“Innocent until proven guilty,” I throw back.
“So that means I’m with Michael,” Nate concludes with a sardonic smile.
“May the best team win,” Connor declares before they all jump in.
Ten minutes later, Connor and Mason’s team is beating us against all odds, when Mom calls for us from downstairs.
“Boys!” she shouts.
“You’ve made enough of a ruckus.
Come down for breakfast; the girls and I won’t wait for you forever!” We keep going for a bit more until Mason, the voice of reason among us, points out that we should probably get going or else breakfast will get cold.
“You just want to see your mate,” Nate teases his twin.
“That too,” Mason confirms, not bothering to deny it.
Mason met Marianna two years ago, when he and Nathan went for a trip across Europe.
She claims he was a jerk when she first met him, going partying every night and coming home with a different girl.
She was a waitress at the place he frequented the most and saw him coming and going on his exploits, while also putting up with his incessant attempts to flirt with her.
Finally, one night, after he had struck out with a girl because he was totally hammered, he was having a sort of personal pity party while Nate was off with another girl.
Marianna wanted to kick him out, but he kept telling her things about himself.
Drunk Mason is a very honest and vulnerable Mason, so she saw in him something more than the playboy she thought him out to be.
Whenever he tells us the story of how they met, he says that there is only one thing he remembers from that night, something she said that haunted him until he saw her again.
He still refuses to tell us what it is, for whatever reason, however, he does say that it turned his life upside down, and he’s been in love with her ever since.
Six months ago, on his 20th birthday, he told her everything about us being werewolves, and even about me being a girl; she was the only one outside our family who knew that.
It took my parents a lot of time to forgive Mason and accept that Marianna would never betray us, and she accepted him as well as us wholeheartedly.
I think beneath their teasing of his relationship and calling him sappy, my brothers secretly envy Mason, because he was confident she would accept him when he told her the truth, and because she had accepted him without hesitation.
There was always that fear in male werewolves that their chosen mate wouldn’t accept them, but Mason seriously lucked out.
She’s very sweet and smart.
Marianna and I get along well, and she’s the closest thing I have to a female companion, even though she’s 4 years older than me.
But that isn’t really saying much; Marianna gets along with everybody.
She even gets along with Connor’s girl, while I have to make an effort to want to talk to her.
As it so happens, when my brothers and I come into the kitchen, I see them laughing together while my mom finishes setting the table.
It may seem weird that my parents are aware of my brothers’ nocturnal activities and still allow the girls to stay over and have breakfast in the morning.
The truth is, they know nothing they do will stop my brothers from sleeping around, but this gives them a say in whether or not the girl stays within our family.
Any girl who lasts longer than a day in our house is a girl who has gained my parents’ approval for mate.
As I think about how even my parents’ approval is not enough for my brothers to choose a girl as mate, I notice Burns in Andrea’s arms, reminding me of Connor’s prank.
Soon, I tell myself.
Not that I have a specific problem with Andrea, but as long as Connor hasn’t himself declared their relationship to be serious, I’m not going to make an effort to get along with her.
I mean, she’s okay and all, and I can understand why my brother likes her so much, especially with her exotic looks.
And, admittedly, it has been kind of fun learning some dirty Spanish words from her.
But the truth of the matter is that we don’t have anything in common other than Connor.
Plus, she’s a little too self-absorbed for my taste.
My mother is preparing bacon and eggs in the kitchen when we walk in.
She has got her blonde hair pulled back by a headband, which makes her look younger than 45, although the crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes are a dead giveaway.
On the outside, my mom is a very tough looking lady, with a firm athletic build and a hard-set jaw, but she’s actually a big softie.
That’s not to say she’s not strong.
I mean, she is one human against six werewolves; just the matter of feeding us is a chore that would tire out anybody, but she also does the cleaning, the shopping and painting.
She loves to paint.
The cooking is the hardest part, though.
I mean, for breakfast, she practically lays out a buffet for us.
To human eyes, there’s enough food to feed twenty people, but we all just have really big appetites.
Especially Nathan, who eats like a pig.
“Morning, Mom,” Danny and I say.
Mase and Con are busy greeting their girlfriends in their own special way, and Nate is already plating up.
“This twin thing is really cool,” Andrea whispers to Connor, thinking he’s the only one who can hear her.
“I wish you had a twin.” “Morning, boys,” Mom says with a smile on her face, her blue eyes twinkling when she sees us.
“For God’s sake, wait for your father, Nathan!
Honestly!” “I did,” I hear Connor answer Andrea out loud.
“I ate him in the womb ’cause he took up all my space.” Laughter rolls around the table, and it’s at that moment that Dad makes an entrance.
“Oh believe me, it’s a good thing there’s just one of him.” I’ve always admired the way my dad carries himself, in public and at home.
Three years older than Mom, but he has a similar hardness to his appearance; with a square jaw that tints every expression he makes with coldness, eyes that could make anyone pee in their pants, and a sturdy build that almost rivals Connor’s, he is easily the most intimidating man I’ve ever met.
Unlike my mother, though, he’s just as hard on the inside as he is on the outside.
He has always been able to make us boys guilty and afraid just by looking at us.
His word is law, and he never has to raise his voice to make that clear.
He has a lighter side buried somewhere, but it doesn’t come out often.
This morning, we are rewarded with its presence.
“Twins are a real piece of work,” he goes on.
“Hey!” the four of us complain.
“And here I thought I was your favorite,” I add.
“Of course you are,” he assures me.
“You’re the only one who has my eyes.” It’s those little gestures of favoritism on his part that makes me take risks when it comes to things he and Mom usually refuse to give me.
“Does that mean you’ll let me go to college?” I half-joke, completely forgetting who is in the room.
“Why wouldn’t you go to college?” Andrea asks, puzzled.
“You and Danny graduate in June, don’t you?” Instantly, the mood is changed.
As a rule, we never discuss matters that relate even a tiny bit to my secret in front of outsiders of the family.
In my parents’ opinion, going to college is very risky, because there are so many things that can expose my true gender.
Remember what I said about usually getting what I want from my parents if I asked nicely enough?
College is one of the exceptions.
You know, right next to actually being a girl.
Personally, I think they just don’t trust that I can handle it on my own, and would rather have me close to protect me.
How else am I supposed to understand their constant refusal?
But because they’ve always been good parents, and they were always fair with me and my brothers, I can’t bring myself to accuse them of that on the off chance that I’m wrong.
Marianna has already been established as part of the family, but Andrea is still an outsider because Connor is not as brave as Mason was when he took that leap.
When I asked that question, I didn’t mean to put them in a bad situation, because I honestly forgot that Andrea was an outsider.
By the look in my father’s eyes, though, I know he doesn’t appreciate my bad timing.
“Oh, Michael’s just got someplace abroad in his mind, and his mother and I don’t approve,” he easily lies.
Shit, he called me Michael.
He must be really upset that I asked.
I look away to hide my guilt as my brothers save me from an awkward situation and continue the conversation normally.
My mother meets my gaze and she gives me that sad I’m-sorry-but-you-know-why-we-have-to-do-this smile and I look away again.