Array
(
[text] =>

About half way through a quiet dinner of roast chicken and vegetables the front door opened and in walked Aspen, his hair damp and his arm wrapped around the waist of a slender girl with white-blonde and stormy grey eyes. She too was completely soaked, and it occurred to me that it had been raining non-stop for the past three days. They had probably been traveling through the horrible weather conditions for who knows how long.

Rowan stands up, preparing to greet his brother, and the children looked up. He looked at me apologetically. “Can we have a little privacy, Jay?” he asked.

I smiled. “Of course,” I said, clearing away the empty plates and leading the kids to their play room, Aspen’s old bedroom which Rowan and I had spent just over a week converting into a child’s play-heaven. My smile disappeared. We would probably have to turn this room back into a bedroom now that Aspen had returned.

The smile returned when Amber, Flint and Jasper flopped onto the bean-bags while Jade and Marble headed for the bookcase.

I closed the door behind me, leaving Rowan and his brother to talk. That girl Aspen had with him had a similar hair colour to mine. If she was a wolf, there was a chance that she could look similar to me when in wolf form. This meant that I could be one step closer to finding out more about my family; more about my grandmother. And find out more about myself.

About an hour or so later, the two brothers had finished talking and we were allowed back into the living room. It sounded mean that they wouldn’t let me into the conversation, but someone had to keep an eye on the kids. If we didn’t take precautions like this, they’d tear each other apart in what was referred to in all packs as ‘Playful Puppy Nature.’

I took my place next to Rowan and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. “So, Aspen, tell us about this girl you brought with you,” my mate smiled.

Aspen nodded and the girl stepped forward. “I was up in Alaska,” Aspen explained. “I found something that may be of interest.”

“My name is Khione,” the girl spoke, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Your little brother found my pack while he was searching for arctic wolves.” She smiled at Rowan and I. “I was told there was one of us down here and thought you might want to take a little trip to meet the family.”

I looked up at Rowan, searching for any signs of doubt, but he was taking her seriously. I was right. She could help me meet more people like me. I frowned. “What do we do about the kids?” I asked worriedly. “Willow can’t come and look after them. She has her own family to look after.”

Rowan held me tighter. “We’ll take them with us – a first big adventure for them.” He smiled.

My mouth fell open. “Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked, my eyebrows knitting together. “What happens if one of them gets hurt?”

His face turned soft and his hand moved from my waist to my shoulder. “I know you’re worried, but they need to get outside and see the world. One of them will be running this pack, you know.”  He gently ran his fingers through my hair. “Besides, my father first took me out like this when I was that age.”

I nodded and stepped back, making Rowan drop his hand.

Khione cleared her throat, turning everyone’s attention back to her. She shrugged. “Feel free to bring the family along. I’ll just warn you now that as soon as the family knows you guys are mates they’ll want you to make it official right away.”

My cheeks grew hot. “We were planning to wait until the cubs were a little older.” I explained.

“Understandable,” Khione smiled. “I’m just saying that the elders are pretty traditional. You might or might not want to keep your relationship a secret.”

I looked to Rowan before nodding. We had both decided to take things slowly. Instead of jeopardising something precious like our comfortable relationship, I was willing to merely pretend we were friends for a few days. As long as we could stay together a know that we belonged to each other, I was happy.

~~~*~~~

“What?” Issy practically screeched. “You’re going to Alaska?”

I cringed at the noise and attempted to cover her mouth. “Only for a week or so,” I smiled. “Just as a little family holiday,” I finished.

Issy smiled, looking rather perverted. “Oh,” she said, her grin growing wider. “I see what you mean; a ‘family holiday’.” She chuckled as she added air quotes to her sentence.

My face flushed bright red and I began to stutter. “It’s nothing like that!” I eventually managed to say. “We’ll be bringing the kids with us and we can’t do that until we’re married!” My eyes widened as I realised what I had just said and my hands flew to cover my mouth.

The girl’s eyes were wide as she opened her mouth only to close it again – much like a fish. “You have kids? You’re getting married? You’re saving yourself?! What are you, a nun?”

I looked at the ground, deciding that instead of lying, I would only hide most of the truth. “They’re my older sister’s kids. I was the next of kin so they went to Rowan and I when she died.”

Issy’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as she awkwardly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “What about the marriage thing?”

“It’s a religion thing,” I said, shrugging. “Those who are more traditional prefer marriage before the good stuff.” I laughed as I felt my face grow hot yet again.

“Your religion accepts gays but not sex before marriage?”

I shrugged again. “It’s only those who are higher or older who prefer that rule, but there’s nothing that says you can’t,” I said, trying to leave out as much detail as I could.

Issy nodded. Before she could speak, the bell rang, saving me from any more awkwardness and instantly making me relax. I slowly began to walk away before Issy called after me. “JJ! I’m coming to your house after school! We have a chemistry assignment to work on before you leave!”

I froze. I had completely forgotten about the partnered assignment. What if she saw the pups? What if one of us shifted? What if one of the pack members arrived in wolf form in an emergency? Calm down, I thought to myself. I sent a text to Rowan stating that I would have to bring company over – human company – and to have the pups on their best behaviour. I also asked him to take any precautions he deemed necessary. It made me happier to realise that I didn’t have to explain the presence of Aspen and Khione because they were staying in a motel in town.

~~~*~~~

“By the way, JJ, what’s your boyfriend’s name?” Issy asked, leaning against the railing in the parking lot.

“Rowan,” I smiled, enjoying the sound of his name as I said it.

“Issy’s eyes went wide, a thing she did often whenever she was shocked. “Rowan as in Rowan Woods?” she asked. “He was, like, one of the school’s best football players!”

I grinned, but wasn’t surprised. It seemed that all the football players in this school were wolves. It was only normal that Rowan was as well. After all, he did tell me that I might hear about him or see his name somewhere.

Speak of the devil. Rowan’s car pulled up in front of us and he honked his horn, signalling for us to get in. He looked angry and upset, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. It must have been difficult to get everything organised in such a small amount of time.

Issy and I hopped into the car and the three of us drive towards Rowan’s and my house.

Rowan leaned over to me as he drove. “I’ve talked to the kids,” he whispered. “They should behave with what I’ve said to them.”

I frowned. “What did you say to them?”

Rowan just shook his head, smiling secretly to himself.

When we arrived back at the house we were greeted by the kids, a few of them wearing sunglasses to cover their colourful eyes.

My mate leaned down. “They didn’t like the contacts, so I let the ones who couldn’t pass with normal eye colours wear the glasses.”

I nodded and led Issy into the living room. She noticed the kids and smiled. “They’re so cute!” she said, her smile growing wider. How old are they?” she asked.

I pursed my lips and looked to Rowan. Should we lie about their age and say that they were all different ages, even though they all looked to be the same ages?

“Quintuplets,” Rowan explained. “It’s rare, but it happened.”

I smiled. He had taken the same approach that I had; lying by telling the truth.

Issy laughed. “They all look so different.”

“They’re fraternal quintuplet,” I said quickly and Issy eyed me suspiciously. “Would you like a drink?” I asked, excusing myself to the kitchen. “Snacks?”

“I’ll have what you’re having,” Rowan called from the living room.

“I wasn’t asking you!” I laughed.

I slipped some microwave popcorn into the microwave and set the timer, watching as the bag rose with the heat. I opened the cupboard and removed three glasses, pouring soda into each of them. I placed the glasses on a tray and brought it back to the living room, letting Rowan and Issy take their drinks and directing Issy to the couch.

Sitting down next to Issy, I reached for my chemistry notes. I handed them to Issy and shifted closer to her, giving room for Rowan to sit next to me.

Issy shook her head at Rowan then looked at me. “No way,” she said. “He’ll distract you.”

My mouth dropped open. “I’m insulted that you even think that,” I said as my mouth formed a smile and I kissed Rowan’s cheek.

She rolled her eyes and began to write down bullet points for our project. Although she acted like she was angry, I could see that she was enjoying herself.

I leaned back against Rowan and let Flint climb into my lap. He yawned and snuggled against me, closing his eyes and shifting into his dark grey wolf form.

Everyone in the room froze, including the pup. I laughed nervously. “Well, i-isn’t that a neat trick?” I stuttered. “Ta-dah.” I looked at Rowan who shook his head before I looked at Issy, her eyes planted firmly on Flint who looked up apologetically.

Rowan picked the pup up and set him in his lap. “The secret’s out, I guess,” he mumbled. “Flint,” he said a little louder, making the pup flinch. “Do you remember what I said earlier today? If any of you shifted while Jay’s friend was here, he’d never give you any hugs again.”

I slapped Rowan’s arm and glared at him as I took Flint back into my arms. “That’s what you told them? That’s horrible.” I scolded. I set Flint back on the ground and told him to get some new clothes on before I turned to Issy. “I’m sorry,” I said, an apology meant for both her and Rowan.

Issy shook her head slowly. “Are you willing to answer all my questions?” she asked and I nodded. The girl leaned back against the couch. “Can you two do that too?”

We nodded.

“And the other kids?”

Again, we nodded.

Issy began to chew the inside of her mouth. “How did you guys know River?” she asked.

Rowan grew stiff so I decided to answer instead. “He’s a wolf too,” I explained. “He and I met at a gathering of packs.”

Her eyebrow rose. “There are more of you?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Rowan said. “With normal wolves, do you see every one of them together in the same pack”

Issy shook her head. “I guess not.” She paused, letting the room grow silent for a minute or so. “Can I see?” she asked.

“See what?” I frowned.

She giggled. “I wanna see what JJ looks like as a puppy,” she cooed in a baby voice.

I could feel my face heat up as I obliged, first taking my contacts out and then slipping my t-shirt off over my head. I hesitantly fumbled with the button on my skinny jeans and slid them off, shifting before I felt any more uncomfortable.

Issy gasped and reached out towards me, petting my ear softly.

“You know we can’t allow you to tell any other humans about this,” Rowan said. “If I weren’t the leader of this pack and if you weren’t my mate’s best friend, you’d probably be dead.”

The girl gulped and I nipped his hand.

“Ow,” Rowan mumbled as he gently rubbed his wound.

I nuzzled it in apology but huffed. He shouldn’t of said things like that to one of my friends, even if he did mean it as a compliment.

“You should get going,” Rowan said to Issy. “I’ll call you a cab.”

She nodded as Rowan stood up and headed for the phone.

“I’m glad you told me, JJ,” Issy smiled.

I nodded, my leg twitching as Issy scratched harder at my ears. I rested my head on her lap and closed my eyes. Telling humans about us was considered taboo, but I felt I could trust Issy. Only, if anyone found out that she knew, our pack could be in huge trouble.

[text_hash] => 872f5af2
)