Settling In

Aubrey

“I thought I’d be getting a single room,” I said, tightening my grip on the suitcase in my right hand as I stared into the room of four I had just stepped into. I foresaw everything, except the fact that they’d make me live with other men in a room.

Jeremy scoffed before holding his hands akimbo. “We don’t have the luxury of giving everyone a single room, and you being the alpha’s secretary doesn’t mean you get preferential treatment.”

Well said.

“But…” I paused, not sure of any perfect excuse to give at this moment. “Where are my roommates, by the way?”

“The three of them are pack warriors, so they are mostly on the training grounds during the day,” he said as he walked across the room, observing the paintings of the war. “So, you guys will hardly run into each other, except at night.”

Somehow, his words brought me a bit of relief. I could use the time they are out for training to change and get dressed. And, since there’s a bathroom in the room, changing in there wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. Of course, until the boys started to get suspicious of why I always changed in the bathroom, and out of curiosity, stripped me naked because they wanted to see what I was hiding.

I shook my head at the dreadful thought that had just crossed my mind. I knew I had to do everything to remain normal and not draw suspicion to myself.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to get Jeremy’s attention, since he seemed to be so lost in the paintings on the wall. Weird taste. “You can leave now, I want to try and settle in so I can get started on the alpha’s order as soon as possible.”

“Oh, right!” He said quickly. “I should let you do your thing then.”

He headed straight for the door but didn’t leave without giving me a salute with two fingers and a wink. He was the most friendly person I had ever met. I guessed life had always been easy for him. Not everyone had the luxury of being so friendly with others on their first meeting.

“Now, where do I begin?” I said to no one in particular.

                                                                           ******

It was seven pm already. I was so engrossed with the work I was doing on my system that I lost track of time. Of course, I reported everything that transpired between Logan and me after I arrived at the pack to the director. He instructed that I do Logan’s bidding since I had to investigate him at all costs.

And that was how I found myself checking security footage of where I passed through before I got to Silvermoon pack. I was searching for who the alpha’s mate could be. Such a hassle

The sound of a doorknob turning made me hurriedly close my laptop. I knew my roommates were back. Thank god I already had my bath and changed my clothes hours before they arrived. Now, I just need to act more like a man without stuttering when I speak.

“Whoah!” The first guy exclaimed as he stepped into the room. “I see you are the new roommate Jeremy informed us about.”

I raised my hand slightly above my head. “Hi, my name is Aub Smith.”

“Aub?” The second guy asked with his eyebrows raised.

“You look smaller than I had expected,” the third guy chirped in.

I gave out a nervous laugh. I should have listened to Kate and gone on a weight gain journey with her the previous year. I was beginning to hate how everyone was pointing out how small-looking I was, a guy. It felt like it would be my first giveaway soon. I wonder what was going through the director’s head when he gave me this job.

“I’m Matthew,” the first guy said, stretching his hand forth for a handshake. I took it with a smile.

“Lucas,” the second guy said begrudgingly. What was his deal?

“Steve,” the last one said. He also extended his hand for a handshake.

Every one of them was friendly, of course, except Lucas. He seemed to be the only one who wasn’t pleased about my appearance in their dormitory. But, boy, that was his problem to deal with. I wasn’t planning to be there for long anyway.

“Join us at the pack dinner after we take our shower,” Matthew said. He didn’t ask. And that made me feel like I didn’t have a choice but to go with them.

So, I nodded in agreement.

I wasn’t surprised when Matthew and Steve entered the bathroom together because they wanted to save time. But, I was surprised when they both came out of the bathroom with nothing but tight, small boxer shorts.

“Aarrghh!” I screamed before covering my eyes with my hands.

“What!” Steve cried out.

I slowly removed my hands from my eyes and saw how horrified they looked. My scream was probably heartwrenching. “Sorry,” I said with my head bowed. “But, you could have tied a towel around your waist.”

That was why they said you don’t need to be afraid of anything or getting judged if you have a clean heart. I went through military training and had seen men in such tiny boxers, but I didn’t know why. I just had to fret over their own. Probably because they were werewolves.

“Have you lived alone your whole life?” Lucas asked in a cold and stern tone. He reminded me of Logan.

I nodded.

“Well, this is a dormitory, you should get used to this and stop acting like a girl.” This time, it was Steve who spoke.

Me? Acting like a girl?

I stood up and threw the pillow in my hands in the air. “How am I acting like a girl? I was just surprised to see your body, since I’ve lived alone my whole life and never got to see men walking around me, half naked.” I commended myself mentally for speaking without stuttering.

“Whatever. Let’s just hurry up so we can make it to dinner,” Matthew said impatiently.

I placed my hand on my chest. It was surprising that I didn’t have a panic attack from how erratically my heart was beating. I looked up to see Lucas eyeing me suspiciously. I quickly removed my hand from my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked and headed straight for the bathroom.

Did he just smirk?

Our walk to the pack house was extremely loud. I used to think the men I worked with at the NIS were loud, but their loudness was nothing compared to that of werewolves. I could tell the evening was part of their favorite time of the day. The streets were bustling with people, children’s laughter echoed down the street, and everyone had a pleasant look on their faces.

I didn’t understand why they all looked pleased until I saw all the meals served on the table before me. One would easily think there was a feast going on, and everyone in the state was invited.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I didn’t know what to put on my plates either. There were varieties of food. From meat to seafoods—they were all foods I’d pay quite a few large bucks to get at a standard restaurant.

“From the way you are drooling, I can tell it’s your first time having a pack dinner,” Steve said, interrupting my thoughts.

I needed to get my act together.

I gave out a shy laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

He shook his head in disbelief and went for my plate. Before I could even react, he had filled my plate with all kinds of meat. I nudged him with my hand to add a snow crab for me.

“Eat this first,” he said, placing the plate filled with meat before me. He didn’t even add any carbohydrates. “You need to eat more meat, so you can at least increase in size.”

I scoffed at his words. I’d still get that snow crab after I gobbled down the meats before me. I’ve never had meat as tender as that before in my life.

Suddenly, everywhere went still and silent. I slowly raised my head only to see everyone’s heads turned towards their right. Then I saw Logan and Nathan come in through the door. How did they know he was coming when he hadn’t even opened the door yet? Strange.

“Alpha!” Everyone echoed, making me drop the fork in my hand in fear. Even the soldiers, training on the military grounds, weren’t that loud. I shook my head in disbelief. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to that sight.

I returned my gaze to my food. I still have like four pieces left before I go for the snow crab. But, for some odd reason, I felt someone was watching me, hence I couldn’t bring myself to place the fork with the piece of meat in my mouth.

It was Logan.

His forest-like green eyes bore into mine, so that they could literally create a hole in them. I bowed slightly with an awkward smile plastered on my lips. Why was he staring at me instead of sitting and eating?

The next thing I saw was Logan walking towards me with a plate in his hands. Right, there was an empty seat beside me! Don’t tell me….

“Do you have a problem with me sitting close to you?” Logan asked in a firm tone.

I shook my head with the fork stuck in my mouth. How could I eat in peace now?

Two minutes after Logan had settled down in his seat, I decided to ask him why.

“So, why did you choose to sit here? You could have sat near your beta,” I said, finally reaching for the snow crab. I could swear that butterflies were dancing in my tummy at that point.

Logan inhaled a deep breath. Was it such a hard question?

I carefully used my hand to detach the leg of the snow crab from its body. The excitement in my eyes was probably the same as the first time I had ice cream.

“Because you smell like my mate, hence I want to be near you since I miss her a lot.”

I choked on my snow crab.