The Ringing (Very Slow Updates!)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CALE'S POV

I had a surprise for the girls this week and could only hope that they would be as excited to get the news as I was to announce it. I had thought long and hard about each of the girls over the last few weeks; going over the pros and cons of each of them, trying my best to figure them out piece by piece. The thing about 'dating' so many girls at once is that it's hard to make that personal connection with each of them, to really get to know the person inside, rather than just the illusion of themselves that they show others. A persons true feelings can only be revealed when they feel most comfortable, and while I feel like I have gained the trust of most, if not all, of the girls, I still felt like some of them are holding something back. I tried to think about what made me feel comfortable, what allowed me to be myself and not hold back, at what times in my life did I really allow myself to be me, not just the Prince and future King that I was expected to be; only one answer came to mind, family. When I'm around my family I'm allowed to be myself, I don't have to hide anything or guard my feelings, I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not; so I figured what better way to get to know the girls in their true, unguarded forms, than to have them be with family.

The decision was made two weeks ago and the families were notified under the pretence that they, by no means, told the girls that they were coming; I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise, I wanted to see the shock and surprise on their faces when they seen their families for the first time in eight weeks. I could tell that the stress of being away from the people they have always known and loved was starting to wear on the girls, while they didn't exactly seem unhappy to be here, I could still tell that they felt like they were missing part of themselves; I know how important family is, I have a deep love for my own and any time spent apart from them is hard. Even though more times than not I'm ready to throat punch my brothers, deep down they still mean the world to me; we've never really spent more than a few weeks apart from each other, and I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to go eight weeks without seeing their faces. It may seem weird to some people, that a grown man is reluctant to move away from his family, to start a life of his own, but werewolves are different; we grow up in family units, in packs, we crave the comfort and serenity that only family, only blood can provide. Many families have more than three generations still living under the same roof, sure they fight, they argue, sometimes they want to cut each other's throats out, but nothing can tear apart the bond that a wolf family is born with; the threads that hold our families together are made of something stronger than any metal or synthetic material known to man, our bonds are made of blood, and although that blood may be tainted in some lines, it is still a vital part of our existence, it is still a bond that will hold a pack of werewolves together no matter what tries to break us apart.

The blood that runs through our veins also helps to mold us into the people that we become; while it's not certain that the blood that runs through you will determine your personality, it's the main ingredient in the final product. Not only did I want the girls to get some relief from seeing their families, but I also wanted to interact with their families, get a taste of the blood that started the chain to who they are; I'm not saying that you can completely judge a person by who their parents are, but it's a good start, the people who brought them life and set an example for them their whole lives, are bound to make some type of impact on the people they have become. Don't get me wrong, I know that the outcome of a person can be determined on how they decided to perceive things, so I'm not going to judge the girls solely based on what their parents are like; I simply want to see how they act when their family is present, if their personalities change from what I've seen over the last eight weeks, or if they act the same when they are completely comfortable with someone as they do when we're alone together.