to put this off. "Michelle, he's been infected by a disease that no one believes in. It's going to change him, and we're going to help him through it, but there isn't another doctor in this town who can help except for Bridget here."
"What does he have?" she asked. "And how did he get it?"
And here was the hard part. "He was bit by a wolf," I told her. "The disease is called lycanthropy, and I warned you that you would not believe it, but just hear us out, ok?"
"How did he get bit?" she asked, latching onto the most mundane part of that.
Bridget just moved to stand before her. "Michelle, this disease? It's considered to be fantasy, but it's not. It's a retrovirus, similar to HIV or Rabies. There is no cure, but it can be managed. It's also contagious. Any exposure to his blood, his body fluids, or such could infect you as well, but you need to understand that some people choose to be infected. The downsides are minimal, mainly the initial exposure. The benefits include an overactive immune system that leads to improved health overall. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"My son has AIDS?" she asked.
"No, not AIDS," Bridget assured her. "He has lycanthropy, one of the mutations of something called therianthropy." She looked at me, then nodded.
"Michelle," I said, "he's going to become a wolf."
"What?!" she scoffed. "This isn't funny. Do you even have my son, or is this some bad joke?"
So Sampson sighed and pushed to his feet. Michelle's head whipped around to see him, and her eyes widened, but before she could say anything else, the old man shifted to his human form, standing there in all of his glory, shielding his pelvis with both hands.
"It's real, we're werewolves, and your boy's a pretty good kid." Then he shifted right back.
Michelle was breathing too hard. She hadn't even moved, and I'd half-expected her to run. Instead, she simply stared at Sampson as if trying to make the hardest decision of her life, but I could see the panic attack building. Clearly, so could Bridget.
"Let me give you something to make this easier," Bridget said, pulling a small syringe from her pocket. "Just a little sedative to help with the anxiety, Ms. Sims."
Michelle didn't try to stop her. Instead, she pointed at Sampson. "That dog was a man."
"Wolf," I corrected, "and yes he was. Michelle, Jonah is going to do the same thing. We've already talked to him about this, and we're going to make sure that he comes through the initial conversion without any problems. Our doctor knows all about this."
"Why?" she asked, looking up at Bridget.
"Because I'm a wolf too," Bridget said. "So is Elena. Pretty much everyone here are wolves."
"Like they were saying on the news?" she asked. "But I thought that was a hoax. That girl said she made the video."
"She unmade the video," I explained. "And the boy shown in it is why no one got shot that day. He's a sophomore, and his best friend got shot making sure the girl who took credit didn't get hurt. That girl is completely human. The rest of us aren't anymore."
She jiggled her head in a nod. "Ok. So, what do I need to do? What if they come hunting for him?"
"You," I told her, "need to go see your son. He will complete his turn on Friday, right around one in the afternoon when the moon rises. You won't be able to be there, but you can wait from inside one of the houses. We have plenty of people willing to explain the entire process to you, ok? And we have almost a week to answer all of your questions."
"Thank you," she breathed, and Bridget led her away.
Soon enough, the doctor came back. "Well, he was happy to see her. She's overjoyed, so I'm glad I gave her a little something-something."
"Is that even legal?" I asked.
Bridget just shrugged. "At this point, I've broken so many ethical laws, I'm just doing what's right for us." Then she gestured back to the room. "So, what are you going to do about them?"
"The mom?" I asked. "Ian and I decided to offer them a house here. Jonah said something about bills being tight, and the last thing we need is a convert trying to hold down a full time job plus school. It's just safer this way."
She nodded. "And the other two?"
I sighed. "I have no idea. They won't be able to go