Monster: A Werewolf Romance

33. MORNIN'

Something was very loud. My hand touched something rectangle and cold and I brought it in front of my eyes. My alarm was ringing.

I turned it off, groaning and sleeping again. But then it all came to me like a hurricane.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What the fuck had I been doing last night? Comparing myself to Abigail? Crying like a lunatic? Drinking like a lunatic.

The worst part was that I knew what I was doing was insane, and then I proceeded to do that crap anyway.

Ugh.

"Kaea! Honey, wake up! You have to go to the pack house today, remember?" My mother called out to me.

Shit fuck no. I cannot possibly face that guy after last night.

It wasn't that bad.

Oh, lookie, who is talking again?

He is not that bad either.

I rolled my eyes internally at my own self. Not as bizarre as you would think it to be.

It really wasn't that bad. You didn't start spilling 'I love yous' or claim to hold his heart forever or turned into a revenge maniac...Point being, you are okay.

I groaned again. It wasn't that bad, but in retrospection it was extremely bad. I texted Lee, asking her how last night went and telling her I won't be coming to school.

Why did I ever agree to this?

I got ready, very slowly, so slowly, in fact, that my father told me to hurry or he would be late. I sighed, reverting back to my normal pace.

When I came down, my mother pushed me inside the kitchen, beaming.

"Good morning, sweetie."

"Mornin', mom."

As I sat down at the table, fresh toast and scrambled eggs near a full glass of juice, and my father smiling slightly at me- I realized I was luckier than most.

And my thoughts inadvertently went back to Abigail. Abigail, who I thought was good for nothing, who I thought didn't realize how tough life could be. Abigail, who I thought was only interested in boys and shoes.

I hadn't realized that she suffered, too. And as much as I didn't want to feel it, I felt guilty about ever thinking that she was an airhead.

I didn't realize that Kyle loved her so much. I did realize it made me ache inside.

I hadn't realized a lot of things, and it made me utterly scared of things I didn't yet know.

Flashes of yesterday came into my mind, Kyle helping her up, telling her to go to her room, looking at her with concern and warmth. Kyle being sweet and good and nice, but never to me. And if I didn't deserve his hatred, then why did I suffer through it?

And I knew I shouldn't have been jealous of Abigail, she was suffering right now, and I tried to push aside that feeling like I always did- but today, it came back and rested inside my heart, stronger than ever.

Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore.

"I will eat this later. I am not hungry."

"Nervous?" My dad asked.

I nodded.

His eyes sparkled. "I would be worried if you weren't."

And that's when I realized what I was doing. I was training to be second-in-command of a pack of more than three thousand, and not all of them were bad.

My stomach grew even more squeamish.

"Come on, kiddo."

"Kiddo?" I asked my dad. He was literally training me to take over his job, and he almost never said this to me.

He kissed my forehead. "Always to me."

"And me." My mother said from behind.

I grinned, despite myself.

Twenty minutes later, I stood in front of the pack building again, but this time with my father. The guards saluted him, and smiled at me, and I tried it back.

I think I didn't nail it because my father looked at me like I suddenly started spewing Spanish.

"Well, what do I have to learn today?" I tried to catch up with his long strides.

"Accounting."

"What?"

"Accounts. Finances. Where does the money come from? Where does it go? How much are you responsible for it, individually and as a pack? What about people who do regular jobs, do they owe the pack anything? The answer is yes, they do. A certain percentage is collected to keep everything up and running." He stopped, turning and looking at me. His eyes were hard, but warm. "It's going to be tough, Kaea. But you have more brains than me. I am sure you can do it."

I nodded slightly, troubled by his belief in me. I had never done anything to earn it, I also had never done anything to destroy it.

"I will try, Dad."

He nodded. "The files are in my room. You can take them, and sit wherever you want. I hope you understand why not in my office. And also, Kyle will come to you in a couple of hours. You both have to present us with a plan on how to keep things running."

I stopped in my tracks. He didn't notice.

I sighed. I definitely brought this on myself.

When we reached his office, he handed me a huge pile of papers, similar to the ones I saw Kyle studying yesterday.

"Dad?" I asked. He looked up, eyebrows raised, and I could see the pride in his eyes. "Nothing."

The library was empty, and I chose a spot that was extremely difficult to find. Unless you came into the aisle of the old and forgotten and peeked over a specific shelf, it was very difficult to find me.

I sat down, and opened the files, sighing and getting on with it.

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In the media box, you'll find, "The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars."

Cause my mornings are always lazy. :P

K R Y S T L E