"No one must know it's me," Eric added.
"Understood," Cyril said.
*****
Claudia waited up that night for her son to return home.
Brianna Hart—sweet Bri—had been more than an employee. The woman had raised Eric when Claudia was still learning to navigate life as Luna, and trying to keep her husband from turning feral. Brianna was a human who didn't judge, but understood.
As soon as she heard his car roll into the driveway, Claudia straightened her spine. Her heartbeat quickened.
Eric stepped through the front door a moment later.
He froze when he saw his mother waiting at the entrance. He could tell instantly something was wrong.
"Mum?" he asked, tension rippling subtly through his shoulders. "Why are you still awake?"
Her face gave it away—sadness dragging the corners of her eyes down, worry tightening her mouth. She looked older in that moment, stripped of the regal presence she usually carried so effortlessly.
