Whoopsie Daisy

by C. Sunrise

  He asks me more about Kace and Blaze and their backgrounds. I tell him what I know, which I realize as I’m talking isn’t much at all. I explain that they have been training me and that they seem experienced at training. Papa perks up when I mention Hunters, and then a wave of sadness washes over their faces.

  “Do you remember what happened to Papa’s parents?” Momma asks me as she gently squeezes Papa’s thigh.

  “Yeah, they were killed in a hunting accident,” I reply, and realization hits me. They weren’t killed in a normal hunting accident; they were killed hunting… as Hunters. Someone murdered them.

  Papa forces a small grin as he looks at me, knowing I’ve put the pieces together.

  “What really happened, Papa?” His jaw briefly clenches at my question. “Does that have anything to do with us hiding and keeping our secret hidden?”

  Papa sighs and tells me the real story about how his family was killed. Papa’s family is the last of the purebred wolves—the strongest and most powerful of all Primes. Although, few people knew they were purebred Primes as they pretended to be from a line that mixed with huskies. Papa differed from his brothers, who would often go hunting with his father while Papa would spend his time reading and learning things. His family thought he was weak, even though he was in phenomenal physical shape, especially compared to other shifters, and could fight just as well as his older brothers. So, his family introduced him to the world as being a distant relative who they adopted instead of being one of their own.

  Being the strongest Primes also made them the ones who controlled the Hunters. Meaning they controlled the world’s most powerful army. This made some people jealous, which in most cases became nothing more than a minor annoyance. However, there was one particular Prime who lusted for their power. He was young and very strong, not as strong as Papa’s family though as he was from one of the Prime families with mixed genes.

  This man thought shifters should rule the world instead of hiding in the shadows. He was sneaky and hid his true intentions from Papa’s family, befriending them and building their trust. One day, they went out together to stop a group of rogues that had gone feral and almost exposed the shifter race to humans. The other Prime, his young son, and his nephew were the only ones who returned from that hunting trip. Being one of the next strongest Prime families, he took control of the Hunters—getting exactly what he wanted.

  “I met this man twice,” Papa says, barely holding back his anger. Power is radiating from his body; power beyond what I had ever felt before. “He was a disgusting, vile excuse for a person. I always felt bad for his son, who looked like he was desperate for his father’s approval—something I’m sure he would never receive no matter how hard he tried. I heard several years ago that this man was killed in an accident and his brother ended up taking over the Hunters.”

  My heart races in fear of what Papa will say next. Even Momma seems interested in where Papa’s story is going.

  “I didn’t recognize it at first, but now it’s all falling into place.” Papa pauses, with a pained look on his face. “The Black family killed my family because they wanted to be the strongest and most powerful Primes in existence.”

  You could hear my heart shatter from the other side of the world. The Black family. Kace Black. Kace is the nephew. Blaze is the son. They were there when Papa’s family was murdered. This must be what they meant when they said Kace’s parents took over Blaze’s dad’s business; they took over the Hunters. The horrible father that Blaze described is the same man who forced my family into hiding.

  Everything is spinning. My thoughts are all over the place. Momma rushes over to my side and pulls me into a hug.

  “You don’t think that’s why-” Momma begins.

  “No, I looked into Kace and Blaze and as far as I can tell they’re nothing like Blaze’s father. Kace’s parents seem to be good people and raised those boys well.” Papa says, knowing what Momma and I are thinking.

  He walks over and sits on the other side of me on the couch. He grabs my hand and squeezes it, sending a wave of calm throughout my body. “Pup, I’ve met Kace, and I’ve heard how you talk about both of them. They seem to be good guys and they treat you good, which is what matters most to me. Besides, if they wanted to do something, they would’ve done it while we were away. Not when we’re all together. Think about it. I could probably take them on myself, but with you and Momma at my side, they wouldn’t stand a chance. We also have Bel and Percy on our side too, and I’ve groomed them to be quite the protectors.”

  I stare down at my hand in Papa’s, while Momma strokes my hair. What Papa said makes sense, and there were no red flags with the boys. They’re fairly secretive and aren’t very forthcoming with details about their work and their background, but that isn’t reason to believe they’re here to kill me and my family.

  Is it?

  Kace and Blaze express disgust and contempt when they speak of Blaze’s father. Maybe they don’t enjoy talking about their work and their past because they’re ashamed of or traumatized from witnessing Papa’s family being murdered when they were just kids. Maybe they were forced to take part.

  The more I think about the Kace and Blaze I know, the less I think they’re anything like Blaze’s father. The only way I will find out their side of the story is if I ask them. But how can I ask them without giving away our identity? I need to think this over before I probe them for answers.

  I sit with Momma and Papa for a while longer. Papa explains that his family name isn’t really Daisy. They created fake names for us when they came to Canada, so we would be safe from the Black family and from Momma’s crazy family should they try to track her down.

  The more we talk about family, the more I appreciate our small family. Seems like the more relatives you have, the more nonsense you have to deal with. Suddenly my parents keeping secrets from me doesn’t sound like that big of a deal. There are much worse things they could have done to me.

  As the day carries on, our conversation lightens up. We all agree that we’ll keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and always keep in touch with each other, especially if I’m planning on going back to my place soon. By the end of the night, we’re all laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

  The next few days go off without a hitch. Work goes well. Kace, Blaze, and crew come over every day to work on more training. My parents both seem to approve of my new friends and welcome them to our home with open arms. Momma tells me to keep my other beast a secret for now, mostly because cats and dogs don’t always get along and that could cause some issues with my group of friends for obvious reasons. Papa continues researching my condition, hoping this has happened to someone else before. Percy is still away working, but we talk on the phone a couple of times and things appear to be back to normal between us.

  I stay at my parent’s place until the night before the Halloween party and my date with Kace. I know Bel will turn it into a full day of costume planning, hair, make-up, and pre-drinking and it’ll be best to do that closer to town.

  I’m not sure who is more excited about the party, me, or Bel? But I’m definitely looking forward to my date with Kace.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  The day we’ve all been waiting for has arrived. The night of the Halloween party. Fortunately, Kace didn’t think to include picking the costumes if he won our little challenge, although I’m not sure letting Bel pick them was any better. She has less modesty than I do with most things, including dressing up.

  As expected, Bel barges into just as I walk out of the shower. In her hands are two large duffel bags full of stuff. She tosses the bags on my bed and pulls out several costumes and a variety of kits containing every type of makeup and hair products you could dream of for Halloween.

  “Here are your options for tonight,” she says, waving her hand towards three piles on my bed. “Don’t peek at them, just try them on. Then we can pick the best one.”

  “Halloween fashion show coming u
p,” I say with a chuckle as I head into the walk-in closet to change. “Clear the catwalk.”

  The first costume I try on is an angel costume. I’ll admit that I don’t know what angels look like, but I highly doubt they wear dresses like the one that came with this costume. The dress flares out nicely, but it is so short that my bum cheeks show when I’m standing straight up and there isn’t a bra on this planet that wouldn’t stick out of the top of this dress. Although the wings on this costume are kind of fun.

  “Jesus, Bel.” I grimace as I strut across the room and do a twirl. “A hair tie would cover more skin than this dress.”

  “Yeah, but you look hawt.” She whistles and howls a few times, causing me to laugh as I walk back into the closet.

  The next costume is some sort of devil costume. A kinky devil costume. Not the kind you would buy at a department store, like Walmart, but one that you would find in a specialty shop. The dress suffers from the same problems as the angel dress, except it is also skin-tight and semi-see through if you bend over at all. The high heel shoes with this costume are pure evil.

  “Did you buy this at a sex shop?” I ask, twisting around in front of the mirror and bending over to test its flexibility before grabbing the accompanying devil pitchfork and walking into my bedroom.

  “Does it matter?” Rebel asks with a shrug. I throw the pitchfork at her and she bats it out of the air as she stifles a laugh.

  Third time’s a charm, right? I think as I head back into the closet with the last costume.

  The green costume confuses me at first. There’s a sparkly green dress, which is still a fairly small, sexy, strapless dress but looks like it would be the least likely of the three to result in getting arrested for indecent exposure. It reminds me of a dress Tinkerbell would wear. There’s also a piece of nylon with what appears to be a tattoo drawn on it. I look closely at the design, and it looks like a bunch of scales twisting around the nylon. There’s also a set of green, tetradactyl-looking wings. I put the costume on and stand in front of the mirror to figure out what this costume is.

  “Roar!” I shout as I lunge into the bedroom and stomp towards Bel.

  She laughs and slaps her thighs.

  “As much as I would love to see you walking around in an edible costume,” Bel says, nodding towards the devil costume. “This one definitely suits you more. And you make dragons look sexy.” She winks at me, and we laugh.

  “Yes, this one is definitely the winner,” I say, striking a few poses.

  I get dressed into my lounge clothes and spend the rest of the afternoon talking. We also give ourselves mini at-home manicures and pedicures, including painting our fingernails and toenails to match our costumes. Bel hasn’t let me see her costume and refuses to tell me, but her choice of multicoloured nail polish has me very curious.

  We have a light snack in the late afternoon since we won’t be heading out with our boys until seven. Kace arranged for the four of us to have dinner together at the restaurant at the resort. After that, we’ll check out the fairgrounds for a bit and then head over to the Halloween party at The Den.

  Jay shows up at the house at five but leaves Bel and I to get ready while he has a “power nap” in Bel’s bedroom. Apparently, he and Kace had a late night working last night, and he wasn’t able to get a good sleep.

  Bel and I take almost two hours to do our hair and makeup. If being a resort manager doesn’t work for Bel, she would definitely have a career waiting for her in the beauty industry. The way she used a mixture of coloured glitter and costume makeup to create translucent, shimmering scales on my face and upper body is mind-blowing. She also gave me some contacts that look like dragon’s eyes and tamed my hair, giving it a medieval princess style.

  Once we are both all dolled up, Bel excuses herself to go get Jay, taking the second duffle bag with her.

  Moments later, Bel reappears in my room with Jay close behind. She’s dressed in a bright rainbow coloured tutu, fluorescent pink crop top, and a big, fluffy bright rainbow coloured pair of leg warmers. Jay’s wearing the same leg warmers and a pair of tight, bright, rainbow coloured boxers, with a little bright rainbow coloured bow tie. I can safely say this was by far the best thing I’ve ever seen, and it’s yet another example of why these two are perfect for each other.

  “You’ll make my girl jealous if you keep gawking at me like that,” Jay says and winks at me.

  “Sorry, bub, but she’s gawking at me,” Bel replies and looks at me seductively.

  “She’s right, Jay, you should see the things that go on when you’re not around.” I bite my lip and then blow a kiss at Bel.

  Jay stands there with a goofy grin on his face, frozen in place.

  “Well, I think we broke him,” I say, and Bel and I laugh.

  “He’ll probably be like that for a while, so we might as well go downstairs and get our jackets on.” Bel shakes her head, then turns and walks out the door.

  She was right. We just finished getting our jackets on when Jay joins us. He walks over and grabs Bel, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

  “We will finish that discussion later.” He growls, causing Bel to giggle.

  “Are they even going to let you in the restaurant dressed like that Jay?” I ask, pointing at his shorts.

  He smirks. “Well, I know the owner, so it’ll be fine.”

  “I’m sure they will especially appreciate the extra sock you’re wearing.” Bel points down at the bulge in Jay’s shorts.

  “You know that’s all me baby, no need to stuff anything here.” He wiggles his hips and Bel bites her lip.

  I shake my head and groan. “Seriously? You guys are the worst. Can we pleeeeease get going now, before I vomit.” The both chuckle and we leave the house.

  Minutes later we walk into the main resort building and I immediately scan the lobby for Kace. I find him standing near the entrance to the restaurant chatting with the hostess who seems quite taken by his appearance—and I don’t blame her.

  Kace is dressed like an angel. Unlike the costume Bel brought for me, his makes him look like a true celestial being. A toga wraps around his muscular body, giving hints as to what hides underneath without spoiling the surprise. He has beautiful feathered wings that look like they were stripped from a living creature. The wings have deep gold highlights which match the colour of the halo on his head and the lacy sandals that wind up and around his lower legs.

  This man is no angel; he’s a god!

  It hasn’t even been five minutes and my eyes are already icy blue.

  This is going to be a long night.

  His eyes lock onto mine, and his lips stretch into a smile. He bites his lower lip as he looks me up and down, and I wonder if any of us are going to make it to dinner tonight. We walk over to him, and he immediately places a kiss on my forehead.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispers in my ear before stepping back. Three little words and my cheeks turn bright red.

  “You’re not looking so bad yourself, Mr. Hot Man-Candy,” I wink at Kace, and we all laugh.

  Dinner is amazing. Kace orders us all the special—pasta in a creamy wine sauce followed by lava-cake for dessert. It’s scrumptious and very filling. We enjoy a few drinks after dinner before heading out to the fair.

  Community events are a big deal in our town, and Halloween is no exception. For a smaller town, they do a good job at putting on an event that’s fun for all ages. The early evening is usually full of children and families, and then after nine it shifts to being more for teenagers and adults. This year, because of the warmer weather, they brought in quite a few fair rides, games, booths, and a haunted house. Naturally, the competitive side of me wants to make sure I beat Kace at a game tonight to make up for losing at the lake the other day.

  We bump into the Aze team as soon as we arrive at the fairgrounds. Blaze is looking especially yummy in his handsome devil costume. Unlike Kace, his lack of shirt leaves nothing to the imagination. Kace growls at my side as he catches me s
hamelessly ogling his cousin, my lower lip pinched between my teeth.

  Good thing they can’t hear my thoughts right now about where I’d like to have the devil and angel sitting. Hint: it’s not on my shoulders.

  Craze looks sexy and intimidating in her witch costume; I bet she’ll turn lots of males and females into frogs tonight. Laze looks like he dove headfirst into a bin of costumes.

  “Laze, what are you dressed up as?” I gesture towards his mismatched costume.

  “I was a bad pirate who went to hell for his sins,” he replies, playing the part well. “So now I’m a sexy as hell pirate.”

  Now the grubby clothes, pirate hat, and devil wings make sense. Only Laze would come up with something like this… and make it look good.

  “Okay, but where are your shoes?” I point at his bare feet.

  He shrugs. “I be a poor pirate with not enough gold coins to buy me shoes.” Even passers-by laugh with us.

  We stand there talking for a bit before Blaze excuses himself to “deal with something.” The rest of us pair up and go explore the fair with plans on meeting at The Den at eleven.

  I grab Kace’s hand and immediately drag him over to a water gun game, where you spray water into a clown’s mouth to fill up a balloon. I tell him that not only am I going to win, but I’ll win the cute husky stuffy that is hanging in the booth. He says the loser has to rub the other person’s feet for a week. I accept his challenge, noting that the husky was all the motivation I needed to kick his ass.

  We grab our guns and wait for the sound of the bell before we blast water at our clowns. I hold the lead at first, but Kace pulls ahead. Realising he will most likely win, I turn and aim my gun at him, soaking his chest and face. I take advantage of his distracted state and resume shooting my clown, winning the game. I turn to face Kace and laugh at his dripping wet face, which coincidentally is sporting a raised eyebrow.

  I claim my prize and name my new husky Sir Kapsie. Kace’s inability to figure out the meaning of the name entertains me.