Shame.

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

''What is that noise?''

The young boy struggled to open his eyes. His lids burned hot. Was it because he had been asleep for too long? The young boy did not have the answer to it but he was half excited when his lids drifted apart to admit the presence of that many persons in the same place as him. Why were there too many people about him? Coover did not like being in the midst of so many people, so it was strange that he opened his eyes to witness a scene like this.

''What in the hell is the meaning of this?'' he thought the instant he grabbed a proper view of the eight persons seated about him. There were three men on both sides of the large oak table. The other two sat at the top alternate ends of the table. The young boy started to perceive the distinct aromas of each type of food stationed on the dining table. Even the cake smelled sumptuous and looked tempting. Did it mean that he had slept the whole of last night until it was lunchtime already and he did not know? Also, who had dragged him out of his bedroom to dine with the rest of his house? Was it his mother, Emily? Or his older sister, Amber?

Coover darted his gaze about the ideal looks he could see on everyone's faces. The bulk of the persons present looked happy to him, but they did not seem like people he had met before in his life.

''I reckon they must be friends of my dad's, I'm sure. His colleagues at work, most likely. Aside from that, I don't think we share any kind of special relationship. Wow! Why so many presents, though? Did I miss out on an important announcement? Today certainly isn't my birthday or Amber's. Is it? It must be that pig, Peterson! I bet he's trying so hard to impress her. Plain ass stupid!''

Coover hissed the instant the disgusting thought dropped in his mind.

''Lily!'' a silvery shout jolted out of nowhere, breaking into the gentry silence of the room. ''Lily! Will you come right down at once! It's your birthday for goodness sakes!''

''Birthday?'' thought Coover. ''I love birthdays! But who is Lily? Amber's friend?"

Out of wonder, the young boy flashed his serene blue eyes to the eastern part of the dining room where he saw said speaker heaving a sigh.

''Ah.. that feeling of frustration I know all too well! Reminds me of how I got that math test to resit for on Monday.''

Wait a minute!

Coover hung back to scan his background more detailedly. Now that he examined the person who had spoken before, he admitted that in looks they came off as feminine which pretty much compensated for the sharp sound he had woken up to hear from this person.

But, there was a clause!

Even though this person donned a clothing style that represented the fashion of what a woman should wear, Coover could tell the difference. Behind the smooth and delicate face skin that seemed to undergo a steady round of facial treatments and healthy products, Coover knew that this was a man... A beautiful man if he should describe him. He looked quite the attraction when compared to the other men seated at the high dining table.

''Gosh! Why do they have to be so much food out here? I'm fucking starving. Imagine all these delicacies. My mouth has every right to get watery but then why has no one offered me anything?''

Coover allowed his eyes to hover about the special delicacies he was seeing in front of him.

He found it odd that the others didn't seem like they'd even touched their food. As he let his gaze scan the large dining space, he ceased roaming his eyes about once they stumbled on a certain person.

"Now him. Why in the world does he look like that?"

Coover mumbled the second he noticed a man who had a dismal look on his face. He didn't seem as happy as the others. Even his mustache stood out strongly from his other features. His face looked like he hardly ever smiled or laughed.

"Yeah... I bet he never cries too,'' Coover declared mentally, "his face is a little too hard for that emotion."

It was an arduous thing to do, but he did his bit to hush his desire to snicker at the man's face. In the process of doing that, his gaze darted up to the ceiling where he saw a unique type of chandelier twinkling its blond light about the hall.

"Fancy lights? We've never had those or better still, dad always schooled us on how unsafe it could get for the dining area of any house to have such a thing. Yeah, right. This is so not my house."

Coover let an awkward smile print out on the edges of his lips. His face lit up and he did not take what he'd just now concluded in his mind, seriously. This was because of how unpredictable his dad could be. Every day he closed from work, he always had a new theory to school him on.

"Honey," Coover pivoted his neck to afford him a look at who was talking and who they were speaking to. He saw that it was the feminine man who had shouted before, and the person he was talking to was the man that looked like a Grinch in Coover's opinion. "..the longer Liam delays coming down for his surprise birthday, the more pained I feel. Do you think the reason why he's yet to come out is that he knows about it?"

"What do you think he knows about, Luna?" Alpha Rhys asked his wife, his voice lacked zest in it.

"I'm referring to the surprise package we got him." Luna Vikas pushed forward with his concerns, "do you think Liam is gonna have a problem with that?"

"What do I know? You decided to have us get him a pet anyway. Shouldn't you know better?"

Listening to them talk in hushed tones shot Coover an insight of danger lurking. He got particularly concerned with the manner with which they turned to stare at him while they talked. He did not find it convenient that they continued to do that.

To top it off, Coover sighted another man; a middle-aged. This man slowly bent his head to place his mouth close to his companion's ears. Then he whispered something to him.

"What is with all these side talks? I am no longer finding this act funny."

"Luna Vikas, I think you should not be too hard on yourself. I believe Liam will like the beautiful gift you got him."

Coover saw that this person that spoke now also looked a bit feminine but older.

"Thank you, Elder Nika. Your words are truly kind."

Coover was still studying those two when a peal of delightful cry burst out of nowhere.

''Wow! A cat?"

Coover sprained his neck about and saw the little boy hurry down the flight of stairs that led into the dining. Under the bulky chandelier which lit up the floors, his verdant eyes glowed like pearls and his chin dimple did not go unnoticed by Coover.

The boy entered the dining space.

''Dad... Mom... Please tell me I can have him in case Liam doesn't want it."

''Oh, honey." Luna Vikas spoke up. "I am sorry but this cat belongs to Liam. Even if he doesn't want it, we can't let you have it. But on your next birthday, I promise to get you something special as well."

''But mom...'' the minor sulked and tucked his arms together. "why can't I have this one?"

''Not now, Jeremy. Don't you dare give me any of your sass. Liam gets to keep this cat and that's final." Rhys' hoarse voice cut the chase to a stop. The minor frowned because this person was his father.

''Fine!" Jeremy said, sinking his butt in an empty chair, "but remember to tell mum to fulfill his promise of getting me a pet of my own on my next birthday. You also owe me a present for when I turn sixteen and become a very powerful Alpha like Liam."

A burst of rowdy laughter silenced his childish rants. Coover noticed the air of the diner instantly lit up with everyone laughing all at once but he did not understand the reason for this.

He wasn't smiling!

"What is wrong with these people?" he mused, "and what fun games are they playing with me now? Who the hell is that cat?"

The laughter lessened.

''By the way where's Liam?" Luna Vikas turned toward the littlest boy in the room. "Jeremy, didn't I instruct you not to come downstairs without your older brother? Why then did you return alone?''

"I did what you asked me to. But Liam simply ignored me," Jeremy recounted.

"Liam ignored you? Why would you say a thing like that? Come, tell me. Did you say something rude to get him upset?"

''Why don't you leave the boy be?" Rhys cut in, "in my viewpoint, I believe Jeremy is telling the truth. I told you already that this was going to be a total waste of time. Liam is grown and doesn't care a thing about parties like this. His birthday? Psst. I bet it's gonna take a dying decree for him to drag his ass down from his bedroom."

"I don't quite agree with you, honey." His wife told him, with a flick of his long white hair to the back of his ears. "Lily will come down for his birthday. He just needs time to decide."

"Time!??! Grow up, Vikas. Liam has put us both to shame. I don't blame him though it's all your fault for thinking a boy who's declined to celebrate his birthday since the age of 10 would turn a new leaf just cause he's turned 16! I regret helping you buy the cat and making the preparations for all this. What a waste!''

''Rhys, darling. I think you should calm your nerves. This is not the time to apportion blames or to be a nag.''

''A nag? When did I suddenly become a nag for saying the absolute truth?'' 

''Well, first off. Liam has only just turned sixteen. Surely, your rebellion was worse when you were around his age.''

''You know what?'' Rhys stood up with a flare and slammed the piece of Serviette in his hand against the dining table. " keep supporting his bad behavior and we might need to train little Jeremy here to become the Alpha in his place!''

''Rhys, wait...''

The man stormed off in a fit.

But all Coover found himself thinking about was:

"Where the hell is this place?"

________

Hello guys! So I joined the WPC pretty late but do support with power stones if you like the plot. The beginning chapters will likely focus on Coover and how he comes to adapt to his new environment. Also, there will be no more spoilers but I guarantee that this story plot will be truly worth the read.

For now, I can work with 7chapters / weekly updates.

If you want bonus chapters, power stones will determine how motivated I get and how fast I can write.

To top it off, new readers are welcome and if you like to see more of my work, check out my other book, TO LOVE HIM!

Cheers!