Chapter 56: EJ

It was great to finally meet Dad’s sisters. I knew they were away at school and would be home soon. But when they finally got here, I was not expecting them to hide. It was my idea to throw them a party, but they hid most of the time. Layla introduced herself first. She chatted for a bit and then left. Then Artemus came in. She greeted us and then left.

After they came and introduced themselves, I began mingling with the guests. Dad and Mom went to help in the kitchen. I think Mom was having some cravings. I couldn’t believe I was going to be a big brother. Two more hybrids just like me. We would have so much fun together.

I almost forgot, I am Enoch Josiah Henderson or EJ. I am the first vampire-lycan hybrid. I was born about seven months ago on February second, but I am now fourteen. I am a sophomore at the pack school. I aged pretty quickly. Though now, the older I get the slower I age. I might be fourteen for a while or I could be eighteen by the end of the year. Mom said that half-breeds stop aging at eighteen so I don’t think I will get older than that. This past summer, I fought the moon god, Khenzu. And while we won, we lost a lot of loved ones. Half of my family died the day I killed Khenzu. It was a horrible day. After all the dust settled and things were getting back to normal-ish, we found out that Mom was pregnant with twins. We were all excited. She is due around halloween, based on how long she was pregnant with me, around seventy-two days give or take.

As I mingled with the guests, I saw my aunts go into the library. I was tempted to join them but I didn’t. They just got here and I felt like they might need some time to readjust to being home. Dad said they haven’t been home for seven years. They were away at a year-round boarding school for lycans.

Layla will be turning eighteen in November and will be shifting soon. We still didn’t know when I would shift either. Dad said he shifted when he was thirteen. Most lycans don’t shift until they are eighteen, but alphas shift early.

The party was winding down and my aunts came out of the library with their friends. People had started leaving. The kitchen staff was cleaning up and preparing for dinner. I think those who stayed were also having dinner with us. My aunts went back upstairs. I was a little saddened by this, I thought they would want to hang out with me, at least to get to know their nephew. Mom said not to worry about it. That the girls probably need some time to process everything. I was trying not to take it personally, but it was hard. I wanted to get to know them. There is only so much you can learn about a person when you tour their home, which was also now my home.

At dinner, Artemus sat next to me. She asked a lot of questions trying to get to know me and Mom, but then Dad stopped her. She found a friend and went to sit with her. I didn’t get to ask her anything. I did get to talk with Layla though. She was kind of like Mom. They had the same taste in music and clothes. Mostly punk music and jeans and t-shirts. Layla was funny too. She told some jokes that had everyone laughing. They were mostly dad jokes. One was “There are three polar bears sitting on an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, one jumps off.” I didn’t really get it but everyone laughed so I laughed too. “What do you call a cow that has just given birth? Decaffeinated.” I thought that was funny. “A dog and a piecost are having a race, who wins?” I asked, “What’s a piecost?” She said, “six or seven dollars.” That one was funny, too. I thought a piecost was some kind of animal I hadn’t heard about yet. She told some other good ones, too.

After dinner, Artemus walked her friend home. I went to the game room with Layla. We played all sorts of games. She even taught me a few card games. Then Mom came in and said it was time to shower and go to bed. Such a fun killer, my mom, but not really. School starts soon and she is just trying to get me on some kind of bed time routine. I said good night to Layla and headed upstairs.

I woke up to Dad freaking out. Artemus didn’t come back last night. I guess he didn’t know she had left with Shania. I told him she went to her house and he grumbled something I didn’t understand. He ran out of the house, presumably to Shania’s. I got dressed and went down to breakfast. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausages, omelets, tarts, biscuits, and cream of wheat. It all looked so delicious. I grabbed a plate and a bowl and started serving myself.

Artemus and Shania came in. They sat down at the end of the table. Then Shania got up and grabbed two plates of food for them. After last night, I should have guessed that Artemus doesn’t do a lot of things for herself. Layla made her a plate last night and I heard she had the guys unpack her stuff. I wasn’t sure though if Artemus was just lazy or if she needed people to do things for her, was she special? I didn’t get that feeling from her. Right, Layla said Artemus liked being treated like a princess. I almost forgot. Well I’m not going to indulge her. I think there are things she should do for herself. Also I will talk to Dad about making sure she participates in combat training. I think she really needs it. I can just see her being kidnapped or something and not knowing how to defend herself because she relied too heavily on others doing things for her.