Wolf Bound

Chapter 33: A Welcome Feast

"Gladly," Miranda bowed, her smile inching further. "Anyway, lunch will be served in the next hour. I'm sure you're all hungry after your long trip. If any of you would like to join, don't be afraid to come to the main dining hall. You can ask any of the guards for directions."

After thanking her again, Vincent turned to us. As soon as Miranda slipped out of view, Dimitri was the first to pop the question, "Okay, so who's bunking with who?"

"I don't mind bunking with whoever." Claudia shrugged, her signature smile on her face.

"I can bunk with Vincent or Claudia, no problem," Bennett chimed in.

Looking at Vincent was a mistake. Because when I looked at him, he was already observing me; a silent question in his eyes, asking me who I'd be most comfortable sharing a room with. The obvious answer would've been him and he knew that. After all, we'd been housemates for this long. But there was a problem. I didn't know how open we were willing to be about things just yet. If anything, it might've been safe not to bunk with him.

We never touched on what happened between us last night. I feared that was going to be the norm if I didn't do something about it. I could already feel him putting distance between us again. Not exactly the kind of distance he'd put before, but it was enough to make my chest ache. Like we'd taken one major step forward only to retreat a few steps back.

"How about this? Bennett and Claudia in one room. They're close enough. Vincent and Dimitri in another room. Then, Genesis, Dylan, and me in the room across from yours." Mariah rode in like my avenging angel before winking at me. So, she noticed my dilemma.

"Sounds good to me," Vincent agreed.

That was all it took for us to scatter. I cleared my throat, drawing Vincent's attention. He was laying bags down in our room. Probably mine. While Mariah and Dylan weaved in and out.

"Hey, is this feast something, like, that I have to dress nice for?" I frowned, murmuring to myself, "I don't have any nice clothes with me. . ."

"Not really. But we can go out and find something for you, if you'd like," he said.

"Oh okay, what usually happens at a feast anyway besides eating?" Was it anything like the kinds of dinners humans had? I imagined a big celebration. A big dining table with food, then a little bit of mingling, maybe.

"There's always some drinking. Sometimes, there's a little bit of dancing too. It's an overall fun time for shifters to enjoy themselves and unwind a little." Vincent shrugged. "An every once in a while occasion. Just try your best to enjoy it."

"Okay. By the way, there are other wolves in this house, right?"

Vincent nodded. "All the other members from other packs will be staying here."

"Why? Thinking of getting up to no good? I heard you have a track record for that," Dylan teased. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Oh sweet, we have two beds here. Good thing we nabbed this room," she added, hopping on one of the full-sized beds.

"Looks like there's a cot over there too. If you and Genesis want to take the beds, I don't mind taking the cot," said Mariah, brushing past Vincent into the room.

"Nah, that's fine. You're too long for the cot, Mar. I'll take it," Dylan said. While the two bantered back and forth about the cot—ultimately Dylan taking it in the end—Vincent snuck out of the room unnoticed.

The next forty minutes were spent situating ourselves in the pack house until we were ready to head over to the dining hall as a unit. Well, all except for Vincent, Bennett, and Claudia. The last I saw of them was their goodbyes after excusing themselves to meet with Alpha Merrick. They'd catch up with us later, they said. It'd been an hour since then.