Feral by Anne Berkeley

at the remains of my macaroni and cheese.  Crispin slumped on the sofa, listening to his iPod and reading a book that looked like Stephen King’s ‘Silver Bullet.’  Hailey continued to make a fuss over Icarus, putting on the performance of a lifetime.
    “Hailey, why don’t you go lock him in the laundry,” I suggested, turning to my parents.  “He tends to sniff people’s crotches.  And he bites.  He’s mean.  And short-tempered.  Bad dog.”
    I scowled, joining their pretense.
    Glaring, Hailey followed Icarus through the kitchen.  I suppose she didn’t share my opinion of her alpha.  Oh well.  I wasn’t so fond of her either.  Sympathetic, yes, but leery.
    “Mom, Dad,” I began, “this is Caius and Bacchus,” I gestured toward the twins, who smiled roguishly and shook Dad’s hand, “Maximillian, Lucius, and Crispin.”
    “Crispianus,” said Crispin, proudly.
    “Such strong names,” my mom praised, shaking his hand with both of hers.  She liked Crispin.  Doubtlessly he reminded her of Bennie.
    “Family names,” Lucius explained.  “Said to date back to Romulus and Remus.”
    “The founders of Rome,” Dad said.  “Twin rulers suckled by the Capitoline wolf.  That’s quite a lineage you have.”
    “Dad’s a history buff,” I explained, as if it were an excuse.
    Returning from locking Icarus away, Hailey beamed widely at my parents.  “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Llorente!  Thaleia can spend the night, can’t she?  Please, please, please!  We already made plans to paint our nails and do our hair!  And we rented some movies. G irly movies.  If Thale goes home, my brothers will never let me watch them.  So she has to stay.”
    Adding to the charade, she clung to my arm, hopping up and down on her toes, batting her ingenuous eyelashes at my parents.  They never stood a chance.  She had an uncanny talent for inducing pity.  The girl could charm the skin from a rattlesnake with those eyes.   I, myself, was impressed with her ability to transform into a virtual angel.  Especially when I knew she was the devil incarnate.
    “You can stay,” Mom caved.  “But remember to turn your phone on.”
    I forced a smile.  “I will.”
    After embarrassing me with a hug, which I brushed aside because I didn’t know what direction my life was about to turn, my parents left, chatting freely as they ambled down the pathway to the car.  The group of us huddled behind the drapes, spying.  The boys, with their keen supernatural hearing, all laughed at something my Mom said and then grew abruptly sober, glancing appraisingly in my direction.
    “What?” I snapped self-consciously.  “What did she say?”
    Max sighed and excused himself from the room.  Crispin stuffed his earbuds back into his ears, flushing.  Caius and Bacchus ignored me, diving back into their game with renewed enthusiasm.  Lucius scoffed and rolled his eyes.  At whom, I wasn’t sure.
    “I know you heard her!” I pressed, turning to Hailey.  Surely, she would tell me.  Us girls, we had to stick together.  She blinked, apathetic.
    “So boys don’t float your boat.  There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
    I bubbled a laugh.  “I’m not gay.”
    Hailey shrugged and left the room.
    I whirled, meeting Bacchus’s eyes.  “Seriously.  I’m not.”
    “Doesn’t bother me.”
    Caius shrugged indifferently and grabbed his crotch in a gross display of machismo.  “Sugar, I got the cure for that right here.”
    “That’s not funny.”
    “Chill, Thale, it was a joke.   Have a sense of humor.”
    “ Seriously,” Lucius concurred.  “Caius is far from homophobic.  Although, it was much funnier when he said it to me.”
    Oh.  Well, that made sense.  If Lucius was gay, Caius would be the last person to lure him to the straight side.  I guess Caius’s comment would be funny in a completely sarcastic way—to which I could fully relate.  Sarcasm in my household was as coveted as caffeinated beverages in the