Wolves of Secrets 3: Family Values

The West Palm Beach Story

WARNING: This chapter will include ALCOHOL, HOMOPHOBIA, IMPLIED RACISM, and CONTENT THAT MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR EVERYONE!

PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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It was a very busy day in the Smith household as the entire family was packing and rushing around. Don't worry, they weren't moving house. They were flying down to Miami Florida for the week to visit Ray's parents. With how busy their lives were and with how far some of their families lived, it was hard for the pack to find time to visit them. The teens visiting their extended families was like an event that only happened every five years or so.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Ray was the only one who was looking forward to this vacation.

As Ray dumped his full suitcase on the sofa, he noticed he couldn't hear his family moving around. If they didn't get moving, they would be late and miss their flight.

"Come on you guys, let's go! I don't want to be late!" He shouted to his wife and children. "If we're late then my Mother's sukiyaki will be dry and overcooked!" He added as he shuddered at the thought. He loved his mother, but her food was questionable, to say the least. After he said that, he could hear all three of them rushing up.

"Yeah, and if we do make the flight her sukiyaki will be dry and overcooked." Maya groaned as she carried out her suitcase and dropped it next to Ray's. Her husband was shocked by her attitude towards this trip.

"Come on honey, what's with you?"

"I'm sorry, but going to Florida to visit your parents for a week is not exactly a dream vacation." She sighed. "Now if you and the kids went and I stayed here THAT would be a dream vacation." She smiled dreamily and Ray rolled his eyes.

"Relax, this is gonna be fun." He reassured her, but she wasn't convinced.

"What's the fun part? Eating your mother's disgusting food stuffed with other disgusting food or watching your father humiliate you and second guess every decision you've ever made in your entire life?" She asked with a frown as she vividly remember the last time Ray and his father were in a room together. It resulted in them wolfing out and attacking each other and ended with several stitches and two crying children. Ray hadn't visited his parents in years since then.

He only sent them letters and phone calls every holiday and birthday.

Maya hoped that that didn't happen this time and that the week could go smoothly. Kai and Nya had nightmares for weeks after that fight.

"Yeah, that, and the beach!" Ray smiled as he started looking for the passports.

"Honey, I know what's gonna happen; your father's gonna pick on you, and you're gonna keep it all bottled up inside, and then you're gonna pick on me!" Maya exclaimed in frustration. "That's not a vacation, we do that all year long!"

"But not on the beach!" Ray beamed brightly, but it dropped slightly when he saw how worried she was. "Don't worry, it's going to be great because this time I have a plan; this trip, I'm bulletproof." He laughed, but all that did was confuse her. "My Dad gets on my case about my job, I'm gonna tell him about the raise I just got; he teases me about my golf game, I'll tell him about the hole-in-one I got; he asks me about my marriage, I'm gonna say I got some on the plane in the bathroom." He smirked and she gave him an unimpressed look.

"What about Kai?" She whispered so their son wouldn't be able to hear.

"What about him?" Ray asked, genuinely confused.