It turned out to take more than a day for Lizzie to be ready for Erin, so the next morning, they met Shelly and the rest of the Pack for an impromptu gathering at Circle House. Everyone was crowded into the meeting room and Erin was soon surrounded by well-wishers, hugging her, patting her shoulders and smiling.
Becca moved over to one of the side chairs to let Erin be the center of attention for a bit. It was lovely to see her smiling and relaxed again and almost as nice to see the Pack and the Circle House women all together and looking happier than anyone had in ages. She could feel herself relax and grinned up at Robin as the other woman handed her a cup of juice from the big bowl at the main table.
“They only give us the healthy stuff, mind. It’s not very sweet,” Robin warned.
Becca took a cautious sip, then gave Robin a thumb’s up. “Not bad. I like it better without all the extra sugar.” She looked around and spotted Molly and Carla coming through the door. Becca waved and they came over. She couldn’t help but notice that Carla looked completely freaked out.
Shelly said something Becca couldn’t hear and gestured to everyone to start hauling chairs into a circle. She got up and obliged, pausing to give Carla a reassuring smile as she did so. Sure, this was going to take some adjustment, but really, in Wolf’s Point, what didn’t? Lin entered a moment later and Becca smiled at her, a little more uncertainly. She wondered how anyone transitioned from the Pack to Circle House. Was it obligatory? Could you stay at home?
After a moment, she wandered out of her thoughts to find that everyone was silent and looking expectantly at Shelly. Their Alpha made a sweeping welcoming gesture with her hands that took them all in and smiled. “It is good to have us all together again. We should make this a regular gathering. Today is special because we have news and things to celebrate. First, I want to welcome Erin back to us. The murderers have been found and her name is cleared.” Erin stood up and waved awkwardly as everyone clapped, then sat back down.
“We have found an architect and a construction company to begin work on the Women’s Club. Lin will be working with Carli to oversee this as she begins her transition to the Circle House community. She will be telling us more about that after I finish.” Lin bowed slightly, then moved to a chair behind Shelly.
“Many of us participated in a ritual this weekend, one in which we called upon our ancestors and the powers that they imbued this valley with to heal a former member of our Pack. Annie Sara Hunter left the Pack long ago in spirit, and now she has left Wolf’s Point to live as a human for the rest of her life. When she invaded our valley several months ago and was defeated, the power here changed her into a half woman, half wolf, left to roam the hills Packless and alone. But she risked her life to stop another evil from attacking us and our ancestors judged her worthy of a second chance.”
Shelly glanced around as if gauging their reactions. No one looked too torn up about the news so she added, “Lizzie sent her out of town with some of our cousins. She’ll be living with some relatives on the West Coast. They have an idea of what they’ve let themselves in for and will let me know if she shows any signs of wanting to come back here. She seemed pretty happy to be leaving, so I’m sure this is permanent, but please know that we’re keeping an eye on her.”
Becca let out a breath she hadn’t intended to hold. Annie had been a big part of her transition; not a good part, mind you, but a central figure in everything that had happened to her this year. It felt odd to realize that it was over, the threats, the menace, the obsession. She wondered for a brief moment just what you went on to do as a second act, after having been a werewolf, a werewolf hunter and then a monster. Plus whatever she had done before she started to shift.
“The last thing I wanted to announce,” Shelly continued, and Becca could feel Carla and Molly stiffen, “is that most of us already know that the valley’s magic has always made its own choices about who will change and who will not. Sometimes, those choices seem arbitrary or even bad, as with Annie. Sometimes, they are simply unexpected. Someone new is being called to join us, someone you have known as a past self. She has been a staunch ally for several years now and supported us against Annie and her men, risking her life and physical wellbeing to do so. I, for one, am honored to be able to announce this. Carla Mendoza, please step forward.”
There was an audible gasp from several Pack members and Becca saw Molly frown anxiously. She got a little anxious herself and wondered if she should get ready to say something on Carla’s behalf. What happened if the Pack didn’t accept her? From the way Shelly was talking, it sounded like this had never happened before.
For a moment, she wondered how she would have responded, back before she got to know Carla a little better. Or, you know, started turning into a wolf once a month myself. Then she noticed that Erin was looking at her and that Erin was now standing next to Shelly and Carla. Evidently, things were moving along without her again.
She glanced around quickly, looking for clues as to what she was supposed to do next. Robin was walking forward from the back of the room to step up to Carla and Becca scrambled out of her seat to follow her, Molly at her heels. Erin stood at Carla’s shoulder as Pack member after Pack member shook her hand or hugged her, depending on their personalities.
Gladys was one of the last to get up and Becca caught her eye, wondering what the problem was. Her neighbor looked puzzled and a little angry, and Becca left the group around Carla to go and stand next to her. “What’s up, Gladys?”
“I don’t understand this at all. I mean, we’re special. The magic chooses us because of where we are in our lives, what our bodies are doing, what we bring to protecting the valley. Only older women are ever chosen, not men, not the cute young things down at the mall or the high school cheerleading squad. Just us. That’s the way it’s always been, as far as I know. But now there’s this situation and I don’t understand it at all.” She gestured around the room with a fierce sweep of her hand.
“Well, we know that this process isn’t exactly scientific. It picked Annie, after all, and her mother before her, and neither of them were exactly ‘protectors of the valley’ material. So either it makes mistakes or it operates outside any logic we can comprehend. Or maybe it’s learning and changing and growing along with us. Right after it picked me, I kept thinking that it should have picked Lizzie. Then I met Annie and I couldn’t figure how it picked anybody.”
“So why not pick someone who’s already proved their dedication to the Pack, regardless of who they are or what kind of body they have?” Gladys scowled at her fiercely.
Becca gave her a measuring look. “Something Erin said to me not too long ago really resonated for me today: bodies change. We are proof positive of that and between menopause and becoming wolves, we all know how much they can change. Since we’ve already embraced that, why not someone experiencing a different change along the way?”
Gladys made a face. “What you’re carefully not saying is that I’m being rude and obnoxious and second-guessing the magic and Shelly and rejecting a new wolf for no good reason. And, much as I hate to say it, maybe you’re right. I’ll do this now, then go home and think on it. You all set back with Erin now?”
Becca nodded. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to help me and everything you’ve done to get us to this point. If you need to talk or…just hang out, please let me know. I know we’d both like to have you over for dinner soon. Maybe a Scrabble game, so you can kick our butts.”
Gladys stood up with a wry smile and nodded. She walked over and awkwardly shook hands with Carla. Becca saw Shelly pat her shoulder gently, then she walked over to talk to Lin. “Nice job,” murmured a familiar voice at her side.
“Well, I’m learning from the best. How about we go pick up some takeout, then go home and puppy-proof the house again?”
“You come up with the best plans.” Erin grinned back down at her.
Molly wandered over and rolled her eyes at them. “Get a room, you two. Seriously, thank you for supporting Carla. I know how nervous she is about all this. Speaking of which, would you like to come over for dinner later on this week? You know us, any excuse to barbecue with friends.”
They both grinned at her and nodded. Erin said, “I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll pick a night.” She leaned over and gave Molly a hug. After a minute, Becca stepped up, and when she and Erin moved apart, she reached out for Molly too. The other woman gave her a pleased and surprised grin before scooping her up in a strong hug.
They exchanged a few more hugs and farewells on the way out, then emerged into the autumn sunshine to find Lizzie sitting on a bench outside. She looked tired and she was out of uniform. She also hadn’t seen them yet because she was bent over her phone, frowning at the screen. Becca had a wild impulse to run and hide before she noticed Erin was back.
But Lizzie looked up before she could do anything about it. “Let’s get this part over with too,” Erin muttered to her. Becca reached out and grabbed her free hand in her own and together they walked over to the bench.
Lizzie nodded as they walked up, then said, “ So, Carla. Huh. How’s everyone taking that?”
Erin shrugged and Becca answered cautiously, “Not too badly, from what we’ve seen, but it will take some of us a while to adjust.” She paused, then burst out, “I hope you get called…I mean, when you’re ready.” She flushed when the words were out of her mouth; she hadn’t meant to say that, at least not until everything was resolved for Erin. Glancing sidelong at Erin’s expression, she wondered how long that might take.
“Thank you.” Lizzie’s expression didn’t reveal anything, but she stood up slowly. “Look, I know we’re not in a good space right now—”
Erin held up her hand. “Hang on. I called you and confessed to a murder and practically begged you to take me in. I’m not sure how you could have said no, under the circumstances.”
Lizzie nodded. “It’s not that part. I was kind of an asshole to Becca because I thought she was hiding you after Kari and Jim took you out of the jail.”
Becca nodded in her turn. “Yep, you were that. But I would have hid her, if I could have, so you weren’t too far off on that.”
“And I nearly missed out on resolving a kidnapping because I was busy being angry and thinking that you and Shelly were lying to me.” Lizzie ran a hand over her hair and scowled. “Not my finest moment and one I need to look at as I get my campaign started.”
“So definitely running for sheriff?”
“Yep. It’s time for a change for the better, I think. I’m not comfortable with the kinds of decisions I see Henderson making and I’m worried about some of the new deputies. I think I can do a better job and build a better relationship with all of our community.” Lizzie looked from Becca to Erin. “Are we square?”
Erin gave Lizzie a long considering glance before saying, “I think so.”
Becca gave a long look of her own, then nodded. “We’ll get a campaign sign and put it up, when you’re ready. Maybe even put in some volunteer time.”
Lizzie gave them both a rare smile and they all shook hands, then she went inside. “Are we really all good?” Erin murmured to Becca.
“Iffy. But I think I’ll get over it. As long as nothing else like it happens again. Back to the original plan for the evening?”
“I can’t imagine anything I’d like better.” Erin took in a deep breath and let it out with a contented sigh as she followed Becca to her car.