The Black Sheep

Chapter 16

Riley

"Good morning, sunshine," Yoseph teased as I walked down the hallway. It was the next morning. He was comfortably moving around the kitchen, cooking breakfast. "Tanner and Clarissa should be here soon. And I have breakfast sandwiches."

I appreciatively took the mug of hot coffee he offered. My head desperately needed it. I knew I shouldn't have drank with wolves. It could have been worse though. At least I didn't black out. I still had memories of everything. Especially the stupid game of truth or dare.

"Hey." The front door opened. Tanner, Clarissa, and Andre all walked in. "How are you feeling?" Tanner asked as he took off his shoes.

I took a sip of coffee and smiled at the three. "Now I feel better," I stated. They all greeted me one by one with a small hug before we migrated to the living room. Andre moved a chair from the dining room next to the coffee table. Yoseph brought over a tray of his breakfast sandwiches. Each one was formed with a bagel or croissant, folded egg, and bacon.

I grabbed the pot of coffee and set it on the table along with some mugs. I sat on the couch between Tanner and Clarissa. We all thanked Yoseph, who sat on the opposite side of Clarissa. "Any plans for the day?" Tanner inquired, breaking the silence.

"Patrol," Andre answered with a shrug. Sounded like he wasn't excited about his plans.

Clarissa also shrugged. "Hang around here for the day. Watch some movies," she replied. "If that's alright with Riley," she added.

"Yeah. It's cool with me," I told her with a small smile. We continued to eat in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence. We were just too busy stuffing our faces with food. Eventually Tanner broke the silence once again, asking me about my plans for the day. "I can find something to do. Or just crash their date," I joked, playfully bumping shoulders with Clarissa.

She laughed. "Or we make it a girls' day and Yoseph can be our third wheel," she teased.

"You could accompany me to train," Tanner suggested.

I nodded. "I could..." I trailed off. Training with wolves didn't sound very inciting. It honestly scared me a bit. My family taught me how to defend myself, how to fight. I could always do it with magic of course. But sparring with strangers. I'm not sure how to feel about that. I knew the Royal wolves wouldn't actually hurt me. These wolves on the other hand were different. They're stronger than me, faster, and definitely more trained. Obviously after last night, I'm not exactly off limits to hurt.

"Spar with Tanner," Andre said with his mouth full. "It's about time someone drops him on his ass," he said with a laugh.

Tanner tore off a piece of his bagel and threw it at his brother. "I'm twice her size-"

"And twice her age," Andre interrupted.

That earned him another piece of Tanner's bagel and some laughs. "If we both used everything we have, I'd win," I said confidently. I mean, I could actually fry his brain. Even if he used all his strength, I could still win. But I don't think Tanner would actually try to hurt me. I trust him not to.

"For the record, I'm not twice her age," Tanner clarified.

"You got a good decade on her," Yoseph pointed out.

Tanner shook his head in denial. "I'm thirty-one," he stated. I was surprised. Not to be disrespectful, I thought he was older. He looked far older than thirty. "Stress made me age."

Andre laughed. "Looks like you've been stressed the past four hundred years," he teased. Tanner narrowed his eyes at Andre. "Don't throw any more food at me man. I'm not cleaning this up. It's your doing."