Rise of the Underdogs: JACOB

Sibling Banter

“You sure? It could get messy,” he pressed again as we left our rides in the garage and went in to grab supper with the other Howlers.

Yes, we ate with our families every other day of the week, but we also gathered in the Howler packhouse once a week. Friday evenings mostly, where we did nothing but discuss pack business and how our week was individually.

“Messy? You’ve met our little sister, right? You know, the one who creates mess from nothing just to prove she can?” I asked, my twisted humour shining through. “Besides, Heaven will calm the emotional calamity while Wynter ensures everyone stays calm because no one wants that brat on their ass. And me? Well, let’s just say that my lock-picking skills will be letting in unwanted trouble if anyone gets out of hand.”

“You’d break into people’s houses just to unleash that firestorm we were raised with?” Paul asked, his tone holding nothing but humour. Then, as if actually entertaining the idea, he said, “Huh. Well, just let me know so I can cover your tracks if it comes down to that.”

“Cool,” I answered, holding the door open for him as we made our way to the dining hall on the upper level.

Walking into the room, we took our seats at the table without fanfare. At the head of the table sat Logan and his Mate, Selene. Until her eighteenth birthday, she would hold the Luna seat under her actual title: Fox Princess Selene Castle, daughter of Fox Alpha Clayton and his Mate, Luna Lenora.

Then again, with a freaking Werewolf prince as her Mate, her place in our pack was cemented without ceremony.

“Luna, Alpha,” I said, addressing them by their official titles until Logan issued the order to relax. “In the official capacity, Valik Pierce was safely secured on the plane and left the country an hour ago. I’m expecting a basic “I made it alive” text when he lands in Russia.”

Logan nodded, “Perfect. Thanks, Jake. Maria?”

Maria slid a document across the table, “Hunter’s secured the necessary herbal plants required to mass produce the healing potions we’ve been working on. However, that procurement comes at the risk of venturing through territory that still views Vampires as enemies.”

She was the one Wynter feared the most. After suffering the near loss of her Mate, she’d become sharper than tempered steel. When he finally woke from his healing sleep, she wasted no time helping him break barriers before marrying the Vampire Lord, Hunter Valencia. Though distant, he was Logan’s maternal cousin and a fierce advocate for children’s survival.

Now, through combined efforts, they oversaw the medical potions that assisted in a variety of issues for supernaturals and humans alike. By right, she was a Gamma – the Luna’s companion. By marriage and fate, she was a Lady of the Valencia house, Mated to a high Lord and rubbing elbows with literal Vampire Royalty.

She was one of the most vocal about where to send Valik if s**t got too real for him. Not as a way to get rid of him, but as a way to help him regulate and find his way.

“I’ll talk to Dad about documents ensuring safe travel to collect the plants. Inform my cousin of the facts and give me a few days to get the necessary paperwork done,” Logan declared.

He looked to Paul, “Any issues we need to go over?”

“Just that little brat cousin of yours that I’d love to strangle.” Oh, that was totally Paul giving off Beta energy. “Other than that, there’ve been no problems that can’t be handled without involving you or Luna Selene.”

Wynter grinned, “Devon, Sam, and I revamped the training course.”

Selene glanced at them, “How so?”

“We added some areas of increasing complexity so that we’re not just training bodies, but minds as well. The purpose of the new obstacle, the Puzzle Room, is to learn to work as a team, even if the team is made up of varying species.” Devon answered.

Samuel nodded eagerly, “That was the security idea I was going to bring up, actually. In order to escape the Puzzle Room, each four-person team has to solve increasingly complex puzzles to find the key. The order of the puzzles are randomized and the location of the key is never fixed, either.”

“There’s no possible way for any team that goes in to appoint a master puzzle solver,” Devon said, his eyes reflecting his brothers eager delight. “Sammy made sure that each team absolutely has to work as one unit in order to find the key and escape the room. Any sign that they start turning on each other will result in the increase in difficulty with randomized timing.”

Well that was… predictable.

Selene smiled, her green eyes twinkling, “Delta, there is one small issue that needs to be addressed. With Valik jetting off for a much-needed reset, I only have you as a guard, but we don’t share classes other than English.”

“I was going to bring that up myself,” I told her, grinning. “Alpha, I propose altering the schedules for myself and Princess Selene so that I’m in all her classes. During breaks, Wynter can accompany her to the ladies room. You know, cause a guy in the girls bathroom wouldn’t be… well, acceptable by stick-in-ass standards.”

Yeah, I know. My humour was going to make me seem like a psychopath, but at least it was a path.

“So granted,” Logan stated. “I’ll have a discussion with the rest of my family about the implications and suggestions brought forth this evening. Before that, let’s hear from Ember and Heaven. Girls?”

Heaven was my delightfully pure, soft, yet sharp baby sister. One of the two Medics born to the family. She looked up from her tablet, hazel eyes piercingly haunting. “Packhouse staff are responding well to the randomized schedules for keeping the mansion clean and livable. By rotating the staff, everyone will know who is and is not part of the pack. From the medical standpoint, the creation of the Mariana Ariel Memorial Clinic is in the final stages of development.”

She handed over the tablet for Logan and Selene to take a look. Logan let out a sound of agreement as Selene looked up with pride-filled emerald eyes.

“This is amazing! And the name?” The red-haired girl asked.

“A combined idea,” Ember declared. “Heaven and I thought it would be nice to name the clinic after Logan and Valik’s mothers. We sent out an anonymous poll, and the numbers just came back. The packmates who recently joined us from Shadow Storm ranks voted in agreement of the name in a landslide motion. As for Heaven’s idea on randomizing the assigned Omegas? It realistically allows us to eliminate any possibility of outsiders who would attempt to insert themselves into the Omega rank just to get close to our Alpha and Luna.”

Heaven nodded eagerly, “Any and all attempts to infiltrate the Howler pack will be automatically exposed, preventing any attempts on the lives of our beloved leaders.”

Snickers flowed around the table. Holding up his hand, Logan smiled, “Any other news, reports, or anything at all that could or would disrupt our flow?”

When nothing but silence reigned, he nodded. “Babe?”

Shaking her head, Selene smiled as she raised a hand toward the Fox Omega waiting by the door. “Pack founder business is concluded. Patrice, please advise the kitchens we are ready for supper.”

“As you wish, Princess,” the girl replied with a practised curtsey. Throwing open the doors, she reiterated the request for meals to be brought up to the private dining hall.

Staring at my sisters, I was moving through the motions of using my usual magic. I enjoyed making things “vanish”, pretending to look for said things, then “finding” whatever it was.

Hm, which one would be better to pull this off on? Heaven?

Nah, too risky. She’d be more likely to fry my ass than prank me back.

Wynter for the win.

Calming, I envisioned her water glass disappearing. Just as I felt the pulse of my power, I also felt the blade of Kaylene’s dagger press into my thigh.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Jacob?” She asked, her voice every bit the Beta female she was.

I swallowed tightly, my concentration effectively broken. “Me? I’m not doing anything, sis. Nothing at all.”

“Right,” Paul commented dryly. “You totally weren’t about to pull a prank.”

I let out a sigh, “Sis, you’re ruining my fun. Should I ruin your announcement?”

“What announcement?” Selene asked as our food was laid in front of us.

Paul glared at me then sighed knowingly. He raked his hands through his hair as hi cheeks took on a bright pink tinge. “You brat!”

“I can hear another heartbeat,” Logan said suddenly, his eyes narrowing as an understanding smirk crossed his features. “Kay, is there something we Howlers should know?”

She lifted her gaze to me, her eyes iced over with a quiet mix of discomfort and disillusionment. “You really went there? Because I told you not to prank someone?”

Paul cleared his throat, taking a sip of his water, “Kay, baby, you stopped the brother who has no issue throwing my ass under the bus. He was probably going to prank the one most likely to prank him back when you stopped him.”

“So this is just the family dynamic I’m still learning about?” She asked. Her gaze slid back to mine, the iris of her eyes a haunting purple that made me shiver in anticipation of a lecture. “Paul advised me that one of you would do that, but he forgot to mention who. Very well, Jacob. You win this time.”

“What happens next time?” Shoot, my sarcasm ran away with my common sense again.

“You’ll just have to find out, won’t you, little brother?” She asked casually in a tone that made me stop and think.

Beaming with pride, Selene called for a special, vitamin-rich dessert to be brought in while Logan nodded contently as the news was finally announced.