Bound By The Bond

|C7| ROAST

C 7 | R O A S T

I was in heaven.

Metaphorically, of course.

I had never experienced a shower as good as this one - the best shower at the Hunter's compound was still a sad dribble in comparison.

I moaned as the water slid over my body, decidedly turning the heat up until it burned enough that my skin flushed and became a deep pink.

I hadn't had a warm shower in far too long.

Reluctantly, after washing my hair with the shampoo and conditioner that had been sitting on a shelf that had been cut into the smooth stone of the shower wall, I flicked off the tap and stepped out into the steam-filled room. For a moment, I drew in a deep breath, ignoring that the shampoo and conditioner smelt like Xander.

I now smelt like Xander.

It didn't take long to get changed into the simple beige knitted sweater and deep blue skintight jeans Harlow had laid out for me, the sizing of them perfect.

My outfit was definitely a stark contrast to the black, skin-tight, graphene body armour I would wear on my missions.

Almost as soon as I'd run my hands through the wet, tangled mess of curls that was my hair and scrunched the tendrils, someone knocked on the door - though my heightened senses meant I was already prepared for their arrival.

"Coming," I called out, carefully moving across the room to open the door. Harlow raised an elegant brow as they carefully inspected me, their lips twitching with the ghost of a smirk.

"Cute," they remarked, "I have good taste."

"If you say so," I nonchalantly shrugged, brushing passed them to go back downstairs. They quickly fell into step beside me, unhurriedly leading me to where I assumed the dining hall was.

"You'll need this," Harlow pulled the hair tie off from their wrist and I felt my nose scrunch up as I took it.

"Why?" I found myself asking, though I pulled my long hair up into a high ponytail.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Harlow simply chuckled at my answer, refusing to respond as they guided me down the stairs and out of the house. We walked in silence down the gravel path leading toward the town we'd seen earlier today. I felt myself frown when we came to what looked to be a large function hall, my interest piquing when I noticed people walking in and out of the large, open doors that marked the entrance.

The atmosphere was jovial and light as we made our way inside, and my lips quirked upwards as the bubbling sounds of conversations and laughter floated through the air to where we stood. I gazed around in surprise at the dining hall that had been bathed in warm light thanks to the two chandeliers dangling on the ceiling in the centre of the room and noted the four long tables that stretched vertically from one end of the  hall toward where we were standing. I realised with a start that this place was effortlessly seating at least three hundred people, most of which were animatedly eating the meals in front of them.

My stomach gurgled with hunger as the smell of spices and cooked meat wafted toward us.

"This is where most of our pack members come to eat if they want. We have a buffet open from 5 o'clock-" Harlow tilted their head to the left of the room, referencing the buffet stations there, "and it closes at 9. So if you're hungry, make sure you get here before then otherwise you're on your own.We have cooks at the pack house who organise breakfast and lunch - though you're welcome to the kitchen any time they aren't working." I bobbed my head at Harlow's words, awkwardly stuffing my hands into the pockets of my jeans as I tried not think about how hungry I was.