A Fox Among Wolves

Chapter Three

Together, we walk over to the wolves, who seem to be in an argument with Mr. Sheridan. Lottie is standing off to the side and smiles when she sees Lena coming towards her. Braeden and Link, though, are completely oblivious when we walk up to them.

"You mated us with foxes?" Braeden says in an exasperated voice. Link is standing next to him with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Mr. Xanders, we paired you with whomever you were most compatible with. Your test showed you to be the most compatible with Mr. Brooks, despite what you might think," Mr. Sheridan says with a calm voice. "Now, move along to Mrs. Schwartz, she has your new housing assignments."

Braeden and Link both turn to look at us, indifferent expressions on their faces. Grabbing Quinn and Lena's hand, I walk over to the table were Mrs. Schwartz is sitting. When we reach the table, she looks up at us with a wide smile and gives her congratulations while handing each of us a manila folder. Together, we walk out of the large room and to some empty chairs lined up against the walls.

"Well, let's see our new homes," Quinn says, ripping open the envelope and pulling out the papers that were inside. Something drops to the ground, letting out a sharp sound as it hits the tile flooring. It's a key. It must be for his new home. We follow his lead and open up our own envelopes.

I pull out a few sheets of paper and my own key. Quickly, I scan through the papers, noticing my new home and housemates.

House: Kettu House

Location: Cottage Grove Rd SW

Housemates: Braeden Xanders, Lena O' Brien, Charlotte Smith, Quinnley Humphrey, Lincoln Smith

"At least we get to live together," I say, reading the other pieces of paper that were in the envelope. One of the papers talks about how we have two weeks to pack up our apartments and move into the new home. All of our personal belongings must be moved out or they will be discarded. The other piece of paper details the mating process and what we should expect.

"I don't think we are going to need this," I mumble, crumpling up the piece of paper before throwing it into the recycling.

With a sigh, I stand up, turning to look at my new housemates. "I'm going to head home. This has been a long day."

"Yeah, I'm coming with you, you're my ride," Quinn says, putting his papers away and coming to stand by me. "What about you, Lena?"

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Meet you at the coffee shop on Main Street?" she says, giving us each a hug and a smile. We both nod our heads in agreement.

"Can we join you?" someone says from behind us.

Turning, I notice the wolves staring at us. Braeden has a hard look on his face and Link looks indifferent, while Lottie has a hopeful smile. Braeden is probably upset about not being able to be with Sophia any longer, but by the way Lottie is acting around her new mate, she doesn't seem too upset.

Lena hesitates before answering, looking over at Quinn and me in confirmation. I give her a small nod and she turns to face her new mate. "Sure. We usually meet there around noon. So, see you then?"

"Yeah, sounds great," Lottie says, her oddly purple eyes never leaving those of her mate. She has a lovesick expression on her face, showing how totally enamored she is by my best friend. With one last smile, Lena turns and walks out the door.

Quinn and I are left standing in front of the wolves. Braeden still has that constipated look on his face. With a roll of my eyes, I grab Quinn's hand and drag him out the door, his goofy smile remaining on his face. He seems much happier about his pairing with Link than his mate is.

"Do you want to come over and help me pack?" I question, looking over at Quinn. I have about three hours until I have to be at work, so I might as well get as much packing done as I can.

"Sure," Quinn answers, taking his beanie off and scratching at his fox ears. "I don't have much else to do right now."

After the ten-minute walk to get to the back of the parking lot, we get in the car and drive over to my place. It takes a little longer than usual, considering all the people trying to leave City Hall, but we eventually make it back. By the time we finally stumble into my apartment, my stomach is rumbling.

"We need some lunch before we start the packing," I say, opening the fridge door and pulling out the peanut butter and jelly. Quinn grabs the bread and brings it over to me. Together we make the sandwiches and eat silently. Both of us lost in our thoughts of what is to happen tomorrow on our coffee date.

*****

"You nervous?" I question Lena and Quinn as we sit in the coffee shop, waiting for our mates to arrive. We ordered some drinks when we first got here, and I have my hands wrapped around the warm mug.

"A little," Quinn says, rubbing the bottom of his dark blue t-shirt between his fingers. Lena just nods her head, fingers twirling a lock of her hair, a habit she only has when thinking hard about something.

"Me too," I tell them, letting out the breath I had been holding. This is our first official date with our mates. It would be nice to get to know them on a personal level before we have to move in with them. Considering none of us were expecting this pairing, it was going to take some getting used to.

"Here they come," Lena whispers, sitting up in her seat while looking out the window. Quinn and I both turn our heads to see Lottie waving at us with a brooding Braeden and Link behind her.

We all turn to watch when they open the door and walk in. Braeden's and Link's hair is messed up from the wind outside, while Lottie's blonde waves look perfectly windblown. Taking a peek over at Lena, she seems to be happy with the way her mate looks, if the small smile she has on her face can say anything.

I give a small wave to catch their attention, and we make room for them at the table we are sitting at. Lottie shrugs off the sweater she had been wearing, placing it on the back of the chair before sitting down opposite of Lena. Braeden and Link follow her lead and sit opposite of Quinn and me.

"Um, do you want anything to drink?" I ask them, gesturing towards our own drinks already on the table.

"Yeah, yeah sounds good," Lottie says, giving quick nods of her head before turning to look at Lena with a smile.

"Okay, how about you tell me your order, and I can go get them for you?" I question, looking at all of them with a smile.

"I'll just have a hot chocolate," Lottie says, breaking her gaze from Lena only for a second to send me a smile.

"Vanilla latte for me, please," Braeden says. I'm impressed that he added the 'please' onto his order.

Finally, I look over at Link. "I don't usually drink coffee, so I'll just have what he's having," he says, pointing at Quinn. Quinn looks shocked for a few seconds before giving his mate a tentative smile. He slides the drink over to Link.

"Here, try," he says. Link picks it up and stares at it for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and taking a drink. He looks back at me and gives me a nod in confirmation.

Making my way up to the cashier, I am happy that there are not too many people here at the cafe right now. It only takes me a few seconds to place the order, and in a matter of minutes, all the drinks are finished. Carefully, I grab the drinks, trying to balance three cups with only two hands.

By the time I make it to the table, I look up to see everyone chuckling at me. Well, Quinn and Lena are, the wolves all just have smiles on their faces.

"What?" I question, handing the drinks to the wolves who ordered them.

"Could you have gone any slower, Henley?" Quinn says, mirth shining through in his voice.

"Oh, let me see you try and balance three drinks while winding your way through tables," I tell him, a mock glare on my face. "Or better yet, you could have helped me." I raise an eyebrow at him. He responds with a roll of his eyes and takes a drink of his coffee.

The rest of the date goes well; a surprising number of smiles are exchanged. Braeden still seems to be in his brooding mood, and when I ask him what's wrong, he just shrugs his shoulders and takes a drink of his coffee. Oh well, we still have a lot of work to do.