“Yes, of course you can.”
“Thank you.”
She walks away, taking the sadness with her. I'm not sure if I've been able to help with how she's feeling, but I can only hope she gets better.
I linger outside for a while, moving around the house. After roaming aimlessly, I walk back inside to join everyone.
The staff is still hovering around the kitchen, and they begin to disperse after I walk through the back door. Raph and Ramona are the first to come to meet me.
“Hey, boss,” Ramona says, playing with her hair. The habit is something she's had since I've known her. Her brother, on the other hand, is always so stoic until he talks, and then everyone realizes how much of a joker he is.
“You okay?” Raph asks. “It can't be easy being a new father,” he adds.
“What?”
“The girl,” he gestures. “She basically ran upstairs before you came. I'm assuming she's in her teenage years.”
I snort. “If she was my pup, I'd be able to tell her what to do.”
The twins look at each other before bursting into laughter. “I'm pretty sure our mom and dad tried to tell us what to do growing up,” Raph says.
“It did not work, I can tell you that,” his sister finishes. “Maybe you'll have more luck with this one.”
I let out a sigh, placing my hands on my hips. “She got turned a few months ago.”
Both their eyes widen in surprise and realization. “Yikes…” Ramona states. “I haven't been around many shifters that got turned. Is it true that they're always in pain?”
“No, just during transformations.”
“Oh, shit,” the girl continues. “Wait, we all went through that, didn't we? Is it really such a big deal?”
“You went through that as a kid,” I explain, folding my arms. “I'm sure you don't even remember how painful it was, do you?”
She opens her mouth but stops when she realizes I'm right. She turns to her brother, who doesn't offer any help.
“Plus, you're able to control your emotions because you grew up with them. Imagine having a whole new sense of taste of smell right now. New sight, new urges, everything.
The twins look at me guiltily. “Damn, we didn't think about it like that,” Raph apologizes.
“I don't expect you to. All I need is for you to support her. That's it.”
They nod simultaneously. “That's something we can do,” Raph says. “But before that, can we head into town for some supplies? We need a lot.”
“Yeah, sure,” I wave them off. The pair smiles excitedly before disappearing out of the kitchen through the same door I used.
Molly wastes no time replacing them. By now, we're the only two in the kitchen. “They're not wrong, you know?”
“About what? The supplies? I believe them.”
“No,” the woman chuckles. “I'm talking about the girl. I know how much you hate working on such short notice with little preparation—”
“You've got that right. I feel like I should've made some sort of teaching plan.”
Molly laughs out loud. “Not everyone works the same way. I don't doubt that you're the one who can do this, but maybe take a different approach when trying to help Leena.”
“Hmm…” I let Molly's words ruminate in my head. “So I should think of her as a different project?”
She winces. “Okay, I know you don't hang around a lot of female shifters, but please don't call her a project.” She clasps her hands together. “Please, Grant.”
