Chris taps his index finger on the wooden desk, thinking of various ways to tell Nikki about her real identity. He is also waiting for Valerie to arrive in the office as well. They’ve decided that they would be the ones to unravel the truth to their youngest sibling.
He shifts in his seat and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. The consequences of their actions will definitely be Nikki getting mixed emotions about the revelation—denial, surprise, and anger. ‘Or maybe Nikki will handle everything well and just accept everything we tell her.’ he thinks, knowing full well that it is a possible outcome, yet the former outweighs the latter for sure.
“Today is the day,” he utters to himself silently.
His head shoots up as he hears a creak on the door, Valerie’s head peeping through it. “You called for me, Alpha?”
“Yes, Val. And call me Chris when I’m at home. I may be your Alpha but I’m still your brother.”
She smiles and traipses right in, closing the door behind her. “Doesn’t change the fact that your still the Alpha though.” She shrugs, grabbing a coca-cola can from the small fridge in his office. “You want one?”
Chris shakes his head, waiting for Valerie to settle down on the sofa so they can discuss things properly. He takes his seat on the black leather chair across the sofa used for the guests. Their little plan about revealing it to Nicole slowly will be hard, considering she’ll be shifting next Friday.
Valerie sighs, plopping down the seat. “Why don’t we just tell her straight away that she’s one of us?”
Chris looks at her as if she has grown two more heads. “And you think she’ll handle it well if we just straight up tell her that she’s a werewolf the moment she comes home?”
Valerie drinks from the can before replying, “you got a point. She noticed her friends have been away lately. And just like her friends, I’m not really one to keep my mouth shut so I tend to avoid her to not spill anything.”
“Alright. Use your blabbermouth to reveal it then.”
“Are you stupid? We have to set the mood!”
“How do we do that? Buy ice cream and then watch a movie?”
“Can we get cookies and cream?”
“Valerie,” Chris warns her.
“What? It’s a good idea. We can watch a movie while eating ice cream. Talk about the movie afterward and then begin to spills secrets. As I’ve said, we have to set the mood!”
-----
It’s exactly a week before my birthday, yet I still feel like my family and friends are walking on eggshells around me. If I’m not mistaken, is it because they’re planning a surprise birthday party or something? But it still doesn’t explain their unusual behavior towards me. Kathleen and Elina are still the same. Jace, however… something’s extremely wrong with that idiot. He has been skipping school a lot, including Jeremiah. I worry about his grades. It’s not that he gets bad grades, he just doesn’t try and teachers tend to tell him he should try more.
“We’re here, Nikki,” Jeremiah announces as he stops in front of our house.
That’s odd. Valerie’s red hatchback car is here. She usually goes out with her friends on Fridays. Are they finally going to tell me what’s keeping them on edge lately?
“Thanks,” I mutter before opening the car door.
“Nikki!” Jeremiah calls out before I can slam the door shut. “We’ll always be here for you if you need someone to talk to.”
I frown at his words, not knowing what he meant by that statement. He says that but they weren’t even around the entire week. Still… it can’t be helped if they truly are busy with whatever it is they do outside school. We do live separate lives after all.
“Noted, Jer. See you at school.” I smile before closing the door, waving goodbye at the car as they drive away.
Whatever my friends were handling this week, I hope they’d get through it. I don’t really know how to get them to open up with their problems. I’ve been constantly reminding them if they are having trouble with things, they can always talk to me about it. Maybe listening may help lessen the weight on their shoulders.
“Valerie, Chris, I’m home!” I shout at them after stepping inside the house.
I take off my shoes and place them on the shoe rack. The house seems extra quiet today. I hope they left money for food or maybe food for me to eat. I sigh. It’s not like it’s the first time they left me all alone inside this house.
I change into my huge sweater with the words “I hate Mondays” and gray sweatpants.
“Nikki.”
I jump in surprise at Valerie’s sudden appearance at my bedroom door. “You scared me there, Valerie. I thought a kidnapper broke into the house.”
“Trust me. No one would dare kidnap you,” Valerie replies with a laugh.
I furrow my eyebrows while putting my hair in a bun lazily. Deciding to ignore her weird reply, I ask, “Is there anything you need, Val?”
She bites her lower lip awkwardly, before coughing and grinning ear-to-ear. She suggests enthusiastically “How about we have a movie night? Just you, me, and Chris? We haven’t had our usual siblings bonding time in ages.’
Remembering how everyone else has been avoiding, or at least that’s what it looked like to me, I return a smile and accept her invitation. “Sure, why not?”
“Chris! She said yes!” Valerie shouts down the hallway, jumping up and down in glee and excitement. “Let’s go out and grab junk food and soda. We can’t have a movie night without unhealthy snacks and drinks.”
“Uh… Val? Did something happen? You don’t seem like yourself today,” I ask in worry.
Valerie exhales, the smile still on her lips. “I’m just happy we get to spend time together today. It’s been months since we’ve last had a movie night, right?”
I nod and let her drag me outside the house, not bothering to change into other presentable clothes. We’re only going to the nearest convenience store as always. I might as well remain as comfortable as I want. Chris volunteers to stay behind and try to make french fries for us. I’m sure it will go alright and the house will still be standing when we come back,
Valerie parks the scooter in front of the store. The guard opens the door and places our helmets on the side while we buy food.
Why do I feel like someone’s eyes are on me?
I stop in my tracks and look outside through the glass walls, scanning the area. The few people around are minding their own business, so who could be watching me?
“Nikki? Is there anything specific you want?”
“Anything spicy and vanilla ice cream too,” I reply, averting my gaze to Valerie.
----
“Nikki, I don’t know how to say this, and I know it sounds insane, but you’re a werewolf and you’re going to be shifting on your seventeenth birthday,” Chris practices while putting the fries in a bowl, “Wait, no. That’s stupid. I’m sure she’d be annoyed if she finds out that she’s a werewolf and she’ll be shifting on her birthday at the same time. How do I say this properly?”
He puts the cold french fries into the wire basket, before setting it down into the deep fryer.
“Why the hell did mom and dad decide to keep it a secret?” He groans while ruffling his blonde hair in frustration. “If only they let her know her true identity when she was little and made her train with the rest of us, this wouldn’t be a problem.”
He sighs and sits on the counter stool. “I shouldn’t get too agitated. As long as we’re going with the plan, how we handle Nikki’s reaction will come later. It’s hard to predict how she’ll react and process this information. Heck! She might even malfunction and decide to laugh it off without realizing the gravity of the situation.”
“I’d rather pick training with my warriors rather than spilling the beans.”
Valerie parks the scooter with a bag of junk food and Nicole carrying the soda.
“Shit,” Chris swears, slightly panicking. He turns off the deep fryer, noticing that the fries are already in their golden color.
‘Have you told her, son?’ his mother questions him through the pack-link.
‘No, we haven’t yet. We’re preparing for our movie night.’
‘Alright. We’ll be back tomorrow night from the business trip.’ she informs him and cuts the link off.
The three of them sit on the couch in front of the TV, a box of pizza, bowls of french fries, and different chips in front of them as well as a bottle of soda and three cups. Chris has already set up the different movies they will watch, most of them are animated movies from Wisney.
The third movie’s credits are shown on the screen. The three managed to finish the pizza, fries, and a bottle of soda.
Chris sits up from the love seat he lied down on while watching the second movie. He checks his phone and sees that it’s already 11 in the evening. He glances at his siblings, both still in their seats, leaning on the armrests. “I think it’s safe to assume that we’ll end movie night here?”
Nikki stands up first while stretching her arms and yawning. “I feel beat. I’ll head up first.”
Valerie automatically grabs her arm, stopping her from going anywhere. “Wait, Nikki. We need to tell you something.”
“Yes, Val. I know we have to clean up first. I wasn’t trying to escape or anything.”
Nikki puts the cups and places them on the empty bowls before carrying them to the kitchen. Valerie follows right behind her, bringing the empty pizza box and soda bottles. Chris is left in the living room, fixing the sofas and turning off the television.
“So…” Valerie begins to talk, “you must be wondering why everyone’s been acting weird around you these days?”
Nikki knits her eyebrows at her. “Yeah. I just assumed they were busy. Is there a particular reason?”
Valerie inhales sharply, biting her bottom lip for the second time tonight. “I- uh… I don’t really know how to say it. Chris, please get in here,” she requests in a whisper.
“I heard you.” Chris joins us right after Valerie’s request.
Nikki raises an eyebrow, confused at how Chris could hear Valerie’s request. Did he hear our conversation despite being far?
“Just leave the dirty dishes. Chris promised he’ll do them. Let’s go back to the living room and talk where we can all sit and see each other,” Valerie suggests, holding Nikki’s shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. She guides her to the living room and lets her sit on the single chair across the two sofas.
The three siblings sit silently, the youngest switching her eyes from Valerie to Chris and Valerie again. Valerie and Chris are having a conversation altogether in their heads.
“Okay, Nicole. I don’t really know how to start saying this to you. But, uh… you’re different. Wait, no. We’re different,” Valerie manages to start saying.
‘She only calls me Nicole if the situation is serious though.’ Nikki thinks, concerned about the topic at hand.
“I don’t really get what you’re trying to say, Val. But I know that we’re all different and unique,” Nikki interrupts confusion reaching the corners of her mind. ‘What does she mean by different anyway? Are we suddenly not normal?’
Valerie elaborates even further, her eyes staring straight into Nikki’s, “I mean that we’re different, unique, and special. We can do things other humans can’t do, and it already happened to me last year, it will happen to you, too. It also happened to Chris.”
Nikki tilts her head, a confused expression plastered on her face.
Chris sighs audibly, making the other two divert their gazes towards him. He comments, “I can’t do this. I’m sorry. I tried practicing earlier, but let’s just get straight to the point.” His eyes then gaze into Nikki’s. “Nicole, you’re a werewolf. One with Alpha blood in your system.”
Nikki freezes in her seat, shock written all over her face. She remains quiet for a while, processing the words her big brother uttered. She laughs bitterly. “No. You’re lying.”
The other two remain silent, exuding an aura of seriousness.
“Is this some kind of prank?”
Nothing. No replies come out of Valerie and Chris.
“You seriously expect me to believe that I am a werewolf? Me who has been raised as a human my entire life?” Nikki asks the two of them. “You’re kidding me, right? This is some kind of sick joke after movie night?”
“No, Nicole. We’re not lying. This isn’t a joke.”
Nikki’s heart beats faster, its intensity feeling like it’s about to break out of her ribcage.
“We’re telling you the truth, Nikki. You’re a werewolf.”
I cannot find it within me to accept their revelation. They can’t possibly be serious about this, can they? Hello? Werewolves? Those creatures only exist in the literature, myths, or those movies and television series they show to the people. Werewolves aren’t real. Even if there was an ounce of possibility that they exist, that must mean there are only a few of them living around us, right? I don’t want to believe them at all. This has to be a joke! “Nicole, please say something,” Chris pleads, still staring at me. “What’s there to say?” I question while staring at the carpeted floor. I just can’t believe it at all. What I’ve read about werewolves or seen about werewolves in the movies is that they’re monsters who kill people when it’s the night of the full moon. If it is true that I’m a werewolf, then does that mean that I myself will become a killer like the others, too? The two of them don’t reply. I stare at the two of them in dis
The other students in the area greet Valerie as she scans the area. She waves back at them while searching for a specific male student. Where could he be? It can’t be that hard to find him. He’s as tall as Chris but with jet black hair and is surrounded by his two friends and little sister. She thinks. Isn’t that his little sister? She thinks as she spots Sandy opening her locker. She approaches Sandy with a friendly smile on her face. She is Ms. Congeniality after all. “Hi! Your name is Xandrine, right? Leandre’s little sister?” Sandy closes her locker and looks at Valerie cheerily. “Yup. That’s me. Are you looking for my brother?” Valerie nods which causes Sandy’s face to grim. “I can tell you’re a werewolf so I’ll just say this right away. Stay away from my brother. He already found his mate. So it’s much better for you to bother and flirt with another werewolf,” Sandy smiles sarcastically and starts walking away.
After an eventful day at school with me avoiding and ignoring my friends and my sister, I finally walk towards the front doors of the administration’s building where we can see the road. I don’t think I have the courage to face them after all the things I said. If this were a normal day, I would’ve gone home with Jace or Jeremiah. The odds aren’t really in my favor. “Make way, people! I’m coming through!” Valerie’s voice booms through the crowd. “Nikki! Wait!” I stop in my tracks and look back at the sea of teenagers in the corridors. Some were just causing more traffic by speaking to each other in the corridors instead of discussing it somewhere else. I spot Valerie’s dirty blonde hair and her hand raising her phone. I wait for her at the wall near the fire extinguisher. Let’s just assume that we’ll be heading home together. Valerie arrives in front of me, catching her breath while holding onto her knees. “Hoo! That was rough. Chris will be coming to
“Is this the vampire you spoke of?” A woman with light blonde hair questions the werewolf who hired her. The vampire is slumped down on the ground, her back leaning on the brick wall. The hunters placed a shackle on her bony limbs with its chain attached to the walls. Her eyes were closed and sunken, indicating that it's been a while since she feasted properly on human blood. Her black hair is in a mess and her skin looked pale. Overall, it seemed like she was closer to the brink of death. “Did you perhaps use a hallucinogen on her?” The vampire mutters, “Master, forgive me.” ‘So she has a master. This person fell victim to the schemes of the higher-ups.’ the witch thinks. She squats behind a yellow line where the werewolf told her was a safe zone, feeling uncomfortable with her jeans. Sighing, she complains internally, ‘I should have worn something more comfortable. Why did Zinnia even set me up with this job?’ The g
Tuesday begins and oddly, Valerie and Chris have been quiet. Chris did not return home at all last night, despite his promise in teaching me about werewolf stuff. I guess he had a more important pack business to attend to. Chris came back to the house this morning though and he has been so tensed up ever since. Valeriewas alerted about the situation last night, so after our little werewolf lesson, had to end earlier than I expected. She went out last night, too, which is why she’sdozing off in the passenger seat. “Did something happen last night that I don’t know about?” I ask the two the moment the car turns on the last corner to get to school. Chris’s grip on the steering wheel tightly and his jaw tenses up before he replies, “There’s a problem at the packhouse. Stay with your friends or with Valerie while at school. We don’t want anything to happen to you.” I open my mouth to reply but it turns out we’ve already arrived in front of the
The silence of the corridors makes the ambiance of the school eerie. Yet, I cannot find it within me to proceed to the classroom yet. I never should have searched up online about those animal attacks happening around town. The photos of the victims should definitely not have been posted on the news. Anyone who hates gory stuff, like me, should stay away from those. Is this the type of life I’d be leading now? Werewolves, vampires, and magic—I don’t think it’s possible to deal with these things without expecting bloodshed. For all I know, those animal attacks were probably caused by any of the three. I close my eyes and the images of the decapitated head of the humans enter my mind. A throbbing sensation pulsates in my head and I shiver at the thought. I feel my stomach churn once again. I already threw up my lunch. If I hurl any more than what I already have, I might end up puking my guts out instead. Maybe I should go to the infirmary instead
“Here’s the key to the storage room, Mr. Zyris.” I place the key with the labeled keychain on his table, not waiting for him to take it from me. “I made sure to lock the door.” The image of my mother along with the other members of her committee flashes in my head once again. I don’t want to assume that they’re hiding anything from me, especially after the whole werewolf thing. But what if what I’m speculating is true? The guilty face Leandre had after I told her the girl who looked wasn’t my mom made me feel uneasy. Did he yet again reveal another secret my family is hiding? He puts his phone down and gazes right into my eyes with an eerie smile on his face. “Thank you for returning the key, Ms. Summers. Please do have a good evening.” “You, too, Mr. Zyris.” I send a small smile his way. He shows me a toothy grin, his ocean blue eyes turning crimson red once again which makes me look away. The thumping in my chest increases as I practically r
Leila continuously sways her feet together, her upper limbs on both sides of her thighs supporting her weight. Diverting her attention from the quiet Alpha in front of her, she scans the entirety of his home office. Much to her dismay, she wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of his office in the packhouse. She glances at Chris, who still sits silently, his eyes now on her. Is he taunting me? Is he doing this so I’ll explain more about the vampire? If so, what else haven’t I told him?She huffs and places her hands on her hips. "For the umpteenth time, I have no idea what else was wrong with the goddamned vampire!" Leila declares as she slams her hands on the wooden table, strands of her light blonde hair falling in front of her eyes. Her face has become reddish at her outburst, her heart thumps strongly inside her ribcage at the thought of the dead. “I already told you what I know and if you interrogate me more about the vampire I accidentally killed
"Guys, can we rest up a bit? I'm having trouble sustaining this." I point to the floating man behind me. The more I try maintaining my concentration in making this man levitate, the more it drains my energy. "What was his name again? Randall?They stop walking and face me. The three of us have been walking around this endless forest for a while now but we still haven't found a road or anything that is familiar to us. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I could not communicate with my wolf yet again and even though Valerie and Sandy drank that healing elixir, they still were unable to communicate through the pack link.Once more, we are all in very bad shape, we haven't showered in days and we all look like we've been struck by lightning with how dirty our clothes were."
I grit my teeth as the man crouches in front of my cell, observing the very sorry sight of me. His face closes in on the cell bars, eyeing me up and down, sneering. A dark colored three-clawed scar is on his cheek, nearing his left eye. His entire aura is a darkened blue—which could mean anything negative. I stare at him angrily, not wanting his disgusting face near me. The man sniggers before standing up and examining Sandy and Valerie's weakened state."This is quite an interesting sight. Three Alpha's daughters caught in a bind... Helpless... Powerless. Oh if you all could see the look on your faces." The man laughs mockingly. He grabs a wooden chair, places it in the middle of the room, and sits down leaning forward. "Now, are you going to tell me which one of you is Alpha Rickart's daughter?"I look at him blankly,
In a small room dimly lit by torches sits an impatient man with a cold expression. His brown eyes stare coldly at the circle with symbols drawn in chalk in the middle of the room. He successfully drew the enchantment earlier and now he's getting more agitated the more time it takes for the spell to be activated.Six guards—four werewolves and two vampires— stand at attention behind him, waiting for the moment the target is expected to arrive. The two vampires both have a brooch with a ruby emblem on her collar."Is there no news from the mole yet?" The witch asks impatiently, tapping his index finger on the suitcase he brought."None yet, Gee," one of the werewolves responds."Are you sure you are the best witch for this job?" a vampire interrogates, her eyes throwing daggers at the witch's fretful state. "Won't it be more advisable if you double-check your spell?"Gee narrows his eyes at the vampire with his teeth gritted. "I've used t
"What do you mean they were kidnapped?!?" Leila shrieks as she drives into Lyra Town. She has been sent by the coven as theTemplerepresentative in Zinnia's stead. Zinnia had just informed her of the tragedy that occurred during the Alpha's little sister's initiation ceremony.This is bad. I haven't told Aunt Zinnia about the 'Stone of Life' Nicole possessed. Only Alpha Summers and I knew about it though. Is it possible the information I revealed accidentally got leaked? Or maybe I'm reading too much into things?"I said what I said, Leila. Please hasten your driving. One of their scouts is waiting for you at theLyra Townsignage. I expected you to arrive there an hour earlier. What happened?" Zinnia grumbles but nevertheless curious.Leila's face flushes as she recalls her taking a wrong turn earlier. "Yeah... I got lost. This is why I kept telling you to leave a teleportation crystal at the Blood Moon's territor
“Are all these really necessary?” I ask as Valerie paints the pack symbol on my left shoulder. I have already worn the white ceremonial dress on me and the brown gladiator sandals that had to be tied up to my knees. The dress was only one-shouldered and exposed my left shoulder, hence, why Valerie is painting the symbol there. Both Valerie and Sandy are also wearing white halter neck dresses. Valerie also had the pack symbol on her shoulder whereas Sandy did not. “You'll be fine,” Valerie coos. The dress I'm wearing right now is also what I wore when I was initiated into the pack. We'll know you are fully accepted into the pack once the dance is over.” “Is there an indicator that confirms that?” “The paint I'm using on your shoulder will glow.” Valerie finishes painting on my shoulder and places the bowl with the red paint on the vanity and heads to the comfort room. We can hear a faint sound of the water running. I look up at Sandy who has ha
The Dark Crescent warriors came to our territory, much sooner than we anticipated. Father noticed their presence from a mile away, and he had planned to buy enough time for the rest of us to escape. Some of the men left to lead the women and children out of the house through the back while the warriors’ presence had yet to close in on us. Some of us stayed behind to accompany Father, relentless to leaving any member of our family behind. All hell broke loose once father opened the door. I could feel all of our morale shatter at the sight of our family members being held hostage. Some were held down by the warriors in wolf form. The others had knives pressed on their throats. Father’s negative emotions swirled around the place and influenced us all. I never got a good look at the leader of the warriors. He wore a mask over his face. However, I could deliberately remember how vile and cruel his voice sounded. “I was expecting you to gladly join
"Let me get this straight... you followed him into a club?" Leandre asks, clarifying the report of the two men in front of him. It is eight in the morning on a Saturday. Leandre has just finished his daily workout routine when his two friends specifically requested to meet him. Turns out, the two had quite the fun adventure last night with the report they immediately conveyed. Still, Leandre is already grateful that the two even accepted his orders despite it being a dangerous task. "No, we tried to follow him inside," Dylan quickly replies. "Yeah. But this idiot got compelled and decided it was the best course of action to kill me." Xavier glares and Dylan before sighing. Leandre remains quiet as he scans the document provided by the two. It is only natural for them to write a narrative report of what happened with the investigation. 'Compulsion, huh... so we are dealing with vampires. They've
"He must have caught onto us," Xavier curses before backing the car and stepping onto the accelerator once he is already on the same side of the road as Zyris."Calm down, genius! We might end up crashing!" Dylan panics as he sees a gang of big buff men driving gigantic motorcycles right through the side mirror.Xavier speeds up when he sees their target's vehicle is far ahead of them. "Don't worry, once we're close enough, they can overtake us. We cannot lose sight of our target, not when he's finally doing something out of his usual routines."True to his words, once they are a good enough distance to tail the vehicle, some motor-bikers overtake their car. Xavier has been thinking for a while that Mr. Zyris has probably sensed there were people following him closely. Doing something ordinary, such as letting other vehicles go before them, will help them be steered clear of suspicions in his head. Even though it might not
"Do we really have to keep following him? It's the third time this week! Plus, it's a Friday. Can't we take a break for today?" Dylan complains while they follow the principal's assistant's silver sedan.Xavier, being the driver, ensures that there is at least a ten-meter distance between their cars. He wouldn't want Mr. Zyris to catch onto their plans of tailing him, though they have been doing that since Wednesday. He made sure that their car was running at the same speed as the one their following. At least, that's what Leandre requested of them as a scout and a hunter."Quit complaining. Hemightgo somewhere unexpected this time," he returns, not bothering to spare a glance at his friend.Something's not right. How can someone like him be so bland and plain? Most of the girls at school are crushing on him, even the teachers. How is it that he spends time doing something tedious?We've been following him after he le