A shocking family reunion

When I woke up the next day, from the sound of an alarm tune that was both familiar and unfamiliar, I felt dread building up within me. I was so nervous about my mother coming home with me to meet Claire and Dahlia, and with Aisha and Ashley tagging along.

I sighed as I got out of bed. There was nothing I could do to prevent it from happening. I could just hope that this meeting would go well.

I quickly got dressed, washed my face, grabbed the suitcase I prepared for Melissa, my backpack, and left the flat, waiting for Nikolai as my mother instructed. The pickup truck from yesterday soon parked near me, with my mother inside, still in Elise's skin, alongside the blonde German man Nikolai wore before, and a man and a woman that I assumed were Ashley and Aisha.

"Good morning, Melissa." Nikolai said as he got out of the truck and helped me store my suitcase in the trunk. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine." I replied half-heartedly.

Elise chuckled. "I believed you'd be happy to return to your dear sister. What's wrong?"

I was tempted to retort "You", but I simply said "Nothing..." I knew it wouldn't do any good to antagonize my mother and her associates.

"You're worried, aren't you? Worried that I might hurt her?" She replied with a smirk as I sat in the back. "I give you my word that neither I nor the other members of the coven will do anything to harm Claire. Understood?" She glanced at Aisha as she spoke, who just looked away.

"Yes, Mother..."

"Good~ Aisha and Ashley will find lives to settle into on their own, but you'll have to take care of Melissa, Edward. Minh transferred her a generous sum of money to rent something for a few months, but it won't be enough in the long term. She'll need a job or a proper place to stay."

"I'll see what I can do." I simply replied.

"I'll... I'll help you." Ashley muttered timidly.

I smiled at her. "Thanks."

Nikolai and Elise smiled, visibly amused, before Nikolai started to drive towards the airport. I sent a text to Claire to warn her and Dahlia about my imminent return and closed my eyes, preparing myself as best as I could. It felt like it took hours before finally reaching it.

After parting ways with Nikolai, the four of us walked inside, Elise leading our group. Seeing her act cheerful and cute while knowing my mother was the one piloting this skin really didn't help ease my guilt. This warm smile I found myself making a few times when I wore Elise, she was the one doing it, now. We boarded the plane shortly after, and I found myself sitting next to her, with Ashley and Aisha two rows in front of us.

"I'm quite excited to meet Claire after so long." She said, her soft voice almost enough to make me forget who was hiding under this skin. "Especially after what you told me. She seems to have changed a lot."

"She has, yes."

"What about you? How was your situation there before these recent... turns of events?" She asked.

"I... worked at a bar for a while. My boss was kind enough to give me a chance when I first arrived in the city."

"Interesting. What about your love life? Got anyone you're seeing?"

Ashley twitched when my mother spoke, glancing at me curiously but furtively from her seat.

I blushed slightly and looked away. "Not anymore. We broke up when Claire came to live with me."

My mother seemed intrigued. "Tell me more. How are they like?"

I couldn't tell if she was truly interested or was just faking it, but I replied anyway. "She is... very kind. Cheerful and enthusiastic. She's a PhD student and professor at the local college."

"Hmm, I see. And you never thought about... trying to reunite with her? To get much, much closer to her than before, now that you have the... possibility?" She whispered as she leaned closer, smirking.

I stared at her in shock, quickly understanding what she implied. "N-no!"

Although, despite my protests, she had succeeded in planting the seeds of envy in my mind with this simple sentence. I was already starting to imagine myself becoming Sarah, my ex-girlfriend. Becoming this pretty blonde PhD student and college professor with heterochromia whom I fell in love with. How wonderful it'd be to live her life, to be one with someone I loved.

I grit my teeth. No... I will never do that to her...

"I didn't expect you to get so worked up, it was just a suggestion." She said, giggling. "After all, you're now free to choose the life you want to live, the partners you want to have."

Just a suggestion? Like I'd believe that...

The conversation died down after that, and I took the opportunity to put on Melissa's headphones and listen to some music, trying to distract myself from these new intrusive thoughts. I managed to fall asleep, and was only woken up by my mother shaking me.

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty~" She said, a cute playful smile typical of Elise on her face. "We're about to land."

I yawned, regaining my bearing, and prepared myself for landing. We went through the normal procedures afterwards, waiting for our suitcases and then a taxi Aisha called. Shortly after, we found ourselves in front of Dahlia's building. I asked Claire to tell her to stay today, since my mother wanted to meet her too. She didn't give me any time to remove Melissa, so I was fairly nervous.

I still had the spare keys Dahlia gave me when she turned me, but I preferred to ring. She opened the door, visibly very surprised and confused by the amount of people.

"H-hey, Dahlia... It's me..." I timidly replied, Melissa's personality starting to influence me. "I... brought some people with me... It's a long story."

"Huh, okay? Are you alright?" She asked, noticing my nervousness.

"Somewhat."

Dahlia let us in, guiding us to the living room, where Claire was waiting. They were playing Mario Kart, judging from the pause screen on the TV. She was surprised, and shocked when her eyes landed on Elise.

"E-Elise? What are you doing here?"

My mother smiled, approaching Claire. "I came to visit my second child. It's been a while since we last spoke, my daughter. Since that day you tried to run away from home." Both Claire and Dahlia were stunned, but my mother continued. "You changed a lot in less than a year. Less tomboyish, healthier. Being far from Victor did do you good."

I spoke to make them understand. "Claire... Our mother... was a skinwalker... She's Elise now..."

"M-Mother...?"

"Yes, indeed. I was living as Patricia these last twenty-six years, until I received a surprise yet pleasant visit from my eldest human child, now a skinwalker himself." She said as she gestured at me. "I helped the two of you take **** on your father, and had to find a new skin to settle into. So now, I'm Elise. And these two behind me are Aisha and Ashley, members of my coven. Skinwalkers too, obviously."

Dahlia stepped in between Claire and my mother, staring at her and crossing her arms. "And you're really here with two more skinwalkers just to visit a human child you didn't care about until now?"

My mother chuckled. "Quite protective, aren't you? I assume you're the one who turned Edward?"

"What if I am?"

"Nothing, I was just curious about you. I wanted to know what kind of skinwalker you were. What's your name?"

"Dahlia." She simply replied.

"Not interested in sharing your real name, hmm? No matter. And to answer your earlier question, I am indeed just here to visit and see how my children live. I will take my leave tomorrow. These two will stay around, though, but I assure you that they won't cause any trouble."

Dahlia's suspicious stare shifted to Ashley and Aisha. "They better stay away from my friends."

"I-I just want to be with Edward..." Ashley shyly replied, while Aisha just shrugged.

"Dahlia, do you have something to drink? We immediately went here from the airport, and I'm sure the four of us are quite thirsty." I asked, trying to ease the tension somewhat.

"I do, give me a minute." She said.

She was clearly not trusting them, but I could understand her. While she left to the kitchen, my mother sat next to Claire on the couch.

"How have you been, Claire? Edward told me you joined the police?"

Claire nervously nodded. "I-I have. I'm still... a novice, though."

"It's a dangerous job you went for. You might get hurt in the line of duty. Aisha was a cop for a while, she can testify."

Aisha frowned, apparently unpleased by this mention of her past.

"I-I know, but... I thought it was the right thing to do..."

"Edward would be quite sad if something bad happened to you. He clearly loves you a lot." My mother replied before giving a worrying smirk. "Maybe I should make sure you can take care of yourself. It'd pain me if you were to get injured, or worse, killed."

As soon as she was done, and before I could even react, I saw her plunge her spines into Claire's stomach, her gasping in pain. But instead of deflating, Claire stopped moving, as if paralysed.

Aisha and Ashley seemed stunned by this turn of event, but Ashley still grabbed my arm to prevent me from rushing towards Claire and my mother.

"What are you doing?! You promised you wouldn't harm her!"

"And I'm keeping my word." My mother replied, her smirk not leaving her face. "I'm helping her transcend humanity, evolve from a defenseless prey to a lurking predator, just like Dahlia did with you."

"Oh no... Stop!" I screamed, understanding what she was doing.

Dahlia also rushed back to the living room when she heard the commotion, but froze when she saw Claire and my mother.

"Once started, you can't stop the process. But don't worry, I'm sure Claire will learn to love this gift I gave her. Now, the two of you will be inseparable."

Claire attempted to move, but it only resulted in small twitchings. She was already on the brink of losing consciousness.

"I recently earned back the ability to turn a human, after turning Aisha eleven years ago, and was wondering who to bless next. You showing up made this decision far easier." My mother continued.

"Don't... Leave Claire alone..." I muttered weakly.

Dahlia slowly approached my mother, clenching her fists hard and glaring at her. "You... Who gave you the right to do that!?"

"Hmm? And who gave you the right to turn Edward in the first place? We give ourselves the right, that's how it's always been. But you're all acting so dramatically. Claire will be much better than she's ever been once she wakes up, don't worry."

As the process apparently finished, my mother retracted the spines and laid Claire on the couch before getting up.

"You'll thank me later, Edward. Now your sister won't risk falling victim from a potential wandering skinwalker. I'll leave you three alone and look for a place for the night. Aisha, Ashley, come. Give them some space."

They left right after, Ashley bowing at me as if she was apologising for what happened. Dahlia and I stayed next to Claire, anxiety clearly rising within the two of us as we knew what to expect now...