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How Not To Become Lunch: 10 - Beware Hungry Wolf Pups
“Phew, made it through again, what a relief,” Jack said. History class was history, another school day had come to a close, and for the second time he found himself heading down the halls with Fiona toward the exit, having survived once again.
“Does school ever stop being so stressful?” he asked.
“I don’t know, some days are pretty good,” Fiona replied, giving her still noticeably bloated belly a single pat and flashing a satisfied smile. Obviously the two of them didn’t exactly share the same set of worries when it came to school. “It probably does though,” she said a bit less facetiously. “There are a couple human students that seem pretty relaxed.”
“Maybe the ones who turned predator,” he suggested with a scowl. They opened the door and stepped outside, following the swarm of other kids. He took a deep breath. “Well, at least I’m safe for the next two days. Don’t have to worry about getting eaten at my house.”
“That’s the spirit, embrace the weekend!” Fiona cheered, then something caught her attention. “Huh?”
Jack followed her gaze and to his surprise spotted the werewolf’s mother walking toward them through the crowd. And she wasn’t alone. Holding her hand and doing her best to keep up, was Fiona’s little sister. The cub was already staring at him, having spotted the boy long before he had noticed her.
“Mom?” Fiona asked, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Sissy was acting up in school and they asked me to come pick her up,” Mrs. Lupella explained in a scolding tone, glancing pointedly at her younger daughter.
The little werewolf looked up at her mother with a pout that could melt a polar bear’s heart. Mrs. Lupella sighed and her gaze softened as she looked back at Fiona.
“Listen, your little sister really misses you and wants to spend time with you,” she said. “Apparently so much that she threw a tantrum in class,” she added a bit more quietly under her breath. “I think it would be really nice if you took her with you to Jack’s house and let her stay with you tonight.”
“What!? After what she did to him yesterday?!” Fiona protested.
“She just didn’t know who he was, that’s all,” her mother defended. “I’m sure that won’t happen again now that she knows he’s a friend.” She paused for a moment, clearly expecting Sissy to chime in. When she didn’t, Mrs. Lupella tugged her little girl’s hand and gave her another pointed glare.
“No, no, no,” she said in an adorably pretentious voice. “I won’t let it happen again. I promise.” She looked at Jack with an innocent smile. Seeing her daughter respond so maturely, Mrs. Lupella smiled proudly and looked up again, this time to Jack.
“See, nothing to worry about. No hard feelings, right?” she asked.
Jack looked nervously between them a couple times. Having dealt with so many preds in the past two days, he couldn’t help but notice the potential alternate meaning in Sissy’s promise. But Mrs. Lupella seemed to have missed it, and what’s more she seemed a bit desperate to get her daughter out of her fur.
As long as Fi’s around to keep an eye on her, what’s the worst that could happen?
“No hard feelings,” Jack replied with a hint of reluctance.
“Jack!?” Fiona blurted out in surprise.
“Come on, it’ll be fine. Besides, she misses you,” he said.
“Yay!!” the pup squealed, running over and throwing her arms around her sister’s legs, her tail wagging happily behind her.
Fiona, having long grown immune to the little furball’s charms, looked down at her suspiciously, but sighed in defeat.
“Okay,” she said begrudgingly.
“Thanks Fiona,” her mother said with a hint of relief. “I have to get back to work, you kids have fun.” She smiled at them and then turned and walked off rather quickly, leaving Sissy behind.
So much for being safe at home, Jack thought.
…
“Mom, I’m home,” Jack called as he walked through his front door. As Fiona followed him inside, firmly holding her little sister’s hand, she heard a quiet sigh of relief in the distance, followed by approaching footsteps.
“Hi, honey, how was- Oh my!!” The woman had rounded the corner, laid eyes on the kids and immediately recoiled in fear. “…Um, hello…” she said awkwardly after catching her breath, “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting my son to bring home… predators.” She stared, unable to take her anxious eyes off the werewolf’s bulging belly.
“Mom, that’s Fiona,” Jack said, embarrassed.
The woman adjusted her glasses and took a few (reluctant) steps closer. She glanced down at the younger werewolf and then gasped.
“Oh my goodness! It looks like she’s hardly aged a day,” she said with a sweet, sentimental smile. “No, that couldn’t be right,” she reasoned aloud. Then she looked up at the older werewolf again. “But you couldn’t really be…”
“Hi, Mrs. Eten, nice to see you again,” Fiona said with an awkward smile.
“Oh Fiona!” Jack’s mother exclaimed. “Just look at you, you’ve gotten so big!” She seemed genuinely excited and happy, that is until her eyes passed over that large bulge again, then her smile faded a bit and she took an awkward pause. “Much bigger,” she muttered nervously. She glanced away, looking back to her memories.
“Last time I saw you, well, you were her size,” she motioned toward Sissy, her smile returning just a bit. “And who is this little bundle of fur? Oh, she could only be your little sister; she looks just like you!”
“I’m Sissy,” the little werewolf said.
“Aww, hello there sweety. Well come in, both of you. Make yourselves at home. It’s the least I can offer for keeping my son safe all day. Jack, why don’t you show them around.” She smiled, but then turned and walked off rather nervously.
…
“This is just an extra bedroom for when we have guests. You and Sissy can sleep here if you want,” Jack said.
“No way! Break out the sleeping bags; that’s half the fun of a sleepover,” Fiona replied.
“Yeah, we should all sleep together,” Sissy agreed. “For fun,” she added, in case either of them got the idea that she had some ulterior motive.
“Right… So my room’s down here,” Jack led them down the hall and opened his door.
“Is that where you sleep?” Sissy asked, pointing at a bed, though the answer seemed rather obvious since it was the only one in the room.
“Uh-huh,” he answered suspiciously.
“And me and Fiona get to sleep in the room with you? In sleeping bags?” she asked further. She seemed quite eager to confirm those details.
“…Yeah, I’ll probably put you guys over there somewhere.” He gestured to a corner of the room near a window. Sissy grinned happily and looked up at him with youthful innocence. He shot Fiona a concerned glance and she tugged her little sister’s hand.
“If you so much as lick him I’ll shave you bald,” she threatened.
“Hey! I’m just excited to hang out with you guys! You left me all alone last time,” she insisted with a convincing pout.
Jack took that as his cue to continue the tour, closing the door to his room and leading them further down the hall.
“Is… this your mom’s room?” Fiona asked as they approached another door. The tone in her voice made it clear she had somewhat different questions on her mind.
“I’m sorry,” Jack apologized, referring to her earlier behavior. “She’s been nervous around preds ever since I got marked. She’s spent a lot of time making sure they don’t get close enough to get me… It only got worse after my dad…”
“Oh…” was all Fiona could reply.
“She hasn’t seen me that close to a pred in years, I probably should have warned her,” he said, forcing himself to chuckle.
Fiona frowned, her ears drooping flat. Another person’s life I wrecked because of that stupid bite, she thought.
“Hey,” Jack said sternly. He had seen her make that face enough times over the past two days to know what it meant. “She doesn’t blame you. She knows it was a mistake. If anything she blames herself for getting me all those comics.”
Fiona tried to force a smile, but it didn’t amount to much.
“Fi, she let you into the house. You have no clue how big a deal that is. Not to mention the only reason we even moved back here was because she trusts you enough to watch out for me at school. Whatever you think is your fault, you make it up to her every day I come home solid.”
Fiona’s ears lifted a bit and she gave a small but genuine smile.
“Thanks,” she replied.
“Hey, what are these weird things?” came Sissy’s voice. The curious little pup had opened Mrs. Eten’s door while they were talking and was already looking around inside. Jack hurried in after her, worried she might cause some trouble, but found her simply standing in the middle of the room with her eyes fixed.
“Oh, those are her fashion models,” Jack explained.
In the corner were a number of life sized, humanoid figures, frozen in interesting poses.
“Oh, right! Your mom makes clothes, doesn’t she?” Fiona recalled.
“Uh-huh.”
“But why do fake people need clothes?” Sissy asked, puzzled.
“No,” Jack replied with a giggle, “she makes clothes for real people, but she uses these models to see how they look first.”
“How does she even get them on there?” Fiona asked.
“Oh, they’re made of this weird stuff, look.” Jack pulled on one of the arms and it bent gradually at the elbow joint, holding its new position when he let it go. “You can move lots of parts around, they’re actually pretty flexible.”
“Cool,” Fiona replied.
“Oh Jack?” called a nervous voice from downstairs. It seemed Jack’s mother wanted his attention, though from her tone one might think she also wanted to make sure he hadn’t been swallowed in the two minutes he had been out of her sight.
“Coming,” he called back. He exited the room, trailed faithfully by Sissy, with Fiona not two steps behind. They descended the stairs and traversed the halls until they arrived at the kitchen, where Mrs. Eten was busy taking inventory of all the food they had to hand. Clearly having prepared herself mentally for their encounter this time, the woman turned to them and with a genuine, if strained smile, asked:
“What would you all like for dinner?”
“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry about me,” Fiona replied politely. “I’m still full from school.”
“…Right,” Mrs. Eten replied with her now familiar, uncomfortable tone. “And what about you, sweety? What would you like to eat?” Her expression relaxed a bit as she looked down at the much smaller, clearly much more innocent werewolf.
“Jack,” Sissy replied bluntly. The tense smile practically dropped off Mrs. Eten’s face.
“She means ‘flapjacks’!” Fiona blurted out after some quick thinking. “They’re her favorite.” She placed a furry hand ‘lovingly’ on her little sister’s shoulder, her firm grip and pointed claws delivering a clear message.
“Oh, of course,” Jack’s mother replied with noticeable relief. “Well, maybe I could make you some for breakfast tomorrow; flapjacks wouldn’t be much of a dinner. Perhaps some chicken for tonight?” She turned to her son.
“Chicken sounds perfect,” he answered, trying to hide his own alarm so his mother wouldn’t catch on.
“Oh, good. Well, I’ll get things started. You kids run off and enjoy yourselves.”
There was considerable relief from both sides as the trio left the kitchen.
“Ouch!” yipped Sissy as soon as they were out of earshot. “Hey! Mom said ‘claws are for food, not family’!”
“Well Jack isn’t food, so maybe you shouldn’t have tried to tell that nice lady that you want to eat her son,” Fiona replied, clearly angry, though she kept her voice down.
“But she asked what I wanted to eat, and mom says I should tell the truth.”
“Ugh!”
“Come on Sissy,” Jack said in a sincere voice. “Didn’t your mom also say we’re all supposed to be friends? Do you really still want to eat me?”
Sissy frowned for a moment, seeming to ponder his point, but she smiled again not two seconds later and gave a great big, decisive nod.
“You’re my first human, and you’re really yummy. And if you wanna be a really good friend then you should let me have you for dinner,” she explained.
Jack could hardly believe such terrifying, matter-of-fact words could come from such an adorable face with such an innocent voice.
“You are not. Going. To eat. Jack.” Fiona growled at her sister.
Sissy simply pouted and looked away, definitely discouraged, but clearly not about to change her mind.
…
“Can you take me out to hunt now?” Sissy whined.
“No! For the hundredth time: Jack’s mom is making you dinner, I’m too full to run around, and I’m hanging out with Jack!” Fiona explained, though not quite for the hundredth time.
Sissy huffed and pouted, like she had been doing for the last hour. Jack felt genuinely bad for the little pup. He might have offered to go out with her himself while Fiona finished digesting- if it weren’t for the fact no one would find them again until after he’d finished digesting.
“Come on, Fi, she’s bored to death,” Jack said, half because he felt bad, and half because he was hoping to get on the little werewolf’s good side.
“Well she should have thought of that before she threw a tantrum at school and tried to eat my best friend.”
“I’ll share him with you if you really want,” the pup offered.
“Sissy!!”
“Kids!” called a voice from downstairs, “Dinner’s ready.”
Fiona growled, but then took a deep breath to compose herself. The last thing she needed was to look like an angry beast in front of Mrs. Eten.
“Maybe she’ll relax a bit after she’s eaten,” Jack offered.
“Especially if it’s you,” Sissy agreed.
Fiona growled again. Jack sighed. He really should have seen that one coming. Shrugging it off, the boy stood up and headed downstairs.
They arrived at the dining table and took their seats to the smell of spiced meat as Mrs. Eten finished up in the kitchen. A few moments later and the woman appeared, carrying a large plate in each hand, each with a large, steaming bird on top.
Déjà vu, Jack thought, remembering his breakfast that morning.
“I thought one would be enough for the three of us, but I was worried Fiona might want a little after all, so I made two,” she explained, setting the plates down in the center of the table. Fiona’s belly grumbled, something she hoped no one else could hear. She was still pretty full, but those did look pretty appetizing.
A ruffling of clothes against fur caught her attention and she turned to see her sister pulling something out from underneath her shirt. Fiona’s jaw nearly dropped when she saw what it was.
“Oh… where did you get a thing like that, dearie?” Mrs. Eten asked, sitting down next to Jack with a somewhat uncomfortable expression. Honestly, Jack didn’t look too comfortable either. Fiona couldn’t blame them.
Sissy put her hands up behind her neck to tie her newly revealed bib into place. It was a rather plain piece of cloth, mostly unremarkable, except for the prominent photograph glued to the front: a big picture of Jack’s face- but from years ago, before his family had moved.
“I made it in art class today,” Sissy explained innocently. “Do you like it?”
I can’t believe she took an old picture of Jack from our house and turned it into a bib!! Fiona thought angrily, but she did her best to keep it from showing.
“It’s, um, very nice honey… But, why-”
“Hard to believe right?” Fiona interrupted. “I mean, they just met yesterday, but she already likes Jack so much that she wanted to make something to show it.”
“Oh!... Well isn’t that cute,” Mrs. Eten said, once again convinced of the pup’s ‘innocence’. She turned to her son to see his reaction. Jack immediately put on a fake smile.
“Oh yeah, she just can’t get enough of me,” he agreed.
As they finished shoring up their cover story, Sissy had already moved on. Holding a fork the wrong way around, she was busy poking the end at one of the chickens that had been laid in front of her.
“Is something wrong?” Mrs. Eten asked, noticing the strange reaction to her cooking.
“Why are they weird?” she asked with a hint of disgust.
“Well that’s not a very nice thing to say,” the mother replied scoldingly.
“…Oh! Sissy, they’re just cooked. You’ve had cooked food before,” Fiona reminded, realizing what her little sister meant.
“Huh?” Mrs. Eten asked.
“Preds don’t usually eat cooked food,” Jack reminded his mother, just as he had been reminded that morning.
“Oh, right. Of course. Sorry, I only ever make- erm- human food,” she apologized.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll like it just the same, right Sissy?” Fiona asked, desperately hoping her little sister wouldn’t say anything else to insult the nice woman.
“Well… if Jack’s gonna eat it too, I’d better try it to make sure it’s good.”
“That’s so nice of you,” Mrs. Eten said with a smile. She turned to her son again. “Look, you have your own little taste tester.”
Of course, she wants to make sure she likes the stuffing before it gets into her turkey, he thought grimly.
“Well, go ahead. Let’s see how you like it,” Jack’s mother offered.
Sissy quit poking the bird, but rather than turn the fork around, she put it back down on the table. Reaching out with one clawed hand, she picked up the entire chicken like it was a single nugget and greedily stuffed it between her cheeks.
Mrs. Eten’s face went white as she saw the innocent little girl’s face open up like the gates to oblivion, inhaling her hand cooked meal- almost literally- and swallowing it in one massive gulp. The woman stared, dumbfounded as the pup licked her furry chops and slurped at the remnants stuck to her digits.
“You’re right Fiona, it was pretty tasty,” Sissy announced with a smile. “Thanks Jack’s mom.”
“You… you’re welcome…”
…
It had been an eventful night, filled with gurgles and whining and a few outbursts of somewhat higher volume. Jack had enjoyed it nonetheless, and he thought Fiona had too, underneath the constant irritation caused by her little sister.
Things had calmed down a bit after Sissy nodded off, curling up into a fluffy ball on top of her sleeping bag, clutching at her special bib in case Fiona tried to take it away again. With the pup out of the way, they had actually managed to talk for a while without being pestered or interrupted. They even went out for a walk after sunset- and Jack never got to go out after dark, it was far too dangerous without protection.
Now, though, all that was over. The lights were out, and everyone was snug in their beds. Or at least that’s how it seemed.
Lying perfectly still in the silent darkness, a devious predator grew a large, devilish grin on her furry face. She could hear Fiona snoring now, and no one else had made a move in almost an hour. What an excellent hunter she was, she thought to herself, for being so patient. But now the wait was over, and she was free to carry out her master plan.
Sissy opened her eyes and peered out into the room. She could see the gentle rise and fall of her sister’s sleeping bag beside her, but otherwise everything was perfectly still. Silent as the night, just like Fiona had taught her, she rose onto her feet and turned toward the shadowed mass that was Jack’s bed.
The young werewolf took a few cautious steps; her furry little feet made not a sound against the floor. She crept closer, sniffing the air. Despite the breeze slipping in from the open window, Jack’s irresistible scent was everywhere, but she had been clever enough to find out where her meal would be in advance, so she didn’t even have to listen to her nose.
The ghostly werewolf climbed up onto the foot of her prey’s bed and set her eyes on the sizable lump, tucked peacefully away under the blankets, soon to be tucked into her tummy instead. With Fiona right there, she would have to be very quiet, but she was a master predator, she reminded herself, and she was going to be so quiet that not even Jack would hear anything.
She crept quietly toward the front end of the mattress.
Yes, she would be silent, she would be cunning, she would be quick as a flash. He would have no chance of escaping her this time.
She readied herself as she placed one furry little hand on the edge of his covers. She could feel her belly calling out for its special meal, her mouth watering.
Bye-bye, Jack
Sissy tore off the covers and immediately shoved her mouth down over Jack’s head, grabbing his arms to restrain him. She could feel the sleeves of his shirt beneath her tiny claws, his heavenly scent drifting through her nostrils.
She swallowed- as big a gulp as she could muster- and felt Jack plunge into her throat all the way up to his chest.
Ha, she thought, he’s not even moving! I’m so quiet he hasn’t even woken up yet!
Sissy grinned around her meal as she swallowed again, eagerly gulping him down as quickly as she could. The sooner he was tucked away inside, the sooner her belly could get to work digesting him. Then Fiona would never be able to take him away, and he’d never be able to take her away. Her sister would be hers again- forever!
*gulp*
*gulp*
*gulp*
*gulp*
Belly, waist, legs, feet, and then it was over.
Sissy panted, as quietly as she could, and let herself fall back onto the bed. She’d never swallowed anything so fast before. Oh how proud her mother would be. Thinking over her accomplishment and feeling the enormous, satisfying pressure in her stomach, she gave a great big, toothy smile, her tongue lolling out. She resisted the urge to squeal. She did it! She’d claimed her special meal! Her first ever human was hers again, all hers.
*gurgle*
She felt her eyelids droop a bit. A good meal always did make her sleepy, and it was pretty late. Well, since Jack was her food now, she didn’t see any reason not to sleep in his comfy bed for the rest of the night. She couldn’t really move that well anyway with the enormous bulge he was making in her belly. Of course, come morning there would be no running from Fiona, even if she could run, but that didn’t matter. By then, Jack would be mostly goop, and he would never be able to take her sister away ever again.
*gurgle*