One Bite

Chapter 2-3

"My apologies." Gamma Jameson put two meters of space between us. "I'm not used to being drawn into the presence of such beauty."

"Thank you, Gamma..." My head swiveled back and met his gaze, my lips parting at his handsome appearance.

His long dark hair was tucked into a band behind the nape of his neck, which exposed his strong jawline and high cheekbones. A slight crook altered the otherwise perfect bridge of his nose, and a scar sat under his left eye.

After realizing that I was probably staring, I averted my eyes and replied, "Although I assure you, I've never looked worse."

He chuckled as we entered their pack house. My mouth dropped at the great hall's expansive, stone, thirty foot ceilings. Long black curtains hung, framing twenty foot tall windows, and puddled on the floor. A central banner displayed the Silverback sigil.

A large table and chairs were the main furniture items, but by the worn arm rests, this dining room was used by more than two.

"Cassandra." Alpha Faelen turned to his Luna. "Please see Miss Zara to her room."

"Alpha Faelen." Cole stepped forward, his face furrowed with another concern, "Beta Baron contained one of the rogues."

"Yes." Faelen's expression hardened as he nodded. "He escorted the prisoner down to the cells."

"May I have a word with you? Alpha Cassius has been contacting me." I looked at Cole sharply, but he ignored me.

My father asks about a prisoner, but not me?

A pit of disappointment settled in my chest. I tried to plaster a masked smile on my face, but inside my ego was hurt.

"Of course, Cole." Alpha Faelon's eyes glazed over as he led Cole in another direction. Anders and Jameson shared the same look and realized they mindlinked with each other. They blinked their eyes back to normal, and followed Faelen and Cole down the hallway on our left.

"This way, Miss Zara." Luna Cassandra led me and Elena down the hallway on our right.

"Luna Cassandra," I started. "This is -"

"Cassandra is fine." She smiled at me for the first time, her cheeks relaxing. "Now that the formalities are finished."

"Cassandra." I returned the smile and elbowed the other Naked Nellie with me. "This is Elena, my, uhh... historian."

"Pleasure, Elena. You've seen the main hall, our common gathering space. The east side of the pack house are the living quarters, while the kitchen, informal dining room, pack offices, infirmary, and library are on the west wing. Our training fields are off-site, I'm sure Lucus and Raina will be happy to show you those as soon as you've recovered."

My eyes traveled as she spoke. Strangely, for a castle with all-stone walls, the packhouse was quite warm and cozy. The rooms were small but intimate, every one with a view of the expansive blue-gray ocean and a wood-burning fireplace. Halfway down the east wing hall, she opened a door on the left and revealed a comfortable bedroom.

"Zara, this is your room, Elena yours and Cole's -" I glanced at Elena and smiled at the redness on her cheeks.

They didn't share a room in my father's house. At least not formally.

"- is across the hall."

Across the hall?

I was thankful they would be nearby but wasn't sure if they needed to be that close. In no position to complain about a lack of privacy, not to the Luna welcoming us into their pack house for a month, I pulled a tight smile.