Clear Lake

Chapter Nine

"That's the last of it." Kris says, as sets the last box down on my new-to-me dresser.

Another super fun thing about this gig. I get to live in the pack house. Hooray. I'm sure tons of members of the pack would kill to live in the pack house. The building itself is honestly pretty great. Especially compared to my run down building. It's five floors, plus a basement. Less of a pack house - more of a pack mansion.

When you come through the huge front doors, you're greeted by a giant room with vaulted ceilings and seating areas. All rustic wood and comfy leather couches. There are huge antler chandeliers hanging over each sitting area, and different animal pelt rugs. The showpiece of the room is the fireplace. It's made of huge stones, that lead all the way to the ceiling. The firebox could fit 10 men inside it.

The pack house contains the pack hall, which serves as a multipurpose room. It is the dining hall, meeting room, and can be transformed for a formal event. Attached to it is the pack kitchens. There is also an entertainment wing that includes a game room and theater. The second floor has offices for most of the higher ups. The third floor has guest rooms and a wing for unmated pack house staff (now including me). The fourth floor houses the Beta's family and guest rooms for more distinguished guests. The entire fifth floor belongs to the Alpha's family. There's also a basement, which I think just has equipment, decorations, etc.

My room on the third floor is a decent sized bedroom for me. There's a double-sized four poster bed in the center of one wall, with two nightstands. A nice wooden dresser and wardrobe stands on another wall. There is a tiny sitting area by a large window, facing the backyard and forest behind the house. To the left of that, is a door leading to a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and simple shower/tub combo. All the furniture is the same rustic, polished style. The linens are all white. The bathroom, all in white as well.

"I can't decide if this is a perfect blank canvas or just hospital-y." Kris comments, tapping her finger on her chin.

"Hospital-y, huh? Like what you called my apartment?" I ask, eyeing her.

"Your former apartment." She iterates, as she shudders. "And that was more like one of those old mental hospitals, where they experimented on the patients. At least here, there's no weird stains on the walls and the furniture doesn't have human bites taken out of it."

"Well, don't worry, I came prepared to make it un-hospital-y." I inform her, as I reach into one of the boxes.

While I really don't care to have a bunch of nonessentials, I decided I wanted some control on at least some part of my life. I rented my old apartment furnished, so it came with all the basics - just really rundown. The orphanage was also stark and full of hand-me-down furniture. I'd never lived anywhere homey, since losing my parents, so I decided to go on a little shopping spree at Target.

Kris sets my glass lamps with white lampshades on the nightstands and plugs them in. They don't help with the lack of color situation, but they'll give me softer light than this fluorescent lighting on the ceiling. As Kristy sets up my lamps, I pull out a dark blue fleece blanket and a pale pink chunky knitted blanket and lay them over the end of my bed. I add a couple of coordinating throw pillows to the bed. Kristy grabs my potted snake plant and sets it on the small coffee table in my sitting area. I grab my last blanket - an extra soft dark blue sherpa planet with big pink perennials on it - and lay it artfully on the back of the loveseat. I turn around and catch a face full of my last little pillow.

"Heads up!" Kris says, after it had fallen on the floor. She bites her lip, trying not to laugh, then gives up.

I can't help but smile and shake my head at her amusement. I grab the pillow, holding it to myself, as I plop down on the armchair. Kristy lays herself on the sofa.

"Hey, you forgot a box!" She tells me, as she points next to me.

What's this? I didn't pack this box. I open it up and it's packed full of the laciest, skimpiest lingerie and undergarments I've ever seen. Goddess. Clearly, this is Kris' idea of a housewarming gift. I close the box, knowing that if I pull any of that out now, she'll gladly tell me exactly how to wear it and what moves I should pull, while wearing it. I look over and she has a huge cheshire grin on her face.

Oh, we can have fun with this. My wolf pipes up.

I smile, shaking my head at the both of them, and say "Thanks?"

She smiles. "What are best friends for? At least one of us will be having fun with her mate soon." Her smile then melts away. "When do you start again?"

I let out a big breath. Today is Sunday. "This afternoon. I'm supposed go down to the kitchens and observe dinner prep. Afterward, someone named Kiara is going to walk me through everything. That gives me four days and some change to get used to the routine and learn the house, before the other packs get here. They're supposed to arrive on Friday."

I could be united with my mate in 5 days. Am I ready? I don't know. I put my trainings with Reggie on hold this week. I'm not sure the hours of this new job and how much stress it will be. While sparring with Reg is a stress reliever and challenge all at once, I can handle a few days without training.

"Five days," I say out loud.

"And then you get swept away by your mate!" She exclaims dreamily, clasping her hands together.

I feel my wolf's agreement, and roll my eyes at the both of them. Everyone wants me to find my mate way more than I do. As much as I really do need to open my mind fully to all of these experiences and new possibilities, I can't shake my apprehension. My fear. I take a breath and voice a little of my concern to Kris.

I cover my face with my hands. "What if he doesn't like me?" I mumble out.

She doesn't respond, so I peek through my fingers at Kristy's face. She's looking at me like I've lost my mind, and a corner of my mouth pulls up.

"What?!" I demand. "Maybe," I pause. I think about how I would feel if my destined mate really didn't like me, and I'm taken aback at the depth of despair that runs through me. Wow. My heart is deeper in this than I thought. "What if he thinks I'm not good enough?" I mumble, looking at the floor.

"Sarah!" Kristy bites out. "Are you out of your DAMN mind?" She asks. She doesn't let me reply, before continuing. "First of all, you're the most amazing person on the planet! Why else do you think you're my best friend? You're patient, kind, freaking hilarious, easy going. Also, you have a stripper body," she says casually. She waves her hands up and down at my body. "Seriously, girl, you could make BANK."

I laugh, my heart lifting a little.

She squeezes into the tiny armchair next to me, grabs my hand, and lays her head on my shoulder. Speaking a little calmer, she continues, "Your mate is going to be thanking the goddess every day to be blessed to have you for himself."

I feel my wolf bask in her words of encouragement, and find myself comforted.

"I love you, Kristy." I tell her. "Your mate is even luckier than mine."

I feel her smile, and she squeezes my hands. "You got that right," she agrees. "I just hope his dick doesn't fall off from overuse." I burst out laughing, and she joins me.

As I say goodbye to Kris, with a promise to text her to tell her how things go, my outlook is a little more positive. What if she and Iris are right? Maybe I'll love working here this week. Then, my perfect mate will swing through and take me to an even more perfect pack, where I'll have the freedom to still do things I love.

After unpacking my clothes and some of Kristy's raunchy lingerie - goddess, there's a whole stack of crotchless panties - and adding a little decor and my own linens to spruce up the bathroom, I put on my chef's coat uniform that I was given earlier and head downstairs. I'm feeling better than I had, since this whole thing started. Iris would be proud.