Life Within Crystalfort [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fourteen

I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. It had been years since I had smelled bacon, and, yet, I could still identify its smell. I sat up, realizing I was still in Clawd's bed. As I glanced around the room, I realized where he had slept. The little cushioned window sill had been his bed last night. I was hit with guilt, knowing that he had slept there because of me. I slipped my feet into my slippers that my father had brought over last night, and walked down the stairs. The smell of meat was almost too much for me to take, but I toughened it out and walked into the dining room. For the first time, I saw all of the Wolf family sitting in one room. I only recognized three of the kids and their parents, out of all of them. I nodded my head a little bit as I counted each one of them. I counted seven kids; five of them boys and two of them girls. They were all talking, a family conversation at breakfast, not something I was entirely used to. Most of the time, my father and I sat at opposite ends of an eight foot long table in silence. Harriet stopped eating, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and stood up.

"Come here, darling. No need to feel awkward!" I blushed and crossed my arms at my waist and walked into the actual dining room, rather than the doorway. Harriet draped her arm around my shoulders and steered me to an empty chair between Clawd and Clawdeen. She walked into the kitchen and came back with a plate. "Clawd said you were vegetarian. So, I made you some hashbrowns and eggs. Does that work for you?" I nodded and Harriet set the plate in front of me. I soon joined their family conversation while I ate. I was almost certain that every single member of the family was on their fourth helping. At least. I was pretty sure that it was a race to who can finish their food first. Which, it was, because one of the boys stood up, throwing his fork and napkin to the table, and threw his hands up in victory.

"Can't you at least pretend to be normal for one day?" Clawdeen asked, bringing her glass of milk up to her mouth. Harriet laughed and stood up, walking around the table and collecting dishes.

"That's not possible in this family, honey," she kissed the top of Clawdeen's head. I stood up and picked up all the dishes on my end of the table. "Oh, that's not necessary, dear," I shook my head.

"It's ok. I like to help," Harriet looked at Clawrk, who only shrugged. I followed her to the kitchen and set the dishes on the counter.

"If you insist, you can dry the dishes after I wash them," I nodded.

"How do you do this every day, three times a day? The dishes must pile up."

"Two times a day, lunch is taken care of for all of them at school. My youngest is thirteen, which would be Clawnor, or Connor, your choice. Howldon, or just Don, Howie, and Howleen are triplets. Howlmitton is a toughie. Finds everything to be a competition. But, he goes by Rocks. Then it's Clawdeen and then Clawd. Both of them already fighting for alpha, don't you know?" I laughed slightly, overwhelmed by how big a wolf family could be.

"Are you guys one pack, then?"

"Oh, no. We are all in one pack, yes, but our family isn't the only family in the pack. You see, it's complicated, now. But, you have your family pack, the whole werewolf population pack, the outcasts, the sports pack.... I mean, the list goes on and on. It'd take forever to list them all."

"You and I have a lot longer than you realize," I said quietly, putting another dish up into the cupboard.

"That's very true, Draculaura. Very, very true. As do you and Clawd," I didn't reply. I was shock by that last remark. I wasn't even dating Clawd and his mother would be totally fine if we were. Or, at least, that's how I took it. If his parents liked the idea, Clawdeen could certainly get used to it, right? I hoped that she would warm up to the idea, soon, because I felt that Clawd and I would be the next thing in the Ghostly Gossip.