"Ah!" I exclaim in surprise as a werewolf toddler jumps onto my back while I'm sitting on the floor.
"Jackson, wait!" I panic as he climbs over my shoulder and prepares himself to launch onto my lap. I try to gently catch him as he continues moving over my shoulder.
We both plummet to the carpeted floor and I make sure Jackson falls onto me instead of the floor.
I sigh in relief when I look down and notice Jackson laying on my stomach while giggling.
"Jackson!" Maggie scolds the young boy from across the room, making him jump up while still in my embrace. He runs off without a thought and I'm left on the floor with my wind knocked out of me.
Another face pops up above me, her long hair tickling my face. The 6-year-old-looking girl offers me a smile and I try to genuinely smile back, but I'm sure the pain is preventing me from doing so.
She waves at me before running off and I groan while pulling myself into a sitting position and notice that Maggie isn't around anymore. Probably back in the kitchen.
What I didn't expect is for her to come running back with a teddy bear tucked under one arm. She stumbles into my arms due to the size of the teddy and I pull her upright into my lap.
She doesn't utter a single word while dolling up the teddy bear and I sag my shoulders and let her do her thing.
The first thing I've realised about these children is that they do whatever pleases them. They crave attention and will stop at nothing to receive some, even if it's a simple embrace or a smile.
I let the little girl do as she pleases as I see Tasia leaving the kitchen. Her strides seem careful as she sneaks past all the children and takes a seat next to me.
"You okay?" I look over my shoulder to tease Tasia as she eyes the way to the kitchen.
"Yeah, I just escaped before Maggie can start suggesting that I wash the dishes," she heaves a dramatic sigh and I can't help but laugh at her predicament, making her playfully glare at the ceiling.
"I'm glad I chose babysitting duty," I confess and Tasia stops glaring to look at me.
"I let you have babysitting duty. I don't think Xavion would be very pleased if you had to clean the kitchen on your first day. Besides, having a connection with the pups will strengthen your bond with the pack," Tasia explains all in one go, giving me new information about the supernatural world.
"I didn't know," I admit out loud, letting silence fall between the two of us as my mind processes the new details.
To think that just plainly being around the children is already creating a bond. I'm not even sure if the rest of the pack will accept me as a human, but before that, I still need to figure out if I even want to be a leader of a whole bunch of people.
And not just any people, werewolves.
The more I spent time with Xavion and everyone else, even if it was just a minute, the more I want to stay here.
Which scares me, to be perfectly honest. I have never developed feelings so quickly with anyone, it usually happens when I'm around animals, hence my job.
And I haven't even started thinking about my job, Python, or even my house. There's so much to think about, yet I'm already bonding with a whole community all at once.
Loud sniffing from Tasia snaps me out of my whirlwind of thoughts. At first, it scared the living daylights out of me, but then I remember wolves' keen sense of smell.
I lean over to Tasia while trying not to disturb the child in my lap and whisper, "Is something wrong?"
"Very wrong," she answers, her eyes growing more serious than I have ever seen before.
She jumps to her feet and checks outside the window. I keep my eyes on her as the children don't notice that Tasia is growing anxious.
The little girl stops playing and puts her teddy bear down, seemingly the only child in the whole room who has noticed the tension. When she removes herself from my embrace, I also take a stand after thanking her and make my way over to the window Tasia looking out of.
The window has a clear view of the forest line but what catches my attention is the stand-off between Xavion with a few recognisable warriors and three men with rough looks. The one in the middle is clearly the leader amongst them as he is directly challenging Xavion's authority by staring him down.
"Who are they?" I ask Tasia in a quiet tone.
"Rogues," she whispers back without looking at me and my eyes grow wide, not expecting her answer.
"They dare?" I voice my thoughts, knowing that if any rogue wolf steps onto another wolf's territory, they're guaranteed a death sentence. They're rogues for a reason, and a pack won't tolerate a criminal with the audacity to try and infiltrate a community.
But by the looks of the current situation, the lack of blood being spilt means that werewolves seem to want to talk it out first.
"That's exactly my question," Tasia's voice is calm yet deadly, making me understand the severity of the situation.
I continue looking out the window with Tasia, hoping a fight doesn't start breaking out when the leader of the trio suddenly puts his gaze on me.
I take a step back in shock, his yellow eyes making me realise that he could be the same wolf that lurked in front of my house the other day. The very one that made Xavion panic, which resulted in an early vacation.
I almost forgot about that.
Xavion whips his head around and notices what the guy is staring at, making his anger flare up. He almost lunges at the man but Royce catches him in time.
Before I can see more, Tasia drags me to the side, away from the window's view.
"I think I know why they're here," she tells me while holding my shoulders in place.
And before she can explain, I speak up, "Me too."