0.09 Tensions

TW: Transphobia, Parents Not Accepting of Gender and Sexuality, Strong Language

“What do you mean I’m not going to high school? I’m a teenager! I’m supposed to go to high school with all my friends! What am I going to tell them?!” Argus’ voice nearly shook the house. He was so angry, and I threw my hands out, not knowing what else to say.

“It’s too dangerous for you. Look at how you’re reacting now. Maybe in a few years-“

“I don’t want to wait a few years! I have friends!”

“You don’t get it! Just because you never had any friends doesn’t mean I don’t!”

I made a face, because that was hurtful. It was true that I kept to myself and my family, preferring to stay home in their company rather than go out and about. I thought it was my job, after all this was my family, my pack.

“It’s not safe for your friends, not when you act like this,” I assured Argus, trying to reach out and touch his shoulder. He smacked my hand away angrily. “You’re just a kid.”

“I’m not! I’m a teenager now! I know what I’m doing!”

Just then Katrina hurried down the stairs, gently pushing me aside so she could talk to Argus.

“Honey, we’re just trying to look out for you, you know? Do you think we’re trying to separate you from your friends for good? Once you gain a little more control, we can see about signing you up. It’ll be two years at most, but we need you to be safe. We need your friends to be safe. You can understand that, right?” She was saying the exact same things that I was, but her tone was so much sweeter, her face more sincere and caring.

“Yeah, mom. I guess. But I’m worried I’m going to miss out on important things!”

“You’re going to be fine. You need time to adjust.”

“Guess you’re right,” He finally relented and he reached out to hug Katrina, pulling her in tightly. “Thank you for understanding mom. Promise I can still get together with my friends on the weekend right?”

“Of course, Argus! As long as its not the full moon, you can even spend time at their houses when you’re under control!”

“You’re the best, mom!”

Argus was still a little moody after, and spent most of his time in his room playing games on his computer or chatting with his friends. I didn’t like it, but Katrina reminded me that he was growing into his own person. He’d grow out of the phase he was in and I needed to learn to be patient with him. She was right, of course. I just wasn’t ready for my once cheerful little boy to be an adult I supposed.

“Heard you and papa got in a fight. You know, we’re part of a pack. You can’t be fighting with papa.”

“Shut up twerp. You shouldn’t be fighting with me either.”

It was then I stepped in, making Argus apologize to his little sister. Cheerful child, to a grumpy teenager. Or maybe this war normal for them. I really had no way to know since I had no friends growing up. I wish I had now, because maybe I’d be more prepared to take care of these kids as they became teenagers.

It certainly was frustrating and it made the entire house feel tense. I tried to throw myself into my work during the day while Katrina worked with Argus on his schooling. At night we talked about what we needed to do so Argus could be happy. Eventually, working with Argus, we came up with a good idea.

It started with him getting up at 4am everyday to eat breakfast and go for a jog. The body and mind were linked, so we figured if we helped get him on a schedule his moods would even out. He loved the jogging part, so even though he had to get up and be out the door while it was still dark, he was up everyday, even without me reminding him after the first day or two.

Then came extra studying. Over the years, I had managed to collect twenty or so books that had to do with us. I mean, werewolves. Some were age old journals and others were books written in code that only another werewolf could understand. Argus was surprisingly interested in our history and the writings of ancient werewolves, and I was pleasantly surprised when he sat down with his books everyday and studied without complaint.

Maybe I was just too hard on the kid.

Argus was building such good habits, he even began jogging when he felt irritated by anything. He apparently love exercise and found it calming. His relationship with his siblings was improving, along with his relationship with me. There were still fights, but there was at least a few days between them now.

With Daci’s birthday coming in only days though, we felt it was best to talk to the twins beforehand. Argus had become way more aggressive with the onset of him becoming a true werewolf, and I expected no less from Daci. She was already pretty aggressive with her siblings, as if they were a pack she had to become the leader of. Kiyah took the news hardest for some reason, looking almost scare of who Daci might become.

We had one more obstacle to tackle before Daci grew into a teenager – Argus’ first full moon. He was nervous, that much was clear.

“How long do we have until the moon rises?” He asked his mother for the fourth time that hour, rubbing sweaty palms on his jeans.

“You can sense it too,” She assured him. “You know its soon.”

Katrina and I transformed first, long ago earning out control over our transformations. Argus followed, though not willingly. He tore out of the house as if he had no other choice and we had to chase him. It took some time for him to calm down, but we found ourselves at the peak of Moonwood Mills.

I led my family in a howl that echoed over the valley below. Argus looked almost hilariously unsure.

But soon he joined us howling, adding a third voice to what was once only two and it felt like my heart was overflowing with joy. Argus took off again – that first moon is always tricky – and we followed after as we needed.

He did snarl at us as he lost more and more control, but Katrina and I never hesitated to snarl back. He needed to learn his place with us, and if that meant snarling back, thats what we had to do. Katrina felt bad about it, I could tell, but the boy needed to learn.

He seemed to be having fun though, even in the depths of the full moon. He ran and hunted and ran some more, sometimes stopping to howl at the moon above us. Sometimes he didn’t stop, he just howled as he ran, causing a choppy ruckus.

As the moon finally lowered behind the mountains, it lost its grip on him. It was only dawn and the world was dark. I watched him stumble, trying to find his footing as he went from wolf to man.

I pulled him into a hug as he found himself human once more. He basically collapsed against me, completely exhausted.

“That was fun, dad,” He mumbled.

“You go get some sleep. No homeschooling today, kiddo,” I told him, my voice a bit too stern, too used to fighting with him. Argus just gave me a smile and thumbs up before stumbling back into the house. Katrina gave me a smile from the stairs, and the two of headed inside too. It was Daci’s birthday and while Argus slept off his run, we’d have to prepare.

Since it was winter, we decided to have a party at the same park where Argus’ birthday was held. It was always warm there. We’d have to set out as soon as the kids got home from school if we wanted to make it at the time we put on the invitations.

Soon we were there, finished setting up. I was a little angry that the weather was cloudy, but that was just what it was.

“Calm down, Daci doesn’t seem to care and thats all that matters!” Katrina soothed. She was right, she was always right.

We watched as our Daci blew out the candles in front of a cheering crowd of friends. I wondered what it would be like during her kids’ birthdays. They’d be werewolves just like her probably. Unless she dated a human, but that was much too dangerous.

The crowd cheered even louder as she stepped back from the cake. Her one sister was standing quite far way. When I squinted, I realized it was Kiyah. Had I scared her that bad with my warning?

I was a little worried when I saw how Daci looked. Her short hair was not going to be something Katrina was a fan of. She also wore a baggy outfit, almost as if she was ashamed of her body. Though I was handing out cake, I decided to stay nearby.

Just as I feared, as Daci thanked birthday guests, Katrina sat down next to her, face clearly showing her anger.

“Daci, we talked about this! When you grew up you were going to be a proper young woman! None of this short hair crap! You look like a boy!”

“But ma-“

“No buts! You’re grounded, you hear me, young lady?!”

“For cutting my hair?! Oh fuck you, mom! I knew I was your least favorite!”

I hurried towards them as their shouting began to draw looks. I was near the table but not near enough. Katrina and Daci were both yelling, and I couldn’t believe my usually calm wife was yelling at Daci for having short hair!

“Katrina, stop,” I said as I closed in enough.

“No! My daughter looks like a boy! Is that what you want to be? A boy?”

Daci was silent, her hands dropping into her lap. Katrina’s look turned shocked, then furious.

“Do you want to be a boy?!”

“Not really.” My assertive… child was never so meek. Her voice was so small even I had to struggle to hear it.

“Not really?!” Katrina snapped.

“I don’t feel like a boy, but I don’t feel like a girl either,” She explained, her expression pained. Katrina let out a harsh breath and Daci quickly went on. “Its not like I’m going to change my name or anything! I just… I don’t want to be a girl!”

“I can’t believe this!” Snapped Katrina. “Can you believe this, Anthony?”

“What’s the big deal?” I asked, glancing at Katrina. Her face once again turned shock. “If you make a big deal out of this, it will be a big deal. So what if Daci doesn’t feel like a girl?”

“She’s our daughter!” Katrina screamed, at me this time.

“Stop! Now!” I snapped at her, finally at the end of my room. “We will respect Daci! If you can’t, you’re free to leave.”

That sobered Katrina, and she just blinked at me, no emotion on her face whatsoever. I turned to Daci once more.

“Is there anything else we should know?”

“I want to use they/them pronouns,” She said, her voice meek once more. I nodded at her and waved a hand to dismiss her – them. I turned to my wife, my mate, the only one I ever wanted to have children with. I built a family with her, and I wasn’t going to let her ruin it now. We had worked for so many years, and this was the final straw for Katrina?

“Can you respect them?”

“Yes,” She said, then got up, storming off. I shook my head, sighing. This wasn’t what our family needed. We had just got Argus to calm down. Now I had to deal with this rift between Daci and Katrina.