Maggie was worried sick about Victoria. The young girl just wasn’t behaving like herself lately. When Maggie was hired by the Drakes, their daughter had been distant. She was facing a whole new life, and the woman didn’t blame her one bit. It was scary for things to change so suddenly, and she knew that, in time, the girl would open up to her. At least, that was what Maggie had hoped.

Over the years of working for the Drakes, Victoria remained just as distant. Maggie realized she just wasn’t the type of girl who wanted to talk. Sure, they would have casual small talk every now and then. Share the “how was your day”’s and “meet any boys yet” but that was where it ended. Victoria was kind enough; she smiled when they spoke, and she was respectful. She just didn’t open up about herself of what was going on in her life.

She didn’t take much offense to it. Maggie was the same way as a child; keeping everyone out, never sharing her true feelings. It wasn’t until she was married and with children that she changed. Maggie was sure Victoria would change one day too.

With her recent strange behavior, she left the old woman concerned. Victoria had never been the one for sleeping out or making up stories of the scary wolves hiding in the woods. Of the wolves who spoke to her. Maggie was concerned that she had found out something about her parents profession, or worse… someone had told her about it.

These concerns racked the elderly woman’s brain as Reese came into the kitchen and picked at the dinner vegetables that were cut up on the counter. Swatting his hand away, she pushed the man out of the room and put them in the oven. Lord, that man was nearly fifty years old and still acted like a child, clubbing on his off nights, picking at dinner. Some days it felt like Maggie was the nanny to two children instead of one.

For lunch, the older woman was planning on making something simple, ham sandwich and maybe chips, so she could really get into the house work. But with Victoria staying out in the woods all night, she decided to make a proper meal for the child. Tomato soup was her favorite when paired with a grilled cheese.

As the brunette stumbled down the staircase, Maggie was setting the meal on the island. Smiling at the girl, she patted her head before heading up the staircase the crack down on the girl’s bedroom. Victoria slowly sipped at the soup as she tried to think of anything except the wolves. It seemed like that was all she could think about lately. Well, why wouldn’t it be?

Sighing, she pushed the food away and made her way to the couch. Some netflix should ease her mind, she thought as she flipped through the new releases. As always, there was nothing she hadn’t already seen, and sure, she could watch supernatural for the hundredth time. No, not this time. Not again.

“Victoria!” Someone called through the house. Vicky sunk deeper into the couch, hoping they would just go away, whoever they were. “Vic?!” Slowly slipping down onto the floor by the couch, she shut off the tv and tried to pretend no one was there. Loud clumping steps sounded behind her, and she knew it was Reese again. “Victoria, come on and get up.” Groaning, she got to her feet to find him grinning at her from behind the couch. “Your boyfriends are here, show me a smile, jeez.”

“Boyfriends?” she questioned, but nonetheless followed him to the back door. “What are you-”

Standing in her backyard were none other than Baekhyun and Chanyeol, though neither looked like they wanted to be there. Victoria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them while Reese draped his arm over her shoulders. “See, they came back for you! No need to be all pouty!” Where he grinned at Vic, he glared at each of the boys, as if he dared them to try something. “I’ll leave you three to… whatever you do, but just no I’m just around the corner, got it?” He started to walk back to the house, but stopped and turned around. He pointed at the boys and smiled, “Oh, and by the way, I hate both of you, so watch it, kay?”

Once Reese had disappeared into the building, Victoria looked up at the boys with a cold glare. Tapping her foot on the concrete slab she stood on, she tried her best to look down her noses at them. Even though deep down, her heart beat quicken and a nervous sweat broke out on the nape of her neck. That cherry hair… Vic cleared , “What do you want? Haven’t you made me feel stupid enough? You don’t need to come rub it in, you know.”

“Oh shut it,” Baekhyun waved her off and took a seat in one of the lawn chairs. “We didn’t come here to tell you how wrong you are. Even though you are incredibly wrong.” He paused and began to pick his nails like he had yesterday, only this time he didn’t seem nervous or uncomfortable. He just seemed powerful. “We came to hear you out.”

Pulling another chair from the table, Chanyeol sits as well and crosses his legs. “We still don’t believe you, but if you need someone to talk to we aren’t going to push you aside.” He gives a large smile that shows all of his pearly whites. “Besides, we would feel terrible if we let you keep going out in the woods all night.”

Victoria couldn’t tell if they just wanted to make fun of her again, or if they really wanted to help. She decided to take the chance and pulled out the chair across from them. “You guys are just going to call me crazy right? I know I’m not crazy.”

“Are you going to accuse us of being wolf people again?” Baekhyun smirks at her. Rolling her eyes, and avoiding his gaze, she shakes her head. He nods, “Then no, we will not call you crazy.”

Sighing, Victoria stood and went to the door. “Maggie!” She called into the house, “Will you bring out some snacks and drinks please? I’m in the back yard with some friends!” Without waiting for the woman’s answer, Vic went back to the boys and took her seat. “I told you the story yesterday, what else do you want to know?”

“You summarized it,” Chanyeol chuckled. “Tell us what really happened. You rushed through it so fast; it was kind of hard to understand.”

Vic pulled the hairband from her wrist and twisted her hair up into a slobby bun. “I was walking home and nearly got attacked by a bunch of wolves. What other details do you need?”

“What made you think it was me?” Baekhyun had an annoyed look on his face. She refused to look at him, and he could tell it was because she was afraid. She was afraid of him.

Awkwardly clearing , Victoria pulled a loose strand behind her ear. How could she explain to him that it was entirely his hair color? To her, it was so obvious, but logically she knew it was a really broad idea.

Perfect timing, Maggie walked out the back door with a tray of teas in her hands. She set one down for each of them, along with the pitcher, lemon wedges, sugar, and honey. “Are you boys hungry?” She smiled at them. “I can whip you all up some snacks if you’d like, or Victoria prefers her fruit, if you’d rather that?”

“Fruits just fine, ma’am,” Chanyeol laughed and reached for the honey. “Thank you so much.” She gave a curt nod and disappeared back into the house, taking the tray in with her. Chanyeol looked down at Vic, “I didn’t know you had house staff. There’s no way she was your mother.”

“No, that’s Maggie.” Victoria squeezed two wedges into her tea and took the honey from Chanyeol. “She’s my nanny, and Reese is my bodyguard. They stay with me when my parents are away, and then go home when mom and dad get home. Maggie’s kids are all adults with their own kids, and her husband passed. Sometimes she’s here full time when her kids are away. Reese likes to party too much to stick around when my parents are gone unless he’s asked to stay.”

Baekhyun chokes on his tea, causing both pairs of eyes to look at him. “So wait, you have a nanny and a personal bodyguard? Really? How much money do your parents make?”

“A lot.”

“Do you have, like, maids and , too? A driver?” Chanyeol was still laughing when Maggie brought out an array of cubed fruits and set them on the table. She pet Victoria’s head before going back inside. “A cook maybe? And why do you need a nanny? You’re eighteen aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” she sorted through the fruits and plucked a chunk of mango out. “But she does most of the cooking and cleaning, too, and she’s really nice. I had a driver for school, but his wife just had their baby, so he’s on leave for awhile.”

Baekhyun was still shaking his head. “What do your parents do?”

Victoria shrugged and continued to eat the fruit. “I’m not sure. They don’t tell me.”

“That sounds safe.”

“No, it sounds illegal,” she corrected Chanyeol. “I know it’s illegal, and I know it’s dangerous. Did you really come all this way to talk about my parents?” As soon as the sentence left her lips, Vic mentally slapped herself. The girl hadn’t figured out how to answer Baekhyun’s question yet.

“Right, no,” Baekhyun says as he sets down his tea. “I want to know why you think I’m the wolfman.”