Alpha Benji

♕Chapter Twenty-Two♕

Elise's smile was warm, immediately quelling my previous nerves. Her welcoming demeanor quickly reminded me of people like Dotty and Gwen, who took me in with open arms and made me feel comfortable. 

"Hi," I squeak out, finally finding my voice. "It's nice to meet you. I really appreciate you letting me come and help out." 

She waves her hand in the air, laughing off my pleasantries as if they are nothing. "Are you kidding me? I should be the one thanking you. We don't get many pack members wanting to volunteer in the daycare center. And Alpha Benji mentioned you have experience with pups, which is amazing."

I can't imagine why people wouldn't want to help. The center is covered with colorful drawings, plush toys, and gleeful kids. This is the most peaceful place I've come across since coming here. Why would someone willingly request to do security on the underground cells, instead of caring for pups?

Jeremiah clears his throat from next to me, bringing my attention back to the conversation at hand. "I believe Benji has already discussed the details with you, but I will come and collect her at the end of the day. If there is any issues, you can directly contact me, or Benji if it is an emergency." He hesitates, casting his gaze towards me. "I have to go to my post, but...enjoy yourself." 

He seemed uncomfortable with his send off. It was the friendliest thing he has said to me since we met. 

I smile at him, "Thanks, I'm sure I will." 

He nods his head at Elise before turning on his heel. He's quick to make his leave, barely glancing towards the children as he departs. Jeremiah didn't strike me as a kids type of guy, anyways. 

I'm alone with Elise, now. Despite not being a threat, I can't help but feel a quick sense of dread fill my gut. I hadn't been alone with a pack member yet since I've come here. I feared deep down that this was a test. To see how I handled myself. To see how I followed the rules. 

"Why don't I show you around before you meet the pups?" Elise breaks me from my trance, offering her arm out towards me. 

I try my best to shake the unsettling feeling, returning the smile. "Yeah, that sounds amazing."

♕♕♕

I had always thought my old pack's daycare center was lovely. It was a medium sized room, decorated with hand-me-down furniture from pack members. We didn't have access to fancy toys and educational tools, due to our lack of funds, but we made it work. 

This daycare center, however, was the complete opposite. 

Everything was top of the line, down to the crayons they used to color and the rare books littered on the cushioned floor. Educational books for werewolves were hard to come by. Education in packs didn't become a mainstream idea until thirty years ago. Before that, most wolves were taught by their parents. 

Elise chattered non-stop as she showed me around, adding in little details as we passed certain areas. "This is the arts-and-craft area, but we have to be careful. Tyler keeps encouraging his friends to eat the ends of the crayons. I've been having a hard time convincing them it tastes horrible." She mentioned as we walked by an area scattered with half-finished art projects and coloring books. "And here is our general toy area. Everything has been provided by the pack leaders, or was donated, so the kids all share it." 

"How many pups do you have here?" I ask as we continue our tour. At first, I was concerned Elise was leaving the pups unattended, but she assured me they were being watched. While I was going to be the only consistent volunteer, she did in fact have a few reliable people that came by on their free days.