Something is Off

Apryl had Lydia step outside with her so that they could talk further. She didn't mind staying in her wolf form as they spoke since the the hallway into the building blocked much of anyone's view from being able to see them unless they were purposely coming towards the building to enter it.

"Did she say why she doesn't want Brian near her?" Apryl asked once she knew that they talk openly about. Lydia rubbed her left arm as she spoke.

"No, she just said that she doesn't feel comfortable with him coming around the new pups. At least not unless someone else is with him. I'm not sure if it's just an instinctual fear because he's a male that's not from her pack or if there's something more to it."

"Is there something that you're hiding about him?" Apryl then asked with a slightly tilted head. It really was starting to feel like something was being kept from her. Lydia shook her head though.

"He has never done anything unspeakable since we've been together. I can't speak though about where he came from or his pack prior to us being together. I just know he came from somewhere far away from this area. Because of that I doubt that Summer would know him" The response seemed honest enough to Apryl, but it didn't make the feeling go away.

"Keith, the one from college saw him the other day and acted odd about it too. Do they know each other." Lydia pursed her lips for a second as she thought about this, keeping an eye out at the same time to make sure that no one was around since they had been standing outside for a few minutes.

"He didn't know him. He said he used to know a Keith back from his old pack, but that he found out they weren't the same person."

"You would honestly tell me if there is something that I need to know that could be a concern?" Apryl asked again as she fixed her aunt with as sharp of a look that wolf could make.

"I swear, as much as I love him. I wouldn't let him hurt my real family, no matter how long we have been together. Again though, I can't speak for his past. With that in mind, anything could've happened. Back when we had our pups though, he was always great with them and made sure that they were well taken care of."

"I believe, just for now though I guess respect her wish for him to stay away. I will take with Keith tomorrow and see if he knows anything since he was acting odd about him." Apryl replied.

"I know that this situation isn't ideal and I'm sorry things didn't work out the exact way they were supposed." Lydia apologized as she took a step back towards the door.

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize for it. I will just plan on sleeping in here tonight with her and try to talk with my mother about what's going on." Apryl stood up and shook her fur out. She couldn't deny that it felt good to be back in her wolf form after spending such a long time in her human form. She wanted to enjoy it for longer but knew that there were things that she needed to talk care of. She may have been playing on sleeping with her mom that night, but she had homework and reading to take care of before that.

following her aunt back inside, she shifted forms before picking up her clothes change back into them. Coming over to her mom who was now sleeping, she brushed her fingers against the pups soft fur to get them used to her touch. They were still happily eating, oblivious to the fact that there could be any type of danger around them.

"I will come back later." Apryl told everyone as she turned to look at the others. Her wolf siblings had calmed down though they still seemed interested in their new siblings, they weren't being as rowdy. Oreo nodded his head when their eyes met.

"Text me if you need anything. I'll just be inside working on some stuff." She presumed he understood how to text now since he had been able to call her. If not, her mom will be able to tell him how to.

Stepping back outside again she sighed as she fixed her hair so that it didn't look quite so messy. She needed to head back inside and probably talk with Brian about how everything was going. Until she was certain that there was something to worry about outside of her mother's strange behavior, she was going to act as normal around him as possible. She didn't want to risk anything if there was anything to worry about by suddenly acting strange.

Oddly however, Brian was no where to be seen when Apryl stepped inside the house and announced that it was her who was coming. This seemed a bit odd to her, but she didn't think much of it because she wanted to head into her so she could get started on what was due before tomorrow and text Keith.

She closed her bedroom door once she was inside and sat down on the bed with a sigh and flopped back. She didn't like all of the sudden tension she was having to deal with. Especially not when it involved her mother and younger siblings who were in no condition to be defending themselves.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket she texted Keith to him that they really needed to talk tomorrow. knowing that the message she sent came across as rather serious which was her intention, she wasn't surprised that he was quick to text back asking what's going on.

Rather then telling him over text, she decided to opt for saying that she would tell him tomorrow, but that everything was fine as it were. Knowing that she wasn't the only one who had access to her phone made her aware of the fact that she had to be careful about what she said.

The homework that was assigned for this week at least wasn't heavy which meant that it wouldn't take Apryl too long to put it together or at least get all the pieces gathered. After that, she could ask Keith for help in the morning since her aunt would be busy helping her mother now. This shift also probably meant that Apryl was going to have to take over some of the responsibilities that her Summer was helping out with until she had recovered and the pups was completely safe.

Although the thought of extra work sounded overwhelming, she reasoned with herself that they would be good skills to learn for the future when she moved out and was taking care of all that herself. Worse case though if she was lazy, she could just eat the meat out of the package and not worry about preparing it any fancy human kind of way. It was a rather tempting thought that helped her to focus on getting started on what she had to do that would help her to move in that direction. For the time being though, she would help out where she could and encourage her sisters to help her aunt as well. They needed to do more anyways and work on tasks in their human form in order to be able to get ready for college in the fall.