“Aww, look how pink his cheeks are!” Seiji’s comments make monkey return to hiding his face in my hoodie to cover his red cheeks.
“Come on, let’s get our newest member some breakfast, hmn?” Anxo stands from his chair after quickly kissing my head and drags Seiji to the kitchen while Grace and Hazel set the table.
I noticed how monkey eyed Angel when he kissed my head and only breathed out when I didn’t flinch from the gesture. I hope the presence of good people around him will help ease his fear.
I don’t want him panicking with every little touch like me. I want his life to be better than mine.
Much, much better than mine.
When it finally dawned on me that I was going to live with four people who were more evolved and mature than me, I made a rule for myself. To copy them. When they eat, I try to. When they sleep, I lay down and pretend. I thought it would be easy, but that was before I knew they slept 7-8 hours a day and ate more for breakfast than I did in a year.
‘And soon they will realize your worth. They will throw you away like food scrapes on their plates.’
Oh, joy, evil queen Visha is back in my head. Ireallyhate this bitch. Absolutely despise her. Like I would love to chop her up and—you get the gist.
I’m prepared to say I’m not hungry to spare myself the embarrassment of using the wrong utensil, but I still need to help monkey. I don’t even know what to give him. Not all of this can be safe for him to eat, right? What if his stomach doesn’t agree with the food like mine still doesn’t?
Monkey sniffs like the little werewolf he is to find what appeals to him the most and points at the large tray of pancakes. Turns out I don’t have to do anything because Anxo is already placing a plate of pancakes in front of monkey and covering it with liquid chocolate.
Anxo shows monkey how to use his rubber fork, who mimics the action perfectly despite not taking his eyes off the man teaching him. After the third bite, monkey has forgotten all about keeping an eye on Anxo and is happily humming with his mouth full of food.
With a soft smile, I wipe some chocolate from his mouth and remind him to chew slowly.
When I turn back, Anxo is waiting for me with a fork carrying a small bite. I open my mouth to question, but Angel pushes the fork in my mouth before I can.
I moan at the taste, making the smile on Anxo’s lips widen. Taking a bite himself, he ushers a bowl of fruit for me to eat in between bites.
I don’t know how he knew I was nervous about where to start or how to act. I can’t thank him enough for not making a big deal out of this and handling it so subtly and sweetly. I try, but words fail me throughout breakfast and I only manage a small thankful smile while keeping the stubborn tears from falling.
Anxo kisses my forehead and nose, and just like that, I know I don’t need words for him to understand me. Monkey suddenly tenses in my arms, but I kiss his head to ease his worries. I want him to know it’s okay that Anxo is touching me and hopefully relax around him too.
“So, the boy is…”
“A werewolf,” I confirm. “The witch had a vision about him, and he was in my cell a day after.”
“His Divine is strong for a kid,” Anxo observes the boy, who is busy wiping chocolate from his plate with his tongue. I chuckle when monkey shows me his sticky hands, silently asking for help.
“Royal blood,” Grace concludes, handing me a wet towel. “It shouldn’t be difficult to find more about him. There aren’t many royal werewolf bloodlines left.”
They nod, but I’m confused, mainly because of my rusty current affairs.
“What happened to theRoyal Six?”
“Slaughtered for power.” Anxo grimaces when I look at him with wide eyes. “The supernatural world has been struggling for the past couple of years. There have been several uprisings, and the oppressed are fighting back just as hard.”
I remember how some species faced heavy criticism for their backward thinking, but no one wanted to step in unless it became excessive. It took several centuries of negotiations andthreats from Horsemen and vampire leaders to force werewolves to stop their ancient practice of challenging an alpha for power.
The challenges are still in place and accepted worldwide, but the terms have changed drastically. Earlier, when a challenger defeated the current alpha, the victor alpha was free to do whatever he pleased with the pack and the alpha family.
It was normal for the new alpha to kill any offspring of the old alpha and force the Luna to mate him and create a new line of a future generation. To imagine this was just the tip of the iceberg is bone-chilling.
Every time an alpha lost his title in the challenge, the women of his pack paid the price heavily by facing crimes like rape, forced markings, and watching their fated mates murdered before their eyes.
Even when werewolves have come a long way since then, a lot still needs to be redefined.
“But that wasn’t the case with the werewolves. It was a coup. They turned against one another, almost ruining their entire species.” Grace added.
“A few more decades of killing their own, and they would be all gone.” Hazel glances at monkey sideways, and suddenly, something clicks.
