I Saved the Alpha

13~ Unconditonally

It was one of those mornings where I woke up peacefully. There was no alarm clock, no reason to rush to get ready as we were not going to school today, and nothing to disturb me. Truth be told, I needed it. Just a few seconds of peace before I was flooded with questions about last night again.

I sat up, stretching as I did, careful not to wake Eric. I was happy he came to my room last night. I don't think I would've slept if he didn't.

After very carefully getting out of bed, I brought my overnight bag into the adjoining bathroom to take a shower.

Under the hot spray, I let my thoughts wander.

If Eric was like this, could he fully shift now, what did that mean? I really hoped he wouldn't be taken from us, I don't think I could handle that.

And why couldn't I shift? Like, was it a gender thing? Did it have to do with Mom being a hunter?

I took a deep breath, stepped out, and got dressed, closing down that part of my brain for later today.

I made my way downstairs, deciding I might want to get breakfast started for everyone. To my surprise, there were already three women working in the kitchen. The smell of gravy filled my nostrils and my mouth practically watered as one of them took fresh biscuits out of the oven. The woman stirring the pot on the stove saw me first and gave me a warm smile.

"Hello, deary, come have a seat." She was older, probably late sixties, early seventies. Her thick raven hair was pulled up into a tidy bun, and her apron read, "Head Chef in Charge."

I liked her immediately.

"Are you sure? I could help with something if you'd like," I said this as I neared the counter even further.

"Nonsense, hon, we've been doing this since the day we retired. You just sit down and relax, ya' hear?" This time it was the woman who was pulling out the biscuits. Her mocha skin was beautiful and shined with life, though I would bet she was only a little younger than the other women.

"Are you sure?" I asked, still not taking a seat.

"Rule number one, sugar, you never tell Cathy no." The third woman told me, she was minding the dishes and cleaned them as they went. The three were almost synchronized in their movements. I guess they had been doing this a long time.

I reluctantly took a seat, making conversation with the three of them and sipping on the apple juice that Cathy, the head chef in charge, gave me.

I found out that the African American woman was named Wanda, and the other woman Janette. She was obviously Latino, with her rich mocha skin and forever long dark hair. She told me she was from Cuba, which was interesting because I've always wanted to go there.

Once the clock struck twelve, people began to pour in. It was the rest of the pack, I assumed. They looked like one giant family with the way they were so familiar with each other. I just sat at the counter, a little mopey as no one paid me a second thought.

Who could blame them? I was a stranger within a sea of friends.

I guess Cathy picked up on my mood, because she nudged a plate of steaming hot biscuits and gravy and bacon towards me.

"It's nothing personal, deary. It's always like this after a full moon. Everyone is usually pretty out of it for awhile. Most of them probably only woke up fifteen minutes ago." Her crows feet were visible as she gave me a warm smile, comforting me a little.

I nodded and grabbed the plate. Making my way through the crowd to the front door, I took a seat on one of many porch swings and ate what was probably the best breakfast of my life.