I'll protect you

Apryl finished her homework or at least as much as she could of it rather late that night after she had helped her aunt finish some of the house chores and do what little she could with dinner.

Her mother wasn't much interested in eating after having the pups. She mostly spent her time sleeping or giving them a lot of attention. Apryl felt the consistent urge to go and check to make sure that everyone was okay, but she pushed it back knowing that her sisters were there to help take care of their mom and she had her own stuff that she needed to focus on for the sake of the family.

Brian had come back around dinner, but didn't bother saying what he had been up to and Apryl decided not to ask though she did keep an eye on him during dinner to see if he was acting oddly at all.

She was hoping that once she spoke with Keith the following day he would have some answers for her since she was still under the impression that he knew more about her uncle that he had been willing to tell her. Perhaps expressing her concern for her new siblings and mom would make him more willing to talk than her just asking out of general curiosity.

Otherwise, she wasn't really certain who or what she should turn to or do. Not being financially dependent yet limited her options plus the fact that her mother had just had the pups and it would be unwise to move them or her for at least the next three weeks until their eyes were open and they were old enough to walk. Getting a job was probably going to have to go up on to her higher list of priorities so that she could considering moving out sooner and providing a safer place for her family.

Giving up on doing anything else for the night, she decided to retire to go be with her family. She was going to need some decent sleep for class tomorrow and probably wake up slightly earlier so that she could take care of packing lunch tomorrow since her aunt would likely be preoccupied with helping her cousin out and taking care of all the pups.

Apryl entered the building as quietly as possible since it seemed rather quiet from what she could as though everyone else was already asleep which was a good sign in her opinion. At least she thought that everyone was asleep until she noticed that Oreo still seemed to be awake and on alert. He was back in wolf form though but it didn't look like he had gotten any sleep yet by how alert he looked. Taking off her clothes and shifting back to her wolf form, Apryl moved carefully around her siblings to be closer to Oreo so that she could speak with him.

"I thought that you would be asleep by now already?" She commented sitting down near him. She couldn't miss how nervous he was looking. Being an omega, Oreo had always been a bit more nervous compared to the other males in the pack, but not as much as Timid was. He was always the more solid of the two.

"I can't sleep. I-" He stopped speaking and glanced towards the door. "Something is bothering me and I think that I have finally placed what it is." Oreo confessed, his ears moving to rest flat on his head making him look rather miserable.

"But I need to ask if I can come with you tomorrow to be sure of it." Apryl cocked her head when he said this. Oreo wanted to come to the campus with her in his human form? Could he handle being around that many people?

"First, I need you to explain to me and second, are you sure that you can hold your form long enough to be out around people?" Apryl asked, glancing over to where mother was lying when she heard one of the pups start to fuss. It had apparently rolled away a little ways away from her and was rather displeased about this and was fussing as it attempted to move closer to it's warm mother and siblings.

"I think so. I have been working harder at holding my form since there isn't much else I can do and so far sudden noises and unexpected movement aren't making me shift back even if they do make me nervous. As for your other question.." Oreo trailed off again as he closed his eyes as though he was trying to think about what he wanted to say.

"I think that I might know who Keith is and if I'm correct- I think that it is related to Brian and why Summer would be unhappy about him being around her and the pups right now. I hadn't ever really paid attention to him when he's come in before even though his scent has bothered me. I blew it off though because I haven't seen him do anything to raise any red flags or make me worry when he's been around us or the pups." He explained, glancing over at the door again.

"But it wasn't until Summer said something about not wanting him near her pups and I heard the name "Keith" and how he didn't seem to like Brian that some pieces are maybe being put into place. I can't be sure though until I meet Keith which I need your help to do." He finished looking at her hopefully as he waited to see what she had to say.

"How would you know who Keith is to want to go and speak with him? He's not from around these parts?" Apryl then asked looking for clarification about this. Though she didn't know what pack or area Oreo had come from, she had always been under the impression that he had been from around the area.

"Well, I'm not from around here myself. I actually come a pack that used to live much further out. I'm probably one of the only survivors actually." He explained, his ears pressing even further against his head.

"My pack was one of those who got attacked by hunters because we were sold out. Whether or not they knew we were werewolves I can't say, but they hunted us regardless. Our pack wasn't the only one in the area that had been hunted down and killed like this under similar circumstances. The only thing I remember for sure about it because of how young I was is that there was a rumor about a werewolf by the name of Brian going around and selling out other packs in exchange for goods and protection." Oreo paused for a second after he said this.

"I can't say for sure if this is the same Brian, but there's a part of my mind that believes it is." Apryl was stiff as she tried to process what he had just told her. If this was true though, she would do everything she could to protect her family and move them out as soon as possible.