Verticordia

Two

"On your right." Gia moved past me quickly holding trays of food trying not to drop anything.

Being on the kitchen shift was my least favorite duty. Don't get me wrong none of them were fun, but kitchen duty was much more hectic than the rest of the chores. Our shifts rotate weekly, so that we don't get too comfortable in one setting. Thankfully for me, I liked the weekly change ups. It kept everything slightly more interesting. Skye was one of the cooks for the night and I didn't envy her one bit. If there was one thing wrong with the food she'd be responsible along with a few other humans who were given the same job. I was just running the food out tonight and refilling people's drinks when they needed it. I'd have to help clean up after dinner as well of course, but that isn't too bad.

"I've got these ones." I announced picking up the trays they were just filled. I carefully walked out of the kitchen into the main dinner room for the pack. I kept my eyes trained on the table, making sure not to make eye contact with any pack member. I didn't need to be seen as disrespectful. Gia passed by on her way back, "There's another pack here." She whispered causing my eyes to widen. I guess that explains why they needed so much food for the night. I tried to remain calm as I made it to the table and slowly lowered the trays onto it one by one.

"You." I stiffened as I heard a strong male voice by kept my gaze downward. He could've been talking to anyone.

"Human girl are you deaf?" The voice spoke again and this time I knew there was question about the fact that he was addressing me.

I lifted my eyes to see the guard from the males quarters earlier gazing at me. There was another man I'd never seen before sitting beside him who was also giving me his full attention.

"I'm sorry sir I didn't realize you were speaking to me." I didn't mean the apology but I knew I had no choice but to give one.

"How's your friend?" He raised his eyebrow while bringing his glass to his lips. I panicked slightly not knowing how to respond.

"I'm sure he's doing okay and more importantly has learned his lesson." I decided on the best response I could think of. I gaged his reaction and was surprised when he let a grin spread across his face.

"You're good at that aren't you?" He laughed causing my heart rate to accelerate. Whenever these wolves laughed it usually was at someone's misfortune. This was a bad sign for me. Once again I racked my brain trying to figure out what I could say to the brown haired brute. I didn't allow myself to take note of him too much earlier but now that I was standing here alone looking at him I wasn't shocked to see that he's beautiful, all wolves are.

"Good at what sir?" I cleared my throat trying to stop my eyes from wandering over his frame.

"At knowing all the right things to say." I couldn't control the expression of defeat that washed over me. Opening my mouth I quickly closed it.

"I know you don't mean any of the pleasantries. But it does intrigue me that you're able to keep it going." He continued when he knew I wasn't going to speak.

"I do mean them." I defended weakly.

"That's probably the first time that you weren't semi convincing." He leaned back in his chair eyeing me up and down.

Uncomfortable under his gaze I shifted my feet. "If you'll excuse me I have other trays to bring out. I hope you both enjoy your dinner." I let my eyes drift slightly to the unknown man beside him and my breath hitched. The intensity of his eyes made me want to cower away under my covers.

I rudely didn't wait for the guard to respond and rushed back to the kitchen. I leaned against the wall trying to get a hold of myself. I took a few minutes to get my breathing under control before moving back towards the area where everyone else was.

"I heard some guards talking about it earlier. The visiting pack sounded like they're this packs higher up or something. I think they're here to check up and make sure everything's running smoothly." I heard a guy speak that I've seen around a few times.

"I can't imagine Alpha Jones having to answer to someone that's his higher up. How does that even work?" Gia asked to no one in particular.

"There's packs with more powerful and more cruel Alphas than Alpha Jones. I've heard stories from some of the people that were transferred here from other packs." Hailey, the human who was with this pack the longest, jumped into the conversation.

"I don't even want to know what those Alphas do if they're more cruel than ours. I didn't think it could get any worse." Skye added while cooking from behind the counter.

"If they're that cruel we should probably get the rest of their food out there." I looked towards Gia and nodded towards the trays.

She nodded and we both grabbed our trays. I was more comfortable that we'd be going out there together at the same time. Hopefully the guard wouldn't try to talk to me again. I also hoped that the man that I now clearly knew was from a different ruthless pack would pay me no mind.

Just like the first time I walked carefully but tried to walk as fast as possible so I could go back and hide in the kitchen. I moved towards the end of the table where there was open space and once again lowered the trays. I kept my eyes casted downwards but could feel a burning gaze on the side of my face. The temptation to look up was too much for me. Immediately my eyes locked with the man from the other pack. His eyes were almost black and held the same amount of intensity that they had a few minutes ago. I let my eyes travel across his form. His jaw was clenched tightly and his shoulders held clear tension. His frame was wide, probably wider than 2 average sized humans standing next to each other. His black t-shirt clung to his chest and if I looked closely I could make out every muscle that was underneath. Hearing someone clear their throat caused me to meet his eyes for the third time tonight. His eyebrows furrowed as a quick flash of confusion passed across his face. If i would've blinked I could've missed it. The emotion was gone as soon as it came.

"Let's go." Gia came up beside me while watching our exchange.

Snapping out of my trance I felt my face heat up. I followed Gia back to the kitchen struggling to make sense of why I was so confident in openly assessing a werewolf, especially one that I knew came from a powerful pack.

Closing the door of the kitchen behind me, Gia abruptly turned around, "What the hell was that?"

"I actually have no idea." I answered simply before brushing past her.