And this is the real chapter thirty. Apologies again for the mistake.

As I pulled away from Mr. Stewart’s house, I had a conundrum. April had texted me several more times, but I wanted to go home and compare notes with Mom and Dad regarding the new information Mr. Stewart had given me.

Meanwhile, the clock was ticking, and the Who was coming. I didn’t know how much longer I might have in this dimension, or reality, or whatever, and I wanted to find out as much as I could before I was pulled back into the clutches of Desdemonia’s mind.

Hungry, I stopped by PizzaHouse, and got a couple of pies with fried zuchinni. I drove up the hill to April’s house, and stopped at the gate, buzzing the ringer. The gates opened, and I drove up the path.

She greeted me at the door. She wore a silky negligee number and her dark hair was long and it poofed up on the top before spilling down over her chubby shoulders.

“Jesus, I’ve been waiting hours!” she said, holding a cigarette in her hand. Her voice was husky and low from the alcohol and nicotine.
“Yeah, I needed to see Mr. Stewart about the dimensional shifting.”

I walked into the house holding the two pizza boxes. I set them on the table, as April flung her arms around me. “I missed you!”
“Missed you too..” I said, pulling back. “This looks nice,” I touched her hair.

“You like it?” she walked over to a mirror hanging over the mantel. “Mom has a bunch of dolls in her closet that apparently she can trigger to make her dressed with full makeup, hair, and accessories. It’s a nifty spell!”

“Huh.” I said. She certainly didn’t have that in my reality.

“Did you bring smokes?” She said, pawing through the grocery bags. “This is my last one.”

“Ah, no. Sorry.”

She sighed. “But you did bring beer and pizza, so you’re mostly forgiven. I’m starving!”

I smiled, as she levered out a piece of pizza and began eating it voraciously.

We sat at the counter, eating pizza and drinking beer. Neither of us spoke much.

“Must be a shock for you to be a Friday Night and not be out with your group.”

She shrugged. “April is.”

I nodded.

“And I don’t miss it, honestly. I’d much rather stay in, snuggle, and watch movies over the nightclub scene.”

“Snuggle huh?”

She smiled. “But after you take a shower, Mister!”

“Okay, okay.” I smiled.

Walking back into the Master bathroom, I took off my clothes and turned on the hot water.

I had a few changes of clothes here. Apparently, I’d been spending quite a bit of time with ‘Desdemonia’ and I had a couple pairs of pants, shoes, and t-shirts. I laid out some clean jeans and a white t-shirt, and had just started showering when I heard the shower door open.
“Mmm, yummy!” Someone wrapped their arms around me from behind. At first I smiled, recognizing April’s voice, but then I realized that was April’s Voice and not Desdemonia’s! Quickly, I turned away from her..

“Uh, be out in a second!”

“What, you don’t want to be naked with me?” Desdemonia pouted April’s mouth in a perfect little moue.

Realizing the April hadn’t filled Desdemonia on my knowledge of the switch, I had to play the part.

“Uh, sure baby. C’mere,” I said.

She grinned at me, and slid into my arms. I held her a moment, but really felt strange doing that and got under the deluge of water, to rinse myself off.

“Aww,” she pouted. “I was hoping for shower sex. Mom won’t mind.”

I shook my head. “Look, Desdemonia, I know who you really are. You might as well stop the act.”

“What?” she looked hurt. “I’m not—“

“Spare me, I know what’s going on. Look, we have some things to talk about. Get dressed, and let’s go out there with the real April.”
Angrily, she washed the rest of the soap off then turned off the water. I pulled on the pair of jeans, and the cotton t-shirt, and walked out of the room.

Desdemonia — April, was on the bed, hands crossed under her pendulous breasts.

“Did you enjoy yourself in there?”

“Nothing happened, and I told her I knew what was going on.”

She looked panicked. “You didn’t!”

“Yes.” Desdemonia said, stepping out with a towel wrapped around her body and another one around her hair. “He did.”

I sighed, sitting on the bed with her. I took April in Desdemonia’s body into my arms, and held her. “There’s some things that have been happening we need to discuss.”

“Oh?” Desdemonia said, her eyes sliding to inky pools as she filled herself with power and rage.

“Don’t you dare, daughter.” April’s own eyes slid into black pools. Lightning crackled from her fingertips.

I saw the two women about to square off with me in between and I held my hands up.

“Look, I need some help from the two of you. There’s some things going on that I can’t handle by myself.”

Both of them settled down as their eyes returned to normal. ‘April’ put on a terrycloth robe, and sat in a bedside chair.
“So what’s up, stupid?” ‘Desdemonia’ said, squeezing my hand.

“I met with Mr. Stewart earlier tonight. I’ve been pulled through different dimensions and realities by an entity known as The Who.”

I went on to tell them what I’d learned, and where I’d been.

Afterward, they asked some questions.

‘April’ spoke first. “So, you had a mind-meld with me, and Elder Langtree?”

I nodded. “In my origin reality, you and Elder Langtree got pulled into a translocation spell by April and I’s Witch’s knot that unraveled suddenly and without warning.

“Hmm,” she stood up and started pacing. “And the best those minds could put together was to activate the Crystal and hypnotize the town into obedience? Basically, laying out a smorgasboard for the Who to consume when it comes through?”

“Yes, at the time, it seemed like the best way to go. Mr. Stewart calls it ‘rolling up for the bear.’

She nodded. “Well, yes, and powered individuals could be of use to An Ancient One, like that. And you say this is happening tomorrow night?”
I glanced at the clock. “Tonight, actually. Midnight, I’m guessing.”

“Dark night of the Soul,” she said. “Makes sense, since you’d be at your weakest strength.”

“So the way I see it, we have two paths: One, I try to figure out how to ‘blind’ the Ancient One to Dimensional perception, or two, become a Dimensional being myself.”

“Can an Alpha be Wrought in that fashion, Daughter?” April said.

“Anything is possible, I suppose.” She sighed. “It would take a great deal of magic, potentially all the magic accessible by this plane of existence.”

“It could be keyed to his curse,” April said, stroking my arm.

“Yes, that would be the best way. The Crystal could provide the boost of power I suppose. I think I could talk the Council into that, if you’re willing, Seth.”

“Whatever is necessary…” I said, swallowing.

“You realize, that afterward, anytime your changed you’d no longer be a Werewolf,” April said.

“I wouldn’t?”

She shook her head. “This would replace the ‘wolf’ part of your curse with the Dimensional Space Being…can you live with that?”

“Do I have a choice?” I said.