Family

22

"What's wrong, Bubby?" Lee asks as she joins me in the tree house.

"My brain is gonna explode... LeeLee, promise me you'll never ask about where pups come from... I'm scarred for life." I groan, throwing myself back into the wooden wall.

"Easy! A momma and poppa wolf wish to the moon for a pup, and the trees place one on the doorstep. Everyone knows that! You silly goose! Why would that scar you?" She says, and I look away. I wish dad would have said that. I would have believed him. I shiver, remembering what he said I'd have to do to a girl to get a pup... Nope!

"Si, you up there, pup?" I hear Jay call out in my original language. He does that a lot. He says I need to keep up with it because being bilingual will help me when I grow up.

"Yeah." I respond. "I'm hanging with Lee."

I see his head pop through the trap door. "Can I talk to Si alone for a bit?" He asks Lee who pouts but doesn't argue as she leaves the tree house. Jay takes her place, but he is far too big for the little hideout and ends up with his knees nearly in his ears. "I remember this being much bigger." He grumbles before looking at me. "Never ask dad about that kind of stuff."

"How do you know!?" I ask, and he laughs.

"Dad is the most awkward being in existence. I'm pretty sure he scared each one of us when we started asking those questions. You're not alone." He tells me.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." I groan, covering my face, and he chuckles.

"I get it... just know whatever dad told you. It's not as scary and gross as he made it sound. When you get older, talk to one of us when you have more questions. It will save you the emotional scarring." He says, and I nod, glad that I'm not the only one freaked out by all this. "So I hear Paul is teaching you about wolf culture... he won't tell me anything else, so how's it going?"

"Good, I guess." I shrug. "He said we were gonna talk about play fighting next."

"You never seem interested unless we pull you into it... now that you mention it, it is odd for a wolf not to wrestle around... wanna play? Could help you in your lessons." He suggests.

I think it over for a second. I always like it when my brothers drag me into their wrestling matches, but Jay is right. I don't think I've ever initiated one. I nod my head, earning a grin as he grabs hold of me, tossing me over his shoulder.

In an instant, we are on solid ground, and he drops me on the grass before crouching and giving a playful growl. I grin and run at him. Jay let's me tackle him to the ground before rolling around to pin me. He puts his head next to mine, pushing my head to the side like he is nuzzling me before letting me up and growling again. I laugh at how goofy my big brother is, then charge again. This time, he picks me up and tosses me in the air before spinning me around like a baton. Somehow, I end up upside-down hanging from one leg with my ankle by Jay's ear and my fingertips, almost brushing the grass.

"What's going on here?" We hear a voice from the back door and look over. Paul looks like he's about to laugh. I glance at Jay, who shrugs.

"Studying." I answer, making the brother who is holding me laugh.

"Yup, figured I'd help the pup ace your class." Jay says, and Paul rolls his eyes.

"I'm teaching him, but it's not a class like with grades or anything." He responds. "Can you put our baby brother on his feet, please? His face is turning red."

Jay looks at my face before flipping me upside-right and putting me on my feet with a "Sorry, pup," before looking back to Paul. "He wanted to play."

"Well, in that case..." Paul says, stepping out of the doorway. "DOGPILE!"

Thunder began to rumble as soon as that word was called... no, wait, that's just my other 3 brothers answering the call.

"DOGPILE!!!"

Before we can even think to dodge, all my brothers are wrestling in a heap. I see Lee jump into the fray. It was neat to note how careful every boy is of little Lee. Good, because I'd have to bite them if they hurt her.

As we roll around in the grass growling and snapping at each other, even though we are in our human form, I feel closer to them than ever. I always thought it was fun to wrestle with them, but for the first time, I notice how happy and accepted this makes my wolf feel.

I think I've been ignoring the wolf side of myself when I'm in human form. I thought of it as the wolf me and the human me. 2 separate things. Right now, though, I don't feel like a human with a wolf. I feel like a wolf in human skin. A werewolf. One being.

Once Lee starts to tire out, we all calm down a bit. In the end, we are all laying in the grass in a heap. I have my head on Paul's belly and my feet on Jay. Lee has her head on my chest like she frequently does ever since my heart was fixed. Theo is next to Lee petting her hair as she lets out sounds like a purr. Here, I thought she was a wolf, not a cat. I can't say that, or she'll hit me. Avery is trying to put his bare feet on Jay's face, who keeps swatting him away. Levi is the only one who got up but soon comes back with bottles of water that he begins to chuck at each of the older ones before flopping on top of Paul who groans, smacks the back of his head, and puts him in a headlock that turns into Levi resting his head next to mine on Paul.

As I look around, all I can think of is how common wolf pups will cuddle up in a heap to sleep. I feel so at ease that I could imagine myself as one of those snoozing pups. I yawn and pull Lee closer. Maybe I am a snoozing pup. (Look at the pic /\ /\ /\ sooo, cute.)

I feel myself being moved but can't be bothered to open my eyes. I know it's one of my family members by the smell... one of my brothers. The wrestling has all our scents mixed up, so I'm not positive which one.

"We'll have to wake them up for dinner." I hear someone say and whine, which causes multiple voices to chuckle.

"Let them nap until it's ready." The one carrying me says. Levi! I love that flame head! He's gonna let me sleep!

I feel myself beginning placed on the couch before a weight is added to my chest. The hair that hits my face tells me who it is. I crack my eyes open long enough to smooth the blond hair out of my face before snuggling in and dozing again. They learned very quickly that if Lee falls asleep with me, she will panic if she doesn't wake up with me. She does sleep in her own bed now, but if she falls asleep with me, you better not separate us.

My stomach growls as I smell the food being cooked, but I don't care. Right now, I'm happy.

What do you think?

I love the wolf like behavior in human form!

My parents never did a big awkward "sex talk," so tell me, was it as bad as people say it is for you?

Poor Silas though! Lol 😆 I didn't want to write out the whole "talk" but you get the gist... I feel for the kid. It's obvious it was not something he wanted to hear, but I doubt he'll forget it!

TTFN

-Ru