Ryleigh and Sky wandered through the centre of the pack, with Sky elucidating in as few words possible the sights they passed, such as the dining hall and training field. Ryleigh had never seen a pack as big as this one.
"Incoming," Sky said.
Ryleigh started from her thoughts and gave her a dazed look. "What?"
"There you are," Austin said behind her.
Sky just raised her eyebrows in a Too late to run now way, and Ryleigh fought the urge to roll her eyes. She pasted a smile onto her face – a very insincere one, it must be said – and twirled around.
"Ah, Austin," she said. "Did you find a moment in your busy schedule to check if my babysitter is keeping to the list?"
"I am," Sky said, plucking the piece of paper from where she had tucked it behind her belt. She unfolded it. "It's Ryleigh who hasn't been keeping to the list."
"That's because it's a stupid list."
Austin put his hands in his pockets and gave her a one-shouldered shrug. "If you knew how to behave, you'd need neither a babysitter nor a list."
"If you knew how to treat me right, perhaps I'd behave." She cocked a brow.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't take the bait. Instead, he turned to Sky. "So, how did it go today?" He cast Ryleigh a sideways glance. "No need to sugar-coat it."
Sky refolded the list, brows furrowed. "I like her."
"You do?"
"Let's not act like that's unimaginable," Ryleigh said. "I am actually quite likeable, you know, under the right circumstances."
Sky shook her head. "You're an acquired taste."
"Well, you acquired it in less than a day, so I'll take that as a win." She turned to Austin. "So what, you thought she wouldn't like me? Is that why you tossed us together? To see me stuck with someone who can't stand me? Well, joke's on you. We've become great friends."
"Don't push it," Sky said.
"Don't fight it."
Sky breathed a slow sigh and handed Austin the list. "With some effort, we managed to follow most of the list, but she hasn't eaten all day."
"This seems the right moment to remind you that you're neither my nurse nor my father," Ryleigh said, snatching the paper from Sky's hold before Austin could take it from her. She ripped it in two, then rearranged the two halves and tore them again, and again. "You do not get to tell me what to do."
Austin removed his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest, muscles rippling underneath his shirt. "If that is so, why did you follow most of the list?"
"Because Sky is intimidating, and because most of it was common sense anyway. But let me be very clear: I'm a wolf, not a dog that will roll over at your command." She released the shreds of paper, the wind hunting them across the ground towards the woods. "Understood?"
He inclined his head ever so slightly, the ghost of a smile haunting his lips. "Understood."
She stuck out her chin and regarded him. "Am I amusing you, Beta?"
"Always." He nodded in the direction of the dining hall. "Dinner is about to be served. Since you haven't eaten, perhaps you'd like to come with me? If you're up for it, anyway."
This threw her off, and she followed his gaze to the large building. "Dinner? With your pack?"
He nodded, raising his brows slightly as if to dare her.
"How many wolves are we talking?"
"Few hundred. Not everyone fits, so we eat in shifts. Don't like crowds, huh?"
"No, and I'm guessing we have that in common. But I'll come. I'm actually quite hungry now." She matched his provoking expression. "Question is, are you ready for everyone to see your mate? Are you done hiding me away in a dark corner?"
"I never tried to hide you."
"If you say so."
Sky cleared her throat. "Am I dismissed, Beta? I would like to actually have dinner rather than just discuss it."
Austin smiled and nodded. "Of course, Sky. Thank you for your help today."
"You didn't give me much of a choice."
"I know. I won't ask you to babysit again. Will you eat at our table tonight?"
"Would be my pleasure." She nodded and turned briskly, disappearing towards the dining hall.
Ryleigh grinned. "She loves me."
"Don't give yourself too much credit. Though admittedly, Sky doesn't like many people."
She shrugged, flashing him a smug smile. "Like I said, I'm likeable."
He snorted a chuckle and shook his head. "I don't think you have a very realistic image of yourself." He looked over his shoulder to the two guards who had been trailing Ryleigh ever since she left her room and dismissed them with a nod.
"How do you like your guards?" he asked.
Ryleigh turned to look at them leave. "Nate and Seth? They're fine."
He looked like that hadn't been the answer he'd been expecting. "Follow me."
He started moving and Ryleigh quickly caught up with him. "Wouldn't you like that." She eyed the dining hall, which was consistently coming closer, and saw the line of people trickling inside. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was drawing attention towards herself, yet everyone she passed turned to stare.
"We don't wait in line," Austin said when Ryleigh moved to join the queue. He placed a hand on her lower back and redirected her past the crowd, straight into the hall. She looked at him, then at his arm, but made no remark, if only because his touch soothed the deep aching in her muscles.
Ryleigh paused in the entrance, wide eyes taking in the scene before her. Rows and rows of tables were placed neatly aligned throughout the hall, half of which were already filled. The tables were long, big enough to house a few dozen wolves. The chatter rising up from the crowd was deafening and she felt a need to cover her ears.
For a moment, the chatter reached its peak intensity as people started to take notice of her, jabbing each other and pointing, then a strained silence fell over the room and all eyes turned to her. The sudden shift in volume left her with her heart pounding loudly in her ears and she could feel the tension seep into every fibre of her being. She couldn't remember ever having this many eyes on her, especially all at once, and there was something about their collective gaze that kept her pinned to her spot.
"I've changed my mind," she said, turning to leave. Austin's hand moved away from her back and wrapped around her wrist instead, stilling her.
"You can do this." There was no challenge in his voice this time. His fingers slipped around hers and he took a few steps, tugging at her. She sighed and let herself be set in motion, following him quietly into the hall. She kept her head high – she did not like the stares but that didn't mean she'd let herself be intimidated – though her eyes flitted nervously around her. Most of the tables were placed vertically, but at the head of the room one table stood horizontally on a slightly raised platform. She recognised some of the people gathered around it – Sky, Ellis, Conall, and Carry. She kept her focus trained on that table, trying to ignore the hush of whispers that followed whenever she passed a table.
Ellis rose from his seat in the middle, facing the room, and gave her a smile that was nothing but genuinely friendly, to the extent that she felt it would be very rude not to give him some kind of smile in return. And so she forced the corners of her mouth upwards awkwardly. He extended her his hand, which reminded her that hers was still in Austin's. She removed it hastily and shook Ellis' hand.
"Pleasure to finally properly meet you, Ryleigh," he said, that warm smile still stuck on his face.
She nodded and slipped her hand from his, letting it drop uselessly to her side. She let her eyes wander across the table, meeting the gaze of three men she had never seen before.
"Ah, let me introduce you," Ellis said. "These are three of my council members. We have Camden here, Kyle here, and this is Archer, who is also my head warrior. Sky you have met today, I think. And this is Conall. And of course you've met Caroline." He nodded to everyone as he named them, and they nodded at her. She smiled at them, remembering her promise to Austin to be on her best behaviour.
Her eyes came to a rest on Conall, who was eying her with a slight smirk (which seemed to be the default position of his facial muscles). "I remember you," she said. "The one who silvered me."
Conall's smirk turned to a grin. "Glad to be remembered."
Sky, seated beside him, shot him a glare and proceeded to jam her elbow hard into his side, which earned her a strangled 'oof' and a few choice words.
Apparently there was still room at the table beside the inner circle, and Ellis mentioned something about liking to invite random pack members to eat with them, and he continued to give their names too, though Ryleigh didn't bother to remember them, or even properly register them.
"Please, sit," Ellis said, gesturing to two empty chairs. Austin took place beside him and Ryleigh hesitantly set herself beside her mate, eyes once more flitting across the room. Sitting there, a tad higher than the rest, she felt even more displayed than before, and every wolf in the room was craning their necks to stare at her. Until they weren't. In unison, they snapped their heads back to their tables, and the chattering continued. She frowned and looked at her table companions, wondering if they knew what had just happened. Her eyes found Ellis, who nodded at Austin, who was disinterestedly plucking at a stray string of his shirt. She realised he had linked the entire pack to keep their eyes off her and a wave of relief swept over her.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it." He looked up, watching the servants coming in with the food. There was a large table at one side of the room, beside the door leading to the kitchens, which is where they stalled out all the food.
"Do we go get it?" she asked, her stomach rumbling enthusiastically.
Austin shook his head. "The others do, but we are served."
"Really? Wow."
"Perk of being high up in the ranks. You know, you might not have been this hungry if you'd eaten anything throughout the day."
"Still not my nurse," she said, eying a couple of servants trailing towards them with steaming plates.
"I'm glad to see you're doing better, Ryleigh!" Carry said, smiling. The teenager was sitting across from her. "You no longer look like you've been dead three days."
"Thank you, I suppose." It was only with a great show of self-restraint that she managed not to start eating before the entire table had been served. She kept her eyes trained on Ellis, and when he picked up his cutlery, it was a sign they all could start eating. She bit back a moan as she chewed. This was the first time in days she was actually hungry and food actually tasted good again.
"So does this mean you're not going to die?" Carry asked.
Ryleigh's fork paused halfway to her mouth. She slowly brought the utensil back down, a smile twisting her lips up.
"Carry!" Ellis said. "Remember your manners."
"I don't mind bluntness," Ryleigh said. "Honestly, after spending the day with Sky, I'm prepared for anything. I was never going to die."
"You sound so sure, but Ridge wasn't so sure and he's the expert," Carry said.
"Ridge doesn't know everything."
"He told me that if you get silvered again, you'll die, no matter how stubborn you are. Is that true?"
Ryleigh blinked. "Well, that depends on when I'd get silvered again. If it were to happen now, yes, I'd die. If I get the time to get rid of some of the poison still inside of me, I should live."
"How long will that take?"
"This is not a great topic, Carry," Ellis said. "Leave the woman alone."
"She doesn't mind my questions. Do you, Ryleigh?"
Ryleigh smiled. "No, it's fine. With the amount of silver currently in my system... I'm not exactly sure. I've been silvered numerable times but not usually this much in this short a time. I expect it will take a while. Months. Years, maybe. It's a slow process. I'll be doing much better in a few days, though."
"How many times have you been silvered?"
"Carry," Austin said, warning.
"I'm just asking because she has so many scars," Carry said.
"Carry."
"It's fine," Ryleigh said, but everyone noticed the tightness travelling over her features. "I'll tell you about that some other time. The alpha is right – it's not the best conversation to have over dinner." Her demeanour said it was not the best conversation to have at all, but no one dared call her out on that.
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A/N: Carry's not afraid to ask questions, that's for sure. Though she might need some patience for the answers, if she'll ever get any at all.
Thanks for reading!