"Finally, I'll be rid of your damned lies and that ugly face. Get out of my house!"

The door was slammed in my face and I looked down at the meager box of my things. I had my backpack over one shoulder. I saw the bit of money and a scrap of paper with something written on it.

It was the address for that mental home on the flyer I saw yesterday. I quirked my lips down when I heard a honk. My ears twitched and swiveled before I turned. There was a guy in a car waving at me.

At least my mom was nice enough to call a cab for me.

The tip of my tail swished at my ankles as I walked down the steps and towards the sidewalk. The cabbie's eyes widened slightly and I frowned a bit, my left ear lowering in confusion.

"H-hello," I started shyly, because I really wasn't used to human social interaction. I liked playing with dogs more. "This is the address I was given. I only have this much money, so hopefully it's enough to take me there."

I handed him the paper and showed him the amount, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking down and behind, where my tail was moving back and forth in an anxious rhythm. I blinked, then grabbed my tail.

"Y-you can see it?" I asked with a blush, looking over the top of my fluffy tail.

Dark blue eyes widened further and he slowly nodded. "You're stunning."

My heart skipped a beat. I'd never heard someone say that to me before.

"U-um, thank you, s-sir." I whispered, lowering my tail a bit to smile at him.

"Is that all you have?" he asked, gesturing to the tiny box I held in one arm and the backpack on my shoulder.

I nodded. "Mom didn't let me have much in the first place. I was her little liar."

I was little, that's for sure. I was about four foot five, and I had gotten a lot of strange looks for my height and my inability to communicate properly with other people due to my shyness.

"Ah, well, you'll have a lot of friends where you're going." said the cabbie, who smiled at me and got out to open the back door for my sake.

He was much, much taller than me. I felt so tiny in comparison. It kind of made me feel good more than frightened. He opened the door for me, so I climbed into the back and he lifted my fluffy tail to put it over my lap. I blushed. It felt strange to have someone else's fingers on my tail.

It had never happened before, because everyone thought they didn't exist. But it was just because they couldn't see them.

"Do you know Mr. DeLuca?" I asked softly, once he climbed into the front again.

"Of course I do. We're old friends. He's a tad more unfriendly than me, so that's why he's the headmaster and I'm the greeter." laughed the cabbie, so I buckled myself in before leaning forward.

"Um, what's your name?"

"Matteo, at your service. And yours?" he grinned in the rear view mirror, making me giggle behind my tail.

"Anwyll is my name." I responded with a bright smile. "I hope the meaning will eventually come true."

Matteo smirked. "Oh, it will."

I blushed and hid my face again. I closed my eyes for a moment. I felt a bit sad to be leaving home. It was kind of scary, but I'm not really that upset for her throwing me out. I am a useless creature. Most of the jobs that are available are for people who are taller than five feet and I am quite a bit under that height. I can't really get a driver's license either, because I'm so short, but that's okay. Maybe I won't need one anyway.

"What are you thinking about back there, Anwyll?"

"Mm, I guess I'm wondering what it is that will happen at my new home. Is it going to be scary?"

Matteo chuckled. "It may be a bit scary at first, but almost everyone is excited to meet the new kid. We don't often get new people. Most of them are younger than you, though."

"And taller, I suppose." I added with an eye-roll.

He laughed. "You've got it. Now, what do you know about the home that my best bud created?"

"Next to nothing, 'cause Mom kicked me out today, which was one day after she called you guys up. From the advertisement, I know that girls aren't allowed and it's for boys who think they are mythical creatures."

Matteo hummed as he put on his blinker. "You're right, but there's more. This home was created for boys who were abused, have trouble fitting into society, and cannot control various urges. And along with those things, they have been accused of being liars, just like you. But unbeknownst to the ones who abused them, these boys—like you—aren't lying. It's just that the vast amount of people are unable to see the traits and attributes very few boys out of several hundreds have actually received from a greater entity."

I cocked my head to the side, letting one ear flop. "I-I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. I'm too stupid."

Matteo twitched. "You're not stupid, Anwyll. Alexandre and I have seen your test scores and grades over the years. You're a grade-A student."

"But I'm stupid 'cause Mom told me to get an A-plus, but I was never able to do it. She beat me a lot every time I failed, so that means I'm stupid."

My bottom lip trembled as I squeezed my tail. Matteo let out a heavy sigh as he turned down a stretch of highway I wasn't familiar with.

"You're not stupid, Anwyll. You're a good little boy that did everything right, but your mother was too blind to see it."

I bit my bottom lip harder, desperately trying not to cry. That's all I had wanted to hear. I'm not stupid. Mom was wrong.

"Anwyll, the boys at the home, including Alexandre and myself, will be your new family. And although we aren't perfect by any means, we won't treat you like your mother did."

I clenched my fists around my tail and bit back the tears.

"You can cry, Anwyll. You can be yourself and do what you want now."

I couldn't hold back as my jaw trembled. I relaxed and let the tears roll down my cheeks. I bent over my lap, hugging my fluffy tail, and silently cried in the backseat of the cab, which was headed for my new home.

_____________________

I woke up with a squeak when I heard the door open. I sat up and wiped my eyes, which hurt less after my nap. Matteo crouched down with a soft smile, holding out his hand to me.

"We're home, Anwyll."

A new batch of tears pushed at my eyes, but I palmed one eye as I placed my other small hand in his massive one. He smiled and eased my tired, stiff body out of the car. I yawned and stretched, my tail curling for a moment.

Matteo chuckled and reached in for the box. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Mhm, I did, thank you. I feel much better now." I responded, grinning up at him.

He placed the box in my arms and squeezed my hand, then led me towards the big, old mansion surrounded in a deep forest. My ears pricked as I looked around. I wanted to run and play, but I kept close to Matteo—as much as I could with my short strides—and found myself at the front door.

Matteo was just opening the door when it was flung open. I squeezed Matteo's hand and hid behind him, which made a deep chuckle rumble.

"Look at what you've done Briar, you just scared our newest family member."

"Aww, lemme see him! Please?" begged an eager voice.

I peeked out from behind Matteo's waist and looked at a taller boy with black hair. He had feline ears and a long, slim, silky tail. He looked like he could be a black jaguar. I blushed when I met his pretty green eyes.

"H-hello..." I whispered, casting my eyes down to the white marble flooring.

It was quiet for a moment, then the boy looked up at Matteo. "Wait, how old is he?"

"You could have just asked me." I pouted, playing with my tail. "I'm eighteen."

"What? No way!" he gasped, then I heard a light smack. "Ouch, Matty, that wasn't nice."

"Well, you're not being nice either." Matteo huffed, then scooted me forward. "I've got to get back to work. Be nice to him, Briar."

I waved with a small smile as Matteo left and closed the door after him. I glanced back up to the boy called Briar and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Are you okay? Does your head hurt?"

Briar shook his head. "Nah, Matty's smack was very light. Thanks for worrying about me, though."

I blushed again. "Y-you're welcome."

"You're cute. C'mon, the others are very curious. I just couldn't wait."

"What if the others don't like me?" I whispered, my tail curling around ankles and my ears lowering as I looked back up at him.

Briar pursed his lips and reached down, lifting me up in a blink of eye. I squeaked and hugged his neck, but his right arm was wrapped around my back and his left was supporting my butt. Briar snickered as I clung tightly to his neck and shoulders. I huffed and pouted, but rubbed my head on his cheek and settled down.

"Believe me, they are going to love you." murmured Briar, then mumbled something under his breath.

"Um, my name is Anwyll."

"Oh, that's different. Well, you heard Matty. My name is Briar. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ann."

"Ann?"

"It's a nickname. Haven't you had one?"

I shook my head. "N-no, 'cause I don't have human friends."

"What, seriously?" Briar squeezed my body, his incredulous tone almost making me giggle. "You seem like you'd have hundreds of friends."

"Mom didn't help. She liked telling everyone about what an awful child I am, so no one would let their kids play with me. At least the dogs weren't judgmental." I sighed, then rubbed my head on Briar's cheek again.

Briar quieted. "You've had it tough too then, little Ann."

I hummed. "I'm sure others have had it worse than me. I hope we can be friends."

"Well, I for one, have now claimed the spot as your first friend." Briar rubbed my back, so I leaned away from him and grinned. His green eyes widened, then sparkled.

I cupped his cheeks and nosed his temple, my lips brushing his skin. He blushed and cast his eyes down for a moment, then glanced back to my face.

"What was that for, Ann?"

"I'm so happy. Thank you, Briar." I beamed, hugging him again.

Briar started walking again and tucked his nose into my neck. "You're welcome, Ann."

I watched the natural black lines in the white marble move back and forth while Briar carried me. I was still holding my small box, but that didn't seem to make much of a difference to Briar. He was quite a bit taller than me, shorter than Matteo, but still built for strength. I guess I weighed next to nothing for him, which is what I hoped, since I hated causing trouble for others.

But I'm really so happy. I've never had a human friend before. Well, mostly human, I guess. I can see his tail curling and relaxing as it swished behind him. There were faint spots on his deep black fur, so he was definitely a black jaguar as I had thought.

I wondered if his tail was soft, though. Briar's hair was silky and it smelled nice. I wish I smelled as nice as him. Mom wouldn't let me use much soap and gave me a minute in the shower, then she'd toss me out by my hair. That always hurt.

"Ann?"

"Mmh?" I mumbled, already mostly asleep.

Briar chuckled. "C'mon sleepyhead, don't you want to meet everyone?"

"Uh-huh, I'd like to say hello. It would be rude not to, even though I'm so sleepy."

I heard Briar coo at me, then giggled tiredly as he set me down on the floor. He took my hand and led me into a big room, which was like a common area for a college.

It was very spacious with sectional sofas, nice rugs on the tile, long coffee tables, a giant TV above a grand stone fireplace. There was even several gaming systems and big speakers for music. I was quite amazed and very impressed.

And then I caught sight of my new family members. My eyes grew huge just as their jaws dropped when they looked at me.

It was quiet for a good time, until Briar coughed and squeezed my hand. "This is Anwyll, our newest member. He's eighteen and really sweet."

I blushed and sidled closer to him to ease the embarrassment. I quickly bowed my head.

"It's a p-pleasure to meet you all! I hope we c-can get along." I had forced my voice out a bit louder, so I panted breathlessly afterwards.

I smiled a bit as I straightened. It had been awhile since I raised my voice for any reason.

Hands cupped my cheeks and I squeaked, my eyelashes fluttering for a moment while I tried to recover my bearings. A different pair of arms wrapped around me and lifted my form up. They felt faintly familiar, but where would I have felt them before? No one has hugged me since I was a tiny toddler.

"Welcome, Anwyll." rumbled a deeply satisfying voice. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to your new home. My name is Alexandre DeLuca. You can call me whatever you wish."

I peeled my eyelids open and I was greeted with the sight of a man with short snow white hair. He looked young, no older than early thirties. His bright honey-gold eyes sparkled when our eyes met. I reached out to touch his face, then my fingertips slid up to the curved, pale gold horns on his head. His lips curled up the moment my fingers made contact with them.

"How precious you are, Anwyll, our first little wolf. My little wolf."