My eyes flutter open, and I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud. I stiffen, waiting for Felix to wrap his arm around my waist before I remember my current situation, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I feel Nisha stir and rub his head against my hand, purring contentedly. I sit up, run my hand through my hair, and look around my new room. I notice a cat tree in the corner with a water fountain and cat bowl next to it, and I squint my eyes. Fucking Seth! I would have to punch him later. Obviously, I would follow up with a hug and a thank you, but he has already done too much for me!
I get out of bed, skip my morning self-pity ritual, and head to the shower. I take a nice, long, hot shower knowing there's no way Felix will interrupt my peace. I get out and groan when I realize I don't have anything for my skincare routine. Oh well, I'll order some when I'm deemed worthy enough to start getting paid. I walk out in a towel, trying to find my duffel bag, but I'm interrupted by a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I say, wandering to the closet, but I freeze when I'm hit when the scent of lavender and bamboo swirls around me. I turned to face him, mortified he caught me in a towel. I thought it was Seth, or his mate, Gemma! Okay, nudity is literally no big deal in any werewolf community, but I was ready to drop this towel any minute and tell him to do whatever he wanted to me. Tamisra is instantly awake, urging me to just drop the towel. 'Simmer down, horndog'
The Alpha clears his throat, obviously not expecting to see me in a towel.
"Sorry, I thought it was Seth or Gemma," I say sheepishly
"No worries. I just wanted to let you know that breakfast was in 15 minutes. You're welcome to sit at our table."
"Thank you, Alpha. I'll be down shortly."
"I'll wait for you and escort you down to show you the way." He says, his ice-blue eyes meeting my own
"Oh, okay...I'll get ready quick," I say, my heart thumping erratically in my chest.
I know he can hear it. Stupid fucking heart, giving me away! He exits the room without another word while I frantically try to find my duffel bag. I didn't pack anything nice, but it's better than showing up in a towel. I walk into the closet, and my jaw drops when I realize it's fully stocked. Okay, I am definitely punching Seth, but regardless I'm relieved that I don't have to show up to breakfast in sweats and a tee. Okay, I mean to show myself in front of Alpha Roman in sweats and a tee; obviously, I never really cared what anyone else thought until now.
I throw on black jeans and a black shirt with a leather jacket to cover my mark, doing some quick face makeup. Yeah, I brought my favorite makeup and no decent clothes, whatever. Satisfied with my look, I open my door and see Alpha Roman leaning against the wall.
I sucked in a breath; I didn't realize he had tattoos covering his arms, making him look even more fuckable. He's in jeans, and a button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Goddess, how long did it take you to carve this man out to perfection? I need to control my thoughts, or he would smell how turned on I am just by looking at him. Tamisra laughs at me, but I felt her looking through my eyes to catch a glimpse of this God of a man.
He pushes himself off the wall and jerks his head to the side, beckoning me to follow him. We get to the elevator, which dings immediately; we both get in.
"How are you liking your room," he says, looking over at me
"Fine, thank you, Alpha. I didn't expect something so...fancy."
"You can call me Roman when it's just us, nothing formal. Just two people talking. So how do you really like it? "He says, a beautiful crooked smile forming on his face. I can't help but smile back.
"Well, it is fancy, but I haven't experienced anything besides the bed and shower. Although, as long as the shower is nice, which it is, I'm happy" he raises his brows and smiles in amusement at me.
"So, all I had to do to impress you was give you a fancy shower? You could have told me ahead of time, and I wouldn't have put so much effort into picking the best room for you" I immediately stiffen at his response.
"I would be happy with anything, Alpha Roman-er, Roman. I'm honestly not that hard to accommodate," I said, turning to meet his gaze. His eyes suck me back into their depths. Goddess, please control my heart. The elevator dings, and I could rip out all of its buttons for interrupting our moment. Or my moment. Whatever.
He leads me to the breakfast table. I remembered passing it when Seth showed me to my room. Still, I would happily play clueless if the Alpha personally escorted me. Seth, Gemma, a man with blonde hair, and another man with black hair I don't recognize sit at the table. There are also three women, who I, again, don't know, at the table. Alpha Roman speaks as everyone's eyes show a spark of curiosity.
"This is Amara Dawson, Seth's sister. She's our newest pack member; I expect her to be treated with the utmost respect."
I didn't care what he said after hearing my name roll off his tongue. Tamisra decided to play the shithead and sent me images of him saying my name while I rode him. Stupid horny wolf. I clamp my legs together as I sit in the chair he pulled out for me next to Seth and one of the mystery females at the table. Everyone starts to introduce themselves. The woman beside me speaks; she's Violet, the Alpha's youngest sister. Then Beta Aston, his mate Cici, Gamma Max, and his mate Serena. I politely smile at all of them.
"Thank you, everyone; I'm happy to meet you," I say sweetly. Tamisra laughs at me for using my Beta Female etiquette at something as simple as breakfast. 'Fuck off, you know I'm showing off,' I tell her.
Breakfast goes on without a hitch; everyone is curious about the newcomer, of course. I don't share what brought me here outside of wanting to be with my brother. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm unmated, so it doesn't matter. When everyone finishes their food, the Alpha pulls me aside and offers to show me around the territory. Obviously, I agree; giddy to continue to be around him.
He shows me the training grounds, the garden, the parks, and the sports fields. All the while we're talking, the conversation comes so naturally, which is a first for me. I learned he became Alpha at 19; his father eagerly handed over the title. He was close with both of his sisters. Despite Seth being one of his good friends now, he had actually put Seth through the wringer, bringing me a wicked smile. He only laid off when he proved to be an impressive fighter and a suitable mate for his sister. His other sister, Violet, was unmated.
"And what about you?" he says
"What about me?" I shrug
"We've only talked about me this entire walk. Tell me about yourself."
Fuck I hate when people say that to me; it's like I always forget who I am. What do I like? I have no fucking idea!
"Um...well..." I start, mentally kicking myself. Did I say the conversation came easy? I take it back.
"What are your hobbies?" he asks, throwing me a bone.
"Music, reading, cooking. My best friend couldn't cook for shit, so I always cooked all her food for her. It gave me an excuse to hang out with her too. Other than that, my wolf and I used to sneak out of the house during the day and swim in a nearby lake, and she would hunt. But I made her block me out for that part; I have no desire to know what she puts in my stomach."
"Why would you have to sneak out during the day?" he asks, and I stiffen
I let that slip; he didn't need to know that Felix always turned into a baby-back-bitch when I left the house alone all day.
"You know, running away from female Beta duties. I didn't exactly fit in well with the other ranked females aside from the gamma, the best friend who can't cook." I save myself
"Really? Why not? You seem nice enough, and everyone liked you at breakfast." I flush when he says the last part. Yeah, right, everyone was just being polite.
Feeling hot in the sunlight, I shrug off my leather jacket, forgetting about my unfortunate mark. When he looks at me, he lets out a growl that stops me in my tracks. My face pales as I look at him and see chocolate brown swirling in his blue irises.
"You still bear his mark?" he says before letting out another growl.
I stutter to find my words, suddenly terrified "Yes, Alpha, I left the pack the same day as his betrayal. I don't know any spirit witches who could remove his mark," I say, wanting to look down but continuing to hold his gaze, despite my terror. I won't show weakness.
"I see. I have a spirit witch. I will set an appointment with her for you immediately. I can't have that mark leading him to you. I don't know if he'll be able to track you through a forced mate bond, but we can't put the pack at risk because of you." He says, blinking his eyes back to their regular ice blue. I look down at my feet, ashamed I put his pack at risk for my own selfish reasoning.
"No going back now, I doubt he could find you via your mark, but we won't take any risks. Your safety is now my concern as well," he says before turning his back on me and walking further away.
I walk behind him the rest of the way, not wanting to anger him further and risk getting myself thrown out of the pack. Tamisra whimpers in my head at the idea of us being a burden to him.
I watch him make a call, and he hangs up abruptly before turning back to me while I, like the clumsy fuck I am, almost run into him. I'm kind of disappointed my basic instincts kept me from tripping into him, but his following words draw me out of my filthy thoughts.
"The spirit witch of my pack will see you now."