Chatoyant College, Book 13: The Teeth

Chapter 69: Normal Families

Corrie headed back up the stairs, followed by Edie and Dawn, after getting Charlie to agree to meet them at the magic building at seven regardless of how many other werewolves he'd managed to get to agree to join. If he could get two others, and she could get her dad, that would be enough. Or if he could get one other, and she could get her dad and one other, that would be enough.

Besides, she didn't really want to call her dad in front of him. It would be uncomfortable enough in front of Dawn and Edie. She and her father got along pretty well now, but they'd known each other for less than a year—or she'd known him for less than a year, really, while he'd known about her all her life, even if he'd never known much.

She'd been raised by her mother, with help from her grandmother, and had never had a father of any kind involved in her life until recently. He'd turned up out of the blue last semester, during Parents' Weekend, to reveal to her that he was a werewolf and that was the reason he hadn't been around to raise her—he hadn't told the truth to her mother until she was pregnant, and she hadn't wanted him around after that.

Once Corrie was actually convinced that he was her father, they'd started to spend time together and build a relationship. It was awkward, though. She was pretty much an adult and had lived her entire life without a father. He'd never really had to learn to be a parent. They didn't dislike each other, but they didn't have an easy relationship, either.

When they reached her dorm room, she immediately sat down on her bed and opened her phone, looking for her father's number. Dawn and Edie sat down on Edie's bed and started talking in low voices. Corrie was grateful—they wouldn't be listening in on her conversation (even if there wasn't anything she would care if they overheard, she still didn't want to be listened to), and she wouldn't be distracted by theirs.

Her father sounded sleepy and confused when he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dad."

"Oh, Corrie. Good to hear from you."

He sounded a little more awake. She hoped she hadn't woken him up. Then again, if he was a grown man still sleeping at noon on a Saturday, maybe he needed to be woken up.

"I'm actually calling for a favor. I want some werewolf help."

"Werewolf help? Not your father's help?"

"I wouldn't be willing to ask for my father's help if my father were an ordinary human." She explained the situation as succinctly as she could. He was plainly shocked to hear that murders were occurring on Chatoyant College's campus, but didn't interrupt her.

When she finished her request, there was a pause. "Are you sure it's safe for you? I mean, being there at all? Shouldn't the students leave campus until this person is caught?"

"If we all left, the professors would never catch her," Corrie said. "And some people have already left. But as long as we take basic precautions, we're perfectly safe. None of us goes out at night alone." She felt bad when she thought about Sean, who had gotten killed through no fault of his own by doing just that. After all, Corrie herself had gone out at night alone plenty of times before—just not when there was a killer loose on campus. But at the time, they'd believed that students were safe.

"Does your mother know about this?"

"Yes, I've kept her up to date on what's going on. She understands that I know how to deal with it." Maybe she hadn't given her mom all the details, but she certainly had enough to be worried. And maybe she was worried, but she let Corrie make her own decisions.

"All right. If you're sure you're safe."

"I'll be safer if you, and some of your werewolf friends, come to campus to back us up. You probably won't have to do anything, but just in case something goes wrong, we want to have backup that can stand up to the killer. Charlie says he'd like to have at least four werewolves."

"You talked to Charlie already, huh?"

"Well, yeah. He lives here."

"Sure. I'll be there, but I don't know how many others I'll be able to convince to come with. We'll have to see."

Corrie smiled with relief. "Thanks, Dad." Maybe it was a little manipulative, but she was sure hearing her call him 'Dad' would make him feel better about his decision to help. "Can you come to campus a little before seven? Meet me at the front gate? Then we're meeting the others in the magic building so everyone can get the full details."

"I can do that. Be safe, Corrie."

"I will, Dad." They hung up with no further goodbyes. There was always an awkwardness at the end of their conversations, when normal families might say I love you, but they just left it empty.