Shrieks erupted.
I don't know for how long the Wanderbilt had been reclused, wallowing in their sinister plans; but their horrified shrieks could have been enough to alert the whole of the Sanctuary.
I could not easily tell what had changed with my morph. The last time, it had just been the elongation and hairiness of my extremities but I doubted that it would have been enough to send anybody into such fit of fear. Maultner's mirror might not be here but I was convinced that I had somehow attained a full morph with Gimmel.
My roar of anger was powerful as I threw cowboy man Mike. My assault was so strong that it sent the man hurtling a good distance before crashing his back against one of the metal pillars of the cafe where he just laid, seemingly unconscious.
My second attempt at morphing with Gimmel was a formidable success. I could feel raw power coursing through me from an untamed source within my mind. So what if I was in Flourescent's shadow? What if I was just a rank away from being omega due to my Pack's prejudice? What if I did not get adequate attention growing up because I was seen by all who knew me as an accident, a mistake unplanned for? All the 'what if's did not matter because at the end of the day, I was still the beta's daughter. I was bound to be as good as my sister. The genes of my parents had also rendered my werewolf traits to be above average.
I looked down at the cowering humans before me. They seemed so low, so beneath me. My morphing had added about three more feet to my height.
"How dare you?" I listened to my own voice, deep and menacing. Nothing like a vulnerable nineteen year old girl who was content with believing in love and happy endings. A werewolf Cinderella.
"I can't believe it," Tiana cried. "Its a Lycan. Isn't it wondrous? A Lycan before us, before our very eyes. The very first stage of our life's work accomplished." Tiana laughed with joy, spreading open her flabby arms. With unease, her crew followed her lead, laughing nervously. They were all trying to normalize an anomaly within the timeframe of a minute. It made me want to chuckle. Gasps erupted as they all shifted away from me except Tiana. I think me opening my jaws was what frightened them. I used my long tongue to caress the stubby points of my evolved dentition. I could bite the half of one of their heads off.
Tiana threw herself on the ground with an effusive bow. "Oh great favoured of the moon goddess. Please forgive our insolence. We were fools for not seeing your real inner beauty. We deserve death. Please spare us!"
As usual, Tiana's crew followed her lead, awkwardly bowing and crying out for my forgiveness. None of them dared to look me in the eye as they shuddered. The scent of their fear was intoxicating. As a Morpher, I had self control to wield my cannibalistic impulses. As a shifter however, even a wolf as gentle as Gimmel could not possibly resist the aroma of terror that radiated from potential prey.
"Where's laundromat man?" I growled. "Where's the idiot who thinks he can differentiate between air dried clothes and whatever?"
His mates were quick to shove him out. I sneered on seeing him, deliberately revealing the full glory hidden inside my jaws. Laundromat man was a wiry man of some sixty years. He was raher unpleasant to look at. He had splotches of scars covering his skin I guessed from some sort of pox disease. His face was weather beaten and hard with wrinkles. The middle of his head was bald and the little hair he had were all white. Age did not treat him fairly at all.
All said and done, he was my size to the T.
"Please spare my life," he begged.
Ugh. They did not have to know that my will was too soft for killing. But their fear was a real bonus for me.
"Take of your clothes and sandals."
He seemed confused but he wasted no time in obeying my command. He took off his grey shirt and cotton trousers. He wanted to take off his underwear too and I screamed for him to stop. I was a second too late as laundromat man let his boxers drop to his ankles. I closed my eyes, turned away and shook my head.
"For the love of the moon goddess. My poor virgin eyes. Cover your thing old man! Now, all of you turn around."
When they did, I morphed back to my human form and quickly covered my nakedness with laundromat man's conveniently sized outfit. The morph had ripped my own livery to shreds.
"You can all turn right back around. Someone please check on cowboy man. See if he's not dead."
"Huh, you don't look so scary anymore," Tiana murmured, unable to hide the tone of acute disappointment from her voice.
"You don't look like one of the three little pigs from that fairytale, but that can quickly change." They unfailingly sensed my threat.
"Maybe morphing was a good idea after all," Gimmel conceded.
"Of course Gimmel. I said we're going to morph. I didn't say I was going to kill any of them, yet," I confidently said as I allowed myself to enjoy being the object of awe. This wasn't a usual situation for me and Flourescent had never deigned to tell me how damned good it felt.
"They're totally scared of you. Maybe you should say something," Gimmel suggested.
"Alright y'all!" I began. "I know what you guys are. I know you're a Lycan cult dedicated to uncovering the existence of werewolves. In fact, I have known about you guys for a good while. Even though my sister tried to hide it from me. She doesn't know that I know."
"Doesn't that make you a spy?"
"Well there's that, but not necessarily, no. It makes me a Lycan. I will always be a better, faster, smarter and all that version of you. I will always be the favoured of the moon goddess." As I spoke, I moved to the forefront of the cafe where I pulled out a chair from the nearest table and balanced into it, crossing my legs in a show of regality. They all turned to me, like sunflowers drawn towards the light of the sun. They gathered in a semi circle front of me but kept a respectable distance.
"Forgive me that I ask. Is this where you tell us to give up? To go home?" Tiana asked. "To forget that all this just happened?"
"Why not?" I shrugged. "Don't get greedy now. Isn't seeing me enough? I get that your so called cult has its self acclaimed objectives but you gotta admit, all that really matters is that you know within your hearts that werewolves exist. Don't discredit my compassion. My folks find out about you and…," I trailed off, letting my gesture of fingers slicing my throat explain my point away.
"Can we at least take photographs for keepsake?" asked one who just had to be a fool.
"If you are Flourescent's sister, doesn't that make Flourescent a Lycan too?"
"Did Flourescent set us up?"
"Hold up guys. This isn't a press conference. You are all completely in my mercy so how about you check your attitude and let me ask the questions?" With ease, I allowed one of my hands to morph, eliciting a satisfying response. "How long have you guys been here?"
"I thought you said you knew?"
I glared at the very same idiot who had asked for a keepsake photograph, not even an autograph with my proclamation saying something like: I, Audie Palmer of the Sanctuary am a werewolf. Happy now??? The hate in my eyes effectively sent my message across and he cowered, hiding behind another member.
"We have been here a little over six months," Tiana bravely answered. "Wanderbilt is many centuries old, passed down from the paternal side of my family. It has been my family's destiny to find the lycans."
"I suppose that makes sense," I said, "except for the fact that you're a girl."
"Hello? It's the 21st century. I'm a girl, I'm fat, I'm forty yet unmarried and I believe in werewolves. Nobody cares anymore. Didn't you get the inclusivity memo? Besides, my junior brother wants nothing to do with the cult. He'd rather go to jail, so he did."
It was official. Everybody else I had to be meeting today was bat shit crazy.
"Fine then, fair enough." I leaned forward. "Now tell me all about this important night that happens once in a thousand years. Tell me about the blood moon."