Nightshade
Or maybe because she was tired of fighting battles she couldn't win.
"The potatoes need to be peeled," she said finally. "Twenty pounds. And the dining room needs to be set. Fifty place settings tonight.....the Alpha is hosting visiting pack leaders
Just great. More work to do and more people to avoid.
I began working, losing myself in the familiar kitchen labor. Peeling potatoes was meditative, repetitive, and soothing to me. The knife moved in steady strokes, brown skin curling away to reveal pale flesh beneath.
My hands knew this work by memory. My body knew it too. I could do it without thinking, leaving my mind free to wander.