Page 10 of Pack to the Wall

Bus.

School.

The kids!

“Kids, the bus is here. You need to go!” I called out on instinct.

“Something tells me they’ll be taking a sick day,” Tyson said. “They’ll need to get up to speed quickly as well. And wherever you were going today, call in sick. In fact, call in sick for the next week. You don’t have time to be anywhere but here.”

“Yeah,” I said as that sunk in.

Izzy and Milo came out from the back.

“School?” Milo asked while Izzy wore a stunned expression, her eyes darting around, probably looking for more monsters.

“No,” I said. “I changed my mind. I’ll call the school and tell them you’re sick. Have a seat, this nice man is going to explain some things to us.” As I said this, I got up, grabbed my purseand pulled out my phone. I had their schools on speed dial. I called Milo’s first, then Izzy’s, quickly telling the receptionists who answered they wouldn’t be in.

While I did that, I went into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. Usually, I picked up coffee-to-go on the way to work, but that wouldn’t be happening today. As I waited for that to brew, I got out a bottle of wine and a glass. I filled it to the rim then gulped it back. That didn’t do much. By the end of the second glass, my mind was easing just a little.

Good.

“Time to talk,” I said. “Where did the others go and when will they be back?”

Kira looked at Tyson, who sighed. “They’ve gone to dispose of Harley’s body. It’s… not a quick or nice process, but it means science hasn’t discovered that we exist. It’s horrible, but effective.” Now I didn’t want to know. “They’ll probably be an hour or so,” he finished.

“Then talk. Let’s hear it. Everything. Go.”

I leaned against the kitchen counter. Kira leaned against the front door. Tyson took a seat at the dining room table between me in the kitchen and my kids, who were stiffly sitting in the living room.

Tyson blew out a breath. “Where to start? How about a bit of history? Sure. So… everything you know about the world is probably wrong. All those things you dismissed as nonsense, supernatural, or religious hype, yeah, they’re all real. Demons, angels, and gods? All real. Also, witches and magic.”

Gods?As in… plural?

But before I could ask about that, Milo shouted out, “And dragons?”

“Yeah, they’re out there. Though as far as I know, no one’s seen one in a while.”

“Cool!” Milo crooned, a big grin on his face.

Tyson laughed, then went on, “Yeah, so all of that is real. I know it doesn’t mean much just to hear someone say it, but?—”

“Do witches like to dance around naked?” Milo asked.

I frowned at him. Where had that come from?

“Yeah… sometimes, why?” Tyson asked.

Milo suddenly blushed furiously. “Ah… no reason, keep going.”

My frown deepened. I knew that face. My boy had seen something, but now wasn’t the time to find out what.

“Go on,” I prompted Tyson. I knew I had to believe him, but still, I was having a hard time with all this.

“So yeah, pretty much any mythical thing you’ve heard of probably exists, or did exist a long time ago.” Tyson’s voice was gentle, trying to ease me into the reality of their world. “Which brings us to werewolves. The thing you need to know about what we are is… it’s a curse.”

I listened intently, but the words felt like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Thousands of years ago, wild men put on the pelts of wolves and hunted other men, eating their flesh. They justified this cannibalism saying they were overcome with the nature of the beast while wearing the skins of wolves. So, the Archangel Michael cursed those men to become true wolves, losing their humanity. Some were eventually able to change themselves back… and that’s how this all began. Now, it’s a blood-borne virus thatcanbe transmitted through a bite, but, contrary to popular belief, that isn’t one hundred percent effective. To be sure, you need to exchange blood. It’s also transmissible through sex.”

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