I made my way down the carpeted steps to the bottom floor. I tilted my head upwards, trying to find my way by smell, but all the scents of the other wolves mingled together into a big, smelly mess.
I woke up a couple hours after we had fallen asleep, and catiously slipped out of bed. Aster, still asleep, kept whining and whimpering when I tried to leave the room. I rubbed his hair gently until he settled back down and I could sneak away. Now I was wandering around the house, keeping out of the other werewolves' ways as I searched for the pups and Elaine.
I walked through a door into a kitchen. The floor was classic black and white tiles, with dark countertops and a rack hanging above the island. It wasn't too interesting, but I could smell Loki much clearer here, which meant she was nearby. I walked through another door, and nearly stumbled down a flight of stairs into a basement area. I staggered and grabbed onto the railing to keep from tumbling down the short staircase. The stairs were covered in carpet, and I could see more carpet on the bottom. I kept walking, and poked my head around the wall.
It was a cute little play area with a big TV, a lot of beanbag chairs, and a little plastic playground. There were four bunkbeds with messy blankets and pillows scattered everywhere. The kids were all gathered around Elaine in a half-circle as she read to them from a book. I couldn't imagine how horrible it had to be for the kids to not have their parents. They all had to be taken away from their homes because of some selfish werewolf.
Elaine looked up and saw me for the first time. "Oh my!" she exclaimed.
I ducked my head sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"
"Human!" shrieked Loki. She turned to a girl with similar hair to her. "Suki, this is the human we saw that night!"
Suki craned her neck around her sister, blinking at me emptily. "Him?"
I walked down the rest of the way, and was swarmed by kids once again. Elaine set the book down on her stool and clapped her hands three times. "Kids, do I have to tell Aster that you are all disobeying him? Red isn't to be bothered by you."
I smiled. "I don't mind." I scooped Loki up into my arms when she outstretched her hands to me. I ruffled her dirty blonde curls. "They're adorable. I haven't hung out with any little kids in ages, not since the ones near me grew up. I've missed babysitting them." I used my free hand to rub everyone's head in turn. Loki wrapped her chubby arms around my neck, and her legs around my waist to keep a steady grip on me.
Elaine tilted her head. "Really? Most of the pack members don't like having all the little ones around. Including the ones that actually... turned them," she whispered to me behind her hand. None of the kids seemed to notice. Except for Suki. She stared at me blankly from her spot on the carpet. Elaine reached out a hand and helped the girl to her feet. She mumbled something to her that I shouldn't have been able to hear, but I picked up on anyways. "He won't hurt you, I swear."
I watched Suki curiously. She wasn't as energetic as the other ones, and didn't seem too interested on coming over to see me. That was fine, of course. I was occupied trying to listen to one kid at a time as they blabbered on and on.
Suki narrowed her eyes. "Loki..." she grumbled.
Her sister turned her head out of my shoulder. "Huh?"
Elaine patted Suki's shoulder. "It's alright. I trust him."
Suki nodded stiffly at me, as if giving me permission. I nodded back at her. She turned abruptly and stalked over to one of the bunk beds. She picked up a book and flopped down on her mattress. She pulled on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and didn't look at us again.
Elaine shook her head. "Pups, seriously, stop it!" Elain clapped her hands together. "Go play, please, while Red and I talk." Elaine beckoned for me to come to her, so I set Loki down on the floor despite her protests and made my way around the horde of chattering children to stand next to her. "I'm sorry, Red, truly. They get so excited when they meet new people, and they're so energetic sometimes. I can't keep track of all of them."
"Don't you have any help?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Oh no, no one else wants to deal with them." Elaine looked sad for a moment.
"Aster told me about the birthday party," I said. "How a bunch of kids were attacked."
Elaine hunched her shoulders. I noticed then that her black eye was gone. "Yeah. We got these six from the party. Tyler and I... Tyler and I had a child that was at the birthday party."
"Oh? Which one?"
Elaine coughed into her hand. "She... She didn't survive the attack."
My heart dropped. "Oh- Oh my god. Oh my god Elaine I am so sorry, I didn't mean to bring up such a sensitive topic. That must've been so awful. Is there anything I can do?"
She shook her head. "Oh, no, it's f-fine. I'm the one that started the conversation. And anyways it happened years ago. Loki and Suki are the only ones that actually remember being attacked, but Suki was hurt much worse than her sister. She still doesn't trust anyone here but Aster and I, and always runs off when someone else is watching her. Though she tends to run off even when its me keeping an eye on her. The only one she truly respects is the alpha, and even he struggles to keep her in check all the time. No one can blame her."
I nodded sympathetically. "I feel so bad for all of them."
Elaine shrugged. "It's hard to tell. A lot of them love being able to shift, and most of them don't have as strong a Wolf as the older ones do. It's easier for them now. Plus, being practically born with it, it means that they'll grow as werewolves. It makes it much easier for them." Elaine rubbed the back of her neck. "Most of the pack won't be that lucky."
"What do you mean?"
Elaine winced. "I don't want to worry you, but the shift is never easy. Especially the actual shifting part, where you turn into a wolf. It feels like someone's clawing out of your skin. It's horrifying until you get used to it."
"Really?"
She nodded. She sat down on the stool. "But I'm sure that Aster will explain most of this to you."
I shook my head. "He has a habit of blowing me off. He's not too keen on my pestering him with questions. He insists that he'll be there to help me when it... happens, I guess, but I don't know."
Elaine smiled at me. "You're handling it very well."
I sat down cross-legged on the floor next to her. "Yeah. It's only been a couple days. The smelling is weird. I've never been able to sense those types of things before. It always feels like something is stuck up there."
Elaine nodded. "Our sense of smell is strong, especially in our wolf form. Dogs can smell almost a thousand times better than humans, if you can believe it. It's really crazy if you think about it. The feeling of being able to tell so many thing just from a whiff gets overwhelming. We've all gotten used to it, but its hard to hide anything here when you can tell what someone ate three days ago just by smelling their breath."
I nodded absently.
"Something wrong?"
"Just thinking. I feel like the shock of this hasn't set in yet, you know? I mean- I'm a werewolf, but I don't feel different. Except for when it comes to Aster. I get all twisty and scared in my stomach when he gets angry. I've seen documentaries of wolf packs and crap, and that's been helping some. Is that offensive?"
Elaine smiled. "I don't mind."
"Good."
We sat there in silence for a few moments. I tapped the side of my face. "Hey, what happened to your black eye?"
Elaine looked startled. "Oh! Well, werewolves have weird blood. We heal incredibly quickly. The only thing that can kill us is if you stab the brain, sever the head, or use silver. If silver gets into a bloodstream its a slow, painful death."
I shuddered at the thought.
Elaine nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty gruesome to see." She waved her hand. "But anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, our blood. Werewolves heal incredibly quickly. Wounds basically heal twice, or even three times as fast as they should. Even bullet wounds and stab wounds can heal quickly. The only problem is scars. If the wound is deep enough, you'll have a scar in a couple days. Its sadly not powerful enough to heal that. Which is why Tyler- that's my husband- has one across his eye. And I see the ones on your arm-"
I nodded, and itched at the small bumps. "It's where Aster bit me."
Elaine winced. "We heard your screams. But we stay out of Aster's way, especially when he's angry. He's our alpha for a reason. Even though he can be mean at times, he leads with words rather than force. He only uses his fists when its necessary. I've seen him beat the shit out of a couple bastards before, or anyone that tries to take his spot. Aster would keep fighting for his position until he dies because he knows the ones in our pack strong enough to take him on would lead with their fists. And anyways I-"
"RED! RED?!"