The Mark Of The Beast

16. Early Bird POV: Khyzer

The weather is so nice this morning, after the rainy weather yesterday. It is bright and sunny but there are few puddles I see out the kitchen window while I wait for the Kuerig to finish making my cup of coffee. The grass will have to be cut in the next couple of days because it rained so much yesterday. I just had it cut too. That is how it happens every time I have the grass cut, it rains the next day or a couple of days later. Then the grass has to be cut again by the time the ground dries.

The kuerig started making the gargling noise coffee pots make when the coffee is through making. When the light start's flashing I hit the button and grab the cup before snapping the lid over the top. There was a bang on the front four. Not a knock or banging like the police but one hard bang. Stirling. He is the only one who bangs once like that before walking in.

I check the time on my phone as I hear the front door swing open and the loud obnoxious greeting being yelled, just like every morning at this time. Selena is about to come downstairs so they can go to school. I hear Braidyn yelling he must heading this way but he's still on his floor. No doubt yelling at Draven and the rest of the 2 live crew Draven hangs with.

Draven is a senior, he will be graduating at the end of the school year if he doesn't f**k it up. But the pup and the pup's he runs with, tend to skip school. Draven ain't never liked going to school, and he has always been a straight-A student. I've never known him to study. I have known him and been around for 18 years. He helps other's study, in the pack and other kid's he attends school with.

He has also been brilliant as far as book smarts. Common sense though is a different story. He's stubborn and rebellious. He makes for one hell of a warrior as far as that goes but as a pack pup, baby brother, son, and the few times he has been a boyfriend since he started high school, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed in those areas much less co-operative. Braidyn is yelling at him that he better be his ass at school today and threatening to check every time he changes classes from the 1st period to the 8th period, I figure. That's usually what Braidyn is yelling about first thing in the morning, Monday thru Friday.

I hit the button on the Kuerig to start heating water for Braidyn a cup of coffee. I hear steps and see Stirling out of my peripheral. " What's up Pops?, Mom said, she and Dad are jogging the trail here from home. They will be here in Lil' bit." Stirling said sounding a bit preoccupied over there on his phone. I nodded my head because there is nothing I can say or do about it. Mad Max is usually here before now. With Tracker his arrival time depends on what he's got on his agenda for the day but Max will be here when she gets here which is usually earlier. At least today she will be here somewhere around the time the kids leave for school. I don't like going into my office till they are walking out the door or have walked out. Max likes busting my ball's about it too.

"I just had the grass cut but it rained so much yesterday. When the ground dries it will have to be cut again. That is what's up Stirling." I informed him before taking a sip of my coffee. while still looking out the window above the double-sided kitchen sink and dishwasher that is installed in the normal place right beneath the counter but next to the kitchen sink. Sitting on the counter right above the dishwasher is a dish drainer. I growled myself as I shift my eyes down from the window to the sink and dishwasher. I had the thought that the dishwasher should have been down there at the end of the counter but Morgan wanted it where it is. However, looking out of the window at the kitchen sink as it does overlook the front lawn. Stirling grunted in reply. He does not like t sweat any more than he has too. He is not about yard work. It's not his responsibility either but if it was. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything else. My eyes roamed back to look out the kitchen window. I f****d around and let my mind wander off to Alexis sleeping up in my room.

She looked so snug and peaceful. That girl does sleep 9 kinds of crazy as hell. I'm not usually in at night because I want to crawl in bed beside her. Snuggle up to her and play with her ass. She might Spazz if I did do that. She doesn't know I watched her sleep more than I slept. I almost slipped up. I got a little too close to the shoulder and her neck when I was pretty much breathing her. Got a little too intoxicated by the way she smelled. I brushed against her lightly and she got goes bumps but didn't wake up. Her breathing hitched slightly. She just snuggled her pillow and curled up in a ball.

She was restless in her sleep most of the night. She was running hot and cold. The way she shivers and be a blanket hog like she was cold then the next thing I know she would kick the blanket and sheet off of her for a little bit because it wouldn't be long till she would curl up in a ball and start shivering again. She lets her hair run wild when she goes to bed, never sleeps with hair or anything in it. When she finally calmed down with all the tossing and turning. I dozed for a few hours but them like clockwork I was back awake. Im used to getting up and getting my day started early. Selena has school. I slept in the other day, which is rare for me. I managed to get showered and dressed without disturbing Alexis. She was still restfully sleeping, with her hair draped wildly over her face.

"Good Morning, Father!" I heard my lovely daughter say in a sweet and cheery sing-song voice. I turned with my cup of coffee to face Selena and leaned my side against the Island counter just as she walked in the kitchen with a big smile. My daughters such a morning person. She looks so much like her mother.

I notice She is wearing rain boots and she put her black velvety long and beautiful mane that is her hair in pigtail braids.

"Good morning sweet child of mine." I deadpanned. I'm not a morning person Since most days I just went to bed a little while ago. She is the only one I will say good morning or anything like that too. I watched her walk to the fridge and grab a juice and yogurt and a granola bar. Stirling still doing whatever he's doing on his phone absentmindedly walked to the fridge and grabbed a chocolate milk and a protein bar.

I didn't realize I was looking at Selena in any type of way as I watched her check her backpack for her car keys and make sure she has everything. She glanced up at me as she threw her backpack over her shoulder. "What?" Her tone defensive as her eyes got wide.

I shook my head and sipped my coffee. "Dad, Why are you looking at me like that?" she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Like what?" I raised my eyebrows and took another sip of my coffee.

"Like I have 3 heads and you don't like what I'm wearing or something," she said sternly. uncrossing her arms and putting her hands on her hips.

"No, it's not that. You look fine. I was just thinking about how you dressed the same way for school when you were 10." I shrugged.

"How so?" she spat and knitted her brows together.

"Rain boots even though it not raining, jeans, pippy long stockings hairdo and a shirt with that powder puff girl from that cartoon channel you used to watch when you were little," I said motioning toward my hand out toward her and moved it up and down as I assessed her attire.

"Power Puff dad and her name's Bubbles. Don't you know anything?" Oh, boy with her attitude already, it's just too early.

"I know it's time for you to be going to school," I said in a firm voice.

Selena walked over and leaned to me wrapping one arm around me, half hugging me. I wrapped my arm that wasn't holding my coffee cup around her. "Ok, bye dad. See you when I get home."

I leaned my head down and pecked her on top of the head with a quick kiss." I'll see you later sweet child of mind. Have a good day at school. Love you." both of us released from the hug. "I love you too, Dad," she said as she turned around walking to the kitchen doorway.

Before she exited the kitchen with Stirling in tow, giving me a short wave and saying bye pops to me, without looking up from his phone. I quickly reminded Selena. "Selena if you didn't call your mother last night like you were supposed to, you better call her ASAP, So she will stop calling me. You have your phone so your mother can call you and the 2 of you can talk and so she can leave me the hell alone." I said firmly but Selena never looked back or anything.

"Ok, Dad. I did, I will. Alright. Bye, Dad!" She deadpanned as she exited the kitchen. I sipped my coffee then exited the kitchen as well. As I walked through the kitchen doorway, turning to me and walked toward the staircase. Selena and Stirling had already made it around the staircase and we walking the hall going to the garage. Draven and 4 other teenagers were descending from upstairs. Just as I was about to round the staircase, Braidyn appeared at the top of the stairs and was quickly on his way down. He saw me too. "Mornin' Sunshine!" He greeted me in a chipper and higher-pitched tone of voice than his regular gruff voice. Smirking at me and spinning his keyring on his finger." Sarcasm intended!" he said using his normal gruff tone of voice then he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "Yea, The kuerig is ready just put another k-cup in it!" I announced as I finished rounding the stairs and he was entering the kitchen yelling "f**k yeah Bro!"

I sipped my coffee and pulled my phone out of my pocket while moseying along the hall till my office door was in my sight, I closed the distance to it in long strides till I was standing in front of my office door. I pushed down on the handle with the hand that held my phone. I heard the click and pushed it open before letting go of the handle and letting it swing all the way open.

I stepped inside and switched on the light with the hand holding my phone and took 2 more steps then I turned around and put my foot at the bottom of the door to give it a gentle push before turning around and going to sit at my desk, letting the door slowly swing shut on its own. Placing my coffee cup on my mouse pad and laying my phone next to it and switched on my PC. Then plopped down behind my desk. I pushed the rolling desk chair with wheels backward to roll over by the window. I repeated the action since my chair doesn't roll well on carpet. Then repeated it again, growling as I did so. Finally, I was close enough I stood up and reached for the dial. I turned and the curtains slowly opened letting the sunlight pour in through the wall-sized window that stands from the floor to the ceiling and stretches almost from wall to wall.

When the curtains were completely open. I hit the button that opens the blinds the same way the curtains open. Parting like the red sea right in the middle and slowly sliding farther apart till both sides reach the edges of the window leaving nothing but a sheet of glass for the sunlight to beam through. The blinds are the kind with the long and wide panel looking plastic pieces that hang down long from the top of the window to the bottom.

The button is beneath the dial for the curtains, the same button also closes the blinds. There is another dial beneath the button that also goes to the window blinds. The dial is for when the blinds aren't wide open like the curtains then the dial controls if the panels are completely turned to closed where there is no light coming through at all also you can't see out or in. Turning the dial in the opposite direction turns the panels from closed to however much you want the blinds to be open.

The curtains are cool though when they are closed. It's like a giant tapestry depicting a scene with a heard of wild horses running in a creek or something that is flowing through woods and countryside. It's something to see, but I prefer the view of my back yard that's big enough the NFL could paint it up with yard lines and put up field goals then let 2 teams play football. One big open field of green but wet-looking grass. Only a few small puddles stand at the edge closer to the back of the packhouse and at the tree line to the right not far from the end of the packhouse.

The Treeline hugs the edges of the back yard and field at both sides and the back. The trees are tall and green. The bushes are green and bushy. Branches and leaves sway in the breeze. Birds fly in and out of the treetops. Squirrels run up and down some tree trunks from a branch to the ground or from the ground back to the safety of branches up high. The clouds in the sky don't look thick and fluffy or cotton soft today. Instead, it looks like the clouds have been smeared over the blue sky by someone's then that somebody used their finger to swirl a bunch a small swirl the smeared clouds that are so than the blue sky in the background is bleeding the smeared swirls in several places I can see. There isn't any white cloud smear covering in of the sun. Everything is soaking up its rays.

My PC started making notification sounds. Mostly notifying me that I have e-mail. Then I'm greeted by a virtual assistant on my PC. "Good Morning Alpha. You don't have any appointments scheduled today but I have a post-it note from Layla-THERE IS A REPORT ON YOUR DESK FOR YOU TO LOOK AT. IT'S IN THE FILE FOLDER LABELED INVESTIGATION 2ND REPORT."

I saw that when I was just over there. That what I came in here for. Knoxville let me know through the mind link yesterday. I quickly sat back down in my desk chair on wheel's and started pushing with my feet back to my desk. The virtual assistant kept doing her job and assisting me in what the weather and temp outside is, how many unread emails and messages I have, how many updates I have available, how many calls I need to return. Reminders to file a few things and that I have invoices to enter into the financial planner, etc.

Arriving back at my desk, I picked the folder Knoxville left on my desk with the report in it, I opened it scanned through everything in the folder real quick. It was complete with a type report that was going to be a minute to read. There was a stack of printed pages stapled together, Photos, and background reports. A few typed up summaries from all four pack members that went to investigate, witness statement and listed evidence, etc. A very informative who dunnit, I can say.

Sitting the folder in my lap then picking up my cup of coffee. I leaned back in my desk chair and propped my feet on my desk. Swiftly pulling the initial report from the still shut folder. I began reading it. Might as well get the long report out of the way first.

To be continued...