Side story: The Triplets [1]

Scene before the Abandoned Barnyard.

Roel had just walked into the pack house, after working at the restaurant in town. He worked as the Head Chef at The Starved Wolf Restaurant for more than five years now. It was one of the most popular restaurants in town, rated high for its location, as well as dishes.

Roel loved cooking since he was a young pup. Being the youngest triplet among them, he was used to cooking for their meals while Latham and Noaz would hunt for foods. The three of them were actually orphans. They did not know where their parents were, whether or not they were still alive or not. The one thing he remembered as a young pup was that he and his brothers were found stranded in the forest, with no recollection of what had happened.

It was Alpha Lachlan who had found them when he was off for a run. The three of them were sleeping, huddled together, against the cold wind, with only a small blanket shared between them. They were only five years old when Lachlan had found them.

Lachlan had felt great relief when he saw them unharmed. Just cold and hungry. He had suspected that their parents were on a run and had to leave them here so that they would not get killed. He was not surprised by that revelation because he knew of how many shifters had escape from their current predicament.

Lachlan immediately brought the sleeping pups back home. It was then, he decided to adopt them as his. His wife, Luella, was pregnant at that time. He thought it would be a perfect idea to bring them back home He hoped that the three pups would become brothers for his child. The four of them doesn't have that large gap of age so it should be alright.

And since then, the three pups had been forever grateful to Lachlan. Although, they do not call him, 'father' or 'dad' as Erick does. Instead, they looked up to him as a great father figure. Lachlan had helped them a lot. From sending them to schools and supporting them in their careers. In return, they pledged their loyalty to Lachlan in protecting the pack. And because of that, other than his Beta, Lachlan trusted them with the pack and always invited them for any important conversations that he had with Fergus.

Taking off his jacket, Roel walked past the offices and went up to the bedrooms. On the second floor of the pack house, most of the rooms were for sleeping. It was designed like a dorm, and was provided for those who doesn't have any mates yet. There were also shared bathrooms and a small kitchen on the second floor.

Latham, the oldest triplet, already has a mate so he had moved out of the pack house, a couple of years ago, and into one of the small cottages behind the pack house, together with his mate, Melody. Though, he always like to hangout at the pack house. Probably because Melody always came home late from the pack house. Her doctor's office was also in the pack house. Hence, rather than waiting at home, Latham usually wait at the pack house, much to Noaz and Roel's annoyance.

Once he had already wore his comfy clothes, Roel walked down the stairs and headed straight to the common kitchen, which was at the back of the house. It was connected with the common mess hall, as well. He had to walk past the offices to get to the kitchen.

Inside the mess hall, Noaz was already inside, occupying one of the tables. He was watching a TV show from the mounted television, hanging from the ceiling. In front of him were piles of papers and some books. Apparently, he was marking some papers while watching a TV show.

Sitting across him was Latham, with his mouth wide open, snoring. He lay exhausted, sprawled in his chair. His head hung limply over the back of the seat; almost as though someone had draped him their as a coat. Seems like Melody was working late again tonight.

Roel walked over to the cooking area, put on an apron and began to prepare some food to eat for dinner. Minutes later, the aroma of caramelized onions and garlic can be smell through the air. Latham's nose started to twitch. His eyes snapped open and started to frantically darted about, trying to look where the smell had come from. He looked up and saw Roel cooking at the stove.

He jumped up from his seat, his fatigue immediately gone, as if he wasn't snoring earlier. He walked quickly towards Roel and stood in front of the wooden kitchen island. He looked down and saw several dishes laid on top.

He was about to grab one of the fried chickens when suddenly, a knife came flying and nearly hit his hand. It landed neatly in between his fingers. He let out a shriek. "What the--!"

He looked up to see Roel's narrowed eyes. "I just want a piece!" he protested. Dem, the knife nearly cut his fingers off. Roel had always kept a couple of small knifes with him, even when he was cooking or bathing.

Roel just shook his head and gestured him to get back to his seat, with a stern look on his face. He does not tolerate those who likes to steal food. And Latham was always guilty of the crime.

Latham sighed. "Stingy," he muttered under his breath. But he did returned back to his seat, much to Noaz's amusement, who was watching everything that had happened.

Latham slumped back against his seat, groaning. "I'm so hungry!" he exclaimed.

"Weren't you sleeping earlier?" Noaz asked as he continued to mark his students' papers. He was quite immune to the antics of his brothers, especially his eldest brother. Sometimes he wonder whether Latham was doing it on purpose to annoy Roel.

"Yeah, but now I'm hungry!" Latham replied. He turned his head towards Roel, who was still cooking. "How long do I have to wait??" he whined, rubbing his poor stomach.

Roel ignored him.

"So, the shifting ritual is coming soon, huh?" Noaz said, starting a new conversation.

"Yeah, our little pup is all grown up," Latham said, with his finger underneath his eye, as if he was wiping away a tear.

Noaz chuckled. "Indeed, he is. I can't wait to see Dane in person." They have learned about Dane when Erick first told them about him a few years back. From what Noaz know about Dane, from the way Erick had talked about him, was that he was a very proud wolf. He seems knowledgeable from the way he once guided Erick when it comes to making a decision. Rational and strict as Noaz had heard Erick once grumbled about Dane not letting him get his own way.

His older brother leaned against his seat, his arms behind his head. "Yeah, me too," he mused. "Our future Alpha."

Just then, he noticed Roel standing still at the stove, as if he had just received a mind-link. He watched as his younger brother quickly shutting the stove off and removing his apron. He ran over to his brothers and said, "I'm off for a mission. You can eat the food without me."

Noaz looked at him, concerned. He understood that the three of them will always receive a last minute mission. "Sure. I'll go and leave some for you."

Roel nodded and immediately disappeared from their sight.

Latham frowned, looking serious now. "Must be the recent news about the rogue." Earlier, while he was working at the workshop, he too had received a mind-link about the sightings of rogues in the area. Those who hasn't shifted fully yet were not allowed to roam around freely, as it might be dangerous.

His brother nodded. "Yeah."