VIII.

Penny sat across from her mother, the two almost identical woman were caught in a stare down. Susan was reluctant to open up to Penny, she knew the curse could be broken if Penny just remembered, but as a mother she spent all her life protecting Penny when she was born, that's two hundred and twenty-six years, it was hard to let go. She knew once Penny remembered everything her mind would be opened to the world Susan tried to keep her from since she was born. Who knew if Agatha or Agnes would come back?

Once Susan heard the rapid knocking at her door, she knew. Being married to a Werewolf had trained her hearing extremely well, there wasn't much she wasn't aware of. The only people who had better hearing than she did was actual Werewolves, she was not.

She noticed the restless look on her daughters face as she stood at the front door, her hair was lighter, nearly a white-blonde which made her eyes that were always a darker green looked like burning barium nitrate, an amazing emerald. She looked healthy, which was amazing to know since she had recently been released from the hospital due to head injury, but it wasn't a normal healthy. It was almost a supernatural healthy, an immortal healthy. The hair was enough of a sign, but if Susan somehow missed it than the vibrant, confident crescent moon necklace hanging off her daughter's neck was an alarming sign.

"So, you remember then?"

Penny chuckled, but it didn't sound humorous. She just shoved passed her mother, and Susan could feel the anger radiating off of her, she inhaled deeply and flicked her wrist quickly. There was a large red-light surrounding Penny, her aura. She was angry.

"Clearly not everything," Penny dropped into the dining chair, her hands flopping onto the wood surface.

Susan sighed and followed her daughter into her home, closing the door behind her. She ran a tired hand through her hair and stood by the sink, "Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?" Penny just gave her a look, it was a cold and detached look and it made Susan's skin crawl. She knew her daughters' heart, but the look made her double think if Penny would hurt her.

Susan's sighing didn't stop, she braced her hands against the cracked counter top and inhaled deeply. She wouldn't let her daughter intimidate her, she knew she could easily overpower Penny, if need be. She held her head high and walked towards the small round table, Penny's eyes watching her the entire time. She sat across from her daughter. Emerald met coffee, and neither looked away. The only noise was the small TV in the background.

"—The body of Chet Michaels was found on the path of the woods this morning, by a jogger. The body was torn to pieces, relentlessly. Sheriff Parker believes it to be another animal attack. Here we have key witness, Bryce Stuart. Bryce, what happened on that fatal night that took your friend's life?" The news anchor asked.

Bryce was shown on the screen, he looked angry, but Penny could easily see the fear in his eyes. He had a deep scratch across his face, narrowly missing his eye, he was one of the luckier ones, "It was those damn dogs! I saw them with my own eyes, and it's not just one! There's about fifteen!" He shouted and gripped the microphone, "There was no way me and my boys could fight them all off, I was just lucky to get away as fast as I could. Man, it sucks for Chet, but he shouldn't have shot them damn dogs." He paused, "No, them damn wolves!"

Penny shut the TV off, having heard enough of the meathead idiots Kurt hangs out with.

Susan looked at Penny expectantly, "Do you have anything to do with that?" She placed her fingers along the rim of her mug. Penny cocked her head to the side slightly, "Why would I?"

The mother sighed deeply, she was tired of these vague back and forth and it seemed as if Penny's resolve was stronger than her own. This wasn't how she wanted her daughter to come back into her life, she wanted honesty between them both. Realistically, they were the only family they had left. She reached across the table to touch her daughter's hand, but Penny pulled away immediately, she hung her head, "Penny I don't want to fight with you. I want an honest relationship," she admitted, "You're obviously here for a reason, and I'm assuming it has to do with the last two hundred years."

Although Penny was already told she was older than she thought, she still had some doubt. She went to bed last night restless, she was barely capable of sleep. So many things were going through her mind and she couldn't focus on just one thought. Werewolves existed, she was over centuries of age, she was supernatural…why was she even made to forget in the first place? She couldn't even bother to be worried about Kurt, she knew he was hurt. The hospital had called her once he signed in, he had an open wound on his ribcage and his left hand was broken. She almost felt bad for hanging up and thinking 'karma'. She was only able to doze off once the sun started rising, and that was only for an hour. Once she woke up, her hair was almost as white as snow, and her eyes nearly had a glow to them, they looked like a green fire.

She noticed the necklace on her chest, the crescent moon shined brightly and the jewel that was once ruby was now a vibrant green just like her eyes. There were so many pieces to this puzzle she was still trying to figure out, it hurt her head trying to remember.

.

"This here is your necklace, Penelope," Susan draped the chain around her daughter's neck, "It belongs to'ya, it came from ya grandmother Edith, she wanted ya to have it."

Penelope looked down at the crescent moon necklace, as her mother placed it around her neck. She watched as the shiny ruby shone confidently. Her mother smoothed down Penelope's golden hair, "It'll help ya with ya powers, darlin'. It gives ya access to ya true potential. Once ya older, and once ya unlocked ya true potential the necklace will tell ya." She kissed Penelope's head, "Ya destined for greatness my love."

.

Penny looked at her mother, "I need to know everything, mom. Everything. I'm tired of secrets, I need to know who I am." Her voice was commanding, but her mother could hear the wavering. Susan's heart broke for her daughter, she must have felt so confused.

Susan crossed her hands together, and took a deep breath, "Where do you want me to start?" Penny looked away, she was finally going to get the answers she deserved, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to hear the answers. Would this change anything? "Start with the necklace, where did my necklace come from? What does it represent?"

The older woman nodded her head and started speaking, "It started in sixteen ninety-three, I was sixteen years of age and living with my mother—your grandmother, Edith Grey." Penny had to bite her tongue from reacting, her mother was sixteen in sixteen ninety-three?!

"We were living in Salem, and people were skeptics. I don't know who started it, and I don't know where it came from…" Susan looked away, "But all of a sudden there was word of random people being witches and supernatural beings. It was all bullshit, Penelope. They burnt thousands of people, and from out of all of them—all those people, children, animals…only one wasn't human."

Penny's breath hitched, "Grandma?"

Susan nodded, "So many people died, so many innocent confused people died. The witch hunt lasted for a year, my mother was one of the last one burnt. It ended abruptly once the mayor's wife was accused, the mayor put an end to it and imprisoned anyone who continued to go on about it." She chuckled, "How hypocritical of him. Anyways, before mom died, she knew what was going to happen, one of her abilities was precognition, she could see the future. So, she worked day in and day out on that necklace you wear, she knew she was going to die, and she needed to leave something behind to protect her family. She knew in ninety-nine years I'd give birth to one of the most scandalous babies in our world."

Penny narrowed her eyes at her mother's words, "Scandalous?" Susan nodded, "It was unheard of to give birth to a half-and-half, you were either purebred or not. I don't regret you or your brother, Penelope, but both of you should've never happened." She closed her eyes in pain, "It caused more problems than I could admit to."

Sighing deeply Susan continued, "Anyways, she charmed a necklace, that one. It was only meant to be worn by my daughter, you. Anyone else who wore it, much less a human, would die immediately. After she was dragged from our home, I ran, I forgot the necklace and it got into the wrong hands. After a few years I got it back, but during the cycle of the curse you died, and the necklace went missing. A few centuries later, my aunty—your grand aunty, Tabatha, got a hold of it. She promised me to keep good care of it until you were capable of wearing it again."

"Tabatha?"

"You know her better as Mrs. Grey."

"The occult shop owner?! She's my aunty?" Susan just nodded.

Penny almost felt furious, "Why didn't she tell me? What the hell?"

Susan gave Penny a look, "Would you have believed her, Penelope? There was no reason to tell you, because you didn't remember. Your aunty loved you very much, she got to be with you every day and she couldn't have asked for more. That's why your father and I were hesitant about you working there in the first place, you were getting too close to the truth and we were scared. We weren't ready for you to find out the truth yet…but then Sheldon."

The mention of his name made her heart skip a beat, she hadn't seen Sheldon since last night and she was eager to find him again.

"Anyways, the symbols, they both represent what you are. The gem, it represents my side, and the moon represents your father's side. It's that simple, nothing complicated."

Penny looked into her mother's eyes, she had so many more questions she couldn't form them in her mind. There was one that stood to the forefront of her mind, "Why were we cursed?"

The older woman chuckled, "Your father and I were stupid. Reckless and selfish. We fell in love, despite knowing better. It's frowned upon, loving someone of a different kind. But they let us be together, provided we had no children, and being young and stupid we didn't listen. I had Randall, he didn't show any promise of being supernatural so I thought we were in the clear but then I had you, you immediately showed signs and I knew they would get word of a newborn. So, I gave you the ring to keep your abilities under wraps, but it was too late, Agnes and Agatha, the miserable sisters, they came down and cursed us for breaking the rules."

"What were the curses?" Penny's voice was low.

"Your brother would be human, turns out he was a wolf like your father, but he just didn't tap into that power yet. You would fall in love with a man you could never find, and if you did find each other your father would die as soon as you laid eyes on each other for the first time, and I would live a miserable immortal life. My family dying all around me, while I watch."

Penny had to control her breathing, she killed her father? Her brother had left her because he resented her? This was all her fault. But her father died six years ago, she hadn't seen Sheldon—

.

"Penny come on! I don't want to get caught in this store!"

A twenty-year-old Penny laughed, "I know, I know. I'm sorry, Jess, but it's my father's birthday and he loves these comic books!" She shuffled through the shelf of shiny plastic books. Jessica rolled her brown eyes and flipped her red hair over her shoulder, "I swear if Ricki sees me in this store, I'm telling everyone you totally screwed Seth behind the Shake Shack," she joked.

Penny ignored her friend's threats, she knew no one would believe that, "Oh, look! I got it. We can go now."

Jessica didn't reply, "Jess?" Penny turned to look at her friend who was staring out of the store and into the hall of the mall, "Oh my goodness, Pen, who is that tall drink of water? Screw, Ricki, I wanna screw him!" She grinned at the man.

Penny looked to the guy she was talking about and narrowed her eyes. He was tall and lean, he was definitely toned. He had bright blue eyes and wore a smirk of his own, Penny would've been interested but she was too focused on her father. "Come on, horn dog."

.

She did see him. But it felt like so many centuries ago.

"You never killed your father, Penelope. It was already written in the stars, he was always going to die. It was our fault, we knew the consequence and took the risk, it was worth it because we got you and Randall."

Penny ignored her, "But if we saw each other six years ago, why didn't he approach me? Why now?" Susan slouched into her chair, "I can't tell you, I'm not sure. I know there was something going on with the Wolves for a few years, his father George Cooper, is the Monarch of the Wolf world. So maybe he was pulled back because of obligation, you'd have to ask him."

Penny looked into her mother's eyes, reading her, "Mom…you say Randall and dad were Wolves, and I'm a mix between you both but you never say what you were." Susan grinned, "I thought it would've gone without saying once I told you about the Witch hunt."

"A Witch?"

"You're both Wolf and Witch, Penelope."

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