Wait, what? Kill me? Kimia started giggling. “Kam’s being stupid. We wouldn’t kill you, you idiot.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Humans taste disgusting.”
“Kimi!” I stomped my foot as Kimia and Mina walked past me giggling. I followed behind them still a little bit in shock.
My best friends are werewolves. My best friends are werewolves! How awesome is that? I tried to contain my excitement as we snuck back inside to get Mina’s pajamas. I volunteered as tribute to distract my sister while the wolves snuck into her room.
Mallory glanced at me when I plopped down in my favorite chair. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, “I couldn’t find them. I’m sure they’ll be back in soon.” Mallory nodded and turned her focus back onto the movie. Kamron was the first to come back. He squished me over in my chair and put his arm around me. If he wasn’t one of my best friends, I’d swear he had a crush on me. Not that I minded him touching me. He is my favorite pillow.
“Where’s Kimi and Mina?” Mallory asked.
Kamron shrugged. “They’re changing. I think Mina started her period or something.”
“That must be why she was uncomfortable,” Mallory said. “I had the worst cramps when I had my first period. Does she want a heating pad?”
I threw a pillow at her. “You have not had a period,” I scolded.
“Have too! I had my first period three months ago! I thought I was dying!”
Kamron sighed and closed his eyes. “Save me from hormonal women!” he pleaded into the universe. I poked him in his side and giggled.
“Serves you right for having sisters,” Kimi said as she and Mina walked in looking comfy in their pajamas. “Now you get to hear all the bloody details.”
We finished our Mel Brooks marathon and ended up heading to bed around midnight. Kimia was staying in my room while Mina was staying with Mallory. Kamron was stuck on the couch, but he needed to get his pajamas and toothbrush from his bag in my room. I had a million questions. Kamron answered some of them when he blew up at me at his place, but I had a lot more! So much I wanted to know! Most importantly. . . .
“Kimi?”
“Hum?”
“Why does your family trust my family with everything except your big secret?” I had a lot more questions, but this was the big one that bugged me.
“Ever hear of the middle ages?” she grumbled.
“Yeah, but it’s illegal to kill people for being different now, and I highly doubt my parents would care. They helped raise you as much as your parents raised my sisters and me.”
She sighed. “I guess it’s just ingrained in us now. I mean, would you believe us if you hadn’t seen it?”
“I guess not. Are there other families of wolves nearby?”
“Not that I know of. Mom and Dad wanted us to have as normal a life as possible, so they chose to live in Aspen Falls, and picked our house because of the forest behind us.” She yawned. “It makes shifting safer.”
“Do you live away from other wolves because of hunters?” My web novels always had hunters of werewolves.
“I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of our kind being hunted in this century. At least not outside of Colorado, but I think those hunters were after regular wolves.” Kimi rolled over and snuggled deeper into the duvet.
“Colorado?” I asked, wondering what was so special about Colorado.
“Yeah, wolves in Colorado were nearly wiped out by 1945. My great grandparents lived there for a little while before it became too dangerous to shift.”
This was the second time she mentioned shifting with safety related words. “What happens if you go too long without shifting?”
Kimia yawned. “We get super moody, and a little violent. Dad says that wolves who settle in big cities where they can’t shift without notice tend to end up in prison.”
“Are there a lot of wolves in big cities?” I had always imagined the big cities to be filled with magical creatures.
“No clue.”
I was silent for a moment pondering my next question.
“What about mates?” I asked quietly.
“Mate bond is made up,” Kimia replied without opening her eyes. “We choose who we love. Most of us stay with one person till death, but some don’t.”
“If you don’t live near wolves, can you marry a human?”
“Sure. My grandpa on my mom’s side is human, but it’s discouraged. Some dominant and recessive gene crap,” Kimia yawned, again. “It’s why there are universities like the one Ray and Rina are going to. Universities that cater to the wolf crowd so we can meet and mingle with other wolves and find love.”
“Oh.” I got a little lost in thought imagining what living in an area filled with werewolves would be like.
Suddenly Kimia was wide awake and staring at me. “You don’t have a crush on Kam or Ray, do you?”
“No!” I scoffed. I mean Ray and Kam are two very good looking guys, but why bother crushing on someone who only views you as his sister? “I just know you have a crush on Simon Jones. I’ve seen you oggle him and his huge. . . biceps. . . in gym.”
“I do not have a crush on Simon Jones!” Kimia practically shrieked.
“Shh! You’ll wake my parents!” I used my pillow to hit her head. “And, yes, you do! You should ask him to the spring dance.”
“He’s got a girlfriend, nitwit,” she said, hitting me back with her pillow.
“Shit. I forgot about that.” Simon’s girlfriend is a skanky cheerleader who cheats on him regularly. “I guess you’ll just have to wait to find some hunky wolf at college.”
“Go to sleep, human, before I eat you.”
“You go to sleep,” I grumbled. Then I remembered what she said earlier this evening. “Besides, you said humans taste disgusting.”
“You do taste disgusting. Your lotion is nasty.”
“Then stop licking me whenever I cover your mouth!” I waved my fingers over the side of my bed to annoy her.
Kimia whacked me with her pillow again, and I giggled a bit before we finally went to sleep.
The weekend practically flew by, and Sunday came all too soon along with Rina and my parents. Since it was a school night, Mr. and Mrs. Braedon all but shoved us out the door and back home. I guess they were sick of their house swarming with teenagers. Besides, I knew my parents wanted a full update on their youngest pup in person. Mina had called them on Saturday to let them know she had shifted, but nothing beats my mother’s live reactions.“I can’t believe my baby is a young woman!” my mother exclaimed during Sunday dinner.“She did really well, for her first shift,” Kimi smiled at Mina.I smirked at my baby sister. “She only called for you once, Mom.”“
It’s a relief to go to school after a night around my unfiltered mom. Rose, Kimi, and I ride to school with Rina, but take the city bus home while Rina drives to her after school job. Of course, Rina, being Rina, thinks it’s funny to threaten Rose once she’s in the car.“I’ll eat you if you spill to anyone,” she said the second Rose closed the car door.“I’ll just slather myself in Bath and Body Works lotion. Kimi says it tastes disgusting. Besides, what’s the point of broadcasting that you like to turn into a hairy beast and shit in the woods? Nobody would believe that someone as prissy as you would do that.” My Rose has guts, I’ll give her that.“I do not shit in the woods. I’m not like Ray or Ka
“Whoah,” Kamron stopped in his tracks.“I smell it too,” Kimia said also stalled.“What? What do you smell?” I asked, wondering if it was me, but dismissing it almost immediately because they would have said something in the car.“I think there’s a new student, and that student is like us,” Kamron said with wide eyes.I almost couldn’t contain my excitement. More werewolves at my school! I could just squeal! “You can tell just by the smell?”“Yeah,” Kimia responded, “and he’s not related to us.”&l
Nate Mactire. From Boston. His mother doesn’t approve of his cousins’ vocations. He made my Rose blush. I don’t trust him. Okay, so Rose is not my girlfriend, yet. I guess I can’t claim her as mine, but I really want to make her blush like that! And of course she smells amazing! Any wolf worth his salt can tell she’s ovulating. Her hormones are tantalizing. If I hadn’t spent years as her friend, and around other ovulating women, I wouldn’t have the control not to jump her!I mean, Nate could have chosen anywhere to sit, but he picked my seat, probably because he could smell me on it. I’m pretty sure he wanted his presence known. Also, almost a quarter of the girls in the room are ovulating and smell divine. Why couldn’t he just go after one of them instead of Rose?
Nate is such a flirt! I loved it! Nobody has ever so blatantly flirted with me that way before. He and I had science together with Kimia. I had texted her from homeroom about Kamron’s behavior. She wasn’t surprised. Apparently, Kamron likes to be our favorite guy. Weirdo. She was already sitting in her seat when we arrived. I caught her checking out our new wolf in town, and smirked at her.“Nate, this is Kam’s sister, Kimia. Kimi, this is Nate.” They waved at each other. Nate chose to sit behind me, and I sat next to Kimia.“Rose texted me that you moved here from Boston,” Kimia started the conversation.“Yeah,” Nate raised an eyebrow at me. “Ma wanted to get me away from some family she thought were bad influences
PE is one of the few classes Kimia and I felt we could chat freely. Our teacher had us do stretches and laps for the first half hour before inflicting whatever sport is in season on the class. Kimia and I never felt very sporty, but we weren’t overweight either. Stretching and jogging was always fun with her.“So,” I began.“So,” Kimia encouraged. She was super annoying when she knew I wanted to talk about something but also didn’t want to talk about it.“What do you think of Nate?”“He seems nice. What do you think of him?”I blushed. “He seems very affectionate.”
The rest of the day went by fast. Thankfully I didn’t have any more classes with Nate Mactire. I was looking forward to going home. Rose was already waiting at our bus stop when Kimi and I got there. I don’t know how she makes it there so fast, but she is always the first one there.I signaled Kimi to keep quiet and snuck up behind Rose. She had her phone out and was looking way too engrossed to be just idling scrolling through social media. I peeked over her shoulder, and saw exactly what she was so focused on.It was one of her web novel apps. “The shift was more painful than I had imagined! I wished my mate would find me so I could survive this first transformation. My bones broke and rehealed themselves almost instantly in their new form, but the pain lingered. Where was my mate? What was he or she doing?
Kamron and Nate arranged for Nate and his mom to have dinner at the Graycorts on Thursday. I had made two big pans of brownies, and added caramel icing to one of them. I know from past experience that Kamron and Mr. Graycort will eat almost an entire pan by themselves, as can Kimia and Mina.I’d gone over early on Thursday to help set up and prepare Mrs. Graycort for the Mactires. I’d somehow managed to get Mallory to stay home, but I had to have Mina eat at my place and make a double chocolate cake for the M&Ms.Mrs. Graycort is one of the coolest people ever. She just says what she thinks as it pops into her brain. She had me set the table and asked me all sorts of questions about Nate and his mom.“So, is he cute?” She asked.