Klepto POV

My head is pointing straight at the ground as I make my way as inconspicuously as possible towards the breakfast foods.

After a few days on my new schedule, I find solace in food more so than usual. I have already gained 5 lbs, but that isn't my main problem. There are much bigger issues to worry about.

Also, there's the fact that I am the topic of many gossip filled conversations around the pack. Since we are all werewolves here, we can all hear exceptionally well, so everyone knows I can overhearing the insults.

No one cares.

I have run into my parents and siblings a scarce few times, and it has been an embarrassing ordeal each time. They act like I'm invisible.

My mother and sisters seem absolutely thrilled that I was vacated against my own will.

Their wish finally came true.

I tuck a loose piece of hair behind my ear, glancing down at the many options in front of me. Unlike my spoiled pack mates, I know the strenuous work that goes into creating the morning buffet.

One upside to my relocation is that my workload is at an all time low. Apparently Alpha Green is taking pity on me, at least for awhile. I don't know what contributed to his mighty change in attitude, but I'm not questioning it.

"I heard she tried to attack Nathan, called him a liar, and cursed at the Alpha! Can you believe that? If you ask me, she deserved what she got." The snarky remark doesn't even turn my head.

I spoon some scrambled eggs onto my plate, adding some sour cream and a sprinkle of bell peppers. I eyed the waffles for a second, reaching for one and covering it in syrup.

"Wow, she is such a pig. She has no shame." Another girl adds in as I grab a fork.

Don't do it. Don't do it. She's not worth it.

"I wouldn't go in public if I was that big."

That's it.

I spin around quickly, smiling sweetly at the two girls. They sit a few feet away at a small table, each of them wearing a look of surprise as I stare at them.

"Well, I'll be praying you gain some weight then, honey, because that would be a blessing to us all." I say, and before I can see their reaction, I strut away with confidence. I am a master actress, after all.

I keep walking even when I catch a whiff of a spicy lycan scent, not even bothering to slow down.

Finding an empty table in the back of the cafe, I collapse dramatically into the wooden chair and shovel food into my mouth with a bitter expression on my face.

My eyes dart around suspiciously, avoiding the lycan table with exceptional success.

I'm not even tempted to glance over at my gorgeous mate.

Okay, that's a lie.

I turn my head, searching the large room for the only decent people in this whole pack, the one redeeming quality of this absolute hell hole.

Felix and Daniel.

The whole place is bustling with life. Everyone is talking and laughing, enjoying the peaceful morning hours before the day officially starts.

I smile as a group of pups run around rambunctiously. They squeal excitedly, trying to dodge their stern faced parents as they scramble to grab their escaping children.

Not spotting my brothers, I move on with my eyes, weaving through the tables. High and low, back and forth. They are nowhere in sight.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." It's Dr.Paullini, he raises his bushy eyebrows down at me.

I motion to the empty table with my arm.

"As you can see, I'm extremely busy, maybe you should come back later."

He laughs, giving me a grin before pulling out a chair and sitting down next to me, shaking his head.

"At least you still have your sense of humor. How's that optimism working for you?" He pushes his glasses up his face and stabs some lettuce with his fork.

I don't know where he got a salad at this early hour, or why he's eating one for breakfast in the first place, but I don't ask.

Shrugging my shoulders, I nonchalantly wave a hand in the air.

"It's really hard to stay positive when your whole life is ruined, but I'm trying." Paullini shoots me a look at my words, running a hand over his tired face.

"I know it seems that way, but there is always a bright side." He purses his lips and shifts his body forward, thinking to himself before opening his mouth.

"When I was a pup, my parents needed to flee Vietnam when a neighboring pack declared war." He sighs, continuing after a moment, "I was absolutely terrified. I didn't know what I was going to do or how I was going to fit in. I cried often, and my mother took me aside and told me a story.

"She told me about my father and her meeting for the first time. He was on a visit to her pack in Spain, and after they met he took her back home to Vietnam.

"She didn't speak a lick of Vietnamese, and he couldn't understand her fast paced Spanish. My mother described to me the confusion and the fear of being in a new place and not being able to understand anyone. In the end, she was happy despite her trials. My mother encouraged me, Klepto, as I am encouraging you. No matter what life throws at you, you have to keep going. You will find happiness, I know you will." He touched my shoulder in a kind gesture, but I want to shrug it off.

I hate the advice.

He is completely spot on, but it's not what I want to hear. All I feel like doing is sulking in my own self pity.

"Yeah, yeah. Optimism, right?" I ask. Paullini chuckles, shoving some salad in his mouth and winking at me.

"Optimism."

❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀

After breakfast, I can't take it any longer. It has been over two weeks since I've seen my baby brothers and I need at least a few minutes with them.

The pack run is in two days, we always have a run at the full moon. It will also be the first day of November.

Normally, I would be ecstatic about the snow that would be falling soon, but it's mostly due to the company of the my siblings that I enjoy it in the first place.

Felix and Daniel love the snow, they play in it for hours on end until their faces are bright red from the cold.

Then, after they come inside, I always make them hot chocolate and cookies and we sit around and watch Christmas movies.

And thanks to Ezra, all of that's gone now.

Quickly putting my mate out of my mind, I scratch the back of my neck as I reach the house, feeling awkward in front of the home I've been living in my whole entire life.

Well, here goes nothing.

Hopping up the stairs, I quickly knock on the door before I can change my mind. The door almost immediately flies open, a familiar face on the other side.

"Well, Darling, I was wondering when you'd show up." A flirtatious voice rang, and its then that I'm pulled into a tighter than tight hug.

"Aunt Emilia. What a surprise!" She pulls back to flash me an enormous smirk, "Uh, no offense, but what are you doing here?" I ask, and she lets out a bubbly laugh.

"I was in the area and thought I'd pop in for a spell."

My Aunt Emilia is technically a rogue, but she likes to call herself a nomad, a "free spirit traveling the world"... or something like that.

"Come in! Come in! I haven't seen you in forever." She gushes pulling me in for a side hug, my head leaning on her shoulder as she is at least a head taller than me.

"I don't think that's the greatest idea." I whisper, eyeing the door with some dread.

The idea of walking in uninvited by my parents puts a pit in my stomach.

"Oh nonsense. You may be sleeping under a different roof, but it's still your home, Klepto."

I nod mutely, not agreeing in the least. I follow my eccentric Aunt into the house, feeling a chill come over me knowing the evil that lives here.

As soon as we sit on the sectional couch in the living room, stomping ensues as little demons run down the stairs.

I know I've been spotted when I hear an exuberant, "KLEPPY!" shouted through the hall.

Daniel tackles me, throwing his short little arms around my neck and kissing my cheek with his slobbery lips. I would be grossed out if I wasn't so excited to see him.

"Hey lil guy. What are y'all up to?" I ask, tickling him until he collapses in a fit of giggles.

"Parker is teaching us how to sword fight!" Yells Felix, holding up a wooden sword and swinging it around in the air. He uses it to bludgeon his older brother, Parker, in the knee before he is promptly slapped away with a dismissive hand.

Despite being quiet and reserved, Parker draws attention. His hair is long, reaching his shoulders, and he's a beautiful child.

He's only 10 years old, and the 8th born of the bunch, and he has the looks of an angel. Bright, intelligent gray gaze, long white eyelashes, and wavy blonde hair, it makes sense that everyone stops to stare when he's around.

He watches me without a word, his eyes assessing me with an unsettling amount of attention.

He's an observant child. Parker never seems to miss a thing.

"Well that sounds like fun." I say, pinching Felix's cheek after giving him a hug hello. He pushes me away, embarrassed to show affection in front of Parker.

Daniel wiggles in my lap, trying to catch my attention, and kicking Aunt Emilia in the process. She gives him a rough ruffle of his blonde hair in response.

"You should learn too, Kleppy!" Daniel insists, grinning from ear to ear.

I lick my finger and wipe away a glob of strawberry jelly from his cheek.

"Maybe later, I'm hanging out with Aunt Emilia right now. You go play."

Daniel nods as Felix and Parker run off through the back door. He jumps from my lap to chase after them, but turns around and sprints back to me. He gives me a big bear hug.

"I love you!" He says, and I almost melt.

"I love you too." I call as he disappears, my throat sounding clogged with emotion.

"You really have a way with pups." Aunt Emilia says, smiling fondly at me while she plays with her pink hair, it's cut pixie short and is always styled in spikes on her head. It only adds to her look.

"Yeah." I whisper, keeping my eyes glued to the door the boys disappeared through.

Emilia takes my hand in hers.

"You're going to be a great mom someday." I don't have the heart to tell her I'd never have pups, the one person I'm destined to start a family with doesn't even want me.

I glance at my Aunt Emilia. She is my mother's younger sister, and she hasn't found her mate yet.

She tells everyone she isn't in any hurry, but I have the sneaking suspicion that she travels everywhere because she's just searching for her mate.

She's 41, but because of her werewolf genes she doesn't look a day over 25. I hope I look as good as her at that age.

"How's the new place, huh?" She bursts out, changing the subject, her brown eyes filled to the brim with childlike joy.

I look away, nervously shrugging my shoulders.

"It's fine. I miss the boys, but it's nice to have quiet... and it's great to not be criticized on everything."

Emilia shakes her head, her gold chain necklaces jingling together.

"I know what you mean, girl. I've been here a day and your mom already gave me dirty looks when I ate a whole box of cheese-it's." She giggles, scooting closer to me. "She's just jealous of our curvalicious figures, huh?" Aunt Emilia jokes.

I give her a half hearted smile, "I doubt it, she's always talking about how... fat I am." I whisper, hoping my mother wasn't anywhere close by.

Emilia scoffs, tossing a throw pillow at me.

"You are not fat, and even if you were why would that change your value or beauty? And who is she to tell you how to look?"

My aunt wipes at her forehead, looking grim.

"Listen, when Andrea and I were kids, she always struggled with her weight." She reveals, and it takes a lot of restraint for me not to look shocked.

My mother and I are not close, and because of that I know very little about her childhood. What I do know is given to me by Aunt Emilia.

"She was always trying to gain weight. The guys in the pack were always calling her names, like chicken legs, and stick girl. It was awful. When I hit puberty, I immediately grew hips and breasts, and she never let me enjoy life because she was always trying to make me feel bad about the way I look. Some people, like your mom, just need to realize that there is no one way to be beautiful."

We sit there in silence, marinating in the words. I mull over their meaning.

I never thought my mother would ever want to gain weight, she always acts like stick thin is the epitome of perfection.

It's weird to think that even when people seem to exude confidence, they still have things they don't like about themselves.

Chewing on my lip, I start to feel sadness bloom in my chest. I never thought I'd seen the day where I'd feel sorry for my mother, but here I sit filled with sympathy for the witch that raised me.

The urge to throw up emerges inside me.

"Anyway, enough of this drab discussion. Let's go paint our nails or something else dumb and girly, what do you say?" My Aunt asks, patting my knee.

I nod my head, the new information still twisting in my head like a wild tornado.

❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀

If you're reading this, I love you:)

😪