Accept to escort Claire to meet the coven

After a moment to think about it, I crossed my arms and spoke dryly. “Okay, but I'm not joining your coven. I'm only coming to make sure Claire is fine.”

Mother clapped her hands, satisfied with my answer. “Very well. Then it's settled, I'll arrange a place for the two of you to stay the night.” She took out her phone and sent a text to someone. A minute later, it vibrated and she smiled. “It's taken care of. Since I assume you don't want to stay with either of us, Minh will let you stay in one of his empty flats.”

“Thanks,” Dahl reluctantly said, looking awkward.

“We'll pack some stuff quickly and join you at the airport, alright?” I added.

Mother nodded. “We'll be waiting. Come, Claire.” Claire smiled at us, grabbed her bag, and followed Mother outside.

Dahl and I exchanged a glance. Nothing needed to be said right now. She hurriedly went to her room, opening her closet and grabbing a large backpack. In it, she hastily threw on some spare underwear, a long slit denim skirt and a white blouse. She put on some beige ankle boots to go with her current and future outfits and then zipped the bag shut.

“Alright, I'm done,” she declared. “Let's go to your place quickly.”

“I won't need much either,” I replied, nodding. I was already wearing my favourite Demonia boots and riveted leather jacket.

At my place, I packed my makeup kit, a pair of ripped jeans, and one of my band shirts. I also picked a few accessories and got ready to leave.

“Are you nervous?” I asked Dahl on the way to the airport.

“Of course,” she sighed. “I never wanted to get involved with another coven of skinwalkers, I had my fill already…” After a few seconds, she continued. “They do seem more reasonable than the ones I knew in London, at least…”

“It'll go well,” I said, even if I wasn't really convinced myself.

When we arrived at the airport, we spotted Claire with Mother's group, talking to each other. Claire seemed embarrassed but not really uncomfortable. She was smiling and giggling, appearing overall more comfortable in Rebecca's skin.

“Ah, there you are,” Mother said when she saw us. “Are you ready?”

Dahl and I both nodded. “We are. Let's get it over with,” I grumbled.

Mother chuckled, giving us our plane tickets, and led us to the boarding gates. Claire and Minh were next to her. Ashley stayed behind, closer to me and Dahl. She didn't say anything but gave me awkward and apologetic smiles, as if she'd been the one responsible for this messed-up situation.

On the plane, things weren't much different. Since Mother bought our tickets last minute, Dahl and I had to be separated, our seats being a few rows apart. Next to me was a young couple, albeit one with some trouble brewing already considering all the ogling I received from the boyfriend, ogling clearly noticed by the girlfriend. I was hoping she wouldn't take it on me, I already had enough to deal with. The girlfriend glanced at me before noticing the lesbian flag pin I recently added to my jacket and relaxing ever so slightly. After that, her anger was squarely directed at her boyfriend, thankfully.

I decided to nap for most of the flight, so it went in the blink of an eye. After landing, I reunited with Dahl and followed Mother, Claire, Minh, and Ashley. Outside, two cars were seemingly waiting for us.

Leaning against a Subaru was a Latina-looking girl, wearing baggy jeans and an oversized baseball shirt. She waved when she noticed Minh. The car next to hers was a pickup truck, with a tall blonde man standing in front of it, dressed casually too.

Minh approached the Latina and gave her a kiss. “Thanks for taking care of my car, Daniella~”

Daniella returned the kiss and grinned flirtatiously. “You know I can't refuse you anything~” She then turned towards Claire with a more friendly smile. “How was the trip, Becky?”

Claire returned the smile, albeit more shyly. “It was fine. But I'm Claire, not Rebecca.”

It surprised Daniella. “Oh, you're the new skinwalker Minh mentioned? Aga's daughter?”

Minh answered in Claire's stead. “Yep, meet Seo-Yun and Claire, Aga's children, and Dahlia, Yun's partner. All three are skinwalkers.”

Daniella seemed confused at first. “Seo-Yun? I thought Aga's other child was named Edward?”

I sighed before speaking. “I no longer use that name. I'm just Seo-Yun.” I wasn't used to having to explain this to people, but I heard it was something most trans people experienced quite often.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know. Nice to meet you. I'm Daniella, one of Minh's girlfriends,” she said with an apologetic smile.

The blonde man raised his hand and waved. “I'm Nikolai, a member of Aga's coven. I'm glad to see you two kids doing well.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You know us?”

My question made Nikolai laugh. “That I do. I came to visit Aga occasionally under the guise of your butler or maid. We've spoken from time to time, and I see you've changed quite a lot. We've all been following your Instagram after Aga and Minh mentioned your new life.” Minh and Mother both giggled while Nikolai continued. “I'm also the one who helped Claire escape and find you after Aga learnt what your father had planned for her.”

His answer took me aback, but Claire didn't seem too surprised. She approached him and bowed in gratitude. “Mother already told me. Thank you for saving me.”

Nikolai smiled, patting Claire's head gently. “Hey, no need. If there's one thing uniting all of us here, it's that we all hate bigoted shitheads like Victor.”

He didn't seem to be lying, I wasn't expecting such honest care from a member of Mother's coven.

“Yun, why don't you ride with Nikolai and I?” Mother suggested, smiling. “Claire and Dahlia can go with Minh and Daniella.”

I glanced at Dahl and Claire, who both nodded and gave me a reassuring look. I returned my attention to Mother, resting a hand on my hip and sighing. “Alright. Let's get this over with.”

I watched Claire and Dahl get into Minh's car with Daniella before climbing into the pickup truck. Mother sat next to me, still appearing friendly, while Nikolai got in the driver's seat.

“It shouldn't take too long for us to arrive, but before we do, I have to warn you about Aisha,” Mother said.

I tilted my head. “Aisha? The ‘stubborn one’ you mentioned earlier?”

Nikolai snorted. “That's an understatement.”

Mother meanwhile seemed amused. “She's really possessive of me and gets jealous quickly. She will be confrontational with you and Claire, I know it. But ignore her and things will be fine soon enough.”

“She won't do anything to you other than try to get under your skin. Not that it's possible anymore,” Nikolai joked, laughing as he drove the truck.

“I'll keep it in mind,” I simply replied, looking at the scenery through the window.

It was weird to be here again. I didn't expect to ever return to my hometown after dealing with my father. I thought this part of me was behind me, like the person I used to be. Besides Claire, Edward and his life were a thing of the past, or so I thought. Yet here I was, accompanying Claire as she's to be introduced to Mother's coven and stay here for who knows how long… What kind of life would she adopt here? Would being with Mother and the rest of the coven change her?

“Worried about Claire?” Mother asked. Before I could answer, she continued. “It's written all over your face. I gave you my word she'd be safe, Yun. I didn't bless her just to leave her on her own. She's my daughter and I will take good care of her.”

I didn't say anything. I didn't see the point. I just closed my eyes and sighed quietly.

I heard Nikolai speak next. “Hey, kid, relax. I know it's hard for you to trust us, trust is earned after all, and what Aga did isn't helping. But I can assure you Claire will be fine. Most of us already considered you two as our nieces before you became skinwalkers. Now it's just more official.”

“I see…”

I was getting nervous the more we drove, but I knew I had to stay strong.