Chapter 13: Blood Ties
Tyler's boots crunched over the gravel behind Graves Auto, the early morning light dull behind a veil of grey clouds. His muscles ached slightly with every step, wounds still tender beneath his clothes, but nothing like the agony of his first full moon. This time, he had stayed mostly in control.
Mostly.
The scent of oil and rust was strangely comforting as he approached the shop. It grounded him.
The back door of the workshop creaked open as he slipped inside. The cleanup had already begun, the splintered chains swept into a corner, the torn-up door already replaced with plywood. He spotted Mason hunched at the small desk near the workbench, dark circles under his eyes, fingers furiously tapping through videos he had recorded of Tyler's transformation.
"You're Alive," Mason said without turning. His voice was tight.
"I walked."
Mason swiveled in his chair, eyes narrowing as he took in Tyler's battered appearance.
"You look like crap."
"I feel better than I did last time." Tyler cracked a dry smile, then moved slowly toward the stool beside him. "You stayed up watching the footage?"
"I had to know how bad it got. I set up those cameras to study your transformations to see if we could learn from it, or get something useful. But then you broke out again."
"I didn't mean too.."
Mason let out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You were lucky. Again."
"I wasn't alone," Tyler said finally. "Selene… She found me. Helped me."
Mason blinked. "Wait. What?"
"She's a hunter, Mason. That's why she's in town."
Mason's chair screeched back. "And she didn't kill you?"
Tyler shook his head. "No. She.. she saw me shift back to my human form. She knows. She could've ended up killing me. But she didn't. She patched me up and stayed with me until I could walk again."
Mason stared at him like he'd grown another head. "You sure know how to pick them, huh? Play with fire, you get burned."
Tyler chuckled, then winced. "Yeah, well, she's not what I thought she was. Or maybe she is. I don't know. But I trust her."
"You trust the girl who stabbed you with silver."
"She didn't know it was me at first," Tyler said. "And even after… She didn't tell her family. She's different."
Tyler looked down at the fresh bandage on his arm. "I think she might be the one"
"Jesus, Ty…" Mason rubbed his face. "Alright. But just… be careful. Hunters and werewolves don't exactly mix well, hopefully you don't end up like a rug on her floor."
"I know," Tyler said quietly. "But I want you to meet her. Maybe you'll see what I mean."
Before Mason could reply, the shop's front bell chimed.
They both froze.
"Good morning Boys?" Uncle Rick's voice called out. Uncle Rick looked around and could see remnants of the damage to the shed "We need to talk."
Tyler and Mason shared a glance.
Here we go.
The shop office smelled like old paper and burnt coffee.
Rick stood near the desk, a thick leather-bound book in one hand and a manila folder in the other. His usual flannel shirt was rolled at the sleeves, revealing forearms scarred from years of physical labor. His eyes were sharp, more serious than they'd ever seen him.
He set the book down with a soft thump.
"Sit."
Tyler and Mason obeyed.
"I've seen enough weird crap these last weeks to know something's off with you too," Rick began. "And I'm tired of jumping around the truth."
Tyler hesitated, then said quietly, "It's not that we don't trust you…"
"Then trust me now," Rick said. "I'm your family. If something's wrong and you need help, I want to help, you boys are all I have left."
Mason looked to Tyler. Tyler gave a small nod.
So they told him about the orb. The shed that the orb did something to Tyler. The system was left out and that they believed Tyler was now a werewolf, but everything else came pouring out in a slow, detailed confession. Rick didn't interrupt. He just listened, arms folded, nodding at all the right moments.
When it was over, he sighed. "Your grandfather used to talk about strange things. Said our family came from… old Blood. Said our blood carried echoes of something older."
Tyler frowned. "You believed him?"
"I thought he was senile," Rick admitted. "But then he disappeared. One day, gone without a trace."
He opened the leather journal and flipped through yellowed pages filled with spidery writing and strange symbols.
"There's a place," he said. "A town not on any regular map. Its name is Moon Hollow. Your grandfather said it was the last place our family lived before settling here."
Rick slid a folded piece of paper across the desk. On it, an address.
"Before he vanished, he mentioned a woman. A mage. Said she'd helped him once. Her name was Conny Aldane. She might still be alive. She might have answers."
Tyler took the paper slowly.
"You want us to find her?"
Rick nodded. "I think it's time you learn what our family's really tied to. Bloodlines like this… they don't just appear out of nowhere, maybe it's connected to what's going on with you."
Tyler leaned back, silent. Mason's mind was already racing ahead.
"Oh," Rick added, reaching into his pocket. He held up a set of keys.
"Since you're going to be chasing through god-knows-where, you're gonna need a decent ride."
Tyler caught the keys. The Ford logo gleamed.
"A Dark Blue Raptor?"
Rick shrugged. "Was gonna give it to you on your twenty-first. Guess I missed the mark."
Tyler smiled despite himself. "Thanks, Uncle Rick."
Rick grinned. "Just bring yourselves back in one piece."