Dinner at my parents\u2019 table was an exercise in endurance. Gabriel was polite\u2014painfully polite\u2014but every compliment he gave was met with one of my parents\u2019 thin smiles or cutting little remarks. I kept my claws sheathed, but just barely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When dessert plates were cleared, my mother folded her hands. \u201cThane, this will be the last overnight guest for a while. We\u2019ve tolerated enough\u2026 disruptions to the household.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A low growl rumbled in my throat before I could stop it. Gabriel stiffened beside me. My father\u2019s gaze sharpened in silent warning, and I forced the sound down. \u201cUnderstood,\u201d I said through my teeth. They were the alphas here, whether I liked it or not. And in their den, that meant I followed their rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We didn\u2019t say much until we were upstairs in my room, door shut. Gabriel flopped into the armchair in the corner. \u201cGuess that\u2019s my last invite for a while,\u201d he said lightly, but I could see the flicker of frustration under it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I smirked. \u201cThey can control the dinner table, but they can\u2019t control this<\/em>.\u201d I sat on the edge of my bed and leaned forward. \u201cTime to teach you the stare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His whole mood lifted. \u201cAlright, sensei. Teach me the way of the wolf eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I chuckled. \u201cFirst thing\u2014stop thinking about trying<\/em> and start thinking about being<\/em>. It\u2019s not just your eyes changing color; it\u2019s you letting the wolf right up to the surface without crossing over into full shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stood, pacing slowly. \u201cFind that place inside you\u2014the part that wants to claim space, to make someone back down just by looking at you. Breathe slow. Hold that feeling right behind your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel nodded, closing his eyes, inhaling deep. When he opened them, they were still the same bright blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBetter posture,\u201d I said, stepping in to tap his shoulders back. \u201cThink about what happened today with that idiot at school. Don\u2019t just remember it\u2014own<\/em> it. You had the upper hand before you even moved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something shifted. It wasn\u2019t the color yet, but the air around him tightened. He grinned, feeling it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere it is,\u201d I said. \u201cNow\u2014push just a little further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This time, there was the faintest gold halo bleeding into the blue before it faded. Gabriel\u2019s eyes went wide, and he laughed. \u201cOh, I felt<\/em> that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, and you\u2019ll feel it even more when you nail it,\u201d I said. \u201cAgain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We went like that for almost an hour, me correcting his breathing, his stance, his focus. By the time he finally got the full golden flare, his grin was pure wolf pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDamn,\u201d he said, leaning back, chest rising with the satisfied kind of exhaustion. \u201cThat\u2019s addicting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust remember,\u201d I said, leaning against the desk, \u201cthis isn\u2019t for showing off to your friends. It\u2019s a tool. Use it like one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel gave me a mock salute. \u201cYes, sir. But tomorrow\u2026 I get to try it at school, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I smirked. \u201cTomorrow, we roll in with the Humvee. You\u2019ll have plenty of chances.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dinner at my parents\u2019 table was an exercise in endurance. Gabriel was polite\u2014painfully polite\u2014but every compliment he gave was met with one of my parents\u2019 thin smiles or cutting little remarks. I kept my claws sheathed, but just barely. When dessert plates were cleared, my mother folded her hands. \u201cThane, this will be the last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}