Were's the Love?

Chapter 2 - Eggs Without Toast; A Sin Against Breakfast

I wake up before Jason, like always. Honestly, my sleep habits are a mess. I blame genetics. Cats are always all over the place, napping when they feel like it, and snowy owls can sleep whenever they damn well please. Unfortunately for me, I have to have a job. It's one of the many rules in this tribe. Everyone must contribute something. For some, they are warriors. They guard the villagers in case one of those packs of idiots decides to come and make a meal out of us or whatever other asinine reason they decide to attack us might be.

However, owls make piss poor warriors. Sure, we can see at night and that's great, if we feel like pecking someone to death or shitting on their heads. I guess I could claw someone's eyes out, but that's only if I don't get tossed around or eaten first.

No, the position of warrior usually goes to those who can transform into something more useful in battle, like a bear or a wolf. They are usually a bunch of egotistical assholes. I might be a little biased on that though. Both of my last mates were warriors and they were assholes to the extreme.

My first lucky draw gave me Jeremy. He was a grizzly bear with a touch of ferret and he was a jerk. It was thanks to him that I realized how little I enjoy being randomly paired with someone. He was possessive and demanding. I had to be home by a certain time. Dinner had to be on the table at 6 pm, not a minute later. Then, there was the sex. He wanted it every night. Thankfully, he didn't force me on that one, but he got really moody when I told him no. He'd be a complete asshole until I caved. It didn't matter if I waited hours or days. Moody asshole the entire time.

Then, there was Derek. He was a wolf, like Jason, but he's full-blooded. Because he's not some weird combination of two dissimilar animals, he thought that he was better than everyone else. I don't remember how many times he tried to tell me how lucky I was to be paired with him. He was aggressive and easy to piss off. However, let's not talk about that bastard right now. I prefer just to forget about him altogether. Two years stuck with him was more than enough.

I swear that that stupid hat has it in for me. Thank god Jason's not a warrior or I might have ended up clawing my own eyes out just to end my suffering. No one wants a mate who's blind because they choose to be.

If you're interested, my job is that of a teacher. High School English. What a gloriously boring subject. Don't get me wrong, I love reading. I am an absolute bookworm. I just forgot that when you teach any subject, you teach the same... shit... every... year. Shakespeare is fabulous, but four years of listening to a bunch of teenagers giggle when you read a sonnet or watch that old copy of "Romeo and Juliet" where you get to see Juliet's tit for a fraction of a second, it gets old, fast.

The nice thing about being with Jason is that we work at the same place, so carpool. Yay. Despite him being a wolf when he shifts, that Labrador in him kept him from being much of a fighter. They tried it for a little while. He treated the training like a game. When he was told to attack, he did, but there was an obscene amount of licking and slobber involved. So, yeah. Instead, he teaches physical education. Yep, he's a gym teacher. A pretty lively one at that. You should see that man catch a frisbee. Jumps in the air and grabs it in his teeth, just like the dog that he is inside.

I crawl out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. The whole room still smells like wet dog, despite the fact that Jason showered hours ago and I used the tub after him. But, then again, the whole house smells like wet dog in my opinion. It makes sense. It's his house. One of the other ridiculous rules they place on us. The women move in with their lover, not the other way around. It doesn't matter if I want to have a place of my own. Nope. I have to move in with my "mate" whether I want to or not. It's incredibly inconvenient. I don't want to have to pack up all my shit every two years and move, just because that damn hat has a sick sense of humor. It'd be a hell of a lot easier if I could just live on my own. Then I could quit pretending like I am a good lover. I know that I'm not. Both of my previous mates claimed that I was a heartless bitch. Maybe I am. Honestly, I don't give a shit either way. I just don't like hurting people if I can avoid it. I guess that means I have at least a little bit of a heart, right?

I quickly do what I need to do and give myself a once over in the mirror. I start putting on a touch of make-up. I don't need much. I'm not bad looking and I have never felt like wasting hours on trying to impress people by adding a pound of the stuff all over my face. My long black hair has a nice natural wave to it, but only if I keep it long. I tried cutting it short when I was a teen. God, it was awful. Those beachy waves that people like turned into little tornadoes springing out all over my head. It would tangle if there was the slightest breeze and don't get me started on days with high humidity. I looked like I had a sheep glued to my head. Never again.

I tie my hair back into a sloppy bun and apply a bit of eyeliner and mascara, just to make my blue eyes pop against my pale skin. A touch of pink lip gloss and I'm done. I rummage through the closet quietly. The last thing that I want to do is wake up the mutt. He has a habit of waking up with morning wood. If we have time, he likes to have me "help" take care of it. I'm not interested. Not today. Usually, not ever, but I have to throw the poor guy a bone sometimes.

After I change into my self-dubbed "teacher clothes," I make my way to the kitchen. I look through the cupboards to find...nothing. Literally, nothing. I know we had food in the house last night. Not much of it, but what the hell happened? My guess is the dog did something stupid again. Fuck. I guess it's eggs and bacon, without toast. It should be a crime to eat this kind of breakfast without toast. I know that some people like those no carb diets, but I'm not one of them. My natural metabolism is faster than your average human's. I need those carbohydrates. Give me a hefty plate of pasta and I'm in heaven. Not for breakfast, but for any other meal, I love that shit. Oh well, I'll just add a healthy dose of sugar to my morning cup of coffee. You're supposed to eat your coffee, right?

By the time I have breakfast ready, I can hear Jason stirring in the bedroom. I know he'll be out in a minute. It doesn't take him long to get ready in the morning. He doesn't really need to dress up to teach gym class. A pair of clean sweats and t-shirt, then he's ready to go. Me, I'm stuck looking like a naughty librarian with a longer pencil skirt and no glasses. I'm a little jealous that he gets to wear pretty much anything he wants.

"Morning beautiful," Jason comes into the kitchen, his face still dripping with water after he brushed his teeth. I swear that the idiot has a hole in his lip. He leans across the kitchen island and plants a wet one on my cheek. "What'd you make for breakfast? It smells delicious!"

"Eggs and bacon," I do my best to smile, "No toast though. We're out of bread...and everything else. We need to stop by the store after school's over."

"Okay," he grins, "So, what are you doing for lunch today? You usually like to pack something in one of those brown bags and eat alone in your classroom."

"I'll just buy something in the cafeteria," I sigh and pick at my plate. I miss toast.

"Does that mean we can eat together?" his eyes light up with excitement and I can almost see his tail wagging as he looks up from his food. Idiot. "I've been wanting to eat with you forever."

"You're eating with me now, Jason," I can't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, I know," he sighs, pouting a little. Damn those puppy dog eyes of his. "It's not the same. I want to eat where everyone can see us. It's been three months and you won't let me take you on a date. We go to work, go shopping, then come home. I know that I'm not the kind of guy that you're used to being seen with, but we are still a couple, right?"

"We are," I nibble on my bacon, staring down at my runny yolk. Is it weird to dip the bacon in the yolk? Nah. That yellow snot gets all over the plate anyway, so it can't be that weird.

"Then, will you eat lunch with me?"

"Sure, Jason," I sigh, "Whatever you want."

"Great!" his smile fills his face and he licks his plate clean. Who does that?