"They're not right." I complained. The racket between Emily and Nick was hard to block out. Kind of like an argument between mommy and daddy, except it was a little more awkward than a fight. So awkward, in fact, that everyone decided it best to vacate the house entirely.

Angela and Claire were sitting on the porch, sifting through what was left of the Burger King that they'd brought home earlier. They laughed every time the disturbance upstairs grew, and it was hard for me not to join them.

My big brother and I were strolling around the yard though. I couldn't really hear what they were talking about, but it made them laugh. Every now and again, Angela would point towards Michael, but I only caught it once or twice.

"If you think so. I'm just glad they're not torturing each other." He said in relief. I hadn't been around long enough to know it at the time, but between Emily's gluttonous eating, and Nick's seemingly one-track mind, I could definitely tell something was up.

"Yeah? Well, you're not rooming right next to them." I said, pushing his shoulder playfully. He didn't budge. He was still so tense from whatever happened back in Canada. I couldn't imaging it was too much, because they'd only been gone for a total of three days. But then again, who was I to judge. I was only here one day before we'd gotten attacked. Slowly, as I found out, my feelings regarding the entire incident were slowly being washed away. I hoped that soon, it'd be like it never happened.

"I guess that could cause a few problems." He said unwrapping his BK Stacker and taking a rather large bite out of it.

"So are you going to tell me how it went?" I asked.

He nodded, choking down the unchewed bite he'd just taken. Oh, sorry about that. I thought.

"No, it's fine. I know you're just as curious as Claire." He said, picking the thought from my mind. I began to wonder whether or not he could hear the two fornicators upstairs. And if so, I felt sorry for him. Just the random screams of passion from Emily were enough to shake me a little. If someone else had been here, it'd sound like a murder.

I unwrapped my own little cheeseburger, and began to peel off the top layer of crust and sesame seed, dropping them to the ground.

I could feel his confused glance on my hands. "It's for the ants." I said. "When they're around, they sometimes gather up seeds from the grass and move them… it's a nature thing." I said, looking up at him. I'd lost him quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I was never too good with science or anything like that. I'm more of a math guy." He said, smiling before taking another bite of his cold hamburger.

I did the same, forgetting about the rest of the crust around my own.

"So?" I asked.

"I'll tell you later. I just want to get over it first." He said simply. Something must've happened that had somehow hurt him; otherwise he'd still be smiling. For the short while that I did know my brother, I'd caught on how wrapped up inside he was. If something bothered him, he didn't interrogate the situation. He didn't get angry like every other wolf I knew. He wasn't one to let something smaller than an act, get to him. Which brought me right back where I started. Something happened.

"You catch on quick." He said, obviously still listening to my thoughts. "I hope you don't mind, but it's easier to tune out the two upstairs when I concentrate on one person."

I felt as though I had a spotlight on me. The feeling that I was the only person to be seen in a pitch black room was thrust upon me like prison chains. I didn't like it.

"Sorry, I'll just switch over too Angela." He said, instantly feeling my discomfort.

"Thanks."

"So are you going to be alright, after what happened?" He said. I wasn't sure whether or not he was in my head earlier when he'd first come home.

"Yeah, Claire helped me through a lot of it." I told him. He seemed to already know this, but it still made him smile. I could already tell he was thinking of her more and more like his long lost mother.

"So why did Derrick and Wilson leave?" I asked changing the subject. "The minute that they heard you were on your way they left. They didn't even say goodbye."

"They don't want to be tied down to me as their Alpha. It's totally understandable thought. They were…" He paused for a second. It was impossible for me to tell what he was thinking in that short instance, and before I could even guess he started back up. "Our fathers pack."

I really wanted to know whether or not he was having trouble accepting that our dad was dead. But he never let on. In that short instance before he mentioned our father, he didn't look sad, just confused at what to call him.

My mother always called him by his name. Either that or, "Your Father." She never let on that she was mad that he didn't know I existed though. She had told me once that I shouldn't be either. It was the first night that I'd seen him. I was only seven, but it was definitely a sight to behold. Someone that even Marcus seemed to fear. That was my dad. And when Michael told me about his other side, I couldn't believe them to be the same person. Forceful, harsh, almost stone-like, the Dane that I'd met was a monster that commanded either respect or fear when he was around. The Dane that my brother knew was the exact opposite. Concerned, caring, regretful, and always willing to help. I didn't think it possible for people to hold those sort of mixed characteristics… not without exploding.

As my mind mulled over the conundrum, I found myself thinking about Claire.

"Why did Claire stay?" I asked. If the other two were trying to avoid my brother's presence, why did she act the exact opposite?

"Claire is a loner. She doesn't like to be around other wolves. She prefers her own hunting ground and for her house to smell like her, not us." He replied quickly. "She doesn't have to worry about alliances and what not. She's more human than wolf, if that makes any sense to you."

I couldn't wrap my mind around it at all. Every werewolf I'd ever met, besides Dane and a few other Alphas were quick to follow Marcus with blind ambitions. They were like bees, and he was their hive.

We walked a little ways until we were back around the house, which had gone suddenly quiet. The banging and screams from upstairs had halted, and for that I was grateful. A break from having to listen to the two upstairs was a good thing. I didn't want to become more traumatized than I already was.

As if on cue of my thoughts, Nick opened the front door. His large body was wearing a towel and a smile, that was it. "Hey, Mike? Can I bum a smoke?" He asked, his left hand grasped the small knot in the towel that held it together, and I had to turn away.

Doesn't subtlety hold any meaning to these people? I asked myself, making Michael laugh.

"Sure." He said leaving my side, digging in his pants pocket as he did.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, just try and keep it quiet alright?" My brother asked, obviously for my sake.

"Sure, whatever."

The door shut, and I was able to look again.

Angela and Claire were completely taken by surprise.

"Did he not see us here?!" Angela asked laughing.

The girls were asleep, Nick was still up, but he was barely conscious as he flipped through the channels on the TV. "Sports. News. News. Crap. Crap." He stated with each station as he hunted down anything to keep him awake.

"Ooh. Home Improvement." He said, giving Michael and I a backwards glance, pointing towards the door. It was fixed. Well, it was a door. A door without a handle that was nailed back in place rather hastily. Whereas Derrick did do a good job on the repairs, it went without saying that we definitely needed a new door.

Michael only laughed as he sipped at a fresh cup of coffee. And then, he seemed to catch his previous thoughts, quite suddenly.

"You have to get started with your schooling." He said, continuing our conversation that we'd started days ago.

I groaned. There was nothing I could learn in school that I was going to use. Well, as far as my teenage mind told me. Once I changed, I'd be predisposed to live off the land. Which was an alluring thought for me. It was the backup plan for every werewolf on earth. If our lives became ruined, we'd go where the peace lay. The forests that stretched across the US were definitely a good enough fail-safe for any werewolf with a brain.

I'd heard that unlike our human form, werewolves don't need to change back to stay sane. We could go the rest of our lives as wolves if we wanted. Though, it wasn't recommended. Because after a long enough period, we'd forget that we were ever human. And after we forgot that, we'd cease to think at all.

"You have to go some time, and if you start soon, you won't have to repeat the year afterwards." He said, trying to coax me with the prospects of half a year.

"I know. But it's going to be full of… people." I complained. I'd never been around more than two or three people. And they were pack spouses. Both male and female. From what I saw, they were jumpy, and a little stupid. But I guess you could just chalk that up to being surrounded by predators.

"They're not that bad." He said. "They're like… fish."

"You lost me."

"They'll swim around you and do their best not to get in your way if you're still enough."

"That's a horrible metaphor." I said, laughing a little at his acknowledgement of it. "Probably the worst I'd ever heard." I added, making him laugh as well.

"Well the fact remains the same. You're going."

"Are you going to make me?" I said, pushing him, and then running away.

He chased me and tackled me into the cool grass. We wrestled and laughed…