Author Note: Sorry for the slow update. I'm having a bit of a writer's block, I'm finding a job and I'm working with someone else to create a project. After this chapter, it's going to go much faster.

As I get up to my street, I notice the same wolf I saw while coming to school on the other side of the road. I brake and freeze to look at the dark animal 10 feet away. In the evening scenery, the wolf becomes darker, almost pitch black, but I can still see it from the yellow fence background.

I look down, wondering about telling Mom about this and if she would call animal control, but I hear a whisper. "Don't tell anyone, and keep going."

I look up and see the wolf is gone. I take a deep breath and shake my head. I decided to walk to my house and get off my bike. I slowly walk while looking for the wolf again, but I can't find it.

A mysterious eyes at my window, a scary nightmare, a wolf, and a vision of the Amulet of Daylight. My mind is going insane.

I get to my house, put my bike away, turn the doorknob, and enter. Even though Mom will probably kill me the minute she sees my hair, Jim said not to hide it, but I cover it with my hoodie. "Mom, Dad? Are you here?" I call out.

"In the kitchen, Mija!" I hear Dad shout.

I walk into the kitchen and see Mom and Dad next to the fridge, Enrique on a hightop, and NotEnrique beside him. I find this shocking as both of my parents are here, in the same place, at the same time. Usually, one or neither of my parents would be in the house, and I have to monitor Enrique.

"Claire, why are you wearing a hoodie?" Mom asks, smiling, but I can sense something is wrong.

"It's the hoodie you gave me on my 13th birthday Mamá. I just want to wear it to school." I half-lie, but the tension doesn't change.

"It's over 70 degrees outside, Mija. And why are you covering your head?" Dad asks, raising an eyebrow.

I bite my lip and take a step closer. I take a deep breath. I can do this. "That's actually what I want to talk to you about. Mom, when you were my age, did anything... weird happen to you?" I say with a slightly shaky voice.

Mom tensed up and stared at me. "Not really. If you mean discovering that mythology creatures exist under our feet, no, but if you mean having physical changes in your body, then yes." Mom answers with a smile, making Dad a bit disgusted behind her.

I roll my eyes. Mom and Dad already know I started going through puberty and body changes at the age of 11. "No. I mean like this." I pull down my hoodie to show my hair.

Mom and Dad's expressions are expected; wide eyes and open mouths, but when I scrunch up and close my eyes to prepare for yelling, but I don't hear it.

"Claire, open your eyes."

I peek in one eye and see my parents where they are, not mad, furious, or angry. Mom looks defeated, and Dad seems sympathetic, drawing me off guard. "Am I in trouble?" I ask innocently.

"No, you're not." Mom sighs in defeat. "Claire, is this why you didn't want me to come into your room this morning?" She asks with concern, walking up to me.

I bite my lip and nod my head. "I thought you would freak out and scold me, and I didn't want that to happen," I mumble, feeling like a puppy who's just been yelled at.

Mom's lips turn thin, but she shakes her head. "It's ok, Claire; I'm not going to scold you," Mom replies, placing her hand on my shoulder. Her eyes, mouth, voice, and touch are soft and gentle. No hostility, no anger, or frustration. Just... understanding.

"How are you calm about this?" I ask in confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... let's just say I have seen these strange situations before." Mom sighs.

I shrug my shoulder because I have something else to ask. "Mom, Dad, can I talk to you about our family? At school, we have to do a project about our family tree due at the end of the week." I say in a calmer tone, my facial features and body relax.

"Of course, Mija! What do you want to know?" Mom asks sweetly.

I walk to the kitchen table and sit in one of the chairs while placing my backpack near my feet. Mom sits beside me, NotEnrique stands on my chair's neck, but Dad stays beside Enrique.

I turn to Mom. "First, I want to know where our family came from. Papa's family is of Latin descent, but your family came from Latin America and Europe. How did that happen?" I ask with anticipation.

Mom bites her lip and glances around without moving her head. "Oh Claire, that was so long ago." She chuckles with a fake smile.

I don't buy it. I search in my bag and take out a pencil and some paper to test her. "Try me. You know the story, and I'll poke at you for the whole week." I smirk at her, raising an eyebrow.

It takes a minute, but Mom sighs in defeat, giving in. "Ok, I'll tell you." She breathes, smiling but shaking her head, making me almost excited.

Mom tells me how our family came from 11th-century England, Spain to Latin America in the 17th century, and California in the mid-19th century. During the lecture, I write down and record everything on my phone.

After 30 minutes of talking and laughing, it's time for dinner. We stayed together again to eat dinner, steak, mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Mom spends almost all her attention on Enrique, but I talked with Dad, asked him about his family, and laughed at his jokes. His family isn't as interesting as Mom's, but it's nice to hear how they came from Columbia to California. After placing the dishes into the sink, I have everything I need for one night of my project.

"How's that boy... uh, Douxie?" Dad asks, smiling at me while we wash the dishes.

I roll my eyes. "He's good. He's on a date right now with one of the girls who came here yesterday, and her name is Zoe." I reply without looking at him. Since Douxie's first impression, Dad has gotten curious about him. I pray he's only teasing and not wanting me to date my 919-year-old teacher, who looks 19. Ewww!

"Oh... And how's Jim?" Dad asks more awkwardly.

I smile inside and out, thinking of how sweet my boyfriend is. "He's good too. We went to Douxie's place together to ask about my hair, and he kissed me goodbye when my magic lessons started." I answer, trying to hold my giddiness.

"Awww, how sweet!" Mom replies sweetly.

I almost drop the plate when placing it in the dishwasher. I know it's only been less than a year, but I didn't think my parents, let alone my mother, could like Jim.

"Claire, can you come here?"

I look up and see Mom holding her cell phone in her hand. I obey without question and sit down next to her, confused.

"Your grandmother wants to talk to you," Mom says sternly as she hands me her phone. "She's on the phone right now."

My breath catches in my chest, and I almost snatch the phone out of Mom's hand. "Hello!"

"Hello, Claire!" I hear Abuela's sweet voice in the receiver. "How are you, my dear?" She asks.

I feel joy crawl into my heart, hearing my grandmother's voice for the first time in a long time. "I'm alright, Abuela!" I reply, smiling.

"Good! How's life as a teenager?"

I blush as Abuela hasn't known much about my life since I was 12. "It's great, Abuela! I have many friends, have been on many adventures, and have a boyfriend!" I say excitedly, but when I look at my parents, I blush at their raised eyebrows and smirk.

"Oh, seems like you've been busy," Abuela says in her sweet manner.

"Oh, trust me, you have no idea," I say, trying to hold in a giggle.

"Anyway, I want to call and make sure how you're doing. I miss you so much."

I smile sweetly. "Thank you, Abuela! I miss you too. I haven't seen you in years."

"I hope to see you for your 17th birthday at the manor."

My smile grows wider as I turn to my Mom, who also smiles. I haven't been to the manor in years and want to see Abuela and my cousins again. Today is October 2nd, and my birthday is on the 18th. So it's close. "Of course! Could I bring my friends too?" I ask.

"Of course, my dear. I would love to meet them and your boyfriend." Abuela says happily, making me blush.

"Of course, Abuela." I giggle.

"I have to go, but I wish you a good night Claire."

"Alright! Goodnight, Abuela!" I reply, calmer.

"Goodnight, Claire! May you hand the phone to your Mamá?" Abuela replies.

"Alright!" I reply and hand the phone to Mom.

"Hi, Mom!" Mom says to Abuela on her phone. "Yes, I know. I have it. And yes, I will give it to her." She says sternly. "Goodnight, Mom, bye."

Mom hangs up, and I yawn. "Well, I'm going upstairs." I get up, stretch my arms and grab my bag to go to my room. "Goodnight."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Claire, come back." I hear Mom say sternly.

I huff in annoyance and turn around, holding my tongue.

"Sit down, please." Mom orders calmly as she gets up and walks away in the direction I am going.

I turn to Dad, looking at him with confusion but walk to where NotEnrique is. "Papá, what's wrong?" I ask curiously.

Dad rolls his eyes and chuckles. "Just wait."

I turn to NotEnrique, who crawls onto the table. We both share confusing expressions silently while we wait for Mom. Three minutes later, Mom returns with a small black velvet box. I raise my eyebrow as she places it on the table and sits down.

"Ummm... Miss, what's this?" NotEnrique asks curiously, coming close and almost touching the box, but Mom grabs and pulls it away.

"This is for Claire." She hisses at her foster son, narrowing her eyes at him.

I blink but smile. "Wait, that's for me?" I ask.

Mom smiles and nods her head. "Yes. I wanted to wait until your birthday, but I think it's the right time to give it to you now." She replies. "Remember that necklace I used to wear around my neck that you love to touch?"

"Yes! You stopped wearing it seven years ago when I was nine." I answer, and a bubbling sensation appears in my stomach, almost like butterflies.

"Well, it's a family heirloom, and I think you should have it." Mom replies and hands me the box.

I open the box, and my eyes and mouth widen as I see the beautiful necklace inside. It's a pendant connected to a pure silver chain. The pendant is all pure silver, and its center is a small circle that contains a clear stone. Extend out from it is a triangle touching three big swirls. In its corners are three small circles near them with clear stones in them. It may be simple, but it's the most beautiful thing Mom has ever given me.

"Wow, Mom... Thank you!" I say with excitement, smiling with happiness. Circles signify unity, wholeness, eternity, perfection, and strength. It's the main symbol of our family, and the necklace is called the circles of Veronica Galot and is the first known person to start our family tree. This necklace means a lot to my family. "I don't know what to think," I say hesitantly.

Mom grabs the box and takes the necklace out. "I got it polished today. Here, I'll help you put it on." She says softly.

I smile and turn around, holding my hair up. Mom carefully places the necklace around my neck, and I let my hair down as I hear a click.

I turn around to see my parents with proud smiles. "It suits you," Mom says softly.

The pendant starts to glow, and as I touch it to raise it to my eyes, the clear stones turn light purple. My eyes widen, and I look at my unphased parents, biting my lip. "Was that me?" I ask in confusion.

She shakes her head and smiles sweeter. "No. Every time another wears the necklace, it changes color to the person's aura. Mine was green. Yours is purple. It's part of the necklace's gifts." She says with the sweet tone I've ever heard, but she grabs my hands and looks at me. "Claire, this is a special necklace. I want you to wear it and never take it off except when in the water. That way, you will never lose it." She says seriously.

"Yes, Mamá, I will. I promise." I agree, nodding my head.

Mom smiles and brings her hand up to stroke my face, and I can see happiness and some water in her eyes. I try to hold my tears and lean in to wrap my arms around Mom's waist. I lean my head on her shoulder, and she hugs me back. "Te Quiero Claire!" Mom mumbles, and I grip her tighter.

I look over Mom's shoulder and see Dad's warm smile. He joins the hug, and I smile to feel my heart become whole from the years of neglect. We soon let go, and Dad kisses my forehead before grabbing Enrique from his high chair.

"You may go to bed now, Claire. I need to leave early tomorrow, but I will see you after school. Goodnight, Mija." Mom says softly.

I nod my head. "Goodnight, guys," I reply, walking with NotEnrique to my bed. I open the door and almost fall on my bed. But NotEnrique and I stop in our tracks. On my bed is something long; I slowly walk to it and see it's my shadow staff, intake. I examine the staff and find a note near the staff's handle.

"What the hell?" NotEnrique mutters, crawling up to my shoulder.

I shake off my shivers and pull out my phone to take a picture of the scene before grabbing the note.

'Hello, Shadowdancer! You forgot something. Can't wait to see you again. I'll be watching you.'

My whole body shook in fear, and I almost fell. "Holy shit!" I mutter, frantically looking around like last night, but I can't see anyone else in the room's window. I sit on the bed and grab my staff, and I feel disturbed and throw it to the ground, still shaking.

"This doesn't make any sense. I thought your staff was destroyed!" Enrique says with shock, hoping on my bed.

"It was, but the Arcane Order fixed it and gave it to Morgana, but I lost track of it after battling them," I say with horror. I'm losing my mind. A mysterious eyes at my window, a scary nightmare, a wolf, a vision of the Amulet of Daylight, and now my shadow staff is here and on my bed with a strange note.

I turn to NotEnrique and raise an eyebrow. "You didn't see anything or anyone in our house or my room?"

"No! I swear! I was asleep downstairs most of the day because I watched over you last night." NotEnrique says with panic.

Before I can say anything, I hear the same voice and hymn from last night.

'Life is strange, how to put twisty frights and wonders to behold,

Look at the stars and moon tonight,

You're pretty great and take to flight.'

I take a deep breath and pat him on the head. "It's ok NotEnrique. We need to get ready for bed and figure this out tomorrow. I wish someone would tell us what's going on." I say sleepily. I know this situation is freaking me out, but I can't do anything about it, and I feel exhausted.

I place the note on my nightstand, get my clothes off and put on my pjs while watching over my shoulder, scared the eyes or something will show up in my room. I nearly pass out on my bed and tuck myself in bed.

NotEnrique crawls near me with worried eyes. "Goodnight, Sis. I'll watch over you." He says softly.

I shake my head. "No, sleep next to me. It will be alright, and I don't want you to be tired again from me." I say sleepily.

He doesn't argue and snuggles under my covers. I shift to get comfortable and drift to sleep, unsure of what will happen.

"Don't be frightened, little lamb."

Author Note: This was hard to write. I'm sorry, but I need to sidetrack the story to get to know Abuela as she and events in this month is important to the story. I will explain the full story of Ophelia's family tree in chapter 12. As for the necklace, the pendant is the same one as Morgana wears in the Merlin series with my own tricks in it. Guess who wrote the note and gives Claire back her staff. Also, who calls Claire little lamb? I'm pretty sure you can guess who it is, hahah! Please review.