McCoy (10)

"Everything?" Baxter asked

"excruciating detail?" Monroe finished. I stared at them as Esme nodded, confirming both. She wanted to know it all, but would she be able to handle it? I was still staying back from her so she didn't panic again about my wolf. Neither Roe nor Baxter spoke, so I risked it and started them off.

"so humans call our kind werewolves, but we normally use the term shifter," I stated

"Right, and we live in packs," Baxter added, turning to me and nodding thanks for the assist. "Wait," Roe said. " She wants to know everything, so we should start at the beginning."

"what do you mean," Esme asked.

"We should start with the creation myths. That way, you hear everything from start to finish unless you don't want excruciating detail."

"I want to know everything." Esme leaned into the conversation, and I settled on the seat with Roe because this would be long.

"Well, the creation myth goes something like this." Roe started, "The earth mother was making all the creatures of the earth when she made her favorite, humans. All the other gods grew jealous of her creation and wanted to make their own. Still, they did not know how to use the earth mother's magic of creation, so the Goddess of magic created a cauldron that would harness magic and gave it to the earth mother, hoping to trick her into releasing her magic."

"These gods don't have names?" Esme asked

"they do, but for the most part, the magical world refers to them in reverence to the power they represent," Baxter clarified.

"Anyway," Roe continued, "when you hear about tricksters in the world of gods, the Goddess of magic tends to be who they are talking about. She didn't tell the earth mother that the cauldron was enchanted to absorb some of her cast-off magic. So, the earth's mother adored it and used it constantly. The Goddess of Magic bid her time, and when the Earth mother went out, the Goddess of Magic collected all the human followers she had gained and led them to the cauldron. She threw them in and sprinkled a bit of her magic in there. Then, I plucked them out. She ran away, having made what she wanted to make. But she was watched by the other gods, plotting what they would do with this knowledge. Unfortunately, they didn't understand how the magic worked, so they had varying results. Being one of them, the moon goddess brought her followers to the cauldron, promising blessings. Still, they were nomadic people, so they had their companion animals with them. The wolves protect their flock and insist that she bless them, too. So, not knowing any better, the Goddess scooped them all up, humans and wolves, tossing them in the cauldron. Before she could bless them, the cauldron merged the humans' and wolves' minds and bodies, creating the shifters we know today."

"so they were made by mistake," Esme asked

"Happy accident," Baxter clarified, "but the story isn't over."

"the god of darkness had been there before the moon goddess. He was a faster studyer and used magic to pump out all forms of darkness using all manner of creatures. Mind you, there is another myth where he wanted to marry the moon goddess to the point where he tried to overtake her and failed. So he was a jilted lover and bitter about it. He heard her coming, decided to play a trick on her, and left some of his magic in the cauldron. That is why the cauldron reacted when she threw in her people."

"so there is darkness on werewolves," Esme asked, gasping at the story.

"Just as there is darkness in the moon," McCoy finished,

"it is also the reason we can turn humans into shifters," Baxter explained,

"so I could become one of you?" Esme whispered so quietly that I would have had to strain to hear it.

"yes, you could if you wanted." Hope was flying in Baxter's eyes as he responded,

"Anyway, that is how shifters came to exist," Roe finished.

"We live in packs. This is the pack house. Baxter is the alpha, so he is in charge, and there are many ranks beneath him," I stated.

"Oh, alpha is like the strongest wolf." Esme nodded in understanding.

"Our pack structure comes more from the human side, modeled after monarchies." Baxter corrected "the term alpha wolf, which means nothing to natural wolves. That isn't how their pack work,"

"but people always say that?" Esme questioned,

"That was a mistake. We think the scientist watched one of our packs and then corrected it by observing a real-world pack."

"Crazy."

"The real question is, what do you think about becoming a wolf?" Row asked, and I cringed, hoping that Esme didn't freak out.

"me really," Esme hesitated. "What about you, Roe? Are you becoming a wolf to be with McCoy?"

"oh no, I'm not human, so I can't become a wolf," she answers

"But you said that you weren't a wolf," Esme counters

"Oh, I'm a witch. The wolf bite would kill me even if it came from my mate," Roe explained

"You're a witch!" Esme didn't take that discovery lightly. She thought she had a companion in Roe, and they were the same.

"What is a mate?"

"a mate is the wolf you find yourself naturally attracted to without even knowing them. For instance, McCoy is my mate." Roe glazed right over Esme's turmoil and added more to the flame.

"So are you telling me that I have a mate, a wolf, to whom I am naturally attracted?" Esme's voice was quiet in a challenging manner

"of course"

"So Baxter is my ..."