Part of the Pack (Book 1 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 15 meeting the parent...and other adults...but the parent

Chapter 15 meeting the parent...and other adults...but parent-

I was a little bit startled. I thought that we were going to be working our way up the levels of comfort, but I guess getting it over with would be the way to go. I don't know why I was so nervous about meeting Ralph's father, he was just another person. Yet here I was, my palms becoming sweaty.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I said calmly yet somewhat quietly. Ralph watched the interaction between us carefully. I couldn't quite understand the look which was in his eyes. He stared at his father with a raised eyebrow and he seemed tense. Like he didn't know what his father was going to do. It was similar to introducing two dogs to each other, you would want to keep an eye on them and make sure neither went for the other.

"Down boy." Eben teased his son with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. He started to walk forward and held out a hand. He was taller than me by a few inches and he was built extremely well. He had a little bit of facial hair, it suited him rather well. His hair was short, unlike Ralph's and he had the same colour eyes. His handshake was firm, as though he did it often. "It's wonderful to meet the one who helped Abilene and the pups."

I stuttered slightly and my face turned a nice shade of red. "Oh-I'm sure I didn't s-save them." I tried to wave it off slightly. "Something else would've probably happened, Someone else could've come and helped." The man in front of me shook his head with a chuckle.

"I'm sure there would have been someone stumbling across them, eventually." THere was an edge to Eben's tone. Then I noticed that the children and Abilene had returned to the room they were in and had shut the door, leaving us with some privacy. Though, I had been told that wolves had rather good hearing, it would be difficult for them to cancel out our voices. "None I fear, would have been as kind or as brave."

My mouth opened and closed a few times, much to Ralph's amusement. He had crossed his arms and leant on the wall. "Father, he is rather humble." THe two shared a laugh and a grin at my suffering. I huffed playfully, it was a rather nice atmosphere. It had went from serious to playful in a matter of moments. It was clear to see that they were related, their family bond was strong. "Do you know where the others are?"

Eben nodded and gestured for us to follow him. He walked between us, taking the lead. "If Aiden is alright with it, they're training right now." I wasn't sure what training meant. I didn't know at all what to expect. I was imagining something like how dogs fought or played. I wasn't too far off.

We had walked through the kitchen and to the back door, I could hear growling and heavy thumps against the ground. I looked out of the window to see four wolves. Each of them a different colour and size. It was a sight which seemed both familiar and not at the same time. Eben walked through the door and the four wolves stopped what they were doing, watching him. "We have a visitor. This is Aiden."

He gestured to me. I felt like I was shrinking down as four sets of eyes moved to me. I couldn't read their wolfish expressions, I was nervous. I couldn't tell who any of them were either. It was a guess who was male and who was female judging by the size and height of the wolf.

I felt awkward once again, it seemed to be a day full of awkwardness for me. I waved slightly and smiled. One of the wolves gave some sort of laugh. They seemed to enjoy the fact that I felt slightly out of place, or perhaps I was just funny."We'll be inside-" Ralph said, reaching over and pulling on my arm slightly. I was pulled gently back inside where he shut the door and turned around, blocking my view. "Are you okay?"

I must've looked slightly pale, I know that I was shaking a little bit. I wasn't sure if the shaking was from nerves or the cold. I nodded my head firmly. "Yeah, i'm alright." I gave him a shaky smile. "It's just...odd to get used to." He gave me a slight smile in return. He brushed his hand through his hair and looked around slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that they would be in their wolf forms, or training for that matter." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked back towards the door in confusion. He didn't have much time to think about it as the kitchen door opened rather loudly and in walked someone who looked a lot like Ralph, except he had shorter hair.

"Hey, you must be Aiden right?" THe person who I assumed was Randall walked over to us with a small skip in his step, he had a bright smile on his face, showing off some dimples. "I'm Randall, Ralph's brother." He held his hand out for me to shake, or at least what I thought. He brought me in closer for a hug. It was a hug which I had only ever seen people do, it was something that was common on television shows and such. It made me happy, I wasn't expecting it but Randall seemed extremely bubbly.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you." I found my own voice raising slightly, his energy seeming to be contagious. "I've heard a lot about you." I smirked and looked towards Ralph. He opened his mouth and tried to shake his head in denial.

"Oh really?" Randall played along, raising his eyebrow. "And what has my dear brother been saying about me?" He crossed his arms and fluttered his eyelashes sassily. I couldn't hold in my laugh and neither could Ralph as he sputtered out a laugh. "I'm sure that they were all awful and terrible things."

"The worst."Ralph confirmed with a nod. We had moved over to the kitchen table, the others took a seat and I took that as an invitation. It was ,once again, a rather warming atmosphere. "Any plans for the day Randall?" Ralph questioned with his arms folded once again. His hair looked glorious as he flicked it out of the way.

"Yes, I plan to annoy you and Aiden for the rest of the day." Randall's smile was enough to let me know that he was not at all joking. Ralph winced and rolled his eyes at his brother's words. "Unless you want some alone time?" Randall questioned with a wink.

Ralph nearly jumped up in his seat as he leant forward. "No." His voice was hard and sharp, it gave me a slight fright. I raised my own eyebrow in question. Ralph sighed and leant backwards.He rubbed his face, slapped his knee and looked at his brother. He pointed a finger at him and said again, slower this time. "No."