My Royal Wolf Blood

My Family

"Violet!" The joy from his voice as he walks down the steps towards me, "Why are you waiting outside come in, come in."

"Thank you, Father," The door closes behind me. As soon as I entered the small, lonely church, candles lit everywhere, I felt a huge pressure drop on my chest, making it a bit harder to breathe, but I ignored it as my uncle stopped, startling me, observing me. "How have you been, my child?" He pulls me into a tight hug.

"I have been okay, the same day as usual."

"I have heard a certain Redwood has entered the town." He grins, pouring water into an iced cup. The sunlight shined in through the stained-glass window that tells the tale of the thousand-year-old town but not just this town.

"Yes." I swig down the water.

"Where did he go, as a child?"

"No idea." Is it okay to lie to a priest, maybe it's okay because he is my uncle? It still feels wrong.

"How was school?"

"Learning about the town's founder in History, Frankenstein in English, and Bla Bla." I laugh.

"But the founder. That's a dangerous story." His dark eyes winked at me, and his wrinkles challenged his real age, but he was younger than he looked, his teeth shone, and his healthy figure was quite surprising.

"The wife was poisoned?" I blurt.

"You could say that?"

"Do you have any history books locked up somewhere here?" his face brightens with excitement. Stood as soon as the words came out of my mouth. And wondered off, "I guess you do." I whisper as he leaves me alone; I'm not scared of being alone, just the church. It's very strange, and at times it is intimidating, like suddenly feeling breathless, a hard pressure, down upon my chest. Father Blake came trotting in, three large books, in his hand. A huge grin on his face.

"Everything you need to know, dear."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Blake."

"Anytime, my child. So how are your parents?"

"Father is fine, so is ma, and the kids. Ma is working most of the time. Oh, and Father asked when you are coming around for dinner again."

"I will come soon; I have some business to take care of out of town this week, then I will come over." A car beeped, bringing our attention, father Blake laughed as he waved to his brother who waved back.

"That's my queue." I quickly hugged him as I ran heavy-handed to the car and popped in.

"Hey, pumpkin."

"So how was your day at work, Dad?" he babbles on about how Linda the science teacher keeps using up the best coffee again and how he was talking to Anna's father, about the football or the baseball game. All I got to do is act like I'm listening, which I am. Looking out the window, cars going past trees every couple of seconds, watching the dog walkers, a squirrel running up the trees, birds singing. Luka... "Am I boring you again, darling?" He sighs.

"No. Two / Nil was last night's game, did you say?" If it keeps him happy, it keeps me happy. I'm not much of a sports fan, but he is. I'll watch it don't get me wrong for him, but as I turn my head, taking the curls from out of my face because of the wind, I see him talking, laughing, smiling to himself, about his day, about his work and also about his hobbies, so that makes me smile too, knowing he's happy all that matters.

"So how was your day, pumpkin?" I smile at the humorous nickname he gave me as a child and now it's stuck. I have no idea how he got it but for some reason, that's who I am to him now his big pumpkin, my mother calls me a different name, just hope no one from school hears it.

"Fine," I stop myself before I say too much, about the books in my hand, about Jake. But that's what parents do, right? love you and spoil you and don't forget they worry about you twenty-four seven, so you get a phone call every five minutes, asking, where are you? And if you get a missed call, you better call them back straight away or you will get the whole police squad after you. unless you ring them and then they don't pick up, typical.

For a while now, he has been gawking at me, waiting for me to finish off my sentence, I suppose. "Then why are you here? you texted me that you want to come home and see us, you know we pay for you to stay at school right?" He stops at a red light, waiting for cars on the opposite lane to go past.

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "Dad?"

"Yes, Hun"

"Do you remember Jake?" I try to say it in the nicest way possible. He loves me, he loves me. I repeat in my head hoping he will let me go. I ignored his question about school and out popped it. "Jake. Jake. Jake?" He thought and finally remembered. "Of course, if he comes back, he should come for dinner tonight." I turned to him as the light flashed green and gave him the biggest grin I could ever do. "And his family." and his family, he says. his family. I don't know what to say but yes, maybe. "Okay. Okay, Tomorrow night, I will tell your mother when I'm back." I sigh, I didn't even ask, or say anything. "I haven't seen him in years, I hope his parents are back too, your mother misses them..." I turn towards the window and gaze out of it, at the kids playing in the gardens, at the people riding their bikes up and down the pavements, playing football in the hot beaming sun, there is no way to tell my family about Jake and his, maybe I will leave that to him, it's not my secret to share, I don't think anytime with be the time to explain the death of his family.

Finally arriving home, I opened the door leading to light brown walls, the wooden stairs on my right lead to the bedrooms and on my left is an open doorway to the front room, kitchen, and dining room. Past the stairs is my father's study.

And a small, black, furry ball comes running up to me. "Hello, Tinkles" My long-haired black cat walks around my feet, cuddling up to me. I try to pick her up, but she squirms and cries. "You have probably gone to a long pumpkin". Or maybe it's my wolf.

I watched her run off towards the kitchen, where a delicious smell lingered towards us, my mother cooking, my beautiful mother, "Hmm, smells good" I walked over towards my sister and picked her up.

"Hello, Little Izzy," she told me to put her down, but I didn't listen, "Where is your brother?"

"What are you doing here?" Mum takes off her apron and places it on the counter. My mother's dark black curly hair is tied up in a bun, and blue eyes lighten as they circle the kitchen. I picked up her spoon behind me and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she stirs the fine food in a pan and taps the spoon on the side. "So why are you here, are you after food again?"

"I just miss you." she scans me, with the eyes that you know she's going to ask, what happened? She walks over towards me, grabs Izzy off me and puts her down, Izzy sticks out her tongue and runs off.

"Hi, darling." Dad walks over towards my mother, kisses her and kisses Izzy on the cheek.

"Darling... Oi, you," Mother was just about to ask me a question, but instead turned around to find Will picking at the food. "Get your hands off."

I laugh, as he wiggles his eyebrows at me, giving me a free pass to wander upstairs. I step immediately out of the kitchen and am about to walk up the stairs just before Brylee barges past me hitting me on my hip. "Oi, watch it, you little monster." My sister's twin brother laughed and stuck his tongue out at me as he ran into the kitchen to see Dad, with his flash action toy in his hand.

I walk up the stairs, past all the family photos, in brown oak frames hanging up on the wall, and walk towards my bedroom. Throwing my school bag onto my light purple flowery bed and pillows I walk over towards my windows and open one of them feeling a push of warm breeze filling my room. And hearing a dog bark, in one of our neighbour's back gardens, "I miss home."