"Who is to define fun?"
She didn't really know what to think.
Of course, Cassius never really gave her the opportunity to think. She was quickly indulged in learning the human life before she could even step back and assess why. She learned that her human body needed to sleep a minimum of eight hours at night, so she fell into a daily routine of it.
It was odd - having to sleep so much - but she found herself beginning to enjoy it. The feeling of being able to lay down and just forget the world as darkness claimed the sun was like tasting serenity. Sometimes, she'd wander into the kitchen late at night and snatch up a few treats.
She quickly discovered that Cassius hid sweets all over the place - and boy was he going to be whining when he figured out she'd eaten them all. She was addicted to coffee, always asking for some in the morning, and she loved toast with apple butter.
The pain that she felt from being human in her past was less of a concern as she grew comfortable with the men in the Alpha's house once again. They were patient as she overcame her anxiety, and she eventually started to join some of them for movie nights.
Her relationship with her brothers grew ten fold as she relied on them - instead of her wolf. It was an entirely new feeling, a totally different form of trust, and it was learning how to blossom under careful nurturing. She thought that she had it figured out before, that she'd seen all there was to see, but the Moon Goddess knew there was more.
She carefully made her way down the stairs - still strengthening her human muscles - after taking a shower and she heard the guys chattering from somewhere in the house, so she decided to follow their voices.
"Hey, you're up early," Cassius suddenly appeared, grinning as he ate a spoonful of his food, "The guys and I were just talking, how do you feel about swimming?"
She blinked and then shrugged.
"Words, Reeve."
At his light scolding, she rolled her eyes.
"Roll your eyes one more time and find out how much I can tickle you." Cassius warned her, a grin of amusement on his face, and she smiled a little.
"Swimming is .. fine." She said.
"Great! We thought that we'd go this afternoon," Cassius replied, glancing over his shoulder when the laughter erupted in the kitchen, "There's this swimming hole a few miles down the river and we haven't gone there for quite a while. It would be like a picnic, have you ever done one of those?"
She nodded, "Yes - although don't remember. I was young."
Cassius' eyes gleamed with joy, "Well then, we'll give your memories a little refresher. Its gonna be fun! I just gotta go ask Leon for permission."
She watched as the Gamma hastily made his way towards Leon's office and then she turned and walked into the kitchen. Immediately, the occupants took notice of her.
"Hey!" Asher grinned, elbowing Harley - who elbowed him right back, "She's alive!"
She playfully shoved Asher's shoulder as she plopped in a stool beside him, "What's breakfast?"
Deikota beamed at her from across the counter, "Good ol' fashioned cereal. Today's the day off for cooks."
"Yeah, sorry if you wanted pancakes or something," Nathan smiled sheepishly at her.
"No worry," She shrugged, "Cereal good."
"Cereal is good." Lucas corrected.
She sighed, grabbing a box of cinnamon squares, "English is confusing."
Asher chuckled, "Yeah, but we all speak english - and so did you. You'll get the hang of it soon."
She took a bite of her cereal and then let her eyes scan the room. Everyone she had grown comfortable with were there, scattered through the space of the kitchen, but also some of the men that had been with Leroy and she wasn't sure what to think about them yet. She leaned back against her seat in between Asher and Harley. The only person missing was West.
She hadn't seen West since the dinner incident and she had a hunch that it wasn't just luck. She ate quietly, listening to the hum of several conversations buzz through the atmosphere. Her brothers carried on a joking conversation while Leroy's men kept a seemingly private conversation in the offside of the room. She cast one glance at Ralf and quickly looked away. She wasn't sure about the brute yet, he intimidated her with the intensity of his eyes alone; and yet he never sought to hurt her in anyway.
Regardless, she never really saw Ralf much. He liked to indulge himself in running patrols as if it was his personal duty to keep the pack safe. Deikota sat across the counter from her, grinning like a banshee and winking at her every now and again.
Nonetheless, she found herself deeply enjoying the family environment of the pack. They didn't share blood, yet, they were brothers and sisters at heart. She didn't realize how much she missed the joy of having family until she let go of the past.
She had been holding onto that pain, haunting herself with it, instead of just letting it slip through her fingers. She didn't know how to let go - but she learned. Just like she learned the meaning of life again - what it meant to be wolf.
And now, what it meant to be human.
She never foresaw herself with such fortune, fortune had always been her downfall, but somehow her destiny steered her into the heart of redemption. She regained the humanity that she lost. There was only one thing that she had to do, that had needed to be done for years.
She needed the blood of the Conquistador Pack.
She had to avenge her past family, their deaths were innocent to vile wolves, but she also had to defend her new family - the underlying threat she knew was there. She had been blind to the destruction, living in the heart of malice, but now her eyes were open. She saw the poison the Conquistador Pack was spreading into the land.
She was not the only one to suffer their wrath and she wasn't going to let other werewolves experience the same thing. She had the choice to stop it, and as she came to terms with herself in so many different aspects, she began to formulate a plan.
Cut the head of the snake, the body will die.
She had to kill the Conquistador Alpha.
And yet, the Moon Goddess seemed against her. She was in a home of broken warriors - who wished for revenge but didn't have the numbers - and she was without her wolf. The odds were stacked against her and she decided that it was her cue to wait.
In waiting, an opportunity will be perfected.
Her meal was finished in a matter of minutes but she stuck around to observe while enjoying the cup of coffee Asher made her. The kitchen gradually began to clear and she eagerly followed Harley outside - where the warriors were aligning for training.
She loved to watch them fight.
The morning hours slowly passed as she observed the sparring and listened to the hints that Harley gave them. She knew that she wanted to start training soon but Leon refused her the privilege until the beginning of next week.
A few heavier clouds strolled across the sky until they forced the sun's rays from the earth and she promptly made a path towards the Alpha's house; the warriors quietly dispersing the vigorous session. She opened the front door, wandered into the kitchen, and the first crack of thunder let the world know of the coming rain.
"Awe no. Come on!" She heard Cassius's voice shout from somewhere in the house, then angry footsteps followed as he grumbled his way down the stairs, "Freaking rain, why couldn't have it rained yesterday? Or two weeks ago? Nooooo today it chooses to let go."
She leaned against the counter with a glass of water and Cassius appeared in the doorway.
He was frowning, "Can you believe this, Reeve? The day we want to go swimming."
She smiled a little, "It okay. Other days in life."
"It's, Reeve," Cassius' green eyes twinkled, "We still gotta work on your english."
"...but not bad, right?"
"Right," He grinned a little - then his entire face lit up, "Oh! I know what we're going to do."
She eyed him, "What?"
The mischievous grin on his face didn't disappear, instead he started laughing, "Meet me in the living room. I'm going to get the guys!" She didn't even get to say anything else as Cassius practically ran out of the kitchen.
She shrugged to herself. She set aside her glass, grabbed a little cracker pack that laid abandoned on the counter, and slowly made her way to the living room. She heard voices conversing down the hall - in Leon's office - and she decided to settle herself on the couch.
She didn't know what to expect. She gazed out the window across from the television, watching the light rain slither down the window pane - distant flashes of lightning illuminating the droplets like crystals.
She always loved the rain.
She turned her head to the doorway when she heard someone approaching. Asher appeared, smiling instantly at her, and she frowned a little in confusion. Lucas followed, then Leon and Leroy with Jasper.
She tensed a little at the sight of Deikota's mate but Asher distracted her as he sat down next to her.
"You're about to see how stupid werewolves can get, Reeve." The Beta snickered as the men settled themselves in empty seats around the living room.
She glanced around, "By what?"
"Have you ever played a video game?" Lucas asked.
She shook her head.
Asher laughed, "This is going to be fun."
"I mean, I have better things to do," Leon muttered, "But, who can say no when you have a nagging Gamma in your face?"
They quietly chuckled. It wasn't long after and Cassius entered the room with Darren in tow. She watched as Cassius dug through a pile of containers beneath the television and then he made a noise of triumph.
"Aha!" Cassius turned to face everyone, holding up a disc, "Today, we're gonna play Call of Duty."
"I hate the zombies," Leon groaned at the exact same time Lucas said, "What? We played that one last time!"
"So?" Cassius shrugged, "And I like it."
"Why do you get to pick?" Asher quirked an eyebrow.
"I declared game day." Cassius set up the system, bringing the television to life, "Plus, you guys are hilarious with the zombies. None of you can aim and shoot for shit."
"I'm assuming this is like a tradition?" Leroy spoke up, watching the screen curiously.
Jasper snickered, "Nope. This is Leon's Gamma killing everyone in the apocalypse."
It was a quiet for a moment as Cassius dug out four controllers. She was startled when Deikota appeared in the doorway, shouting, "I've arrived! You guys didn't start without me, right? Oh, good!"
She glanced at Asher - who smirked - and Deikota dumped an armload of different food items onto the coffee table then she practically leaped into Jasper's lap.
"Okay," Cassius cleared his throat, "First round; Leon, Lucas, Darren and myself." The Gamma winked at her, "You can play once we finish the third round, Reeve."
"I hate you," Lucas growled as he took a controller; the other three following suit.
She curiously watched the television as a world of apocalypse popped up in four different little screens. It was almost like she was in the game. An eerie music began to play and then the characters came to life.
She was fascinated as she watched the game. The blue eyed zombies would grow faster with every passing level - finished by a screeching runner - and the guys grew more frustrated as they kept going down; needing to be revived before they actually died.
At first, it was almost like watching a bunch of squirrels scrambling for the goodies, but as Cassius gave slight advice, she noticed the four of them coming together in a unity. They adapted to the zombies - working as one body - and as they reached level eighteen, she couldn't stop grinning.
Leon and Lucas were holding their ground in the corner of a building, defending against the sea of zombies, but poor Darren was lost outside on the street. He had been following Cassius's character until Darren lost his surroundings.
Darren's screen spun as he circled his character, "Where the hell did you go, Cassius?!"
"I'm by the bank," Cassius said, running his controller wildly.
"Where is that!" Darren tried jumping a pit of lava - failing miserably - and then he ran out of ammo, "I'm going to die!"
"I'm right behind you." Cassius said.
"Where?!" Darren continued to spin in circles.
Cassius just shook his head, laughing, and the others started shouting different commands at Darren; she soon found herself indulged in the fun. It was thrilling and the entire living room was alive as everyone was shouting and laughing at once, the adrenaline building.
The zombies grew in numbers until Leon went down, then Lucas jumped out of the side of a building only to land in a swarm of zombies. Darren was long gone and Cassius was like a ninja dodging around zombies, firing his gun and jumping through buildings.
"You guys are terrible!" Cassius laughed after he finally went down and the game reset.
"No, you just play this five million times. You know where everything is on the map!" Lucas shot back.
"Hey, we made it to round twenty, that never happens." Darren said.
Leon chuckled, "Yeah, Cassius, we usually never make it past twelve."
Cassius waved his hand in a dismissive manner, "Okay, new players."
And another round of fun ensued as she soaked up the joy.
✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙ ✙
My brothers got me to play COD once... I was very much like Darren. I flailed with my controller and the screaming-running zombie that finishes the rounds freaks me out because he's always magically behind me XD
I'm actually surprised I got a chapter out this week so I hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts (;
Leave a comment!
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