Breakfast

Sylvia:

I stretched, letting my arms move around the blanket. It was soft and had a heavy weight that made me just want to curl back into it and stay forever. Although, if I did would it still count as a day here? Probably not, and even if it did it would be a bit like cheating. I sighed and pulled the blanket back, sitting up on the bed to look around my room. The bed took up a large portion of it but there was still a small desk, dresser that I had set my bags on, and a television that had been playing soft music to help me sleep. My phone sat on the side table next to the bed, where the lamp sat. I unplugged it from the charger and saw a photo message from Melinda. Opening it showed a quick snapshot of her and my sweet Nyx who was curled into her favorite hide in the background. It made me smile, knowing she was safe and sound. I sent a quick thanks and good morning message before walking to my bag and digging out my toothbrush.

If my room had a bathroom I could just hide in here all day, but unfortunately, it did not so I had to leave regardless. May as well face the day, besides the tour sounded a little exciting. I would get to see what the area looked like, how they treated their pack members, and best of all I could get time outside. This house just smelled like them absolutely everywhere, it was becoming strange to not be around it at this point. I walked to the large bathroom on this floor, the same one from the night before. The feeling of Sinlan's hand came back to my mind during the walk, it felt much longer on my own than I remembered. Once I reached it I almost stopped in the doorway. It seemed large last night, but somehow it seemed even more so this morning. It was cold, clearly no one had used it to take a shower yet. Although I could smell both Silas and Sinlan's scents here. They'd been in here this morning, probably to brush their teeth which meant they were already awake and I had slept in. That was a great first impression, it didn't seem lazy at all. I walked to the sink and rolled my eyes at myself. I'm sure they didn't care that I got a little more sleep.

I saw myself in the mirror and thought it was only a shame they couldn't see me right now. If they did then all their hopes of having me as a mate may just run off. I had clearly slept very hard, my hair was evidence enough. It was a much quicker walk to my room to try and change and reign in my hair which was becoming a chaos of curls even more so than it typically did. Thankfully I still had my hair products so a little careful placement and redirection of a few hundred curls and it was at least somewhat under control. I wasn't about to get too dressed up just for a tour of the town so I chose a simple t-shirt that had a forest at night design with jeans. It was one of my new outfits and the shirt was definitely being added to my favorites pile. My curls were settled down my back, my phone in my pocket, and the minimum amount of makeup to look like a living person was in place. It was time to tackle day one.

As I walked down the stairs I heard voices, a debate about cheese or no cheese with eggs. I turned the last corner and saw Sinlan speaking with some people who were clearly cooking breakfast. He was saying they could make a set of both just to be safe when he suddenly stopped talking and turned to face me. His smile made my heart skip a beat as those piercing green eyes found mine. His hair was in a single braid down his back, he was in a black t-shirt and jeans. He leaned against the wall as I took a few more steps toward the kitchen. "Just in case this may help, I love cheese with just about everything. Especially with eggs." I smiled at him as I finally reached the kitchen and stood on the other side of the doorway, keeping an arm's length between us even though my body was yelling at me to close the distance.

"There you have it, cheese with the eggs please."

"Yes, sir." The two said before going back to cooking.

"So, you have chefs?" Are they pack members or just random people they hired?

"Yes, they are two of our best cooks in the pack. Their job is personal chefs for the wolves to stay here. That's Bethany and Caleb. Wolves, greet our guest properly please."

The two known as Bethany and Caleb smiled at me as they walked over and shook my hand. Bethany was first, "It is so nice to have you here, we'll definitely make sure you get a great meal. Just let us know if you need anything." She grabbed my hand with both of hers and shook it quickly her energy bursting with excitement and pride. She clearly enjoyed her work and was very happy to see me here. Did they know why I was here or just that I was a guest?

Caleb was next, he also grabbed my hand with both of his, but his handshake was much more controlled. "Welcome, please let us know if there is anything you prefer or if you need anything. We are happy to oblige." He lowered his head slightly as he backed up. They definitely knew. He wouldn't have lowered his head to an equal. I smiled politely at them both, knowing the end result of my meeting would not only disappoint Silas and Sinlan but all the wolves that had picked up on why I was here. It wasn't their fault though, it was my problem and just one I had to accept.

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind. It smells delicious already!" I kept my voice as nice as possible. My stomach began to growl at the smell of the food, it was definitely past my normal breakfast time. I turned back to Sinlan to ask where Silas was and saw his head was turned to the front door. I followed and within a few seconds knew why he was watching it. I felt him before I saw him, his energy reaching in through the door and the space that separated us to find my own.

The door opened and his eyes found mine quickly. He let out a large, face-filing smile, "Good morning Sylvia." He walked without taking his eyes off me. I let my face drop just to break eye contact and try to contain the blush filling my face. His brown eyes were truly mesmerizing.

I cleared my throat as he reached me, "Good morning, hope you had a good morning." That didn't sound stupid at all. My brain was starting to malfunction between them being so close and the lack of food taking its toll. I took a calming breath, grounding my energy quickly to try and get rid of these morning nerves.

"I did, thank you. Oh cheesy eggs, smells delicious. How long until it's ready?" Now that was a very good question.

"Ten minutes Alpha." Caleb said quickly.

"Very well, we'll be waiting in the living room." We will? He turned to walk that way and Sinlan followed him without any hesitation. The two sat on the sofa facing the television, I took the chair off to the side so I could keep just a bit of physical distance. "The young wolf Alex did well on maneuver training. I approved him for night duty."

"I'll let the Omegas know that way they can work him into the schedule. I know they have a few night guards who have been asking for a lighter schedule so he will be a welcomed addition." It wasn't even ten am yet and he had already run a training round with someone and promoted them. I definitely overslept.

"Are you short guards for night shifts?" My curiosity peaked.

Sinlan shrugged his shoulders, "Depends how you look at it. Night shift has wolves run solo for smaller sections. So we have more wolves than day duty. Day duty is more like training groups to find who would make a good guard for night duty. It requires a bit more movement and speed because you are on your own and have to cover your section nearly non-stop but the pay is much better. Many of our wolves prefer it, but we recently had a couple who had a baby and both have some time off to help them settle into their family home and routines. So, we are officially a bit short right now, but not on a typical day."

"That's pretty great you gave them both time off to be with their new baby." I smiled at the thought. Not all wolves would have given a new set of parents that opportunity.

Silas just smiled at me as he began to click through and find something on the television, "It's standard in our pack. All new parents get six months home, one of them can request an additional six months until the new pup is ready for the daycare centers or a work schedule can be worked out for them." He said it so nonchalantly, as if it was common practice. Maybe I really didn't know much about pack life. I guess my experience was limited to my parent's history and the limited contact I've had since then with them in passing.

"So I was thinking we would start with a tour of the living grounds, then we can go to the schools, cells, and just around lunch time head on over to the lakes." At the mention of the tour my excitement rose. My eyes met Silas' who had a hesitant tone as he had spoken, clearly waiting to see if I approved the plans.

"I think that sounds great!"

"You'll love the lakes, they are beautiful, especially this time of year with the snow on the banks." I pictured the icy water and snow-filled grass around it. It sounded like the perfect place to get away for a while. I couldn't wait!

Bethany and Caleb walked over our plates and a few glasses of sweet tea. I thanked them both before digging in without any consideration that I was surrounded by other people. I was hungry and the food smelled absolutely amazing. If it was possible it tasted even better. "Oh my god!" I said through a bit of food. "There is no way these are the same eggs I have at home." Sinlan was smiling at me as he chuckled and took a bite himself. Silas took a big bite himself and just nodded in agreement that it was delicious. We all ate without much talking. When I was finished I got up to take my plate into the kitchen. I heard the two follow behind me. When I saw Bethany and Caleb cleaning up in the kitchen I turned to them, "That was absolutely amazing. Like unreal level amazing. Not sure what you put into those eggs, but I could eat them every day!" The two wolves thanked me, their energies growing with pride as they smiled and lowered their heads to me.

"So, shall we head on out?" Silas asked, and my heart picked up its pace at my excitement.