*Blair Claudette Cavanaugh’s POV*
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“Who placed the cat inside the oven?!!!”
I heard my mate’s angry voice blaring from the house, particularly in the kitchen, and I wondered what hullabaloo had happened in there this time.
The cat? In the oven? That's crazy!
I pulled the fishing line and the bait out of the water and kept the line to the reel of my fishing rod. I looked at the bucket beside me with only one fish swimming in it, which Pryce had fished here in our lake after almost half an hour of us doing this tedious stuff out here. She went to check on the kids, and I suppose there is some fuss going on that needs our special attention… as parents.
“Bradley? Preston? Get in here! This instance! Don’t make me find you, boys!” The mad queen called out, and even me, out here, felt chills in my spine.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to interfere with whatever distress is happening between the three of them now because I know with all my being that she would include ranting on me. Well, that has happened so many times already. Mhmm, she seemed to be watching over three children. That's according to her, alright? I mean… am I…? Never mind.
I better keep fishing out here and pretend that I didn't hear anything. It's No Powers Day today, so she can't blame me for doing anything with my powers or me, hearing anything unusual. I will keep trying so fudging hard here not to catch fish without waiting too long and keep my patience to the lowest level possible until any fish is lured to eat the worm bait.
Oh, I could simply get all of the creatures out from this body of water in just a blink of an eye. But I pledged not to use any form of supernatural ability during weekends because it's been our family tradition for almost ten years now. So I have no other choice but to be an excellent example to the youngsters.
"Blair! Get in here. Quickly!" She called me, and I let out a breath and stood up from the dock, carried the bucket and the things we used, and then I headed to our home.
When I stepped inside the kitchen, I found the twins standing side by side at the sink, bowing their heads down before their mom.
I looked at my wife, and in her hold was the poor Harley, who got covered with ice, and only her head was sticking out.
"Oh, my goodness! What happened? To the cat? Is she still alive? Boys, what is this?" I gasped in horror, and I hurried to Pryce to check on the frozen cat.
"Unfreeze her, and warm her up. Quickly." She ordered and handed me the creature, and I looked at her for a moment.
"With my powers?" I asked her, and she rolled her eyes at me in response and grunted in a bit of frustration. "Of course! How are you supposed to save her life?"
"But it's Sat---" I was about to reason out that it's Saturday, but she cut me off, saying, "It's an emergency, Blair, for the cat's sake! Do it now!"
For a werewolf who had a hard time dealing with cats in the past couple of years, she cares so much about this creature and all other animals she used to hate after her awakening about fifteen years ago.
"Alright. Fine. I'll do it." I agreed and looked at Harley in the eyes, and I saw a small sign of life. Well, with this kind of disaster, I believe she won't reach her ninth life. Death is only her escape.
I concentrated and held the popsicle kitty tightly, and I began melting the ice surrounding the animal's body.
"Get me a towel, Babe," I asked and held the wet cat that kept flinching while trying to escape from my hold.
"Ooh, she must have been shocked… coldly," I muttered and wrapped its body with the cloth Pryce handed me, and I began to warm the cat up with my power of fire.
There was silence after my wife let out a breath of relief and thanked me that the cat was okay.
I slowly turned my head to the culprits' near the sink, and I could see the nervousness on their faces.
I kept staring at them and caught Bradley nudging his brother's left arm, and I focused my gazes on Preston, same as their other mother.
"I wouldn't ask who froze the cat because it is undeniable who did this, Preston. All we want to know is who placed the cat inside the oven with two hundred degrees celsius heat, Bradley." Pryce began and crossed her arms on her chest while eyeing the guilty children.
I checked on the cat in my hold, and when I saw she was good to go, I put her down to the floor.
"No one will talk? Did Harley take your tongues out that made you put her in a cold hell to lament? I believe not. Who... did… who?" My mate continued when no one seemed to voice out what really had happened.
"Come on, kiddos. Tell us. Who baked the cat? Do you want me to use my powers to make you confess? It would be the hard way. I know that you know that it's No Powers Day today, and this horrible matter is not tolerable. Tell while you still can." I joined in while using my stern voice and manner since both hesitated to confide.
"Umm… uh, Mom, Ma… it's uh. It's me. It's me who suggested… to put Harley in the oven. But… of course, Preston was the one who accidentally froze her while we were bathing her. We thought that we could defrost her in the oven since he doesn't know how to unfreeze it himself. Also… It's the weekend, and we know that you both will get mad if you would know that there are powers used… by him. " Bradley finally confessed and pointed to his brother, who vigorously nodded his head to agree.
"Yes, it was an accident. Something unexpected suddenly came into my head, and I never thought that Harley would freeze by the moment I touched the water in the tub." Preston explained, and I looked at my wife to see if she was convinced with what these ten-year-olds were saying.
"I told you that I should be the only one to wash her, Pre." Brad blamed his younger brother, and the boy countered, "It was supposed to be just you, but it was an accident. Do you know what the word accident means? It's not intended, Brad. I had just made contact with water. And you know I still can't control my newly awakened power."
"Hmm, lucky you, you finally got your cool powers. Like, really cold. I'm excited about mine, though. If mine is fire, like Mama, we could be super cool as opposites. But still, it was your fault in the first place why Harley almost died again." Whispered Brad, and Preston glared at him.
Then two kept murmuring things that both I and Pryce could clearly hear. I leaned on the kitchen table to witness them blaming each other and talking about stuff. Hmmm, kids.
"That's enough. Okay. We will let this pass as you had explained that it was just an accident. But… you could have called us and told us that something bad had happened. But anyway, it's already done. So… uh… Now, what should you do after doing such a terrible thing?" Their mom asserted and asked, and I gave the two a look that seemed to say they should apologize.
"We are so sorry, MomMa." They said and looked at us with cute puppy dog faces. Hey, it's me who taught them that, and it's always effective when it comes to their Mommy.
"It won't happen again." Brad continued and nudged his brother.
"Yeah. That won't happen again. Promise. We’ll do our best." Preston said with a bright smile, and I was about to say something when someone suddenly spoke from the living room.
"Hello, everybody! Where is everybody?"
"Aunt Cassie!" The boys yelled in delight, hearing my cousin's voice, and they hurried to the living room.
"Hey, little pups! How are you? Good? I smell something fishy, though." Sander greeted them, and the twins walked back into the kitchen while holding each of their aunt's arms, pulling her.
"Hi, Prycie, Blairie! What's cooking? What are you cooking? How's your fishing date? Are we going to cook some fish as big as a croc for lunch?" My cousin cheerily asked while ruffling the hairs of my kids, and she told them to check the goods in the paper bag she had brought that she placed on the couch.
"It was… fine. Yeah, very fine." I answered and grinned, and my mate chuckled as she knew I never got any. And what we have is only one small fish.
"Heh, let me guess… we are eating no fish now, am I right? No Powers Day? I'm so damn sure as heck that Blairie got nothing again. What a loser!" The newcomer taunted and peeked in the bucket on the kitchen counter, and she began laughing her ass out.
"No. There was an emergency, and we didn't get the chance to get many or a big one. The kids accidentally almost killed Harley… again." Pryce explained, and her best friend seemed surprised to hear the news.
"Killed the cat? How? Why? Is she okay?" She asked and looked at us with wide eyes for a second, and then she called the cat.
"Harley? Come here, kitty, kitty! Miming!"
"We are supposed to have a baked cat for lunch, Sander. Preston froze her, and Bradley suggested putting her in the oven to defrost the cat. A kitty pie, indeed." I uttered and saw my cousin's sickened face, and she covered her mouth as she was about to puke.
"Stop! Oh, gosh! Why would that happen?" She held her stomach and took a deep breath, and my mate rubbed her back.
"Accident. And you know… children. Damn, they are growing so fast." Pryce replied, and I smiled, realizing how quickly the time had passed.
I peeked by the kitchen door to look at what the twins were doing, and I saw they were placing the fruits their aunt had brought on the tray on the tabletop in the dining room.
"Yeah, so damn fast. Hmm. First, my Carson got her Ph.D., and now my dear Allan has a boyfriend. He finally found his mate. Yes, he's gay. And it's such big news I want you to know! I’m telling you now! And he found out that his mate was a jerk. If we all agree… no, I know you do. The lad thinks he's the coolest dude in their pack, even if he's just the son of the Beta, and he’s a troublemaker in their university. Then yes, a jerk, indeed." Sander said and laughed at her son's ordeal.
"Well, that's great news, Sander! He's a smart boy. He can handle that prick. And if he can't… just tell us, and we'd be the ones to give him what he's looking for. We'll teach him a lesson he'll never forget." I roared while cracking my knuckles and stopped when my wife shot me a sharp glare.
But Sander kept laughing and agreed, "Of course! Ali and Carrie already threatened him secretly that he would never see the sun again once he would hurt our only man. He wouldn't want me to turn him into a goat once he messes up with us."
"Mmm. He's going to go through a lot for sure to prove he can finally be part of our family." Pryce asserted and smirked, and I couldn't agree more.
"Yeah! But anyway, about the twins, girls. Is their summer training with me this coming Monday good to go? Are they ready? Well, I already talked to Carrie to have a one-on-one session with them for their basic werewolf lessons at the Main Camp every Thursday and Friday. She’s cool with it." My cousin asked and looked at us.
"Uh, yes. Yeah. They… they are ready. They will be. It's just that… umm, Bradley still has no signs of any supernatural abilities yet." Pryce answered and whispered, and I know she's worried, too, about him, same as I do. Unlike Preston, who can now control the element water and do telekinesis as a young warlock and can hear like a werewolf or a vampire already, Brad… he still has an aura of purely human. Nothing unusual.
"Oh, it'll show up soon. Don't worry. That's why both must undergo training while they are still at a young age. Vampire lessons from you, Blairie, with your dad; werewolf lessons from Carson and Prycie; and witch from me and Aunt Claudia. The boys will be fine for sure." My cousin affirmed as she went to the fridge to check whatever food we could cook for lunch.
She's right. We need to equip them while they are still young so that when the time comes that we would need to let them go to a regular school with human students, they will be prepared, self-disciplined, and well-oriented.
Our academy is a whole different setup than the supernatural society, even though other students aren't really humans there. They both need to control their abilities first and learn so many things here at home.
"By the way… one more thing. Here, I got this one in the mail this morning. This is for you, Prycie. Duty calls, Your Majesty. We also got one." Sander uttered as she took something from her jacket's left pocket and handed it to my wife.