Chapter 37 Return to human world
When Serena finished her shift and got home from the hospital Flo still had the kids up. It wasn’t too late, and they were already in their pajamas. She was sitting in the living room with them, Oliver was drawing and Olivia was playing with some carved wooden wolves that Serena had never seen before.
They were being quiet and on their best behavior. Serena was impressed. Flo wasn’t even keeping a sharp eye on them. She was sitting on the couch and reading a book. Olivia and Oliver were masters at sneaking away and causing trouble when they thought no one was watching. “Are those new toys?” she asked, kneeling down by Olivia. “Flo gave them to me,” Olivia said, smiling at the Luna. “Leant them to you,” Flo corrected, leaning forward on the couch. Olivia nodded and went back to her game. “They are beautiful.” Serena said, looking at Flo. “Carved by my father and given to me to play with when I was their age,” Flo explained. “The detail is amazing,” Serena said, picking up one of the wooden carvings. The wolves had lines for fur, and each one had unique facial features. “My father was good with his hands,” Flo said.
“Did you two have fun with Flo this afternoon?” she asked. The twins nodded, but Oliver was focused on his painting and Olivia was too immersed in her game.
“We all got along just fine,” Flo assured. Serena stood up and took a seat on the couch beside Flo.
“I was thinking about having my kids stay with their grandparents in Star Seeker while I am back in the human world,” she said. “Charlotte and Thomas will look after them. “Are you sure?” Flo asked. “It would be my pleasure to watch them.” “I know it would,” Serena said. “You are so great with them, and I appreciate all your help.”
“I loved being a mother,” Flo said. “It was always my greatest regret that I never had more children.” Serena chuckled and looked at her own kids. “Perhaps your sentiment would be different if you’d had twins,” she said. Flo laughed and shook her head.
“You do amazing with them, especially without a mate,” Flo said. Serena nodded, appreciating the praise.
“My parents would love to have some quality time with the kids.” Serena said. “Charlotte dotes on them, and they will probably come back with more clothes than.they can wear before they outgrow them.” She laughed. Flo laughed too. “A grandmother’s duty,” she said. “Mommy, why do we have to go stay with grandma and grandpa?” Olivia asked, looking up from her game. It got Oliver’s attention too. “We like it here,” Oliver said.
“I have to go on a little trip, back to the human world,” Serena told them. “Your grandparents would love to watch you while I’m gone for a few days.” “Back to our old home?” Olivia asked, jumping up. She ran to her mother’s legs, and threw herself across her lap. “I want to go back!” Oliver looked up from his drawing
too.
“Me too!” he insisted. “I’ve been thinking about it, Serena,” Logan said, coming into the living room. “Perhaps I should tag along on this venture to the human world.” Serena raised an eyebrow at him. “That could be a good idea,” Flo said, looking between Logan and Serena. “Do you even know how to pass as human in the human world?” Serena challenged. Logan shrugged.
“You can teach me,” he said.
“If Logan goes, I want to go too,” Olivia insisted. Serena raised a questioning eyebrow at Logan. “It isn’t up to me,” he said, drawing from their conversation about parental authority previously. “Though, I wouldn’t mind the added company.”
“Yes!” Olivia said, jumping up and running around the living room. “Can we see our old house?” Oliver asked, rolling his picture up and carefully putting his pencils back in the pencil box. “I’m not sure,” Serena said. “It depends on what we have time for. I’m meeting a friend, and that could take up a lot of our time.” “We‘ll see what we can get into with the time we have,” Logan said. “I guess we should start packing,” Serena said. She got up from the house and headed upstairs. Olivia and Oliver followed her, rushing to their room to start packing. She knew their backs would end up stuffed with toys instead of clothes. Serena knew she’d have to go and repack their bags. While she was working through her own clothing and travel necessities, Logan appeared in her doorway. “Do I need to buy new clothes for this adventure?” he asked coyly. Serena looked over her shoulder, tossing a few shirts into her open suitcase on her bed. “Your clothes are fine,” she said laughing. “The human world isn’t that different.” “Ņo?” he asked. “You were so concerned that I wouldn’t blend in.” “I’m still concerned about that,” she admitted. “It is more about your behavior than your appearance. Although, you can’t run around as a wolf, at all.”
“At all?” he asked. Serena shook her head.
“If you do, you might end up getting shot,” she admitted. Logan let out a long breath, shaking his head. “I wasn’t prepared for that bit of news,” he confessed. “They don’t have wolves out in the human world?”
“Oh, they have wolves, but they don’t really live in cities or around people. They can’t turn into people, and when they get too close to people, the humans get nervous and kill them before they can attack anyone,” she explained. Logan shook his head. “Wolves attacking people,” he said. “Wild animals,” she corrected. “Not all humans accept that animals can be…self-aware, and in the wild, there aren’t a lot of
animals that can differentiate between a human and a meal.” “That’s unfortunate,” Logan said. “But you’re sure we’ll be safe?” “As long as you don’t sniff people out, don’t transform into a wolf, don’t take your clothes off randomly, or do anything else wolfish, we will be fine,” she assured. “Besides, there are some very strange humans in the human world.”
“Strange humans?” Logan asked. Serena nodded, walking to her dresser and pulling out a few pairs of pants. “I can’t explain it all in detail,” she said. “Don’t worry, you’ll get a full experience where we are going. Big cities are rife with strange humans.” “Good,” Logan said. “I’ll go pack. We can head out early tomorrow.” “Great,” Serena said. Logan headed off down the hall. Serena finished packing her own bags and she went to the twins’ room. They had a suitcase open, toys tossed in and a few pieces of clothing. Serena chuckled, going to their suitcase and sorting through the mess that they had piled onto it.
“I can’t wait to see the old house,” Oliver said. Serena shook her head. They hadn’t. lived in a house, they’d lived in a tiny apartment three floors up. It wasn’t far from the medical school, so Serena knew they could swing around and see it. She didn’t know if anyone was living there anymore though. “While I’m with my doctor friend, will the two of you be able to show Logan around?” she asked.
“Yea, that sounds like fun!” Olivia said. “We can take him to the park,” Oliver said, referencing the park with the playground that was less than a block away from where they’d lived. Serena had taken them there every day it was nice when she had a break from work and classes. “That sounds like a good idea,” Serena said. “I bet he’d like to see the park.” She put her suitcase and the kids’ suitcase by the front door when things were all packed. It was getting late, so she put the
twins to bed. They were excited, but exhausted enough to go to sleep quickly. On her way to her own room, Serena ran into Logan again. “Quick question,” Serena said. “How does Holly feel about this impromptu trip with me and my kids?” “I didn’t know you cared about that?” he said. Serena shrugged. “I don’t want any delays,” she admitted. “I also don’t want to be accosted upon our return.” Logan chuckled. “I’ll handle Holly” he assured. “See you in the morning.” She nodded. He gave her a soft smile, and Serena felt her stomach drop. She was getting in too deep! It wasn’t good. Going away for a few days with Logan and her kids might be too much. She’d have to make sure she didn’t let anything go too far. “Good night,” she said, waving at Logan as he disappeared into his room. She sighed heavily and went to her own bed. They were going to have a long drive ahead of them tomorrow. Serena wanted to be well rested. Her kids could be a pain in the car, and she didn’t want that to lead to any squabbles or discomfort. Returning to the human world came with enough uncertainty!