My grandfather had always been a reclusive man, he would never talk about his past and would, at times, even kick out family members that asked too many questions. The elderly man lived in a run-down house that was on the smaller side, it was rustic and would creak in protest whenever someone stepped onto the porch or into the kitchen. It was a surprise that it wasn't built in a forest or somewhere else secluded.

Still, grandfather loved to invite me and my younger brother over and spend time with us. He would tell stories about adventures, dragons, and battles. They were all just fantasies, but they created such a vivid picture in our minds that we would dream about them almost every night.

I was only nine around that time he died, recently diagnosed with anxiety and full of nerves, and my brother was just a year younger, also just recently diagnosed with an impulsive disorder.

I could hardly sit still; my neck prickled as if someone was watching me, sitting in between their parents, and observing my surroundings. The will reading was set inside of our grandfather's office, an old, musty smelling, and wooden interior decorated the place. It was hardly my brother's and I's first time there; we were always able to get away with more since our family hardly ever nagged our grandfather. My parents were perfectly content with their lives and were just the same at letting Albert Howle live his.

My family wasn't the only ones invited, though, there were some aunts, uncles, and cousins that we've hardly interacted with and would look down on us for something or another; but there was also a group of people that I had never seen before.

Two men and two women, they all had greying hair and wrinkles, which put them somewhere around my grandfather's age. They had tears in their eyes and mournful expressions, making them seemingly close with grandpa Al. One of the women was taller, with long hair that was pulled into a loose bun; the other had shorter hair, and a dark veil covering her face. The men were both on the taller side, with one of them being more muscular and the other looking around curiously.

Suddenly, curious dark green eyes landed on me, and I was filled with an unnerving amount of dread.

I sucked in a small breath and shifted closer to my parents, swiftly turning my head and staring at the ground. They had made eye-contact, and I could only hope that didn't mean that they would come over and make conversation.

"Excuse me," A gentle, but firm male voice breached through the anxious rambling of my mind and dashing all my current hopes and dreams away, "May I ask how you knew Albert?"

It was a ridiculous question. One that should've been directed at him instead of my family.

My mother turned to greet the stranger, a soft hand patting my and Ian's shoulder in comfort. "Oh! I'm his daughter, well, one of them anyways. My name is Lorrianne, my husband Isaac, and my sons Alex and Ian." Their mother motioned to them before turning back to the green-eyed man, "Were you one of my father's friends?"

My mother was always seen as the sort of spokesperson for our family, going out of her way to be the first one to break any sort of awkward silences due to none of us talking. That didn't mean that their father didn't do his fair-share of it every so often, he just preferred to pretend he hadn't heard them speak in the first place. He was too used to dealing with people that made him wish his ears were bleeding so he could cut the meeting short.

I scooted closer to our father, away from the stranger. His eyes felt as if they were staring straight through me, his glasses glinted with one of the rays of sunlight that peaked through the window, and I nearly choked as I saw the man's eyes fill with amber and his pupils thin; however, the next second they returned to normal as if nothing happened.

Ian squeezed closer to me, and I could tell that he saw the same thing I had.

"Alex," The man rolled the name off his tongue, as a smile of recognition graced his face while he crouched down to eye-level, "Al spoke about you often. You look very much like he did when he was younger, but he had blonde hair instead of black and his eyes were more green than blue."

I backed away further, pressing into his father's side. Shivers traversed down my back and sweat prickled against my skin. I had looked nothing like our grandfather, it was well known that I didn't look like any of my family members. Ian looked far more like our grandfather, a near copy of him, and it was odd that grandfather's supposed friend didn't mention that instead.

My eyes landed on any vulnerable spot that my brain could think of—any sort of area that would allow me to win if grandfather's 'friend' decided to try anything. This man's eyes were filled with ghosts, ghosts and dark pits. It left my throat feeling tight.

"Kyle, its time." One of the women interrupted, gesturing to the lawyer who was clearing his throat.

The man, Kyle, nodded and gave a last smile toward me before leaving.

"Ahem," The lawyer cleared his throat for the final time in emphasis as everyone situated themselves, looking as pale and sweaty as someone who was being interrogated on television. "Regarding Mr. Howle's estate, he wished for me to read a letter before we signed over anything to the inheritors."

The lawyer shifted, tapping a stack of paper against his desk to neaten the pile; "If this is being read, I've finally kicked the bucket. My time was nearing, I could feel it long before any doctor said anything. I've lived a long life, built myself a family, a home, and a fortune, so there's not much regret left behind. However, one of the few things I am disappointed by is the behavior of some of my children. Greedy bastards who came crying to me whenever you pissed your pants about something."

The lawyer ran a cloth over his balding head, wiping up his sweat and releasing a meek chuckle as one of our aunts gasped in indignation.

If I had been him, I would be sweating bullets as well. Grandpa Al rarely ever stopped his insults with something that tame, no matter who he was talking about. It caused our mom great stress whenever we came home cussing up a storm like sailors who had just lost their wives to the Fae.

It wasn't worth the scolding all three of us got from her, no matter how much grandfather claimed that he hadn't been scared.

Lying old geezer.

"I regret whatever choices I made that had you turn out like that. Lorianne, know that I don't speak of your family when I mention this, you were always a smart girl, you handled your problems yourself and rarely asked me for anything. Sometimes I wish you grew up a little more spoiled, but then I look at your siblings and I'm glad you became so independent. I do feel the urge to reward and spoil you in some way, but I know you'd never accept that. Which is why, except for some small trinkets for my dearest friends Kyle, Able, Hannah, and Jane, I leave everything to your sons, Alexander and Ian. Set them up with a college fund or something with the money, or even invest in something with that investor husband of yours and amass them a fortune. My only wish is that once they enter high school, they enter the one is used to attend. They'll do great there. All my love and spite, Albert Howle."

Silence filled the room once the lawyer was finished with reading. Our aunts and uncles were agape with shock and rage, and their mother held onto their father's hand tightly, blinking rapidly as her mind struggled to comprehend the words she'd heard.

She never really held onto our grandpa's hands when trying to cross streets, figuratively speaking of course, she just always reached for the stars with her own two hands. That's what Grandpa Al always said, anyways.

Their father's shoulder shook in silent laughter as he supported his wife, amusement clouding his dark eyes. He always did share grandfather's humor, even though they weren't related by blood. Ian merely looked around, unimpressed as their family became the subject of everyone's thoughts. His green eyes, much lighter and more like their grandfather, scanned their surroundings as he stood guard in front of them.

"This is ridiculous! Were we invited just to be humiliated like this!?"

Most likely, yes. Grandpa always had a twisted sense of humor.

The lawyer ignored their aunt's shouting, focusing his sight on the young boys, "In addition to the money and property, Mr. Howle left an important item to be received by Alexander Kai Howle that has no relation to any other inheritance. Therefore, even if the estates were rejected, you would still be given this. The only request for this was that once it no longer helps, that it be given to its rightful owner."

Their aunt, a boney and tall woman with thin hair that was pulled into a tight bun, finally had enough and slammed her hands against the desk. "Stop ignoring me!"

A low rumble resounded in the room, nearly shaking the chair that I was sitting on, but sounding loudest from the four strangers. The tall woman elbowed Kyle, "Forgive my friend's stomach, we skipped lunch before coming here. Please, don't disrespect our friend with such a scene, however."

I felt my stomach twist as the woman's eyes gleamed, changing much like Kyle's did earlier. Instead of the amber, it was like a dark void took over the blue ocean.

"Hannah..." The shorter girl whispered, gesturing to me.

Hannah seemed to calm herself, and her eyes returned to normal once again.

Ian leaned against me, whispering in my ear; "They don't smell right."

Four heads swirled around and locked on the two of us.

I pressed my lips together, clenching my hand around his. Our parents or any other adult hadn't mentioned a single thing about them. They either hadn't noticed, or it was simply natural; either way, I didn't like how they seemed to focus more on my little brother after he spoke.

"Right," The lawyer pressed his cloth to his head, reaching into a bag and pulling out a small box. It reminded me of the boxes people would propose with, only slightly bigger. "Would you like to accept this item?"

I felt an indescribable tug as I stared at the box. I needed to get my eyes checked once all of this was over, as the crack seemed to glow in beckoning. I stepped forward, feeling like time stood still and the wind became stagnant. I could almost hear a whisper in my ear, telling me to take the box, to open it; and the hairs on my arms stood as I felt a chill hover over me.

Ian leaned forward with me, sniffing at the air and tilting his head, before glancing at me and leaning back.

My hand finally reached over to grab the item, my fingers sliding over the black, glazed wood as the world around me faded into the background. The box opened with a click, revealing a silver, chained necklace with an emerald eyed-wolf pendant and the whisper finally settled into two words, as clear as day.

"Protect him."

I couldn't remember much after that, but I did remember looking at the group of four before me and my family left. They all bore an expectant and proud grin as they gazed at me, wearing silver necklaces with different animals for pendants. A fox, a tiger, a swan, and a rabbit.