The Wolf With Silver WIngs

        Waking up, I got the sense of something holding me down. I rubbed my eyes and looked down to see two cute ears sticking out of the blanket. It was then that I remembered that Taylor was lying in bed with me. Her shallow breaths like sweet music to my ears. I almost did not want to wake her, but nature was calling me. Slowly, I nudged her with my snout. From under the covers, I heard a groan.

            “Morning, sleepyhead,” I cooed. I watched as her ears twitched before her head popped out from under the blankets.

            “Morning Angel. I am sorry, I seem to have slept on you,” Taylor said. As she yawned, she stretched like a cat, her tail pointing to the sky.

            “So, are you ready to go out there and face the day?” I asked, scratching behind her ear. She let out a sound I had never heard come out of her before. It was a mix between a gasp and a purr. Her ears and tail were not the only feline qualities it appeared. Immediately blushed as she crawled out of bed. A sudden feeling of emptiness swept over me. It was nice feeling her body against mine.

            After getting dressed, we left the guest bedroom and headed towards the kitchen. Dad was cooking pancakes while mom was talking with Ashley and Esme. The poor girl was still missing her brother. I could only imagine what it felt like having to leave him at that awful place. As we sat down, everyone noticed us at once.

            “Good morning, girls. I trust that you both slept well?” mom asked with a suspicious look on her face. We said nothing and nodded instead. “I would say so, after the way I found you this morning,” She continued while she looked at me.

            “All we did was go to sleep,” I said, trying to defend myself. Mom did not look like she was buying it. Sighing, I decided that it was best not to argue with mom.

            “Wait, what happened?” Ashley asked as she stared at both of us.

            “Taylor ended up sleeping on top of me. However, we did not start out that way,” I said, watching as her eyes narrowed. “Ashley, I am not that kind of girl,” I said, trying to defend myself. It seemed like everyone was getting the wrong idea.

            About that time, Holly came around the corner and entered the kitchen. She looked at all of us before sitting down. “What is everyone talking about?” she asked. I hoped that no one said anything. I did not need to hear anything from my sister.

            “It is between your sister and me, Holly. Why don’t you go get your father? He is out back,” mom said, sending my sister off.

            Just when I thought things were about to get worse, Ashley busted up laughing. Mom and Esme followed her. It was like they all were having a private joke that I was not invited to know.

            “Oh Angel, I tried so hard to keep a straight face,” mom said, wiping a tear from her eye. Ashley fell off the table, catching herself just before she hit the floor. She flew back up onto the table and fixed the ruffles in her new dress.

            “When I went in to check on my sister and saw her laying on you, I just had to come and tell your mom. We even got pictures,” she said, while mom pulled out her phone. Opening her gallery, mom showed us the pictures. I could feel my cheeks turn red, and Taylors were no better.

            “The looks on your faces were priceless. It was so cute,” mom said as she handed Taylor and me a plate of pancakes. As dad walked in, he was shaking his head. Holly pranced in behind him, happy as could be.

            “Angel, did you have a good night?” dad asked as he began eating his pancakes. I guess mom told everyone. I decided to take off my necklace so that I could hide my blushing.

            After breakfast, mom decided that it was time to head home. It was time for her to confront her boss about the offer he sent us via one of his associates.  As we got in the van, I gave Esme my necklace so that she could ride in the seat with us instead of the back. It was amazing seeing her in human form. After hugging dad and Holly, I got in the car, and mom drove off. I hoped that we would come back to visit again soon. It was nice having the entire family together.

            After two hours, we were back in Kansas City. It was good to be home, even though I already missed dad. The first thing we did was head to the house. After running to the house and grabbing some food, mom headed toward her workplace. This would be the first time since I was a kid that I came to the office.

            When we finally arrived at her building, we got out as mom paid the valet, and we headed inside. The gold ceiling made for a perfect mirror. As we walked through the building, many people stopped to stare. I guess they were freaked out by my appearance. I never got my necklace back from Esme. It was probably better that she wore it while we were here. The looks that I was getting were enough to drive me crazy. How could mom’s boss expect us to work for him with people like this staring at me like a freak?

            “Karen to see Mr. Carver,” mom said to the receptionist when we were finally on the 15^th floor. The receptionist nodded, then picked up the phone.

            “Mr. Carver, Karen is here to see you,” the receptionist said. The door next to the desk opened.

            “There you are, Karen. I am glad you came to see me. Please, come in,” said Mr. Carver as he moved out of the way of the door. We all walked into his office. It was lovely here. There were games on shelves everywhere. I guess that was to be expected when you were the CEO of a gaming corporation.

             “Now, I am sure that there is no need to explain why I asked you here?” Mr. Carver asked as he looked at mom. There was a look of excitement in his eye, even as he tried to act professionally.

            “No, sir, everything was explained to us,” mom said with a sigh. Though I could not read minds, I could tell what mom was thinking.

            “I understand you are concerned, Karen. I am not asking you to do this on a whim. I only have everyone's best interest at heart.”

            “You say you do, Mr. Carver, but at the end of the day, they are still kids,” mom said. She was not going to back down. I admired her for standing her ground. Looking at the others, I smiled.  It was like we were one big family.

            “We will make a place for them to train so that they are ready for anything that could be thrown at them. I know this is the best course of action,” Mr. Carver said, trying to convince my mom.

            “If we are going to do this, I am going to need a bigger house,” mom said in an attempt to negotiate. Mr. Carver rubbed his chin as he thought about it.

            “I can do that.” Mr. Carver said with a smile. Slowly he was starting to get his wish.

            “The children must also continue going to school,” mom said, only this time you could really tell she was serious.

            “Naturally, Karen, I would never expect anything less. Education is important.” Mr. Carver said. He seemed to be agreeing with everything that mom was saying. It was quite unnatural. But then again, if you want someone to do what you want. The best way to do it is by offering them something they want.

            Mom sat there for a bit. It was eerily quiet as everyone waited to see what she was going to say. Esme was starting to fidget in her chair. I guess the effects of the crystal were starting to annoy her.

            “Esme, it may be best if you take the necklace off for a bit. It will help you feel better,” I said sincerely. She nodded slowly before looking at Mr. Carver.

            “Whatever you need to do, go ahead and do it. I assure you, in the past couple of days, I have seen my fair share of interesting things.” Mr. Carver reassured her. Smiling, Esme took the necklace off, her body starting to take its original form. She sighed in relief. Walking over to me, she handed me the necklace then sat down.

            “What an interesting piece of jewelry you have there. How does it work?” Mr. Carver asked, watching me as I placed it around my neck, changing back into human form.

            “We do not know, Mr. Carver. Eva gave it to me yesterday and just explained that it could make me look human, though it is just a temporary effect as you have seen,” I said. All of these questions were getting pretty annoying. I understood that he was pleased about all, but it was more like a kid’s excitement over a new toy.

            “Alright, Mr. Carver, I made my decision. I will allow this on a trial basis. If I see anything I do not like, I will shut this down. You will also be finding a new head of your VR project,” mom said.  

            “I understand how you feel, but I assure you, everything is going to be okay. After all, you are going to be working with me in this,” MR. Carver said, smiling. “Now, I think it is time I introduced you two the other two recruits.”