Being called to my mother's office

As I worked, I saw my mother returning from lunch break, but without my father. Whenever he came here, he rarely even stayed here the whole day, preferring to work alone in the comfort of his own office at the mansion. I assumed that it was one of those days and didn't say anything. It made things easier for me.

"Ah, Elise. Would you mind giving me a hand in about an hour?" My mother asked, approaching my desk. "I might need your help for a few things."

"Of course, Ms. Arston." I simply replied with a smile.

She nodded and went back to her office. I resumed my work and tried to wrap things up quickly. Thankfully, it wasn't that hard. I waited for a few minutes for my mother to call me in, making myself a coffee in the meantime. I also made one for her, something Elise often did.

"You can come, Elise." I heard my mother say.

I walked inside her office, handing her the cup of coffee I made. "Here's for you, Ms."

"Thank you. Please sit down." She said as she gestured at the chair.

She went to close the door and sat on her desk in front of me, taking sips from her cup.

"So, did you make any progress?" She asked, smiling.

"Yes, Ms. I just finished establishing your schedule for next week before you called me."

"You're such a diligent worker, Elise. I am glad to have you here, and even if he doesn't show it, my husband does think the same too."

"You honor me, Ms. I'm not doing anything special."

She finished her cup and walked next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. "No need to be so modest, you brought a lot to this company."

As I was done drinking my own cup, she spoke again. "Tell me, how's the planning for your wedding?"

I looked down, acting more bashful as I searched through Elise's memories. "Well, my partner and I are still looking for a place we could rent for the day. We also recently contacted the church to organise things."

"Going for a religious wedding?"

I nodded. "Indeed. While I myself am not a believer, my family is Catholic, so I thought it was only natural."

It never failed to impress and scare me how easy it was to impersonate someone with these abilities. I was playing Elise's role perfectly, using all her knowledge and memories as if they were mine.

"I'm sure it'll be a wonderful day." My mother replied with a smile.

Almost immediately after, though, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my neck, making me wince. But this pain... was familiar...

"Oh my..." 'Mother' said, taking a step back.

I slowly turned, still stunned, and froze as I saw spines coming out of my mother's hand... Spines like mine or Dahlia's...

She laughed seeing my reaction. "You're a bold one, using one of my favourite skins like this. But it's so rare to find one of us that I'm willing to pardon this little transgression."

"One... One of us...?" I couldn't bring myself to accept that despite the evidence in front of me...

"Did you come here with the hope of becoming a powerful and rich woman? Well, I'm sorry, but I was here first." She said, a teasing smile on her face. As I stayed silent, she spoke again. "What's wrong?"

I couldn't deny it any longer... I had the irrefutable truth... She was one...

"How long..." I murmured, finally able to speak.

"Hmm?"

I looked at her. "How long have you been her...?"

"Does it really matter?" She simply replied, keeping her smile.

I immediately stood up and grabbed her by the collar of her blouse, something that would have looked more intimidating had I not been so tiny currently.

"I asked you a question! How long have you been her?"

"My, such aggressiveness. What did I do to you?" She seemed more amused than intimidated.

Since no one could see us, I took the liberty to remove Elise's face, surprising my 'mother'.

"Answer me! How long have you been wearing my mother?!"

"You are... Edward?"

"I am."

After a short moment, she bursted out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I can't believe it! I would never have expected something like this to happen!" She said in between laughs.

"What are you talking about?"

She regained her composure somewhat, but still gave me a sly smile. "Well, a child I gave birth to became a skinwalker. Now I almost feel like a real mother, it's so exciting! I can brag to have a real skinwalker child!"

"G-gave... birth to? What?"

She leaned closer, her smug smile not leaving her face. "I was already wearing Patricia before you were even conceived. The only mother you ever knew was me. I was the one who gave birth to you and your sister."

I let go of her collar and took a step back, staring at her. "That's... That's not possible... You're lying..."

She chuckled. "I can assure you I'm not. I never was fond of kids, but well, I still had a role to play."

"You're... You're a skinwalker... How could you..."

"How could I give birth?" She cut me short, snickering. "The skinwalker who turned you didn't explain?" She approached me, pulling back Elise's face over mine. "Then, let me be a mother for once and teach you something, my dear daughter. You are completely a woman currently, and that includes the possibility to get pregnant and give birth. So yes, I did bring you and your sister into this world, because I've mostly been a woman for these last twenty-six years."

I couldn't speak... It was like everything I knew about her growing up was a lie... I just kept staring at her, stunned.

She laughed again. "You were the last person I expected to become a skinwalker, though. Did you perhaps come here to take **** on your father, now armed with the wonderful abilities this curse gifted you?"

I didn't reply, still feeling lost and confused.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." She went back to sit at her desk. "Hmm, I planned to keep this life for another year or two, but you know what? I'm feeling generous, so I'll help you. What do you say?"

"H-huh?"

"Consider it my first real gift as a mother, Edward." She got to her laptop and started to type something. "Give me some time to gather all the files I need. With the ones your father keeps in his office, I should be done tomorrow. Then his life will be over."

"Are you... really helping me like this?" I finally managed to ask.

"Why not? I told you that I had plans to ditch this skin soon anyway. I'm not really losing anything. Speaking of skins, how do you find my dear secretary? Isn't she lovely?" She asked with a teasing grin.

I looked down, not answering.

"And her boyfriend, John, is such a charming young man~" She continued despite my silence.

"You... already wore Elise before?"

"Quite a few times, yes. I told you, she's one of my favourite skins. I borrow her whenever I feel like taking a break and spending some sweet time with her boyfriend. Have you seen how mind-blowing he is in bed yet~?"

"W-what? N-no! I'd... I'd never!"

My mother chuckled. "Right, you're still young. How long have you been a skinwalker, by the way? I assume not that long, considering your lack of knowledge and the fact that you still have your original skin."

"Since last Thursday..." I quietly said.

"You're just a hatchling, then. I admit that I didn't expect you to try wearing a woman so soon. You didn't seem to be the type." She said, amused.

"I only did that to get closer to you..." I replied, looking away.

She laughed again. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy every second of it, I wouldn't believe you. Elise is such a wonderful, adorable skin, and while I didn't know you were wearing her before, now it's plain obvious how much you loved it. It's a fairly natural reaction, though, a lot of male skinwalkers love to wear female skins and vice-versa. Most of my acquaintances are like this."

"Acquaintances?"

"You're far from the only skinwalker I know, my child. Anyway, how's your sister doing? I imagine that she went to see you after running away, the two of you have always been inseparable."

I took a deep breath, trying to regain my composure after all these revelations, and spoke. "She's been living with me, yes."

"Victor was so pissed when she disappeared, it made helping her flee so worth it." She said, giggling.

"You... helped her?"

"I did, yes. I'll admit that I didn't just do it for her sake. I love making your father mad, it's so entertaining to witness. I always end up having to clean up his mess, so it's a way to get back at him."

I didn't say anything, conflicted after hearing what she just said. On one hand, she did save Claire, even if it seemed to have been for her own amusement, but I was wondering if she's only been treating us like toys since we were young... Allowing me to start boxing and collecting comic books, allowing Claire to own games and be tomboyish... Was it just because she got a kick out of seeing my father and us fight?

"Is Claire aware of your new nature?" She asked.

"Yes, but nothing has changed between us..."

"I suspected as much. She loves you far too much to let this cause a rift between you two. And about the skinwalker who turned you, how are they like?"

"I... don't know her that well yet, but she seemed like a fairly honorable person..."

My mother snickered. "I wonder... In any case, let us resume work for now, you're still my secretary for the time being. I'd also like you to accompany me somewhere once the day is over."

I didn't want to cause Elise any trouble. I nodded and started to leave the room.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Congratulations on transcending humanity, my child." I heard her say in an amused tone.

I didn't reply and just went back to Elise's desk, trying to resume her work. But it was so hard... My mind was filled with so many thoughts after this conversation... I was such a confused mess. The fact that I was born from a monster was such a hard pill to swallow... I had to almost lose myself in Elise's personality to be able to work somewhat decently.