Monster in My Bed

Chapter Forty-Five | Self-Proclaimed Prince of Alphas

My back hurt.

The exhaustion milling throughout my body made waking up a miserable experience. I wasn't even fully awake, and I already wanted to wring out my spine like a wet rag.

Prying my eyes open, I found myself overwhelmed by confusion as I looked around at a foreign living space. I gazed down at where I had been sleeping, a couch. Marvelous.

"Good morning," Taylor said, reminding me that I didn't wander into a random house all by myself. She was sitting in a chair at the opposite end of the couch, watching me with a lopsided smile. With a grunt, I pushed myself up to get a better look at her. She had changed from the clothes I had given her and seemed to have taken a shower, as well.

"Where are we?" The fatigue in my voice took a giant step forward, making it sound like I just gargled gravel. Surrounding me were creame colored walls, polished, wooden floors, and expensive leather furniture. The house was cozy, but the lack of decoration and TLC left me unconvinced that it was a lived-in setting.

"Home," she stated simply. Her response left her seemingly unfazed but had the opposite affect on me.

"Your home?"

"Your home," she solidified. My lips puckered in thought. My home? This was not the pack house.

"What?"

Taylor sighed. She pushed herself up from the chair and walked into a dining area that was connected off to the side of the living room. Grabbing the familiar bag from the large, mahogany table, she rifled through it until she retrieved what she was looking for. With a paper or two in hand, she walked back into the living room and handed it to me.

"What's this?" I asked, snatching it with the greed of a hungry, homeless man.

"Those are your ownership papers. See." She pointed to the bottom of the first page. Printed neatly across the bottom were two names, Nathaniel Hull and Elyse Gentry. I scrunched my nose, grimacing.

"Elyse Gentry." The name tasted sour. "It's ugly. I don't want it," I pouted making Taylor roll her eyes. She plucked the papers from my grasp, earning a 'hey!' from me in response.

"Well, you can't change it. That's what Matteo chose, and that's what you get." I felt as though I was being lectured like a child. The fact that I was pouting like one really didn't help, either.

"Why'd he choose it?" Was it from some girl he thought looked good? Was it an ex? Oh, god. Was it his mother's name?

"I think they used a name generator. I don't really know." Well, that made me feel a little better, but he could have at least put a little more thought into it. Frowning, I thought about how our names sounded.

Matteo and Kaia, perfect.

Elyse and Nathaniel, a church couple.

"I hate them," I scowled. "I can not call Matteo 'Nathaniel'. That is so wrong. Like that name coming out of my mouth during sex? Are you kidding me?"

"You're being dramatic," Taylor chided, interrupting my rant. "Besides, I figured you'd be more excited about having your own house." I tilted my head like a lost puppy. I suppose I had managed to forget I was now a home owner. Well, Elyse Gentry was.