The walls of Kendra's home were indigo, the windows large and decorated with beautiful lace curtains behind them. Azure shutters made the house look like it was supposed to be stationed at the seaside. At least, it was what I imagined sea-houses to look like. 

I bet they were as beautiful as this one was.

It looked so much more like a home than mine did and—and more importantly—felt like one too.

"Kendra," I called, fully aware of the fact that everyone inside heard me. When the sound of heavy footsteps carried down the wooden stairs, I mentally prepared myself for the next few moments.

As the blue house-door opened and Kendra's dad came into view, his wrinkled face lit up with a genuine smile. Stepping into his outstretched arms, I accepted his warm embrace. His long beard, streaked with grey hair, tickled my throat when it came into contact with my skin. 

This was why more preparation would have been helpful—hugs. And there were a lot more to come.

"Nice to see you, Feels," James Denn said, a dorky grin forming on his plump lips as he let go of me. I smiled up at him in return.

"You too, James. Kendra upstairs?"

At his confirmative nod, I excused myself and went to greet the rest of the family in the living room. Cynthia, one of the Denn twins, jumped off of a satin, indigo couch and ran up to me, squeaking.

"Feels, you're here! You're here!" she screeched, wrapping her arms around my neck. I picked her little frame up into my arms.

The famous dark Denn curls bounced into my face while her thin arms almost choked the life out of me. 

I looked at Cynthia with wide eyes. "You little beast, how strong did you grow these past few days?"

"Very!" she squealed, squeezing even tighter. 

For a few moments I actually struggled to breathe.

My face must have been flaming red when she finally loosened her death grip. Little younglings in transition experienced such a shift in strength and velocity, it couldn't even be compared to the abilities of an elder. 

It would weaken after the first shift, but it was always at its highest point shortly before. 

Five-to-six-year-olds were more dangerous than a twenty-year-old warrior, the third in command in a pack. The only shifter stronger than transitioning younglings was the leader, our alpha.

"Papa says that Lauren and I will change for the first time by next winter!" Excited and bubbly as she was, her emotions latched onto me quickly.

Lauren peeked out from the corner leading to the kitchen and showed me a row of tiny, chocolate-covered teeth. It looked horrible and I refrained from scrunching up my nose. I nearly let out a snort of laughter, trying hard to keep it in. 

Little two-year-old Daniel did the same but hid back in the kitchen as soon as he saw me.

"Hello, Feels," she greeted, a lot less bubbly than her sister. Nonetheless, she still came over and reached out for me to pick her up.

I bent down and released Cynthia, embracing the second twin and enjoyed the third hug from today.

"You also as strong as your sister?" I asked her, placing a hand on the back of her head and closing my eyes, breathing through deeply. There was something about holding a child that soothed me.

Lauren chuckled. "Yes, but I won't show you since Cynthia already almost killed you."

I sunk back onto my knees and let her stand on her own. Examining the two six-year-olds, I started wishing they were my siblings too. Younglings were so playful and cheery and innocent. Reece was usually protective, serious and level-headed. 

Emmet...well, he was mostly diplomatic and knew everything. Having siblings one could still teach, show what nice things the world had to offer... I imagined it took the edge off. 

Made life a little less serious.

I smiled. "Well, that's very kind of you darling."

Kendra's mother, Kristina, exited the kitchen then. She stood in the frame of the open door, her hands propped on her hips. She was wearing a pink apron with four hand-prints across the stomach. 

Her dark, curled hair had flour stains all over it, as did her clothes. Looking at her, standing there with a huge smile plastered over her face, I had to smile back. 

She was a complete mess. 

In a way, so was I, but in that moment, nothing mattered.

"Hello, Catherine!"

Kristina was the spitting image of her eldest daughter. Kendra's mother pulled me into a brief embrace when she moved from the frame towards me. Once she let go, she wrapped her fingers around my upper arms, studying my face with an expression of pride in hers. 

My heart contracted at the pureness of the emotion as it flowed into me, colouring my entire ocean a warm, purple glowing gold. 

Just like the colour itself already indicated, it felt like silk against the essence of my soul, caressing it with a genuine warmth I knew only barely. Closing my eyes, I tried not to lose myself in it.

"You've turned into such a beautiful young woman, you know that?" Still looking at me, she pushed a strand of my hair behind my left ear.

It took me a lot of control not to let the purple-golden emotion of pride overwhelm me when she touched my cheek, but I managed to keep it together. I wasn't going to spill any tears today.

Kristina Denn had always been more of a mother to me than my own. Thinking that very thought, a pinch of regret crackled through me and tugged at my heart. 

I still loved my mother. 

Being looked at like this, feeling like this made me think things I didn't want to think. Wishing for things I didn't have. Things that would never change...

"Thank you, Kris. I'm not quite a woman yet, though," I blushed with a wide, dorky smile still stuck to my face. 

I didn't think I had ever smiled this long in a single day. What was wrong with me?

I think it's actually starting to hurt.

She clapped her hands excitedly. "You will be in a few weeks!" She threw her arms into the air, more dramatic than usual. "We'll throw a huge gathering in the backyard! Kendra wanted to make it a surprise, but I'm terrible at keeping secrets like that!"

"Mom! I told you not to tell her!" Kendra's voice shouted from upstairs instantly, making my ears bleed at the volume. Kendra's mom chuckled, rolling her hazel eyes.

Judging by the lack of a reaction from Kristina, she was used to everyone screaming through the house. All I was used to was silence, except for the occasional creak in the wooden floorboards of our old house. Unless my brothers were around—which they weren't that often. 

It was one of many downsides of being an alpha beneath the order of the council—Reece was constantly running errands, attending meetings that led nowhere. 

Emmet, on the other hand, spent his time in one of the few useful human-created places: the library.

"I know. But I had to," she excused herself, still laughing and winking at me at the same time. 

I was touched and genuinely happy.

Kris disappeared back into the kitchen with the twins trotting after her, giggling and whispering things in each other's ears.

Finally, I jogged up the blue carpeted stairs—blue was clearly Kristina's favourite colour—and joined an annoyed Kendra sitting on her bed. She wrote something into a little leather-bound booklet. I took the short moment to survey her room. It looked just as horrible as I found it last time I was here.

The one and only thing I would ever change about my Maecena was her choice in fashion and in style. 

Her entire room looked like some mystical creature had thrown up in it: everything was either in pink or white and it glittered.

"I hate my mother sometimes," she muttered as she finished up her sentence and threw the diary aside, steering her attention towards me. 

"It was supposed to be a surprise!"

Chapter Question: So Kendra's family is quite the contrast to Catherine's. What did you think of Catherine's reaction to them? 

Reader Question: What's your comfort food, if you have one? 

Funny enough I don't actually have a comfort food. I get the munchies when I'm on my period and eat -everything-. Otherwise I try to eat healthy. Whenever I'm not feeling well, I just drink a cup of tea, lol. And I'm not British!