You're a Werewolf

Cassiopeia

The end of the dinner arrives faster than I expect it to be. What's even more surprising is how the families are calmly getting along together. It feels too good to be true. I heard from Valerie back then that our packs weren't exactly on the best terms because of the pack ranking system at Nycthopia. I've been hearing the name of that place lately but I haven't been there at all.

The men are seated on the other half of the table discussing god-knows-what. I'd like to guess that it's about those animal attacks I've been reading on the news recently. Hopefully, the humans don't make the connection to the werewolf or vampire species. I don't care about what happens to the vampires since they caused a lot of deaths back then, according to Chris and Valerie. However, whether I like it or not, if they are discovered, then humans would consider the reality of werewolves existing as well.

On the other hand, Mom gathered all the girls in the living room. It surprised me how prepared they were. I didn't even see them bring the bottles of red wine and red grape sparkling to the living room table. Valerie even brought a tray of eight wine glasses.

Mom, Auntie Angie, and Mrs. Roberts. who now said to call her Cassie instead of mom, started drinking half an hour ago. They ended up talking about the most random things and somehow decided to talk about the humiliating things we did as children.

I am not going to lie. I was tempted to drag Mom upstairs and lock her in their room before she starts spouting my embarrassing moments.

Luckily for us, four magic stones were placed around the house that disables our heightened hearing abilities. I do not want anyone to hear how I ended up eating clay when I was four or when I slipped on a puddle in second grade and some of the people at school saw my underwear due to that incident.

"Val, is mom getting a bit tipsy with the wine? I thought werewolves have good alcohol tolerance?" I inquire.

"We do. It's the liquor they're drinking," Valerie calmly replies as she rolls the dice.

Elina, Aria, Sandy, Val, and I were stuck playing snakes and ladders. It's a good thing we had board games around to keep us company. Otherwise, we might have to listen to the embarrassing stories we did when we were younger. I don't even remember them that much but I'm sure mom has a good memory.

The three women had already begun giggling and they were gulping down the wine as if it were water. Are they almost done with their second bottle?!?

"If only Merry were here, too. It's just like old times!" Aunt Angie suddenly says and then giggles.

Merry? Who's Merry? I want to ask but I would have been too obvious.

Eavesdropping is not good but I want to hear more. I never got to hear about Mom and Dad's high school life. Right now is a good chance to learn about them when they were teens.

"Nikki, it's your turn."

I take the dice and roll it, pouting when I end up on a tile where a snake was. "Why do I suck at this game? I thought this was supposed to be easy."

"Luck plays a vital role when it comes to this game," Sandy shrugs, taking a sip of the juice and placing it on the table. She glances at the three women and then crosses her arms. "I don't get it. Why aren't we allowed to drink with them? It's not like we're out partying. I wanna taste Nycthopian wine, too."

"We're underage?" Aria suggests.

"Well, there's that, and we also have to travel home so we shouldn't drink and drunk drive," Elina adds, grinning ear-to-ear at Aria. "Have you already healed up?"

Aria nods and smiles to herself. "It's possible that the claw marks might leave a scar. But other than that, everyone's been welcoming at the packhouse."