Beautiful Things

Chapter 21 - Family

OSCAR INTRODUCED ME TO his whole 'family'. They were all close—well, like a pack. A family. People who unconditionally loved one another, and like they were born to do just that. I was introduced to them one by one.

There was a small, wiry girl with hair so pale it was almost white named Ellie. She reminded me of a fairy, and no matter what I did, it shocked me to no end that this small girl could turn into a wolf the size of a washing machine.

There was another girl, larger and more fiery, named Bianca. She had green shining eyes and hair the color of oak. She, I decided, without a doubt,  could be a wolf, with her biting comebacks and short temper.

The rest of the people were guys, other than Vee, and they surrounded Oscar and I like a murder of crows and we were the defenseless prey. They each shot off their names and my brain reeled as it took in all of the information at once, trying to put a name to a face as they spoke.

"Ay! I'm Ben; probably the best out of 'alla these losers!" A boy with dark brown eyes and a tan complexion grinned at me from ear to ear, at least until he was shoved to the side.

"Yeah, fuck all with that!" Another boy hopped up, his gelled blond hair falling into his face. "I'm Cody." He smiled charmingly, "and clearly I am the best out of all of these people." He snorted. "Obviously."

"Right, right, right…" the last person sauntered up, and I felt slightly nervous. Agitated was the word I needed. This last person had to have been six four, easily towering over me as he spoke, and out of all of the people here, he was the most wolf-like out of all of them. He seemed, to me, the stereotypical werewolf, with his large stature and wild hair growing all over his body in strange tufts. "I'm Bryce."

Vee walked up to him, seeing my distressed face and gently tapped his chest with her free hand and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Brycie here is a total teddy bear once you get to know him," she winked at me. "And he's a sucker for chocolate."

"And for you…" he grinned, attention only on Vee, just before pressing his lips against hers. Oscar rolled his eyes, giving me a good natured smile and fake gag, motioning for me to follow him out the back. He moved up to a screen door, propping it open with one leg as I walked out onto the warm grass.

"Did you like everyone?" Oscar asked me, the door swinging shut behind us as he proceeded to hold both of my hands, watching my face for a reaction. I nodded, and it was the truth.

"It was a little overwhelming, but they already feel like…"

"Like a family?" Oscar finished, a question forming his words.

"Yeah. Like a family. It's kind of weird, actually," I gazed up at the sky, dropping my hands from his.

"It's because you were destined to be here. To be with me." Oscar smiled eagerly at me, his face adorable when he looked like that. Like a puppy dog; it was almost difficult for me to imagine this innocent eighteen year old boy as an alpha. "The Luna connection you have with everyone here ties them to you, and you to them."

"This is all incredible," my voice was just a breathy whisper, and I noticed my hands beginning to shake. I clasped them at my side, and felt the want grow even stronger. The heart pumped quicker and quicker, the marking pull becoming violent —

"Hey, guys." Vee leaned out of the door, "come in for lunch."

My breath escaped my lungs, and Oscar turned his head toward me. "I'm sorry, about all of… this," he offered a crooked smile, but I noticed the pain in his eyes. I needed to get this damn marking process over with, and soon — I didn't give a fuck how much it would hurt me, I just wanted to stop seeing Oscar's happy face in so much pain.

Was it really… love? Love that compelled me to feel what could easily be the most painful thing I'd ever feel in my life, just to take away what he felt? It certainly was more than anything I had ever felt with Xavier.

"You go in," I said to Oscar. "I'll be in in a moment. I need to make a call."