Blood Floweret

« Chapter Thirty-Six »

In the days that followed, they were family in every definition. 

Reeve and Mikica had teamed up on Cassius. She realized they were the three pranksters of the house and that made her smile even more. Nobody could make everyone smile quite like Cassius. He always had tricks up his sleeve and he was waiting for the right moments to spring them. So far, he had only seen minor retaliation, until the morning that Reeve and Mikica stuck cockroach paper cut-outs on their lampshade. 

She was awake when they came in and they both pleaded her to be quiet and not wake Cassius, so she didn't. After Reeve and Mikica left, she waited for her mate to wake. When he finally rolled over to flick on their lamp, he leaped out of bed with a childish scream and, in a flash, he was standing on the chair in the far corner of the room with the whole comforter held to his chest. She was laughing hysterically and the door opened where Reeve and Mikica took one glance at Cassius and busted into laughter as well. 

"Gotcha!" Mikica hollered and then disappeared with Reeve as Cassius chased them with the comforter still in tow. She heard someone tumble down the stairs and she could only assume Cassius tripped on the comforter. More laughter erupted downstairs.

And then at breakfast, while Cassius wasn't looking, Reeve squeezed lemon juice mixed with vinegar into his coffee. Everyone else had watched Reeve do it and they all stayed quiet, watching expectantly as Cassius took a sip and then completely gagged, spitting the coffee out of his mouth. 

Of course, Mikica had been sitting directly across from him and now had coffee running down her face. She could hardly contain her laughter, payback is a bitch sometimes and Mikica was frowning while cleaning her face with a napkin. Though, it got everyone laughing endlessly. She absolutely loved it. The house was constantly full of laughter, love, and happiness. 

A gentle rain descended from the sky today, bathing the earth in a rich, green as the plants drank up the sweet drops. She found herself sitting by the window in the living room, watching the rain. She always loved the rain and so many memories filtered through her mind as she admired the world as it was renewed. There were so many things that had changed in her life and every time it rained, she found herself in a new mindset, ready to take on the world. 

She turned her head when she realized that Mikica's six wolves had entered the room. Andy was sitting with Leo, Calvin, and Cassius on the couch as the four of them played one of Cassius' many games. She had tuned out their cries of victory and excited words while they played. Cassius was beating all three of the boys and he didn't feel bad about it. 

Eventually, Andy slid off the couch and walked over to her. 

"Can you introduce me?" He asked, shyly. 

She ruffled his hair, "To who?" 

Andy looked at Mikica's wolves that had settled down with yawns around the living room and she got what he meant. She was amused about this new behavior that Andy was presenting, she was used to his outgoing nature, but maybe that was just around her. That thought warmed her heart because Andy trusted her completely, enough to be his wild, little self. 

She smiled, "Of course, come on." 

She took his hand and they sat down in the middle of the room. Instantly, Thane, Skeet and Lake stood and came over with wolfish grins. Andy pressed against her side and she pointed a finger at Thane. 

"No, no, you can't sit on children," She told Thane, he begrudgingly sat back with a small, pouty huff. She smiled, and turned to Andy, "This is Thane." 

Andy looked at the three giant wolves and slowly, smiled at the biggest wolf, "Thane." He said with a toothy grin. Thane's tailed thumped against the floor and then he settled on his stomach, scooting closer until he could lick Andy's outstretched hand.