We ate an early dinner on our way to the County Fair, pulling into a wide open field that had been reserved for parking around four. The three of us packed into Andrew’s truck, it was a bit uncomfortable, though I tried not to complain even as we climbed out and waited against the rusted hull.

  I was wearing my usual attire, jeans and a black shirt under my dad’s jacket, and Tara had found it funny for some reason. Even now she let out a giggle as she looked over to me and said, “we should really bring you shopping sometime, if you were telling the truth the other day. You should have something that doesn’t scream ‘I’m a tough bad ass waiting for a fight’ you know?”

  “I did get some extra money the other day,” I admitted, nodding slowly at the thought, “might be nice. I kinda want something a bit more…me, I guess. You know, something a little…I don’t know, girly?”

  “We’ll get you some options,” the woman told me, giggling as she patted my arm, “I do have some silver needles in my room, maybe we should get you some earrings.”

  “We’ll talk about it more later,” I said, not exactly sure about that even as I smiled at the idea. “So where’s this niece of yours? I figured we’d be picking her up.”

  “She can drive, she was just doing an interview with one of the colleges,” Tara said, her smile only briefly looking false as we settled back into waiting.

  A few minutes later, a woman walked up from the crowd of cars, waving to us as she called out for Tara. She was tall, almost looking like a slightly younger and more goth version of her aunt. She wore her blonde hair in a messy chin-length cut with purple streaks through it, her outfit made up of a pair of black pants and a ruffle filled long-sleeved black shirt. Her makeup was similarly done, her ears having probably a half dozen piercings each and her nose and lips a few of their own. The smell of heavy perfume barely covered a familiar sweet smell of weed underneath it, even as I knew the others wouldn’t pick up on it, nor the usual half-one smells and the like.

  I was honestly surprised she and Tara came from the same family, as polar opposite they dressed.

  “Hey, Auntie Tara, how’s it going, Pinkie Pie?” the woman asked, looking over to me and Andrew, “Uncle Andrew, looking mighty fine as usual, I like the truck. Are you that Mary girl I heard so much about?”

  “He’s not your uncle yet,” Tara sighed in a tone that made me think she’d had this exact conversation in the past. “But, yeah, this is Mary. She’s a friend of mine, but doesn't get out much so I thought it’d be nice to bring her.”

  I nodded, offering my hand to her which the younger woman looked at with a giggle. She ignored the hand, and rolled her eyes as she told us, “I think I aced the interview. It was pretty much a formality, but they said everything looked good. I think I’m going to be attending in the Spring, long as everything goes well.”

  We started walking toward the fair, and I asked her, “you’re going to college nearby?”

  “Yeah, my family lives in NOVA, but I was wanting to get away from there, too many relatives,” the woman explained, smiling as she rested her hands against the back of her head. “Richmond seemed nice and quiet, Auntie Tara lives nearby in case anything happens, you know? Also still gets me that sweet in-state tuition which I definitely need.”

  “With as many siblings as you have?” Tara asked, getting a small laugh from the idea, “trust me, Annabelle was lucky she got a scholarship working with The Lady. Never understood why The lady treated her so well.”

  “They were definitely fucking,” Tara’s niece accused, shaking her head as though it was a known fact, “I mean, come on, I’ve met The Lady once and she gave me the vibes. She's like, every love interest in a hot lesbian vampire romance… well, the toxic lesbian ones, but is the vampire romance hot if it’s not a little toxic?”

  “Something tells me that your books aren’t that close to reality,” Tara muttered, rubbing her eyes as she seemed to be fighting off a migraine already.

  We paid for our tickets and headed into the county fair, strapping on our wristbands as we walked through. Tara hung onto Andrew’s arm, and I hung back a little as I took in the fair, having not been since I was a kid.

  There were rides, all rickety and looking like they were going to collapse in on themselves at any moment. Competitions to win that were obviously rigged, a funhouse and haunted house, and even a large warehouse where I knew the crafts and crops contests had been ranked and displayed. There were a thousand scents, sweet candy, salty snacks, meats, and a hundred other things alongside them, and a million sounds I struggled to ignore. Hundreds of people were packed in near each other, drunk, distracted, or helpless, and I tried not thinking of them as potential meals.

  Eventually I sensed Tara’s niece falling back to walk next to me and she announced, “I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Sigyn. Parents really weren’t looking for me to get a good relationship with that name. Men, can’t get their own poison out of their eyes, am I right?”

  “Um, yeah, I guess,” I said, not really sure what the joke she was making was, nor if it was supposed to be funny.

  “Just a little funny,” Sigyn said, shrugging as she looked me over and asked, “so where did you wash in from? Tara never told me about you, not until recently, but she made it sound like you’d been hanging around for at least a bit.”

  “I was living rough until a year ago,” I said, brushing the idea off. Tara and Andrew had already learned that was the cover I was wanting to go with, and I hoped they stuck with it. “kinda similar to Andrew was, you could say.”

  “Auntie Tara, searching the woods for strays as usual,” Sigyn teased, and I saw Tara roll her eyes as she waved her middle finger back at us alongside a half-hidden smile. “I need to start going on hikes more, if that’s where all the hot people are hiding. I can’t let her sweep them all up.”

  I nodded, before a moment later realizing what she said as I asked, “what?” only for Sigyn to shrug with a smirk. Not sure exactly how to respond to that, I changed the subject, “so you’re going to college nearby? What are you studying?”

  “Oh, I’m majoring in Aquatic Biology,” she said, finally getting my attention as I turned to better hear her, “that’s the dream at least. I did really well in school, even managed to skip a year, so not a lot of trouble getting scholarships. I took a gap year to save up a little more, which should help out right?”

  “I hope so,” I admitted, smiling at the optimism, “I never actually went to college, always wanted to. Being a werewolf kinda put everything to bed.”

  “Hey, you should go if that’s what you’re wanting,” she told me, giving a smile as she seemed to think on it for a long time, “they have like, community and all that if you’re wanting to start off simple. That would also make it a bit cheaper, and if we’re not going to lie that’s always needed. Fuck, I know I could always do with some extra work, trying to save up for shit.”

  “Wish I could help out there,” I said, a thought coming to me as I asked, “how are you with murder scenes and the idea of killing vampires and werewolves and those things? Maybe The Lady would have some extra work for you, if I made the recommendation.”

  Sigyn laughed at the idea, and I realized she was probably thinking I was joking about the offer. It was probably for the best, the more I thought about it. Tara would have killed me if I got her niece killed. Sigyn shook her head, and the woman walked around in front of me as she said, “I like your jacket, it’s very retro. What is it, an A-2?”

  “It’s my dad’s, he gave it to me years ago,” I admitted, tugging it a little to show it off, “doesn’t look the best I know, it’s gone through a lot over the years.”

  “Nah, looks rough and loved, gives you that look punk is supposed to have,” the woman said, smirking even as Tara fell back a little to stand on my other side.

  “Hey, Sigy,” Tara interrupted, smiling at the girl, “you always liked seeing the contest winners right? Maybe you and I should go look at that, give Mary and Andrew a little space?”

  “No, it’s fine, I kinda want to see the winners too,” I said, smiling at the thought, “my dad told me my mom won the quilting contest once. She was pregnant and ended up spending two months straight making something in the living room. He always told me she was trying to stay sane when she couldn’t go running around like she used to.”

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  That settled it, and we went to the warehouse first to look at all the contest winners, moving slower than Andrew obviously liked. Tara and I took too long appreciating everything that had been sewn and carved, and Sigyn took too long appreciating everything and nothing.

  Eventually we started walking the rest of the fair, enjoying the rides and checking out various attractions. We fell into small groups throughout the stay, with conversations ranging from Sigyn prying me and Andrew with what it was like to live in the woods to Tara and Sigyn talking about her living situation for when she moved. Somehow it ended up where I was involved in two conversations at once, both talking about potential outfit ideas with Tara and trying to keep up on a conversation about ranking the James River’s animals with Sigyn.

  Night eventually set, and the lights of the fair gave it an almost festive air even as the crowd started dying down. I was contemplating asking how much longer everyone wanted to stay, wondering if that would have been rude, when Tara grabbed my shoulder.

  My brain ran a thousand miles, and I resisted biting or growling at her from the sudden contact as she said, “you know Mary, you should really see the Ferris Wheel. The area looks great from the top, I think even better at night. Me and Andrew did it earlier, you’d love it.”

  “Oh that sounds fun,” I said, nodding as we started heading that way.

  Sigyn spoke up first, offering, “I can go with her,” and Tara shut her down with a raised hand.

  “I think Andrew wanted to go on again anyway,” Tara said, giving a small smile, “besides, it gives them a chance to talk.”

  Andrew started, “I mean, I don’t mind-”

  “It’s fine, that sounds nice,” I said, holding in a small laugh at Tara’s insistence as I leaned in to whisper, “let’s just humor her.”

  Tara more or less led me and Andrew to the Ferris wheel, and we got in line even as the other two women held off. We stayed silent at first, and it was only as we were climbing into our seats side by side that Tara stepped forward. She whispered something in the operator’s ear, and he gave a nod and a laugh about it as we started around.

  “I think she really likes the idea of us being together, she’s never been able to resist a romance trope, much as she likes to act about Sigyn’s books,” Andrew said, sounding like he found some humor in the fact, “either that or she really doesn’t like the idea of you and Sigyn together. Maybe afraid you’ll start calling her auntie too.”

  “She did tell me you talked about it,” I admitted, smiling at the memory as I gripped the rail in front of us and shifted in my spot.

  Andrew chuckled, looking away a little as he said, “the way she talked about it you’d think we were gonna hook up at the wedding. Then again, Tara and I started out at one of her brothers’ weddings, so maybe she was expecting a repeat performance.”

  My smile faltered a little, as I watched the fair and said, “Well, I’m glad she didn’t freak out, though I’m not sure why she seems to think we have all that much going on. In the Purists she might have challenged me to a duel just to set some ground rules, or make sure I didn’t try anything. I’d feel bad if that happened over this.”

  The man nodded, and we fell into a silence as the ferris wheel continued its slow movements and occasional stop, “did I ever tell you why I ran away from home when I became a werewolf, Cannibal?”

  “I figured you just didn’t want to explain being a werewolf,” I admitted, before adding on, “Andy” to annoy him.

  “My dad was a werewolf, he would have understood that part rather easily,” Andrew muttered, sighing as he leaned against the railing, “I…I had a brother, two years older than me, we got along really well. One day when I’m thirteen one of the teachers at his school, a friend of our dad, found out he had a boyfriend. My dad freaks out, ends up kicking my brother out of the house, tells him he’ll kill him if he ever sees him again. Eight months later I turn into a werewolf, and I get out of there as fast as I can.”

  I nodded, not sure what else to say as I asked, “is your brother okay?”

  “You know, I don’t actually know,” Andrew sighed, shaking his head as he wiped away a few tears, “I tried looking him up after I got back to society, but couldn't really find anything on my own, at least no social media under obvious names. Considered asking The Lady for help a few times, but didn’t really want to be in her debt and, well, I don’t really want to know the answer. You never know how that sort of thing is going to turn out, you know? It feels better to think he’s out there somewhere happy and safe, than to find out the worst happened.”

  “Yeah, I think I know what you mean,” I admitted, nodding at the thought, “my dad was a monster hunter. He doesn’t know I’m alive, trans, or a werewolf, so… you can imagine I’m kinda hesitant to make a call or show up at home.”

  “I would be too,” the man said, chuckling at the thought, “you ever want backup for that, I’m here. Is your mom a monster hunter too?”

  “I don’t actually know what she was,” I said, looking down at the bottom of the carriage even as we stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel. “She died giving birth to me, my dad said they’d met when he was just getting out of high school. They got married a couple years later, and…a little bit after that I came along and she was gone. She didn’t have family or anything and, you know…it doesn’t matter now.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” Andrew said, reaching over to rest his hand on mine, “if it makes you feel better, blood’s not the only thing that matters when it comes to family. Family can mean a lot of different things, what Knives told me.”

  “I know, but just…you know,” I said, pulling my hand away and leaning against the hard metal of the seat, “I want it to be. I…I liked my dad growing up. He wasn’t great, but I feel like he was trying and just wasn’t sure what to do. He treated me like I was an apprentice more than a kid, but he stilled cared about me like that. I…I don’t know, maybe I’m just too hopeful.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything wrong about hope,” Andrew said, chuckling at my nervousness, “I mean, I used to be the same way. I’d just, hope all the time my dad would do a one eighty, and the way it sounds with you your dad’s closer to that than mine is.”

  “I’d like him to meet Martin one day,” I agreed with an absent nod.

  Andrew looked over at me, seeming confused for a moment as he asked, “who’s Martin?”

  “He’s my son,” I answered, gulping as I opened my locket and peaked inside at the empty spot, “he’s three in a couple months. I…I had him while I was in the Purists, named him after my dad. We didn’t even know until I was like, five months in, I just thought my cycles were growing apart from aging slowing down and stress. One of Chaser’s daughters, she’s a half-one doctor up in Canada, came down and helped with the prenatal and everything. I gave birth a little early, while we were still at camp, before I was supposed to be moved into a house they had prepared. He…I took care of him for a few months, Gevaudan and Chaser helped, but it was too much. I knew Chaser had had kids younger, and I thought I could do it, but…She wasn’t a Purist when she did, and she was better prepared. I just wanted to get back to being like things were before, I wasn’t ready to be a mom, I was a Purist first.’

  “His aunt agreed to adopt him. She’d always wanted kids, never really got around to finding a guy, and adopting through an agency was too much effort just for a chance of rejection. Papers got faked, stories made, he got adopted and…I haven’t seen him since.”

  “Like, at all?” Andrew asked, frowning at the thought.

  “A few phone calls, but he couldn’t talk then,” I said, feeling disgusted as I let the words out, “Hunter gave me this locket for my last birthday, with a picture of us. This spot, right here,” I pointed to the missing clip, the carved heart, “he didn’t get a picture, said we’d get one of all of us together later. Instead he put a lock from Martin’s first haircut there, so I could always have his scent with me. Hunter and I were…we were going to go up there last year. He went a week early, because I was still recovering from a silver wound to the gut and Gevaudan needed some help around the house. Misha ended up finding us, and…yeah, the rest is history. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get up there again, I mean, it’s just…not really safe, you know? I’m on probation, it’d be another thing for The Lady to hold over me. It’s safer if I don’t even try.”

  “But you want to?” Andrew said, seeming to catch on to the unsaid.

  “I don’t really know, but I think so,” I said, the idea almost making me feel a little better, “I’ve…never actually known what I want, I think. When I thought I was a boy I just assumed I’d be dead by thirty, ripped apart by a werewolf or drained by a vampire. In the Purists everything was just, day by day. You did what you wanted that day, and any planning for the future needed to have a really good reason for it. Now…I feel like I’m gonna be fucking old one day, and I’ve never felt like that was something that sounded like it’d be true.”

  “You’ll figure it out, just give it time,” Andrew said, giving me a comforting smile, “get some hobbies, find something you want to do one day, go on a few dates. Come on, when you thought you were a boy is there anything that you said ‘if I was a girl I’d do that’ about?”

  I let out a small chuckle, shaking my head a moment as I admitted, “you’re going to fucking laugh, but…knitting and sewing. I remembered what my dad told me about my mom making a quilt, and I knew this girl who knitted in middle school. He joked it was mostly a girl's thing, so…well, I never did it. Closest I came was being the one stuck fixing clothes and sewing wounds more than once.”

  “I’m not gonna laugh at that, I paint miniatures and help Tara with her murals,” Andrew said, chuckling as he shook his head, “You should do it though. Tara got me into painting, you should find someone who knows this shit, or look up shit online.”

  “Maybe I will,” I said, smiling as I looked out over the night’s horizon. “As for the dating idea…I’m not actually sure. I’m only now kinda getting, well, normal, you know? I don’t want to give into the wolf at the wrong moment, hurt someone or do something weird, and ruin everything. I like Misha a lot, I think, I… well, I’m thinking of stuff, but I don’t know if it’s something I should risk. Can you help?”

  “Nah, that’s your choice,” Andrew said, patting his hand on my shoulder, “Tara’s going to be disappointed we’re not coming down a thing, but I’m glad to know you got options in mind for if you decide otherwise. Not sure if you’re ready for someone now doesn’t mean you can’t think you’d prefer someone later.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said, letting out a small sigh as I had a sudden realization, “we’ve been here for a while.”

  “Yeah she definitely thought we were gonna kiss.”

  I nodded, glad it was not a few seconds later the Ferris wheel started moving again, and I let myself give into one intrusive thought as I admitted, “Tara’s niece is kinda hot though.”

  And Andrew smiled, blindly reaching an arm out to wrap around my shoulders as he declared, “you walk down a path I can not follow.”