Wolves of Alverton

Chapter 31

A couple weeks had passed since Levi started becoming suspicious, and he hasn't stopped following us. Lilly and I had to be careful not to show any part of our wolf, and the boy's helped whenever they could. Levi didn't know where they lived, so I spent the better half of a week at Jet's house everyday after school. After another week of constant pressure from Levi, things started to settle, and he returned to his kind, respectable-self. Lilly and I were able to hang out with him and talk to him again, which was nice, but we could never fully shake the feeling that he would always be suspicious of us. His stalker-esque behaviors tainted some of our trust with him, and we weren't sure how he would be able to rebuild it with us. He tried to act like nothing had changed, but Lilly and I were too perceptive to be fooled by his front. Nonetheless, we remained friends with him so we wouldn't make it appear as though we had something to hide. We tried not to question his intentions for appearing to lose interest in finding out our secret. Instead, we continued to attempt to rebuild our friendship with him. This was the first time he had done anything weird before, so we wanted to give him another chance.

My birthday fell on a Friday that year, and I was excited to turn fifteen. When I arrived at school Friday morning, the boys surprised me with a present. I opened the small package, and inside was a leather-bound book. I flipped through the pages, and on each one was a hand-drawn picture of each of us in wolf form. The pictures weren't labeled, but I could easily tell which one was which. I thanked the boys for their gift, and told them how much I loved it.

"We're glad you like it. I know it's not much, sorry we couldn't get you something nicer. Lilly drew the pictures, all we did was pose," Jet chuckled. The boys smiled knowing they had given me the perfect gift.

"Thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better present," I said. They all swarmed me and hugged me at once. The warmth that radiated from their bodies made me feel safe and loved.

"How about tomorrow we all go wolf-out in the wash behind our house, to celebrate together," Jakob suggested.

"Sounds great," I said. We decided to meet at Jet's house for dinner the next evening, then transform together and have a good time. I told Lilly about our plans for the next day and she smiled, then wished me a happy birthday. I was sad that I couldn't spend the night with my pack, but I was excited to be with the Davenports.

When I got home from school, the house smelled of all my favorite foods. The Davenports told me to come sit down with them at the table. Plates of nearly everything, from steak to mac n cheese, stretched from one end of the table to the other. We all sat down and ate together. Once we finished, Rae and Ryan cleared the dishes. Kelly told me to remain seated as she disappeared into the other room. When she returned, she had a few small presents as well as a piece of paper. Once everyone was sitting down again, Mark and Kelly pushed the paper towards me.

"I'm sure you are already aware of this, but next month is February. It will mark six months that you have been with our family," Mark began. I nodded my head and smiled, relatively aware of what they were about to ask of me.

"Since you're fifteen, you will have to consent in order for us to move forward with anything. The family has discussed this a great deal, and we would like to move ahead with the adoption process. Once you reach six months, we will be eligible to adopt you. We don't want to force you to do this, but we would love nothing more than for you to join the Davenport family," Kelly exclaimed. I felt a warm sensation flood my system as the words left her mouth. I started to feel overwhelmed with emotions as I looked down at the paper that was lying before me. It was a consent form with the state seal printed in the bottom left corner, giving even more realness to the situation. I read through the contents of the form and all I had to do was sign my name on the dotted line. I was one signature, and a court hearing, away from having a real family.