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                Anna

stumbled backwards. The wolf morphed into a naked young girl even as she hit

the sheets. Her hands went to the ugly scar. Her lips went to the unconscious

woman's cheeks. A second later she morphed back into a wolf, only this time her

colors were dark and her eyes were ablaze.

                "I

thought she was dead!" Her voice was roaring from the pits of hell.

                Anna

dropped to the floor. "Maggie?"

                Edward's

voice boomed out. "Enough! Mags, calm yourself! Never look something as heaven

sent as this reunion as something someone needs to be punished for."

                He turned

and dropped to crouch next to the old woman. "What happened? Maggie told me she

was accidentally killed by her father." 

                She was

a little too rattled to collect her thoughts. "Killed? Yes. She died."

                He

glanced up to watch the sheet rise and fall with slow respirations. "But?"

                "But? But

what?" She blinked away a few tears. "Oh. She is made of sterner stuff than

most. It took her body a few days, but she recovered, but only to the point as

you see her here."

                "Ok. I

understand so far. Somehow you snatched her body and moved her far away. Why

didn't you take Maggie?"

                "Maggie?"

He eyes focused. "Oh my poor child! I'm so sorry, but it all happened too fast.

I don't expect you to forgive me, but you must understand that I did what I

could. Your mother could not be found out and if the morgue attendant had found

her to be breathing again, there would have been an immediate investigation."

                Maggie

was wavering between forms, fighting the conflicting emotions. "You left me!

Why don't I remember the reason why?"

                Edward

held his tongue. He knew why. He asked her grandmother another question. "Her

papers where a mess. No birth certificate, no medical records. You stole all

that, didn't you?"

                "Yes.

There are too many irregularities in our history for normal people to happen

across. You known how old I am, don't you?"

                "I do."

He lapsed into silence. If Maggie's mom was still alive, then that changed so

many things. He was legally her guardian, though that was a loose relationship.

They were on a far different level than that now. Her mother could hardly come

back from the dead and claim to be of any relationship to her. She had been

pronounced dead and she couldn't come back..

                "Wait,

why didn't her body go up in smoke and ash?"

                "I will

not discuss that with the likes of you. Know only that it did not."

                Maggie

growled a little. "Don't you dare talk to him in such a disrespectful manner!

We're gathered here on account of him. You have your stupid ring because of

him. I'll tear your throat out myself unless you come clean. "

                "Mags!

You have no right to talk to her that way!" This situation was beginning to

fall apart. He wished he had known this rather important fact from the start.

He could look forward, but not behind. He had not seen this coming and was left

wondering what else there was hiding in the hidden folds of this unusual family's

personal history.

                "Shut

up father! She left me alone to fend for myself! So unless she tells me what

the hell it was all about, I'll drag the information out of her a bloody giblet

at a time!"

                In his

anger he erupted into his biggest form. "You most certainly will not!"

                All

Anna could ask, as she stared at the enormous intrusion into her purposely

quiet life was, "Father?"

                He

turned to her, his voice rough and deep from the transformation. The clothing

was lying in ruins on the floor. "I adopted her. Therefore, she calls me

father. Her real father is in an insane asylum somewhere, as I sure you are

aware."

                "No, no

he's not."

                Both of

them paused, did Maggie and Edward Peterson. "What?"

                "There

is just too much to tell you and I really don't know where to begin. So can we

please try and return my daughter and,"

pointing to the girl, "her mother

back to the land of the living."

                Maggie

looked to him for advice. He gave it. "No one is going to be going anywhere at

the moment. Let's take this one slow step at a time. And please keep our tempers

in check, shall we?"

                Maggie's

ears drooped. "Sorry. I guess I got a little overexcited." She turned to her

grandmother. "My apologies gran. I'm sure you had good reasons for what you

did."

                "I'd

like to think so little one; I'd like to think so."

                Edward

put his hand on the woman's arm and helped her up. They stood there as the seconds

ticked away. He saw many things through the connection, some of them rather

disturbing. When he let go, everyone had their eyes on him. "The only thing

that has kept her alive has been the state she is in." He turned to Anna. "Am I

right? And I believe you blanked a lot of people's memories to keep this secret,

didn't you?"

                "How do

you know that?"

                "Well,

for one, it's obvious on the face of it. Maggie couldn't remember much outside

of the transformation and the attack on her mother. The body vanished and it

didn't turn to ash and yet no one seemed to recognize the rather glaring loss of

a corpse. You disappeared across several state lines to hide away here meaning you

did want to risk discovery. I get the feeling that if it were known that she

was alive, both of your lives would have been in danger."

                "You

erased my memory?" The growl was back in Maggie's voice.

                "I

scrambled it a little dear, nothing major. I didn't want you to forget us, but

I couldn't have people finding out what you were. I could only take one of you

and I chose your mother. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I chose how I

chose under terrible conditions."

                "You

have someone after you then." It was Edward's voice, filled with concern.

                "What?

No!"

                "Yes

you do, for I see it in your eyes."

                "And I

tell you that you're wrong. This is not the time for spurious questions."

                "Fine.

But what will happen when he finds out?"

                "Who'll

find out?" Maggie asked, the anger still spilling forth from her voice.

                Anna cringed

and gave up her charade. "Your father."

                Maggie

cracked her knuckles. "Father is locked up somewhere, playing tiddlywinks with

the other inmates."

                Anna

sighed. "If you mean that idiot McGill, then you're at the same time right...and

you're wrong. He's in a nut house because I sent him there."

                "What?"

                "I

messed with his mind. Sent it over the edge if you will. Left him a raging

lunatic."

                "How dare

you do that to him! He's my father!!"

                "He's

not your father any more than this man is."

                Even

Edward's jaw dropped. "What?"

                "I

think I made myself perfectly clear. That man is not her father. Now, if you

want any more information, then you will help me to restore my daughter!"

                "Mags?"

                "I

don't know what to say. Yes, I guess. She is my mother after all. But don't do

it if there is a risk. Someone is being awfully evasive right now."

                "There's

always a risk. What's life without risk? For example, look at all your

grandmother risked to keep your mother alive and out of harm's way."

                "I'm

still working on that." She looked at the form on the bed. " Do you think you can

you help her?"

                "Maybe.

But you won't like it."

                "Look

fath..., look Edward, you must do whatever you feel is the right thing to do. You

know we have no clue what's going on and you have the best chance of doing

anything helpful for her."

                He

noticed the change in title. Apparently there was going to be a reckoning soon

in regards to what she called him. "OK, but whatever I do, you must not try and

stop me. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease."

                "Do

whatever it takes."

                "Remember,

you agreed to this." He slipped the ring over her finger, gave the prone,

unconscious form a kiss on her cheek and then, balling up his hairy hand,

smashed her skull with his fist.

                The

room erupted into pandemonium. Maggie flew at his face. "What are you doing?"

Alexei grabbed his grotesque, gnarled arm and weighed it down while the

remaining two leaped from their spots to restrain him. But the damage had

already been done. Where the scar had been was fresh destruction. Blood

trickled down the woman's face.

                Edward

looked undisturbed and unrepentant. "I told you."

                Maggie

was in tears, as was her grandmother. "How could you do that to a defenseless

person?"

                "Because

I'm not a surgeon you moron."

                "What?"

Maggie was suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the situation.

                "She

has something stuck in her head you silly twit." He pointed to his own head.

"You know, like someone else we know. Only in this case it isn't helping, it's

hindering."

                "But

you crushed part of her skull again..." Her eyes brightened. "You put the ring on

her. She'll heal properly this time!"

                "That's

the idea."

                Anna

was catching on. Still, the anger in her voice made it quaver.  "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

                "If I

had told you what I planned, would you have allowed me to do it?"

                "Ahhhh.

No I wouldn't." Her voice was returning to normal.

                "So there

you go. Look! It's already happening."

                He was

right. The gash and dent he had just reinjured were filling out. The blood had

stopped flowing and the bone and skin were knitting back together. Maria

slipped her ring on the unconscious woman as well, speeding it up further. In a

short time the wound was closed and healed. Sitting on the surface was a tiny

piece of metal.  Edward picked it up.

                "Must

be some sort of alloy." He looked to Anna for an explanation.

"Yes it is. But please don't ask me

anymore questions for now."

                The

woman on the bed gasped as she took in a deep breath. Maggie pounced onto the

mattress, making an effort to look as much as her young self as possible. She

snuggled up to the body and waited.

                "Mags,

it may take a while for her to recover her consciousness. You might want to

just let her rest."

                "Edward

dearest, I appreciate everything you've done, but if you think you can get me

to leave her for even a second, you've got another thing coming."

                Anna

tapped his arm. "Young man, I think I'll take that vodka now."

                He

looked around at the others. There was a flurry of nods. "Mags, what about

you?"

                "Yeah,

I think I could use some too."

                Glasses

were brought, filled and then drained with a solemnity normally reserved for

funerals. Everyone took a chair and waited, all except for Maggie who remained

steadfast in her vigil. Edward wouldn't have tried moving her for all the money

in the world.

                As the

minutes ticked by, the occupants of the room became restless. The vodka was

soon gone, so Anna made tea and served everyone. Maria smiled when she saw the

samovar. "From home?"

                "Yes.

Gregori grabbed a trunk full of things and sent me on my way out of the

country. He told me to sell some of it when I needed money, and to go to

America with my two most faithful servants. He told me to never look back."

                "It was

good advice. I left the city behind and lived in the wilderness until just a

short while ago. He said that if anyone found me out, they would try to kill me

again."

                Alexei

looked embarrassed. "My story is rather complicated. I'll tell you all about it

later."

                Edward

stood and took the bedridden woman's hand again. As he concentrated, he

remembered belatedly that he knew not her name. "Mags?"

                "What?"

                "Are

you aware that you've never mentioned your mother's name before?"

                "I

didn't? Maybe that was because someone fucked with my head." She scowled at her

grandmother.

                "It

might be. Would you like to introduce us?"

                "Sure,

whatever," she replied sullenly. "Edward Peterson, meet Kathryn McGill."

                Anna

was about to say something, but her voice squeaked and went silent.

                Maggie

caught it. "What? Did I get her damn name wrong?"

                "Hush

child," said a small voice. "You should have more respect for your elders than

that."

                Maggie

nearly hit the ceiling. "Mother!"

                "Maggie

dear, please don't shout. I can hear you just fine."

                The

girl completely forgot everyone else in the room. She also forgot that she was

naked. It was easily done when you spend a lot of time in your feral from.

Clothing becomes meaningless. But her mother noticed.

                "What

is wrong with you child? Where are your clothes?"

                "Nowhere!

Who cares? You're back!"

                "Back?

Back from where?"

                Anna

pushed forward. "From the dead daughter. From the dead."

                Maggie's

mother tired to sit up, but her muscles were too weak and atrophied from her

long, heretofore unsuccessful convalescence.  Edward put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't try

to get up just yet. You'll never make it."

                "And

who are you?" She asked brightly. "I don't think I know you."

                "No you

don't ma'am. I'm Edward Peterson. I'm from the House of Bourbon."

                Her

eyebrows scrunched up. "As in the whiskey?"

                He

stifled a chuckle. "No ma'am, as in the House of Bourbon, from France." He was

using the opportunity to identify his family line, for Anna still assumed he

was Russian.

                "Oh, so

you're French then. How nice!"

                "I'm as

French as you are Russian ma'am."

                "Oh, I

see. It's a family thing then. Does your line have the change like ours does?"

                "I'm

not sure I know what you mean," he said evasively.

                "Oh,

but I'm sure you do." Then her eyes noted the other two in the room. "I see I

have all kinds of guests today. What day is it now?"

                Anna

came around to the other side of the bed. "Tuesday."

                "Tuesday

already. I seem to have forgotten the weekend."

                "My

dear, it's a Tuesday, a year past from when you died."

                Kathryn's

eyes lost their focus for a moment. "I did die, didn't I? Why am I aware of

that?"

                "Because

it was traumatic dear. Things like that stay with you. You were dead for three

days, maybe four."

                "I

died... Maggie was in the hospital..."

                Anna

smiled. "Yes she was. Her first transformation."

                "Yes,

but something happened."

                "Yes,

something did happen."

                "I had

to protect Maggie!"

                "Yes

dear, you did. We both did."

                Edward

interrupted. "You mean you were there that night too?"

                "Yes

young man I was. Maybe you find this contradictory to what you already believe,

but I am a very family oriented person. I protect what is mine. What happened

that night should never have happened, but that idiot McGill demanded that

Maggie be taken to the hospital. Doctors had no idea what was going on inside

her. He unknowingly exposed us to the danger I was trying to hide them from."

                "And

that was what exactly?"

                "That

is none of your business!"

                "My

real husband; Maggie's father," replied Kathryn.

                There

was a moment of silence. Edward ran that through his head and his fingers through

his hair before speaking. "So Maggie's biological father is not this McGill

person?"

                "No.

I'm afraid not."

                "So

might I ask who is?"

                "You

might."

                He

found that Maggie got some of her traits legitimately. "Then I hereby ask you

who her father is!"

                "His

name is William Jesphit Leeds."

                "You

say that as though I should know who he is." Maggie's jaw was nearly on the

floor. She was too stunned to speak.

                Anna

snapped her thin fingers. "No one knows who he is, not in any way that matters."

                "Mother!"

cried the woman on the bed, "don't start this again. It's not like you were any

better in your choice!"

                Edward

stood back and listened carefully to the argument as it progressed. He was

almost regretting jolting Maggie's mom out of her coma. But this sounded like

it was nothing more than a typical family disagreement, albeit werewolf style.

He stood quietly and picked out the important details to add to his growing

collection of important facts.

                Maggie irritation

grew until shouted at the top of her lungs, breaking the tense mood long enough

to have a few words. "Look! You two can fight it out some other time. God, to

think that I'm related to you two. I'll take Maria and Alexei any day over this

kind of garbage. You," she said, pointing to her grandmother, "just got your

daughter back. And that means I got my mother back. So why don't you shut your

trap for a moment and enjoy that little fact?"

                The

woman looked abashed. "I'm sorry. I have my reasons for my behavior."

                "Who

doesn't? But if you're not going to tell us what they are, then for God's sake,

please shut the hell up about it."

                There

was an uncomfortable silence where nothing could be heard but the nervously shuffling

of feet.  Edward found that it was hardly

his place to break that profound emptiness, but he knew that a dialog had to be

maintained to keep things from getting icy.

                "Since

there is a little hesitancy on your part to talk right now, perhaps I can

regale you with a few tales of my own. Maybe that will put some of your fears

into a different perspective."

                "Yes,

who are you, besides being from the House of Bourbon? Don't think that your

heritage gives you any great authority in this house." Still she was very

unsure of herself. So much was happening in such a short span of time that her

head was spinning.

                He

replied in a straight forward manner. "My ancestry is what it is, but it doesn't

make me any better for it. Who and what I am is a separate story. Would you

care to hear me out?"

                She was

fingering her cane again. "I don't trust many these days, but I don't see that

I have a choice. You talk, I'll listen. I promise nothing more than that."

                Maggie

stood by his side. "I want you to know right off the start that I am in love

with him. What you say against him, you say against me. I trust him with my heart

and I trust him with my life. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here; Alexei

and Maria wouldn't be here and mom would still be still laying here out of her

head. Do I make myself clear?"

                Two

feminine voices rang out together. "Love?"

                "Yes,

you heard me. Love. And don't you dare go telling me about how I'm too young! I

think I know my heart by now."

                "Oh

dear."  It was Maggie's mother.

                "This

will never do." It was grandmother this time.

                "Tough!

You left me and this is what happened!" Then she turned suddenly to Edward. "I guess

maybe I shouldn't be so angry after all, should I?"

                His

smile was warm and open. "No, I should think not. Otherwise, none of this would

ever have happened and we would never have met."

                Her

mouth turned upward in a wicked grin as she turned back to her grandmother. "It

looks like both of us have a lot of things to tell the other. Since we came to

you and we're responsible for bring us all together, then I'd suggest you start

talking first."                                           

                "You

are a very impudent child!' cried the old woman.

                "And

you are a very frustrating old woman! Now are you going to act like my

grandmother or not?"

                Kathryn

pushed herself up off the bed. "You two will stop this now! Mother," she

directed her attention to Anna, "the time for all of this secrecy is over. I

have no idea what has happened since I've been out, so you will have to tell

them everything I don't know about. I think that maybe they can help us with

our problem."

                "Now

dear, don't go getting yourself all riled up. You've only just recovered!"

                "Mother,

do like Maggie says and tell them what they want to know or else I shall have

you removed from the room and I will tell them in my own words."

                The old

woman looked like she had sucked on a lemon dipped in alum. "Fine." She turned

to the others,

                "What I

am about to tell you has never been told to anyone but a few. I am not proud of

much of it, but as that of which I will speak occurred a long time ago I

suppose it doesn't make much difference now." She pulled up and chair and sat

down.

"This story is going to take a

while."