Aching and exhausted, I stare up at the ceiling, totally spent.
Asra surely teased me, and he teased me good. I could feel the ache of bite marks, hand prints and hickeys across my body. I was drenched in more places than one, and the moment we finished and I could lie down, I haven't moved since.
Asra had tried to get me dressed but sub-sequentially gave up and was instead doing something in the bathroom. I lay for what felt like forever, and when he emerged from the en-suite clad in only boxers, my vagina ached at the memory of that god-like body against mine.
He smirked, moving to sit at the edge of the bed. "Feeling alright?"
I barely made a noise, grunting an indifference.
"I was just cleaning up the bathroom. We made quite a splash." He smirked.
I snorted a laugh, turning my head to look at him. "No maids?"
He rolled his eyes, his finger daring to poke a fresh hickey on my breast. "They're off today."
This had me actually moving, my eyes flying open with shock. "Come again?"
"I already did twice." He smirked.
I tutted, pushing myself up on my elbows. "You said they're off today? What and why?"
He inhaled sharply as he moved to lie beside me. "I thought a lot about what needs to be sorted in this pack. Today is the first of many."
"First of many, what?" My eyes widened.
"Days off."
He didn't continue, and I gave him a look, blinking down at him. "Please expand, oh mighty man."
"Every Sunday, they have a day off. Completely off."
"One day a week?" I scoffed and when he gave me a look, I sheepishly smiled. "I mean, that's a great start..."
Asra chuckled, the sound deep and throaty. "It is a start. That's what counts, right?"
"Sure," I smiled. "What's next for them?"
"Lunches. Everyone gets a free lunch from their own dedicated kitchen buffet."
"Segregating them?"
He nodded. "If I didn't, it would only aggravate the beasts. I have to handle this delicately, or there may be a few dead maids to account for."
I frowned, nodding once. "So Sunday rest day, one meal a day, what about hourly pay?"
"Hourly pay? I'm not sure about that, but daily pay, I've doubled it."
I hummed. "So those that work six days... They lose a day of work, to only have their working days doubled?"
"I know, I know. But twenty-four coins are double their normal, for now." He deadpanned. "Baby steps, Tulip."
I sighed. Of course, it would have to be baby steps. It has only been a few hours since the meeting, anyway. But wolves cannot seem to handle a massive change like this. From what Asra is saying, it would send them into a complete loss of routine and they would lose their temper. It sounded like taking away a toddler's favourite car, or forcing a teenager to play outside.
"Baby steps." I agreed.
I was just happy he realised he needed to make a change.
"Perhaps in the future, less six day shifts, more rotary shift work. Mornings versus afternoons, or three days on, three days off. Maybe do a questionnaire, see what they want to try." I suggested.
His blue eyes searched mine, and he seemed to fall into thought. His lips pursed, focusing his eyes on me as his pupils dilated. Eventually, he clapped and sat upright.
"You want to do that?"
"Wait-what?" I stammered.
"You want to gather them up? Do a questionnaire, a focus group, a... seminar?" He wondered.
"Really?" My eyes widened.
"Well, you are the luna. Things like this would be good morale." He cocked his head, curious.
"I mean, I guess..." I hesitated, suddenly nervous. "Really?"
"Yes, Tulip." He smirked. "Whenever you are ready, we shall get word out for a meeting."
"Perhaps one day after their lunch." I beamed.
He chuckled. "One day after their lunch. And tomorrow, more about Flynn."
***
The next morning, I was up at my usual time.
It was Monday, which meant a new week of doing something great.
What, I did not know yet, but I knew that today was the start of looking into my past.
"Morning, Tulip." Asra mumbled, kissing my temple.
Rolling closer to him, I kissed him softly, my limbs aching. "My everything hurts."
He grinned, running his nose down the side of my throat. "You smell great."
"Like sex?" I frowned.
"Like me and also that strawberry soap."
I laughed softly. "I guess that's better than sex."
"There is nothing wrong with my scent and our pleasure combined."
"Smelling like semen and cum, hmm, doesn't sound too appealing to me." I snorted a laugh.
He growled teasingly. "My semen is top quality."
My lips curled into a grimace. "Gross. I'm going to poop."
"You say I'm gross?" He laughed as I made my way to the bathroom.
Getting ready for the day ahead, I couldn't help but blush at the many teeth marks left on my skin. It was warm, which meant I had no hope of hiding the marks along my skin without sweating to death. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself; it was normal. It was good to show off the marks Asra left on my skin. These were good marks, not the kind that Darius left behind.
Asra's had meaning.
He said I was beautiful when he kissed a piece of me. Every time he sank his teeth into me, he would growl at how delectable I was. Every time he captured my mouth with his, he would curse how remarkable I was. His hands never hurt, only gave pleasure, and his mouth worshipped me.
The aches were just reminders of how much I had enjoyed it. Willingly. Asra never took it too far and knew the perfect boundary lines.
Leaving the bathroom, I was about to speak when Asra barged past me and shut the door in my face. I stood for a moment, confused and dumbfounded, before shaking my head and going to grab some shoes. Once fully dressed, I waited an entire seven minutes before he finally came out of the bathroom.
Rising from the bed, I threw my arms in the air. "What were you doing in there?"
He smirked. "Pooping."
My nose wrinkled before laughter tumbled from my lips. "Now we smell of worse things than sex."
He rolled his eyes, taking my hand and leading me out of the room. We made our way down to breakfast, and it surprised me when he took his food and sat beside me.
"Alpha, joining the riff raff this morning?"
My lips quirked as Rio sat in the seat opposite us.
"Morning, Luna." He added as he took a bite of toast.
"Morning, Rio." I smirked.
"So, Alpha?"
"Morning off." Asra shrugged, picking up a piece of bacon. "Have you seen Everett?"
"Yeah, he's out running."
I lifted my eyes to search for Olive. I didn't know the quiet human much, but she stuck to Eliza a lot. From what I had seen, her becoming 'more out of her shell' wasn't happening as fast as Everett would like it to.
"Okay, I need to speak with him after breakfast." He nodded. "He's always more focused after a run."
"Sure is." Rio chuckled.
I observed quietly, looking around the room as the two spoke about our weekend. Mindlessly eating my breakfast, I watched wolves come and go, groups mingle over breakfast before they start their days.
"Tulip?"
My eyes lifted, catching his eye. "Yeah?"
"Ready to go?"
"Of course."
Once again, he took my hand and led me from the table. "Everett is waiting for us."
"That was fast." I mumbled.
Asra didn't respond, and Everett's looming figure met my eye when we turned the corner. He bowed, greeting the both of us, before Asra led us into his office. He took the head seat, and I sat opposite him, turning to watch Everett debate before he remained standing.
"How was your weekend?"
"Interesting." Asra muttered. "We have something to ask of you."
"Go on." Everett nodded.
"We need information on a male. As much as you can get."
"Who?"
"Flynn, beta of Augustus Black."
Everett cocked his head. "Okay, anything I should know?"
"History, anything suspicious, family..."
"His sister is Luna Black." I added and Asra shot me a look to be quiet. "I feel like it would help him get information."
"What exactly should I keep an eye out for?" Everett wondered, looking at me.
"If they are hiding anything. Something that could be written off public records like deals with other packs or creatures..."
"I understand, Luna." Everett nodded. "I know what to do."
"You do?" I marvelled.
"I do." He nodded, and I swear I saw the faintest of smirks lift his lips.
"Okay then. Do you not want any more information?"
"What I have is plenty. It is my job." His broad shoulder lifted ever so slightly.
"Thank you, Everett." Asra muttered.
Everett bowed once, glancing between the two of us. "Alpha, Luna."
He exited the office without another word and the moment the door shut behind him; I turned to Asra with a sudden surge of energy. He raised his eyebrows at me, sliding some paperwork over. I took it curiously, glancing down at the blank front page.
"What's this?" I asked, flicking through the sheets.
"Design a questionnaire." He shrugged.
"Yes, your majesty." I rolled my eyes, a smirk tugging at my lips. "You gonna make some room up there for me?"
"You can sit on my lap?" He suggested with a devilish look in his eye.
"Hmm... I don't see that working very well." I laughed. "You will get in my way."
He shrugged, passing me a pen. "Scoot closer."
Clearing some space, Asra patted the clear spot on his desk before he dived into something on his computer. I thought long and hard about the questions I wanted to ask the staff. Questions about meal options, break times, uniform, facilities, hygiene products and what types of shifts they'd prefer. Once that was well and done, I organised them neatly into multiple choice and passed it over to Asra.
Glancing at the clock, we had been working for around ninety minutes. It surprised me how long it took, yet how little it felt to me. Asra's eyes flickered over it and I saw his jaw clench at a few of them, which made me snicker.
"I have a few points..."
"And I don't want to hear them!" I beamed, snatching the paper back.
"You haven't even heard my pointers yet-
"If it is about break time, tampon usage, private toilets, and a varied option of meals, then I don't want to hear it." I batted my lashes.
He slumped in his chair, staring at me with narrowed eyes. "How are you expecting to cook three varied meals a day?"
"You said they get a private kitchen, right? Why should they not only have to work all day, but have to cook as well?" I cocked my head, leaning toward him. "I can be their cook."
"What about your normal job?"
"There are enough chefs in there. Besides, I was only helping."
"From what I heard, they pushed you to be the lead chef." He raised an eyebrow.
"I can be head chef easy enough, and work for the staff. If they are only allowed one meal a day, then I have enough time otherwise." I deadpanned.
"Okay, fine. You give a valid point." He smirked.
"I always do." I smirked. "Can you get everyone gathered at lunchtime or is that too short a notice?"
"An hour is plenty of time." He shrugged.
"Great, I'm going to get these copied. How many do I need?"
"About fifty."
Unintentionally, my eyes widened. "Wha-how many?"
"That's rounding it up." He chuckled. "I need a lot of staff."
"But they... how... they all work so much... why is there never that many here?"
"Oh, they're here. The pack house, the gardens, the town..."
"That's maddening. How did they all end up here?"
"We recruited them from the districts." He shrugged. "Those most trustworthy in their district are appointed to the pack houses and then, from there, they come to us."
"Sounds pretty handy to have all these people working for you." I smiled, leaning forward. "Being an alpha sounds pretty easy."
He growled low, leaning forward so he was in my face. "You sure love teasing me today."
"It's so easy." I laughed, falling backward. "Now, where is the photocopier?"
Time to make some changes.
And tomorrow, it'll be a history lesson.