a deep breath, gearing up for sounding insane to the second person that night. “I think Edwin was taken. Three guys approached us while we were swimming at the lake and forced him to come with them. They said something about talking to their father.”

“Where were you guys?” A clatter in the background sounded like a belt. Shawn furrowed his brow, listening to what sounded like Rob getting dressed. “I take it this wasn’t anywhere in the city.”

“The Poconos. Up near Lakeville.”

“Fuck.” Rob sighed, the sound laden with exasperation. “Goddamn it, Ed. Yeah, I’m not surprised he got into trouble up near the Poconos right now. He avoids home and even when he’s home, he doesn’t pay attention to family business. Look, Shawn, this might be above your paygrade. I don’t mean this as condescending as it sounds, but I’m going to have to consult with family and get back to you. Thanks for calling me.”

“Wait,” Shawn barked into his phone, his heart racing as he expected to hear dead air on the other end. When the sound of breathing continued, Shawn swallowed back a flight of nerves and said, “He bit me, Rob. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve been dizzy and half-drunk until a couple of hours ago. I’m hearing weird things and feeling weird things and considering he told me to find you right around the time he bit me, I’m gathering there was a reason.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, he bit you?” Rob asked. Shawn let the rhetorical question stand, grateful when it sounded like Rob at least believed him. “Are the marks still there?”

“Yeah, there and hurting like hell, though not as bad as they were earlier. I think the painkillers the doctor gave me helped.”

“You saw a doctor?”

“I didn’t have much choice. I fainted near the lake and they must have called an ambulance.”

“Oh, this is one clusterfuck after another.” Rob sighed. “I’m heading to Philly. Stay in Ed’s apartment. I’ll text you when I’m getting close.” He paused, and added, “Welcome to the family,” before hanging up, leaving the parting salvo lingering in the air, almost ominous in its echo.

“Still tempted to take me to Jefferson?” Shawn asked, looking at Dominic while pocketing his phone.

“Dude, I don’t know what I should be doing,” Dominic said. “The cousin is coming here?” When Shawn nodded, Dominic sighed and leaned against the nearest wall. “You are going to owe me so much for playing along right now.”

“Understood and agreed.” Shutting the laptop, Shawn reclined in his seat and looked at Dominic. The two men admired each other in silence for several minutes. “Well, strap in,” Shawn finally said, “and get comfortable. I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Succumbing to the urge for a nap, Shawn shut his eyes for an indeterminate amount of time, woken up by the sound of knocking at the door. While he sat upright on the couch, ginger still with his shoulder, Dominic startled awake on the chair and yawned. Both men had barely had the chance to blink away sleep when another knock sounded, this one louder and more emphatic.

“Yeah, coming,” Shawn called out, rubbing at his eyes. Slowly, he stood, followed by Dominic when he managed to his feet and together, they walked to the front door and unlocked it. While opening the door revealed Rob, much as Shawn had expected, the presence of a couple who looked only ten years Rob’s senior confused him. “Hey,” he said, his head still swimming and unable to process a guess at the couple’s identity. Instead, he stepped aside to allow them entrance. “Come in.”

Rob nodded, walking inside. Followed by the mysterious duo, he paused in the living room with them, silence reigning over the room until Shawn shut the door. As Shawn turned to look at them, Rob nodded in Dominic’s direction. “You should probably tell your friend to go,” he said.

“If it’s all the same, I think I’ll keep him here.” Shawn surveyed each face and took a deep breath. “It’d be nice to have a friend right now.”

“How much do you trust him?” the unfamiliar man said. Tall, with a medium build and sandy brown hair, something about his appearance suggested Shawn should know him, though Shawn struggled still with his identity.

Still, Shawn played along. “Not to be overly dramatic, but I would trust Dom with anything,” he said.

“If he can keep a secret, then he can stay.”

Rob shot the man a look, who held up a hand as if dismissing any further objections. The woman – darker-haired than her counterpart, but itching at the back of Shawn’s mind the same way the man had – remained quiet, offering her implied consent, and while Rob looked annoyed with the decision, something about the man commanded his respect. Dominic watched with Shawn at the silent powerplay which commenced, saying, “I promise whatever’s about to be discussed, I’ll keep it to myself,” as an olive branch.

“It’s alright,” the man said. He took a deep breath and released it slowly before stepping closer to Shawn. He nodded at Shawn’s shoulder. “Let’s look at that bite.”

Shawn hesitated, looking at Dominic and Rob first before motioning for his shirt. Lifting it over his head, he tossed it onto the couch and felt butterflies take flight inside his stomach when the unfamiliar man closed the distance between them. “I’m taking it on faith here that you’re part of Edwin’s family,” he said, punctuating the comment with a nervous chuckle.

“We’ll get to that in a minute, I promise.” He lifted a hand, hovering near the bandage. “May I?” he asked. When Shawn nodded, he focused on picking at the tape, gingerly pulling the bandage off and handing it to Rob once it had been removed. Shawn winced, but took a deep breath, muscling through the initial burst of pain and squaring himself against the continued onslaught of discomfort. The stranger seemed both aware of it and apathetic, leaning close to examine the bite marks and touching them once, despite the sharp breath Shawn took when he did.

“Is it –?” the woman asked, as if she had reached the end of her patience.

“I think it might be.” He lifted his eyes from the wound to look at Shawn. “Edwin must care about you.”

“We love each other very much,” Shawn said. He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“We’ll get to that in a minute. For now –” he nodded toward the couch. “– leave that uncovered. It’ll heal faster. Also, you might want to sit. We have a lot to discuss.”

Shawn put his shirt back on and shot a look at Dominic, who shrugged. Sitting beside Shawn, he looked as nervous as Shawn felt and seemed ready to clutch onto Shawn’s hand, as much for his sake as for his friend’s. While the man lowered himself into the chair, Rob leaned against the nearest wall and the woman perched on the arm beside her partner. “Maybe we could start with introductions,” Shawn said. “Considering I have no idea who you are.”

“You don’t know who I am, but some part of you does,” he said. The man raised an eyebrow. “Am I right?” While Shawn failed to respond, the way he shifted in his seat seemed to answer the question enough for the man’s satisfaction. He nodded and took a deep breath. “My name is Joseph and this is my wife Mallory. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to come right out with it. Shawn, we’re Edwin’s parents.”

Dominic blurted a laugh and Shawn blinked. “You,” Shawn began, pausing when even repeating the statement threatened to stretch the bounds of his acceptance. “You’re serious? You’re Edwin’s father?”

“Did you guys have him when you were in Kindergarten?” Dominic blurted out.

Joseph shot Dominic a quick glance, then looked back at Shawn. “I know it’s incredible and if you give me a moment, I’ll prove it, but for now, I’m asking for your patience.” He leaned forward in his seat, folding his hands in his lap. “One more question and then, we’ll get to explanations. I promise.”

When Shawn nodded, Joseph took a deep breath. “Who were these men who took Edwin?” he asked. “Did they tell you what their names were?”

“Only one of them did.” Shawn shut his eyes and struggled to think. “Cameron. I can’t remember the last name, but it was something…”

“… French?” Joseph asked. “Could it have been Laurent?”

“Yes, that was it.”

“Son of a bitch.” Joseph frowned, needing to pause and clutching for Mallory’s hand when she offered it. For as distraught as the news seemed to make him, Mallory remained strong, though in her eyes, Shawn could see a form of shock and despair that made him think of his own parents. The idea that they could have been telling the truth, regardless of how incredible the idea was, became a real possibility. “Did he have a ring?” Joseph asked, breaking Shawn from the thought.

“He might have. I don’t know. Things happened so quickly. One minute, we were sitting by the fire, with Edwin about to tell me something, and the next minute, these guys were causing problems. Something they said made it sound like your families aren’t getting along.”

“That’s one way of putting it. In-fighting, in a sense, but it’s part of a larger problem where we’re from.”

“Yeah, they talked about taking Edwin to their folks. Edwin… did something with fire that I still can’t believe happened and dragged me off into the woods. Right before he surrendered himself to them, he did this to me.” Shawn pointed at his shoulder.

“That was smart of him, albeit I wish you could have become part of the family under much better terms.” Joseph surrendered to a small smile, barely visible, but welcome in its sight. “He’s spoken of you. During his last visit, he mentioned the possibility of telling you the truth about us, and even though I wish he’d spoken to me before running off with you, it doesn’t surprise me.”

Joseph kissed Mallory’s hand before rising to a stand. Shoving both hands in his pockets, he studied Shawn. “Do you know what the truth is?” he asked.

Shawn hesitated, the insane answer dancing in his mind once more. Glancing at Dominic, he prepared himself for giving voice to it, his mind still fighting him even when he committed toward speaking his suspicions. A chain reaction of epiphany threatened to crack through the wall holding it back if he did. “You guys are werewolves,” he said. “That’s why Edwin’s eyes turn golden when he’s riled. I don’t know how that relates to him being able to do what he did with fire, but the bite mark…”

“Yes, the bite mark looks like it came from a large beast. Dire wolf-sized, approximately. While there are werewolves, we’re a special breed called wolfen. Each of our families has a special talent – sort of a magical gift given to us by the same place our magic comes from.”

“Magic?” Shawn asked.

“The magic that allows us to shift between being human and being wolf.”

Dominic laughed. “This is completely insane,” he said. “I mean, come on. Magic and special kinds of werewolves? I don’t know what kind of bizarre conversation I’m watching, but this is a little much for –”

Joseph unbuttoned his shirt before Dominic could finish. The gradual act of him undressing stopped Dominic from continuing and startled Shawn, a small wave of relief cresting over him when Joseph stopped shy of removing his pants. He kicked off his shoes, however, and had his thumbs hooked over the waistband of both his pants and the boxer shorts he wore underneath.

It all happened in a split second, too quick for Shawn to track. The half-dressed man transformed from a human to a large, furry animal, descending from bipedal to standing on four paws, not as tall but somehow, even more intimidating. Dominic fell back onto the couch, sputtering out every curse word he knew, while Mallory stood from the chair’s arm and walked over to her husband. Running a hand along his fur, she focused her attention on Shawn as she spoke.

“Edwin chose you as his mate,” she said. “We’ll explain more about what this means, but now that you’ve seen it, you should know.” Mallory offered a faint, apologetic grin. “You have a month to prepare. But during the next full moon, you’re going to become one of us.”