Wolf Tamer by Avery Song
Adopted And Celebration
~HARPER~
"It's official.Congratulations, Harper. Dolly and Sam are officially your parents."
I wasn't sure my smile could get any wider as my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. I tried to hide my excitement, but Ian was already cheering before he wrapped his arms around me.
"YES! Harper, you can stay with us forever now!" he exclaimed as loud as he could.
I squealed as he lifted me up and swung me around, again and again, the two of us laughing before he lost his balance and we fell to the floor.
"You two better not break anything!" Dolly called out. "Y'all rolling up a storm and next thing you know you're knocking down my expensive vase!"
All we did was laugh harder. The level of joy was unmeasurable. We knew Dolly was just as happy as we were. Her voice was thick with emotion, which told us she was on the verge of crying.
Sam ended up walking over to give her a hug, and we got off the ground and ran to hug her tightly.
"You're the best, Dolly!" we cheered. It was thanks to her firmness that this had happened. I wouldn't have a place to call home if she didn't fight for me, unlike all the other adults who thought of me as nothing but trouble.
We looked over at Sam, and I quickly added, "You too, Sam!" I didn't want to leave him out. He'd been supportive of Dolly and gave her the added push she needed to get the other adults at the foster agency to listen to us.
Dolly had explained that it was harder for girls' voices to get across, which was silly to me, but thanks to Sam's help, the other adults had no choice but to listen. Dolly said that some people in this town were stuck in their old ways, and one of those was thinking men had more authority than women.
She was going to help change that and wanted to raise me so that I knew what I had to do or say to be taken seriously.
To not be pushed over.
"Let's go to the truck before Dolly starts crying up a storm," Sam encouraged.
"Dolly's already crying," Ian pointed out the obvious.
"Don't go pointing things out, smarty-pants," Dolly huffed and shooed us away. The two of us ran hand-in-hand to the truck.
As of today, I was officially Dolly and Sam's daughter.
I'd been so frightened before going to bed that I'd had weird dreams all night. Dolly said I almost got a fever or something, but I'd taken medicine in the middle of the night. I didn't remember taking it, but I did have a dream about Carter, the wolf.
He'd been at the door, and I was scared. He stayed with me and put me in bed. Then he snuggled with me like Wolfie normally did. It was nice and peaceful. Even if it was just a dream, I wanted to tell him.
To thank him.
I bet he'd think I was being silly, but having him in my dream took away the pain and fever. That was the reason why I was able to come to the appointment and have a family again.
My nervousness stemmed from our previous appointment being delayed. Sam tried to explain it to me, but basically, Mom and Dad had been chased by very bad people. They wanted something from them but no one knew what, and it was the reason why they killed them and my brother.
I wasn't sure if my necklace and dagger had anything to do with it, but they were safely tucked away in Dolly's safe. She wanted to keep them secure for when I was older. I didn't want to lose the necklace, and she said I'd have to be trained if I wanted to use the dagger.
In a few years, she'd get me trained for it, but for now, it was safe and no one else knew where it was - it was our little secret.
When we reached the truck, I noticed the familiar car with the blue and red siren light on the top, but it was the big pink and blue unicorn that took my attention as I gasped and used my free hand to point to it.
"UNICORN!" I didn't even think as I let go of Ian's hand and ran straight for it. I tackled it, igniting a low chuckle before I pulled back to see Officer O'Neil lean to the side so he wasn't completely blocked by the huge unicorn.
"O'Neil!" I cheered and put my hands up.
"Hey, Officer Blake," he teased with a wink before lifting the unicorn to rest on top of his car before he knelt down and opened his arms up for my hug. "I should have realized you'd be more interested in the unicorn than me."
"That's because the unicorn is a MEGA unicorn!" I emphasized. "And I'm not on duty, O'Neil," I had to remind him since today was my adoption day so I couldn't do my officer duties.
"Right. You booked it off," O'Neil played along before he lifted me up. "A little birdy told me that someone got officially adopted today!"
"ME!" I squealed and put my hands up in the air as he rose up to his full length.
"So I figured you deserved another partner in crime," he encouraged with a smirk.
I giggled and leaned in to whisper, "I like unicorns, but it's a secret. Shhhhh."
"Oh really?" O'Neil quietly whispered.
"Ya, but let's pretend today that everyone knows!"
He laughed as I tried to reach for the big doll. He couldn't help but maneuver me over to the fluffy doll as I struggled to get my arms around its large frame.
"It's so FLUFFY!"
"Have you been watching Despicable Me?" O'Neil inquired.
"We watched it four times," Ian stressed. "We were going to watch it again, but I can't find my favorite pajamas!"
"Oh really?" O'Neil pondered. "We should conduct a search of the laundry room."
"We should!" I cheered and looked down at Ian. "Though, I like your green pajamas. The dark ones with the batman drawing on them."
"But the black and yellow ones are my favorite," Ian suggested.
"Ya, and they're okay. I like the other ones you wore this morning when I woke up. They make your hair look all nice," I casually suggested.
He stared at me for five seconds.
"I don't need to look for my favorite pajamas anymore. They're not my favorite!"
"Which ones are your favorite then?" O'Neil asked, and I noticed his wide smile.
Ian's face grew red as he muttered, "The green ones."
"Ah," O'Neil replied. "Well, that's good. Now you can watch Despicable Me again."
"YEAH!" we cheered as Sam and Dolly arrived at where we stood.
"Afternoon, O'Neil. Guess you heard?" Sam greeted.
"Sure did. Figured Harper deserved a gift. Plus, we need to talk about last night." The way they looked at one another left me curious, but Dolly looked over at me and Ian.
"You two head to the truck. Doors are unlocked. We won't be long."
"Okay!" we replied as O'Neil lowered me and I took Ian's hand to move to the doors of the truck. "Protect my unicorn!"
"We will," Sam replied.
Ian opened the door for me, letting me get in the back seat first before he got in. Once inside, we relaxed and looked out the window to watch Dolly, Sam, and O'Neil begin to talk to one another. Whatever they were talking about had to be serious from their expressions, but neither of us could hear what they were talking about.
"Ian?" I began as a question popped into my head.
"Yes, Harper?"
"Now that I'm Dolly and Sam's daughter, doesn't that mean we're brother and sister?"
"No," Ian replied with a smile as he shook his head for added emphasis.
"Huh. Why?" I didn't understand.
"Dolly and Sam take care of me, but I'm not adopted."
"Why not?"
"Hmmm. It's complicated. I have relatives, but they're far away. I have an uncle, but if I stay with him, I'd be really far away from here and my friends, so Dolly got permission to raise me with Sam. He's busy anyway. He's raising another kid or something."
"Raising another kid...but you're important, too," I pointed out.
Ian shrugged. "He doesn't think that way, I guess. I don't care."
Even though he said that he looked really sad.
"When he said that, does it make you sad or mad?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Maybe both. It's not like I wanted to be here in the beginning. My family was really nice. My mom and dad loved me. I was going to be a big brother...but...I don't know."
He glanced away from me as he shrugged again. "Living with Dolly and Sam is cool. My friends are nice. We don't get along all the time, but they're better and nicer than all those kids from school. The wolves are nice to me, and well...I'm not treated like a burden or anything. This is my home, and it feels that way now. I sometimes wish I were super strong, so I could have beat up the hunters and save my family."
"Me too," I admitted as I lowered my head to look at the palms of my hands in my lap. "I wish I could have fought back. If I had...they would still be here. I didn't know how...and it was scary. I did what Mommy told me...but I wish I did better."
We were silent as our confessions lingered in the tense air. It was nice to have some similarities to Ian, even if it was sad to acknowledge. We both wished to be stronger so we could protect those we loved, even though we were just kids.
"I have an idea!" Ian suddenly cheered. "Let's work really hard to learn more about wolves and protecting ourselves! Like we can learn about the types of wolves and about magic! Maybe O'Neil can train us to fight like how police officers do training so they're tough and can fight the bad guys!"
"That sounds cool!" I gasped in shock.
"Ya," Ian replied and leaned in closer. "We can keep it a secret until you get permission from Dolly and Sam to read more about them. We can gather books in the treehouse and read! For now, let's train and read lots! Then those hunters can't hurt us ever again!"
"Yes! We'll be strong and fight back, and they'll never hunt us again," I declared. "When we get back, we'll put my unicorn in my room and then we'll head to the treehouse!"
"Don't forget we'll check on the other wolves.," Ian reminded.
"Of course!" I exclaimed. "But if Carter stains my outfit with mud again, I'm gonna be mad!"
Ian laughed. "Carter's mean to everyone. It's his way of showing he cares."
"I haven't gotten to see the human Carter," I pointed out. "Do your friends not come visit the wolves? It makes no sense when they all named them."
"Uh," Ian began but paused to think.
"You don't have to tell me if it's a secret," I whispered.
"It's not that..." Ian admitted but trailed off for a few more seconds. "Let's say they live far away."
"Far away?" I asked.
"Mhmm." Ian bobbed his head. "See...they're not allowed to visit as often as they used to," he reasoned. "Carter is like wolf Carter. He's the leader, so he's allowed to come sometimes to talk to O'Neil and Sam. Human Carter owns a lot of stuff around town."
"Huh? He does?" I leaned in closer as if I'd see for myself what he meant. "What do you mean own?"
Ian gave me an odd look but continued, "Human Carter's family is...very rich. Ya. Rich. So they help the town run and the city far away from town as well, but that means Carter has to do a lot of stuff so he can't be around. My other friends help him because it's really hard."
"But that's so cool." I was impressed. "Probably hard work."
Ian puffed his cheeks. "It's alright," he huffed. "He's not special or anything."
"Carter helped me in my dream last night," I revealed, which caught Ian's attention.
"He did?"
"Mhmm! I was scared...hunters were chasing me, but he came and stayed with me," I explained as I lifted my hand to lightly press on my lips. "And something nice and soft pressed right here and it felt like I was drinking water, but I wasn't. Hmm. It's hard to explain. It was a weird dream, but when I woke up, I was better!"
"If I didn't fall asleep at Sam's place, I would have protected you!" Ian pointed out as he put his hands into fists. "I won't fall asleep again! That way, I'll protect you, even in your dreams!"
"You'll be my hero!" I exclaimed and reached out to hug him. "Thank you, Ian."
I watched as his face grew red and he stuttered, "Y-You're welcome."
My giggle was interrupted by a yawn. "I'm tired."
"Well, since you didn't have me to protect you, you're extra tired," Ian considered. "Though you've been sleeping weird."
"I don't sleep weird," I countered.
"You do. You're always waking up. And remember three days ago, when Sam caught you walking around?"
"That wasn't me," I concluded. "It was my twin!"
"You don't have a twin, silly." Ian laughed and ruffled my hair. "Dolly said you just walk around."
"Isn't that what O'Neil said was sleepwalking?" I asked.
"Hmm...I don't know." Ian shrugged. "We should find it in the dictionary."
"We need a dictionary for our wolf reading," I reminded him.
"Good idea."
"Wolfie thinks maybe Reika's trying to come out to play," Ian suggested.
"Oh. Maybe? Hey, Reika. Are you coming out to play?" I couldn't help but ask out loud.
"Don't remember."
"She doesn't remember," I replied as Ian gave me his full attention. I bet Wolfie was listening in as well.
"It's okay. We'll figure it out."
"Am I broken?" I quietly asked with a bit of worry.
Ian's eyes widened, and he shook his head quickly before reaching out to press his hands against my cheeks. "Nope! You're perfect, Harper."
"Really?" I felt shy from his words as my face felt hot.
"Ya," he said with a big smile. "Perfect for me!"
"Good!" I replied and yawned again. "I'm sleepy."
"You can take a nap on my lap!"
"That's nice," I replied, my eyes already feeling heavy as Ian put his seatbelt on. He helped me put mine on and then I found a way to lay my head onto his lap.
"Do you think they're going to take long?" I pondered, though I was struggling to stay awake. I didn't know why I felt tired all of sudden, but I couldn't fight the need to sleep.
"Who knows, but it's okay if they're still talking. It means you get to sleep longer," he whispered and began to stroke my head. "I'll wake you up when we get home."
"Home," I replied and couldn't fight the smile from my lips. "Nap...then check wolves...unicorn...Muffin...tree..." My words faded away as I attempted to recite everything we were going to do when we got back.
"We have to celebrate too," Ian whispered.
"Ya...cele..." I trailed off as I further relaxed.
"Harper?" Ian whispered. When I didn't reply, I felt his hand stroke my cheek a few times, and something soft pressed against my right cheek that faced upward.
The touch felt like the one from my dream, only on my cheek instead of my lips.
"I'm happy I met you, Harper," Ian stated as quietly as he could.
I wanted to respond, but I was far away, running through a field of pink flowers as wolves ran along each side. It was warm, beautiful, and I laughed happily.
It felt good to be happy, free, and safe in this field surrounded by pink flowers and six wolves. With a big grin, I spun around and enjoyed the sunlight that blinded my vision.
Everyone was wonderful, and it was thanks to Ian for helping me - for saving me.
Thank you...for everything.
"You saidwe were going to the treehouse," I voiced as I swung my hand with Ian's.
"We are, but Dolly called us to the house real quick. Maybe she made us cookies."
"Cookies, yum," I replied, feeling a little hungry.
We'd spent a good chunk of the afternoon with the wolves. Carter had only come near the end, which was better than him always trying to hide or growl from afar when I was around.
Dolly said he was still mad at me for putting him in his place, but Sam said Carter liked to intimidate new people to see if they were loyal.
He wanted to make sure I'd be good to his pack.
All the other wolves were really getting used to me. It wasn't hard to learn the differences between each of them. They had their own traits that I liked and being around them really made me and Reika feel at home.
It felt good to feel whole, even though adapting to change was hard at times. Compared to those past families, everyone here was trying to help me get used to things.
Except for Rogan. He's just a pain in the butt, but it was easier to ignore someone who wasn't around much.
Reaching the house, we noticed how quiet it was as we entered.
"Hmm. Maybe they’re at the back?" Ian suggested, his voice a little louder than usual.
"O'Neil's here!" I beamed and pointed to his white shoes.
"Meow."
We turned out attention to our feet to see Muffin as she sat there with a weird thing on her head.
"Huh. Muffin, what's that thing on your head?" I asked with a smirk. I didn't know what it was, but the small triangle hat with a gold ball at the tip was cute on Muffin.
"Meow!" Muffin ran away before I could reach out to her.
"She ran away," I whined, and Ian laughed.
"She probably wants to play in the box of toys," Ian reasoned. "Let's go tell Dolly we're here so we can go get her."
"Okay!" I replied and reached for his hand once more. Going through the house, we reached the back door and went down the patio stairs, but still, no one was in sight.
"No one is here," I said with a hint of disappointment.
"Hmm," Ian began as he squeezed my hand. "Maybe they're on the side of the house?"
He tugged me forward as we began to make our way. "Maybe they're somewhere her-"
"SURPRISE!"
I flinched at the loud cheers as my mouth fell open in surprise. My eyes took in the various balloons, streamers, and glittering ribbons that hung all around while tables filled with various sized boxes were piled up behind the row of smiling individuals.
I couldn't take it all in at once as Ian moved to face me. He giggled and put his arms in the air. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND ADOPTION, HARPER!"
I didn't know what to say as I took in everything; Dolly, Sam, and wolf Carter standing in the middle while all five wolves stood in front of them wearing similar hats to Muffin’s.
The very kitten in question was sitting on Carter's head, and though he looked unimpressed, he tolerated it for this special moment. Damien was yawning while Levi was trying to get his hat off. Hayden and Heston had their eyes on me, panting happily while trying to remain still.
I struggled with figuring out what to say, but I fought for some type of words to come out as I met Ian's glimmering eyes with my shocked ones.
"This...is for me?" I really couldn't believe it. When was the last time I'd enjoyed a party? With my previous family, we never really got to celebrate. Mom and Dad never wanted too much attention our way, which made sense. To think this was my first time getting an actual celebration for something that was already in the past...was shocking to me.
"My birthday was long ago..."
"Yes, but I promised you that we'd celebrate, didn't I?" Ian offered. "Dolly was going to make you a cake, but I asked her if we could throw a big party with us and the pack and just have fun!"
"You...did this all for me?"
Tears pooled behind my eyelids as Ian grinned and hugged me.
"Yes, because we love you," Ian emphasized.
Dolly approached us and Ian moved so she could give me a tight hug to comfort me.
"Yes, Harper. This is all for you. I've always wanted a daughter, and you've been such a good girl this whole time. I know you miss your family, and we'll never replace them, but we want to help fill that space with the love we have for you. Will you let us do that?"
"Yes," I replied, but had a lingering question. "But does that mean I have to be called Harper Anderson? I want to keep my last name so I don't forget my family when I'm older."
"I knew you wouldn't want to dismiss your family and their sacrifices, so we didn't change your last name, Harper. You're still Harper Blake, so you can always remember your roots."
It felt like a dream come true as I took in her words. Whenever I worried about something, they always had a solution to it, and they never had to use mean words to hurt me. Dolly, Sam, O'Neil, Ian, and the wolves were becoming everything I'd wished for in a family and more.
I hugged Dolly as tightly as I could, unable to stop myself from shedding tears as I cried into her shoulder.
"Don't cry, Harper," Ian comforted, and I felt his hand patting my back. "You're supposed to be happy."
"I am happy. Very happy," I replied. "Thank you, everyone."
The wolves howled in response as Dolly let go of me so the five of them could crowd around me. I hugged each of them, before reaching Carter with Muffin still on his head.
"Are you and Muffin friends now?"
"Woof," he huffed but leaned over to rub my cheek with his head. I think he was trying to comfort me, which left me smiling as I wrapped my arms around his head. "Thank you for last night, Carter."
He rubbed his head against the side of my head, and I felt that he understood.
I hugged everyone else before I smiled and thanked them once more.
"Thank you, everyone."
"We need the cake!" Ian stressed.
O'Neil's chuckle came from behind the tower of presents, and he revealed a large cake with six candles. My eyes grew massive as I took in the sight of it.
"UNICORN CAKE!" I cheered.
"Unicorn cake coming right up," O'Neil announced as he approached.
We laughed and they all began to sing to me as I waited excitedly to blow out the candles.
"Happy birthday, dear Harper! Happy birthday to you!"
With tears running down my cheeks, I took a deep inhale and blew out a stream of air.
Today was a very special day.