Kiki Degrace

Kiki Degrace is Marie's mother, Kai's surrogate aunt, and the adult manager who makes the Wolf's Pool Club function as both a public business and the Howlers' headquarters. Her calm support is rooted in surviving years of domestic abuse and in the protection she and Marie receive from Kai and his mother.

Biography

Escaping Simon and supporting Kai

Kiki's relationship with Simon, an Underdogs heir and Marie's father, traps her in a cycle of violence. She repeatedly leaves after beatings, accepts shelter from her childhood friend Elanor, and returns when Simon promises to change, until he attacks Marie as well. Elanor's effort to fund an escape ends in her own death and Kai's forced succession, while Simon is killed during the resulting conflict. Freed from the Underdogs but burdened by guilt over what Kai loses, Kiki and Marie remain by his side and become the family he retains after his mother's death. (Chapters 329–344)

The adult at the Wolf's Pool Club

When the teenage Howlers take over the ruined pool club, Kiki accepts responsibility for its bar, staff, stock, and daily operation. Her composure gives them a legitimate public front: she hires workers, keeps customers separated from the basement meetings, cares for wounded members, and continues running the venue even after its profits cease to matter. The work is also a choice to trust Kai's new family. After Gary reveals that he is a werewolf, Kiki tells him that few people have earned her trust with Marie, confirming that she sees the Howlers' violence alongside the protection they have given her daughter. (Chapters 127–314, 354–581)

Kiki's role remains domestic and operational as the Howlers grow into a national power. She watches over Kai in hospital, challenges him when he tries to leave before recovering, counsels Marie about whether she truly wants to return to school, and helps disguise Gary for a sensitive meeting. Even when the club's income is negligible, she performs stock checks and closes it carefully because maintaining an ordinary place for the group matters to her. Her latest appearance leaves her alive and still trusted with the headquarters when an unexpected visitor asks for Gary. (Chapters 552–581, 1204–1339)

Appearance and personality

Kiki is a black-haired woman shown in her early thirties during the flashback and described as middle-aged in the present story. During Simon's abuse she bears black eyes, bruises, and at least one suspected broken arm; later scenes show her recovered and working behind the bar. (Chapters 127, 149, 334–336)

She is calm, perceptive, nurturing, and discreet. Kiki can work behind a bar while a fight unfolds nearby without losing composure, recognizes when young people need advice rather than interrogation, and protects secrets that would endanger the Howlers. Her tendency to forgive Simon once prolonged the abusive cycle, but after gaining safety she uses that experience to support Marie's choices without dismissing their risks.

Powers and abilities

Kiki is an ordinary human with no Altered serum, werewolf transformation, Qi, or other demonstrated supernatural power.

Hospitality and business management

Kiki manages the Wolf's Pool Club's bar, schedules and directs staff, handles stock and orders, serves customers, and keeps its public operation separate from the Howlers' basement. Her work turns an abandoned gang property into a stable meeting place and gives the teenage founders an adult capable of maintaining it while they are at school or fighting elsewhere. The scale of the later Howlers businesses moves beyond her direct management, but she remains responsible for the club itself. (Chapters 127–314, 466–581, 1204–1208)

Disguise and practical care

Past efforts to escape Simon leave Kiki familiar with changing her appearance. She uses hair extensions and makeup to age Gary's face for a covert meeting, warning that rough rubbing will dislodge the extensions. She also provides ordinary caregiving by arranging transport, staying with Kai in hospital, and recognizing when injured members need rest. These are learned practical skills, not supernatural concealment or healing. (Chapters 149, 552, 1208)

Relationships

Marie

Marie is Kiki's daughter and the person whose safety finally breaks the cycle with Simon. Kiki dislikes Marie's gang exposure but listens to her uncertainty and tries to preserve her ability to choose a future rather than simply issuing orders.

Kai

Kai grows up close to Kiki and Marie through Elanor's friendship with them. Kiki regards him as family, lets him call her Aunt Kiki, supports the organization he builds, and challenges his self-destructive urgency as an adult guardian rather than a subordinate.

Elanor

Elanor is Kiki's childhood friend, refuge, and strongest protector during the abusive years. Her death while trying to secure Kiki's escape shapes Kiki's guilt and her lasting commitment to Elanor's son.

Gary Dem

Kiki first supports Gary Dem as Kai's young leader, then becomes one of the adults entrusted with his supernatural secret. Her advice helps Gary repair his trust with Kai, and her confidence in him reassures Gary that his leadership has protected Marie rather than merely endangered her.

Items

Kiki uses ordinary bar supplies, hair extensions, cosmetics, and club records in her work. None is established as a signature possession or finalized notable item in the supplied inventory.