When it struck 8am the next day, Polly and Norman escorted Serra to the central ground where the rest of the pack hunters were waiting.
It had been drizzling non-stop since 6:30, a soothing pitter-patter echoing within the land's backdrop, and Polly had no intention of getting out of bed. However, her brother had other plans, because he had invaded her privacy and raised her bed with his strength, making her roll off till she met the ground with a light thud.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead, we're going hunting." He declared, and Polly wanted nothing more at that moment but to slam him to the ground. Of course, she'd lose, every single fight they've had since they were children, he always won. A good brother should let their sister win, that was the rule, but her own brother probably malfunctioned in their mother's womb.
"I swear to God I hate you for this." Polly didn't bother to freshen up since they were going hunting. She brushed her teeth, did other morning procedures and proceeded to change her clothes in the bathroom before stepping out in her raincoat.
She gave her brother the middle finger while he rearranged her bed for her.
Norman masked his satisfaction with a frown and simply defended himself, "listen, you begged me to stay here, and I listened. That Serra girl won't stop bugging me about this hunting she wants us to join her in, and she's starting to get in my head. If I'm staying here, I think it's only fair I drag you with me on this hunt. Plus, it's an outdoor recreational activity."
"You know I hate the outdoors, you're ruining my sleep for fun." Polly picked one of her pillows and couldn't help but smack him with it. She hates mornings, and her mood in the morning was always something else. Her brother was very much aware of this, yet he derives joy from picking on her.
"Hey, Polly, stop! Stop!" Norman playfully tried to get her to cut it out, but his sister was more stubborn than a mule. He knew she wouldn't listen, and so in defense, he wrapped an arm slightly around her neck, as though he wanted to bring her into some sort of choke slam, and only then did she freeze. It was his killer move each time she started to get too wild again.
"I said stop." He repeated, and his sister glared at him.
"You're a bully."
"And who started this fight?"
"You know I'm older than you, right? You can't do this to me."
"Yeah right, by four seconds." Norman teased before rubbing his fist into her hair, and he released the scaredy-cat. She wasn't going to attack him further since she was adjusting the hoodie of her raincoat, and Norman sauntered towards the door before whispering.
"I'll shoot an arrow through your window if you don't come downstairs in three minutes." He emphasized by raising his three fingers, then he exited her room, just in time to miss the pillow she sent flying his way.
Eventually, Polly met them downstairs, and they left the house after letting Malcolm in on where they were going.
Everyone was wide awake, and the same curious stares were fixed on the twins as Serra led them through the earthly path. The smell of boiling stew lingered heavily in the air, and Polly could guess which house was preparing such a mouth-watering meal.
"Don't they ever get tired of staring?" Norman uttered in a 'what can I do to make them stop' kind of whisper, and he grabbed his bottom lip using his teeth.
He was intimidated by that scrutiny, but that didn't mean he was comfortable having several eyes follow him like he was some kind of exhibit in a zoo.
He despised the attention.
Serra waved at one of the passersby and said, "it is very rare to have visitors in our pack. The guards on patrol would have never let you in if they were in their station yesterday. Your faces are new, and you two are quite the catch around here, so it's normal for them to stare, but very soon, an announcement will be made, and everyone will be aware of who you two really are."
She adjusted her bow and arrow before turning around to face Polly. "In the meantime, we're going hunting. You know, my father has been doing a lot to keep the pack in check, and we have assigned a temporary beta, for now, until your brother here becomes an Alpha and appoints a beta for the pack." She winked at Norman playfully, and the man rolled his eyes.
"So what is a beta?"
"Ah, a beta takes care of the pack when the Alpha isn't available." Serra walked backwards as she explained, "he oversees the pack business, and contributes a lot. Our pack isn't as large as it was before, so we don't have any gamma around here. I'll introduce you to the beta when we get to the central ground. I'm excited you both agreed to come with me for hunting."
Polly smiled faintly at Serra's beaming smile, but made no comments on that.
Her initial plan was to pass the idea. The drizzling was yet to stop, and such weather was perfect for sleeping, not hunting. She'd make herself some hot cocoa and relax near the window while indulging in some novel— that sounded more relaxing than hunting to her.
But, the fish stick standing beside her had dragged her into this, and it was quite obvious he knew she was thinking about him, cause her brother was looking her way with a teasing smirk.
When they made it to the central ground, Polly and Norman were awed by the amount of people going hunting. Some didn't even bother to wear a raincoat, and before their eyes, they watched as one of the hunters shifted into a slightly bigger wolf.
"Holy Mary Mother of Neptune." Norman staggered back in disbelief, while Polly was rooted at her spot. Her mouth formed an 'O' and Serra had to snap her fingers at their faces in order to bring them back to reality.
"You two okay?"
"No we're fucking not!" Norman didn't hesitate to admit, "that dude just turned into a fucking wolf right before our eyes! How do you expect us to be okay?"
Serra blinked, as though she still wasn't able to grasp what the problem was. Such scenes are normal to her, and she lacked the ability to understand the situation from his point of view. However, Norman's unrestrained panic had gained them some attention, and the gray wolf immediately shifted back to his human form, except he was stark naked since his clothes had been ripped during transformation.
Norman instinctively covered his sister's eyes, and the eyes of the startled Serra.
Norman's hardened glare on the figure made the man quickly put on some cloth. He had arranged for some of his outfit before doing the transformation, and the way those intimidating eyes told him to put something on had him rushing to wear his clothes.
"You were planning to go hunting with all these men?" Norman looked at Serra who shrugged, as if telling him it wasn't much of a big deal around here. He had been highly skeptical regarding the conversation last night, but what he just witnessed a second ago made him think otherwise.
"Polly, Norman, meet Blake." Serra introduced them to the handsome individual who was now fully clothed. "He is the beta of our pack. Blake, meet Polly and Norman. They are Alpha Bernard's offsprings."
Blake's sea-blue eyes held a flicker of amusement, and he greeted, "I've always wanted to meet the Alpha's twins, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Moving towards Polly, he held her hand and pecked her knuckles like a gentleman. "And you must be the daughter who was gifted with a... Ah, there were rumors that a new beauty showed up in our pack yesterday. It Is true as it comes, your beauty is more than I—"
"She appreciates the compliment." Norman protectively pulled his sister to his side, giving her no chance to respond to Blake. The man in front of him was a handsome blondie, with striking blue eyes that would melt even the iciest hearts. He was definitely a heartbreaker, it was obvious except to the blind, and Norman would hate to watch his sister get used again.