Chapter 2: The Twins

P.o.V. Moira

Carefully peaking around the door to ensure her mother was gone, Moira darted across the hall into her brother's room. She wanted to gush over their plans to join warrior training and show the whole gang all the things they learned from their father. But she faltered as her eyes fell on her brother's stiff figure by the window.

It is hard to distinguish werewolf children from human or magic ones when they are this age. By 16 or 17, they would grow much taller and more muscular but for now they were just children. Some are slightly taller or slimmer or bigger but not outside of what the humans consider normal.

A sandy haired boy sits on his bed looking slightly worried. His green eyes staring straight out of the window and into the sky as if wishing it'd pull him from his room. He is just over average height with slight signs of baby fat, giving him a roundness of features that made him look younger than he was.

The tall, slim figure moving around the bed is his sister. She has dark, wild hair that always looks slightly windswept. It would trail behind her as she ran making her head look like a black comet. Her hazel eyes are fixed worriedly on her brother. She had always been slim and angular, never more than now. She'd grown steadily over the last half year since their wolves came to them and any extra she ate seemed to go straight to her growth.

She settled next to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry Patrick. It's just a run. We follow along, then come back. Nothing to worry about."

"That's easy for you to say. You're athletic. You can run forever and not get tired. I get winded going across town much less on the circuit between them."

"Mother just says I'm having a growth spurt. Girls always get them before boys. It's just making it easier for now. Besides, the whole gang will be joining us and you know Rich and Bo can't run to the bathroom."

This sent them both into a fit giggles that slightly dispelled the gloom. Their friends would be there. And their father. Nothing bad would happen.

Patrick turned to Moira a stern expression fixing itself in place of his smile. "Mom keeps telling me how proud she is I got my wolf and how things will be different. But I don't feel different. And I don't want things to change."

Moira tilted her head and said in a slow, but steady voice. "Well... don't let them. Mother is just excited. She always is when you have something big. Besides... boy-o is gwoh-wing up!" She squeaked in an obnoxious baby talk, pinching his cheek.

As he swatted her hands away, laughing she saw him begin to visibly relax. He began joking with her about how Bo might get lost even running with the pack and end up missing the ceremony. Or if Stan would manage to make it the whole time without tripping and knocking others over too. They talked about their plans for training with their friends and what each should focus on when raised voices made their way down the hall.

Moira immediately moved by the door and listened, so still she may have been carved into the woodwork. Patrick watched from the bed, waiting for her signal. She peeked into the hall before gesturing for him to follow and slipping out.

Her mother's muffled, but clearly raised, voice was coming from their father's office. As she got closer she could tell it wasn't angry, but was agitated and disappointed. It's one Moira had heard several times when planned adventures with the other kids hadn't gone quite how she pictured them.

As they neared the door, the voices got quiet again. Patrick pulled on Moira to get her to return to their rooms but she shook her head and continued creeping forward until she was within hearing range.

"...your favorite!" Her mother said. "It's all just wishful thinking on your part. Things don't work like that and you're a fool for convincing yourself so. You'll see tonight!" And steps began sounding towards the door. Moira retreated suddenly, not realizing Patrick was still right behind her. They both tumbled to the floor just as the door opened.

Her mother stood, tall and stern looking down at the two of them. As she swept her gaze over their state, her eyes met Moira's and there was a brief flash of... anger, disappointment, bitterness... something unpleasant Moira had never seen before.

"Get up you two. Patrick come with me to greet our guests, they should be here any second. Moira, go finish getting ready. You're not presentable in this state." And she was gone. Sweeping past them at such speed, she caused Patrick to scramble up and scamper down the hall after her.

Moira watched them go, thinking about the look on her mother's face. She was never her favorite but it hadn't been an issue until today. Her mother loved her and cared for her, but the look she just received...

A creak behind her startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up at her dad. He was standing in the doorway looking after her mother with a serious look on his face. Outside of meetings her rarely looked so grave. His jovial face always sporting laugh lines and a grin. 

But now he looked like he had when the neighboring pack sent a runner asking for warriors to assist last fall. She didn't know the details just that the man burst in while they were eating. She could remember the shock of seeing her father's face set into a stoney mask before he and Beta Owen left the table with the runner.

He helped her up. Sighing, he gazed into his daughter's eyes, no twinkle of joy or spark of cheer that she normally saw was present. He pulled her suddenly into a hug and said, "Your mother is a woman of tradition. She sees it as a way of keeping the pack safe. It's something that happened around the time we realized we were mates. But sometimes tradition was built around an idea that doesn't hold up today. Family, Friends, The Pack. Those are things worth holding on to. Don't forget that."

He released her and turned back into his office. Confused, Moira followed him. Unsure what to say or ask she just stood in front of his desk as he dropped into the chair behind it. They remained there, silently waiting. Neither sure of what was coming.

As the doorbell rang, their eyes met. They had to go, they had a duty. Without a word they both headed towards the door. She stopped just before they got there.

"I won't let you down, Dad." She didn't know why she said it. Something inside her just knew it needed to be said.

"And I'll be here to support you in whatever happens." His response seemed... right. She didn't know how but it was like a bond had been formed between them. One just between the two of them. And they left the office feeling lighter with their new pact.

"Dad and me against the world," she thought while shutting the door behind them. "I like those odds." And with a slight smile, she followed him down stairs.