The medical team had absolutely no idea what was going on or how to fix it. That was the only thought running through Foster’s head as he sat in his backyard late at night staring at the stars. He had a glass of whisky in his hands, ice clinking softly inside it. Robbie was asleep. He had had a nice time out with Carl, brought home a ton of books and was already a third of the way through one of them. Foster ordered a takeaway for dinner and they stuffed themselves on some delicious if not necessarily healthy kebabs. While Foster wasn’t a health freak, he didn’t eat much fast food. Takeaways were usually a treat for him. With the stress he had been experiencing recently and considering the fact that Robbie’s appetite was now definitely back to normal Foster thought having a big meaty meal would be nice. So they ate their kebabs, then Robbie went to bed to sleep off the massive meal and Foster busied himself with some chores. And then the phone-call came.

Dr Lance Martins called to inform Foster about all the test results the had and what they meant. The long and short of it was: the test results were normal. For a human! There was absolutely no indication that Rob has ever gone through a transition. As to the medical professionals’ opinion of what that meant? They had no clue. It did not happen. I wasn’t possible. All the records they had access to shared between all the supernatural communities on the international stage - although international supernatural relations were a minefield Foster didn’t even want to think about - indicated that once a human entered supernatural transition - whether through so-called ‘natural’ or ‘forced’ means - their transformation into a supernatural was unavoidable.

Foster frowned at the nomenclature. Natural transition was when adopted children started exhibiting symptoms of transforming. ‘Forced’ was any kind of method which was intentional, like a werewolf or vampire bite for example. Despite being part of, and a leader of a supernatural community for years now, Foster still wasn’t entirely happy with certain practices and terminology of various supe cultures. He didn’t think he was prejudiced, he suspected that as an outsider, he had somewhat of a different perspective on some matters. He did not try to force it on anyone, and he rarely shared it with anyone, but it was just there, in the back of his mind. Foster frowned, then shook his head to dispel the thoughts. He took another sip of his whisky and looked up at the starry sky. He focused on the issue at hand.

Robbie was a human. He was going to remain a human. He had suffered through all the horrible effects of the transformation and yet he did not become a werewolf. The medical team and all their associates were excited and eager to study the case. Foster’s metaphorical hackles rose up at the thought. As he sat there in darkness and quiet listening to the occasional owl hoot or seeing a bat whizz past him, his thoughts began to clarify and his future path became clear to him. He had been reluctant to ‘force’ the transformation on his nephew, but he allowed himself to be persuaded believing that Robbie would have easier time finding friends in the supernatural community as a full supernatural creature rather than a potential one. It seemed that fate wanted to laugh into Foster’s face. Robbie has gone through transformation and yet did not gain the supernatural nature. He would still need to find his place in Fulsham the hard way. And Foster thought it was time he was done with letting others push him in directions he did not want to go. There were things about Fulsham he loved, but there were others, which he didn’t particularly like. He had been putting up with them for a long while now, feeling as if it wasn’t his place to change them. He had been a newly changed wolf, in the beginning, still learning about supernaturals. He had been a new alpha, later, still finding out about what it meant to be a leader of such a diverse community. But after that… He had become complacent. He had allowed himself to settle into a routine. A routine that might not have necessarily been in agreement with his vision for the town. Now… Now he felt like what happened with Robbie was a sign. A sign it was finally time to start implementing those changes he had been planning for a while but never found a good time for.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Foster finished his whisky and headed inside. His heart fell at the thought of the conversation he was going to have with Robbie tomorrow. His nephew had been looking forward so much to becoming a werewolf. He had been a little bit nervous, but a lot excited. And now Foster needed to crush that excitement. He grimaced as he locked the door and headed upstairs to his bedroom. It was going to be hard.

*****

They were cleaning up after breakfast the next day when Foster decided to disclose the news to Robbie.

“Rob, listen, doctor Martins called me yesterday. They had gotten the results from all your tests.”

“Really, what did he say?” Robbie’s voice was nervous. Foster put away the last bowl he had finished washing up and turned to face his nephew. He knew his face must have betrayed his seriousness.

“They did not have good news, mate. There is no sign of you turning into a werewolf.”

“But I thought everyone who went through the transformation turned into a werewolf straight away?” Robbie sounded confused.

“Yes, that’s right. You should have changed. That’s why we were concerned when there were no signs of you changing. That’s why we did all the extra tests. Everybody changes.”

“But not me?”

“No, Rob, not you.” Foster sighed, then stood up from where he was leaning against the sink and went to sit at the kitchen table. He patted the seat next to him and Robbie joined him. Foster took in his nephew’s face. Rob looked confused, conflicted and upset but he was far from heartbroken. It kind of confirmed what Foster was already thinking about the subject. “There has never been anyone like you Rob. If bitten, people always, always go through a transition and become werewolves. Or vampires or whatever other supernatural creature in question. But you haven’t. The doctor’s said that there’s a very tiny chance that your transformation is just massively delayed, but he said, that he wouldn’t count on it. They also said that you are absolutely healthy and all your results are normal. So there is nothing to worry about. You just remained human.” He paused. Robbie was quiet, his gaze distant. His lips quivered a bit.

“That… that really sucks,” the boy said in a small voice. “It was going to be so cool, being able to turn into a wolf.”

“I know, Robbie. I was looking forward to it as well. But now that it didn’t happen, I want to be honest about something with you.” Foster’s voice was serious and it caught Rob’s attention. Despite his eyes looking a little bit shiny, the boy focused on Foster.

“Honest about what?” he asked.

“About the transformation. The reason why the town council advised me to change you straight away, before you started school.”

What followed was a difficult conversation, and even after it finished Foster wasn’t sure whether he had explained things correctly. He had tried not to paint the supernatural community as a bunch of prejudiced arseholes, but he did explain to Rob that there was a chance he might face bullying at school. There was a possibility some students might avoid him, some kids might even be afraid of him. He told Rob, that, had the transformation worked, all that could have been prevented, and the worst he would have to suffer would have been learning the ways of the supernatural community. Now, he would need to do that while also being very visibly an outsider. Seen as possible threat by some. It would be hard to say how children would react to such a situation.

Rob’s reaction was… subdued. He listened to all Foster had to say. He didn’t ask any questions. Then he excused himself to go to his room. Foster worried about him. The kid has just lost his parents. He got uprooted and moved into a completely new environment. Got introduced to the supernatural world, given a chance to become a werewolf and when that failed… Now, he was being warned there was possibility that he would face bullying at school. And amongst it all he didn’t even have any close friends or confidantes to talk to. Foster wondered whether he should maybe get him a pet? Was that something that could help? He didn’t know. He was so far out of his freaking depth here. He only hoped that with the last couple of weeks until school started Robbie would come to terms with the situation, and that none of Foster’s own horrid predictions would come true.