Chapter 6: Confessions

Grandpa Adrian cleared his throat and took a drink of his water.  “Divina, how much do you know about the supernatural?”  “Umm, do you mean like sci-fi or fantasy novels?” I asked confused.  

“No, I mean real life?” he said.

I looked at Grandpa Adrian and then at every person at the table.  Most were just watching me carefully, like I might bolt from the room, but Gloria was beside herself.  She squealed and grabbed her hair kicking her feet on the ground.

“I can’t take it anymore!  Divina, you come from a long line of werewolves, your Grandpa and Grandma are werewolves, your mom’s a werewolf, your dad, well he was human, but the rest of us are all werewolves!”  She puffed out her cheeks and let out a long breath.  

"Ow! Bren, that hurt!"  Bren had kicked Gloria in the shin under the table and was glaring at her.  

I stared at her and then burst out laughing hysterically.  “Oh, you had me there for a minute!  Oh, my gosh, Gloria, you are too funny!”  I wiped the tears from my eyes, I was laughing so hard.  I looked around and realized no one else was laughing and my laughter slowly faded.  

“She’s joking right, mom. She’s joking?”  The look on my mom’s face told me that Gloria wasn’t joking.  Oh, God.  I couldn’t breathe and everything sounded like it was under water.  My vision tunneled and I thought I might pass out or throw up.  No, no!  Please don’t embarrass yourself by doing either.  Greg had pushed his chair out and moved against the wall, no doubt not wanting to get thrown up on.  

Gloria glared at him and rubbed circles on my back.  I had put my head between my knees to try and stop the room from spinning.  “That’s it, Divina. Deep breaths.  Breathe in and out.”  Gloria cooed as she continued to rub my back.     

When I felt like I could move without hurling and the room had stopped spinning, I sat up and took a deep breath.  I looked at Gloria and said, “You said my Dad was human.  So, does that make me a werewolf/human half breed or something?”  

Mom was the one who answered me.  “No, honey, you are a hybrid.  You might not even have a wolf. You may continue on just as you are and never shift.”  The wolf in my dreams flashed before me.  The one that had my eyes and my blonde hair.  I knew she was wrong.  I in fact, did have a wolf and she had been reaching out to me for years now.  

I cleared my throat and spoke, but it was barely louder than a whisper.  “No, I have a wolf.”  

Mom looked at me in shock and said, “There is no way for you to know that now.  You wouldn’t get your wolf until your 19th birthday and that is 4 months away." 

“She appears in my dreams almost every night.  My same blue eyes and her fur is so blonde it’s almost white. The first night we stayed in that hotel suite she told me our time was coming soon.”  I looked up at my mom and she stared at me with her hand over her mouth.  Tears spilled down her cheeks.  

“Divina, why didn’t you tell me?”  

I shrugged, “I don’t know.  The dreams were never scary.  She made me feel safe.  Like I was protected.  I didn’t know I should tell you?”

Grandpa Adrian, spoke up then. “Rima, she should have grown up here at the pack and not out there with humans.”

Mom looked like she was ready to tear into Grandpa, but he held up his hands in surrender.  “No, I know it’s my fault.  I never should have pushed you to reject the mate bond. If I had accepted your human mate, you never would have run away.” 

So, that was why Mom hated Grandpa.  Why we moved away, and I never knew my family.  Dad was an only child and his parents died before I was born, so I never got to experience cousins or grandparents and Mom and Dad were never able to get pregnant after me.  The realization that I could have had a big family with cousins, grandparents and friends brought tears to my eyes.  I didn’t fit in at school and my only friend was Tia and thank God for her.  Tia and dancing kept me from being a depressed and emotional mess after my dad died.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and took in the scene before me.  Grandpa Adrian had regret in his eyes and Grandma Lilith was running her hand up and down his arm, her brows furrowed, and a frown on her face. Mom looked stricken and lost in her own thoughts. Brandon and Greg were staring at the floor, and both Bren and Gloria were looking at each other with wide eyes.  

I cleared my throat and a directed my question to Gloria since she seemed to be the most likely person to break the tension.  “Hey, Gloria.  Have you had your first shift yet?”  

“I wish!  I still have 4 months until I turn 19, but Greg, Brandon, and Bren shifted last month.”  She smiled widely and said, “Now that you’re here, I won’t feel so left out.  We will shift for the first time together!”  

I nudged her with my shoulder. “Wanna bet $50 bucks that your wolf’s fur color is the same auburn color as your hair?” She snorted, "Hey, a wolf’s fur color doesn't necessarily follow their human counterpart’s hair color." 

I raised my eyebrow at her, and she burst out laughing, “Sure, I’ll take that bet!”

“You so are going to owe me $50,” I exclaimed!

That did it.  Everyone seemed to let out a breath at the same time and Greg came back to the table to finish eating.  The sound of forks against plates filled the air and I looked around at my new family with a smile on my face.  Well, new to me anyway. I might have had a bomb dropped on me tonight, but all this just felt right.

---

After dinner, we all settled in the media room to watch a movie.  Well, us kids anyway.  The adults went on about their business and left us to lounge around for the evening.  “So, tell me about your school.  What’s it like?  Is it only kids from this pack that go or do multiple packs send their kids there?”  

Gloria giggled and exclaimed, “We aren’t called kids, we are called pups, and yes, multiple packs send their pups to the school.”  

Well excuse me for being new here.  I stuck my tongue out at her which only caused her to fall into another fit of giggles. 

“When does school start back?  Y’all are on Christmas break, right?”  

This time it was Bren who burst out laughing, “Did you just say y’all?! Oh my gosh, you are such a hick!”  

Ouch. Note to self. DON’T SAY Y’ALL!  

“I’m teasing you, Divina.  Just don’t say that on Monday at school.  The pups are brutal and will never let you live it down.  Plus, you are the new girl.  The next new and shiny thing.  The boys are going to be falling all over you and the girls are going to hate you.”  

Gloria chimed in, “Yeah and your killer body and gorgeous face and eyes are not going to win you any points with Vanessa.  She is the Queen B and by B, I mean Bitch, at the school and I guarantee she will put a target on your back.”  

“First of all, no one has ever referred to me as gorgeous or having a killer body and I was never noticed by anyone before, so I doubt that things change now,” I said.  This girl was crazy! 

Greg snorted at my words and then immediately turned red in the face.  I raised my eyebrow at him, and he sighed and said, “You really don’t know?”  

I know I must have looked like I smelled something awful with my nose scrunched up, but I really had no clue what he was talking about.  

Greg looked over to Brandon for help and he immediately threw his hands up and said, “Don’t look at me, man. She is my cousin.  Whatever thoughts you were having are yours and yours alone.”  

Greg looked back at me and seemed to decide to just tell me.  “Look, there won’t be a guy in that school on Monday that won’t be vying for a chance to get with you.  Vanessa has her sights on one guy in the school and that makes you a target. Warrick Ryker has a type.  Tall, gorgeous and very blonde.  All of which you fit perfectly.” 

“Oh, she is going to hate you!  I can’t wait to see her face when you walk into that school on Monday. Nor, can I wait to see what happens when Warrick catches sight of you.”  Gloria laughed manically, making me question her sanity. I just sighed and really started to dread Monday morning.