FEAR

"GOOD morning, mom," Cassandra greeted her mother when she saw her sitting at the breakfast table across from Liam. "Hi, brother!" she turned to her elder brother who simply hauled up his hand in response. 

Alpha Cadmus was not around for he was probably engaged in patrolling the whole area to ensure that everything is in order within the Black Forest territory. 

"Good morning," her mom mumbled in response with a simper before placing her glass of blood on the top of the breakfast table. 

Her mother is a princess of vampires yet, unlike other vampires, her mom drinks animal blood like her Uncle Matte; her mother's older brother who was the current king of vampires. 

"Aren't you going to eat anything, mom?" she inquired as she marched to the table in the middle of the dining room where a variety of foods were placed. 

"No, sweetie. I'm fine with this." her mother answered while lifting the glass of her daily dose of blood.

A vampire like her mom and some of her folks do eat human foods too. Although it does not quench their hunger and thirst, the food of the human helps them to reduce their bloodthirst. As much as possible, they do not want to rely on and be dependent on drinking blood. They only drink blood once a day. 

"How about you, Liam?" she grabbed her elder brother's attention while busy choosing what to eat. 

"Just a glass of fresh blood will do, Cassandra," Liam uttered in response, eyes remaining focused on the papers that he was holding. 

Their father must have piled Liam a load of works again. It was part of his elder brother’s training as the next Alpha of the Black Forest. 

"Okay!" she muttered as she took her steps towards the refrigerator at a rapid pace to get blood, packed in a small plastic. Cassandra poured it into the glass and immediately handed it to Liam. "Here," she said while passing the glass that she was holding over to him. 

Liam promptly took the glass of blood from Cassandra and laid it on the breakfast table. "Thank you, Cassandra!" with a soft smile formed on his lips, he declared. 

"Welcome," she simply replied before she returned to the table to continue picking food. 

Unlike her mother who ate human food yet was still looking for blood to drink every day, Liam on the other hand was able to live without tasting blood even for a week straight. He can survive with human foods. The twins' Sky and Cloud are different. Cloud is a pure werewolf while Sky is a pure vampire. How that happened, well they have no idea either. Life is mysterious so that is no longer surprising.

And, speaking of his two brothers... 

"Good morning!" Sky greeted them warmly as he entered the dining room. Next to him was Cloud, and likely his twin brother, he was also drenched in sweat. 

They must have run around the forest again. Cassandra couldn't help herself but feel jealous of them especially Cloud who was fortunate enough to be able to run around the Black Forest. While her? She didn't even know if, on her sixteenth birthday, she would transform. 

Werewolves tend to reach their maturity at the age of sixteen and, at the same time, their first transformation takes place. On the other hand, when they reached the age of twelve, their ability as a werewolf began to appear. Clear vision, keen hearing, and sense of smell. And, at the age of fifteen, a werewolf begins to show his agility and strength. 

However, neither of these abilities does Cassandra possess therefore, she was wary on her birthday. If she would be able to transform or not. And, that would be a month away. 

"Hello, mom!" Cloud greeted their mother. "Liam, and hey sis," he chirped as he turned to the two of them. 

"What's with that smell, boys?" their mother raised a question while eyeing the twin. 

"That's not me, Mom!" Sky groaned and sniffed at himself particularly his armpits. "Not really, eh. I smell like I'm even freshly bathed in citrus even when I'm sweating," he added up, trying to boost his confidence. 

"Sis, could you please give me three slices of ham, and hotdogs?" Cloud requested, ignoring what their mother said. 

He sat on the stool opposite their elder brother and distracted himself with his cellphone. 

"Yeah, sure," she replied and quickly stood up. "Is that all that you want?" she asked before taking a plate on which she would put the food that her brother demanded. 

"And a glass of fresh orange juice, please. Thank you, sis!"

"Okay," Cassandra replied as she simply shrugged her shoulders. 

Minutes had passed and they were already eating together. Dky was back to his spot after he went up a while ago to take a shower. They were in the middle of a meal when their mother spoke. 

"Any plans for Cassandra's birthday, boys?" Their mother suddenly broke the silence.

In sync, Sky and Cloud stopped eating before looking at each other. Liam also halted from slicing the ham on Cassandra's plate and grinned. 

"Oh, let it be. Why do we have to bother ourselves preparing for Cassandra's birthday when we can still keep living even if we won't," Sky expressed while wearing his most wicked smile. 

Cassandra frowned. Sky really loved to annoy her since they were little. Pity her for having a mad as a hatter brother like Sky. 

"Sky!" Cassandra wailed in annoyance. 

"Stop it, Sky!" Liam yelled while giving Sky a roasting glares. 

Sky stopped in an instant and became serious. 

"Just a little more time, Cassandra, and you, too could finally transform just like us," Cloud mumbled while chewing a piece of hotdog inside of his mouth. 

Cassandra felt sad all of a sudden and sighed. Perhaps, of all the birthday celebrants, she is the only one who feels despondency and agitated. To think that it was not just an ordinary birthday. It will be her sixteenth birthday. The most special birthday for all werewolves. A special day for she'd eventually be a full-fledged werewolf. 

"C'mon, Cassandra," Liam spoke as he put down the fork he was holding and focused his attention on her. "Cheer up! Don't be afraid. You have us," he added while patting his hand on the table. He may have noticed that his sister was suddenly sad. 

"Yeah. No matter what happens, whether you transform or not, you will always have us," Cloud seconded in a serious voice. 

Cassandra looked at her mother when she felt her cold hand touching her. She smiled and nodded at her as if telling her not to be afraid. That she can do it and they were just there by her side always. 

Cassandra forced a smile before nodding. "Thank you, Mom," she murmured and bowed her head down. 

She didn't want them to worry, even though, she was still sad, she imposed herself to smile. Cassandra knew that no matter what happen they would always be there for her. That no matter what happens in the future, they would never let her down. 

But what if she would not shift? As the Alpha’s daughter, that would be so embarrassing. She wanted her father and mother as well as her older brothers to be proud of her. With the thought of transforming, she felt extremely scared. She was afraid to disappoint them. No! All she wanted is to make them proud of her. 

But what if she fails? What would she do?