Chapter 9: Relocation

Aurora

I finished packing the last of my things, getting ready to officially move into the packhouse…but that was the last place I wanted to go.

I wanted to just disappear. I wanted to dig myself a big hole and hide in it forever.

~“Look at the bright side,”~ Rhea said. ~“At least we’ll be closer to our mate.”~

“Are you kidding?” I muttered out loud. “How am I supposed to even look at him now? I can’t believe I thought that…thought that…”

~That he wanted me.~

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

“Are you all packed now?”

I turned and found Montana standing at my door, a sad smile on her face.

I got up and hugged her, burying my face in her shoulder.

“Why is this happening?” I asked.

“Oh, Rory. I don’t understand this either, but it’s a direct order from the alpha. We don’t have any choice but to obey, or we both could be punished.” She patted my head as she spoke.

“But I don’t want to live there. This is my home!” I argued back.

“It is, and it will always be, honey. I’m sure you’ll be able to visit from time to time, but right now we have no other option. The alpha has given the order.”

“This isn’t fair! I don’t want to leave you alone.” I said to her. It was the truth.

Even though Montana and I didn’t always see eye to eye, she was the one who had raised and taken care of me after my dad died.

“I’ll be alright, honey. I’m sure the alpha will allow us to see each other.”

I highly doubted that.

“Let me help you bring this downstairs. You’d better get going before the alpha gets upset.”

I thought about that. Getting that man upset.

What difference would it make? After all, he was always upset.

Still, I nodded and brought my things downstairs, looking around at my home for what felt like could be the last time.

We stood outside the front door of the house, looking up at the intimidating sight of the gigantic packhouse.

Montana placed a hand on my shoulder.

“It’ll all be alright, Rory. Remember, this will always be your home,” Montana said, trying to sound encouraging.

I ran back and hugged her as tight as I could, earning an embrace as tight as mine.

“I’ll miss arguing with you,” I told her. Tears ran uncontrollably down my cheeks, wetting her shoulders.

She chuckled lightly.

“And I’ll miss trying to wake you in the mornings,” she said. “Take care, honey.”

Wolfgang

Now I was sure I’d lost my mind.

Why the fuck had I done that?

Last night, after I’d met Aurora, not only did I forbid her from ever leaving the village, but now I’d ordered her to become my personal maid.

I could see the confusion on my gamma’s face as he stood before me. I was confused, myself, but I just couldn’t risk leaving her out there, unsupervised.

Not after listening to her thoughts of abandoning the village.

But why had I gotten so angry when I’d found out she was thinking of leaving?

Why did I even care? I didn’t want her as my mate, so why had I gotten so furious?

~“Because you like her, you moron.”~ Cronnos retorted, but I blocked him out.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, sir? We are talking about the same maid you thought had stolen that uniform the other night, aren’t we?” Remus asked, as if unsure whether I was sane or not.

“Yes,” I answered, keeping my eyes on the files I had that held all of Aurora’s information.

Everything. From her birthday to her high school certificates. And they all screamed one thing.

This girl was your usual, average Jane.

“And now you want her back here in the pack house, as a maid?” Remus pressed, still not convinced.

“Did I stutter?” I looked up at Remus, still not believing myself.

“But did you have to lend her the room down the hall? If she’s a maid, the proper place for her would be in the servant’s quarters on the first floor,” Remus said, incredulous.

“I know where the maid’s quarters are, but I need to keep a close watch on that girl. So she sleeps on this floor. Is that understood?” I shouted, punching the desk as I lost my patience.

“Keep a close watch, sir?” Remus asked. I realized that my outburst must have triggered an alarm in my very observant gamma.

“We are not certain if she is really a thief or not. She said she was distraught over something that night. So I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt by hiring her as a maid.”

I kept my voice emotionless, trying to cover up any sign of other interest in Aurora.

“Why not assign a warrior to watch her then, sir? Bringing her to the house would allow her free rein over every valuable asset we own.” Remus commented

My anger flared that he might believe that Aurora was indeed a thief.

~“And whose fault would that be?”~ Cronnos growled in my head.

“No. I will be the one watching over her,” I growled.

My tone left no room for further questions.

“Yes, sir,” Remus answered, before leaving to attend to his other duties.

I sat back down and shuffled the papers in my hands, landing on the one that mentioned her stepmother, who happened to be a seeker for the pack. One of our best, to be exact.

Then I found the one that detailed the events of her father’s death.

He’d died the same day my father had.

We had both lost the only family member we had left on the same day, with the difference that I was already a teenager at the time.

She had been only seven…

I picked up the file photo of her and looked into those big gray eyes.

“What are you doing to me Aurora Craton?” I murmured aloud.

Aurora

“So, dearie, here we are. Your new home,” Mrs. Kala said as we walked through the huge hall that led to the stairs. “You’re going to love it here,” she said with a smile.

I smiled back, but it felt fake. I just wanted to go home.

We met the beta and gamma at the foot of the steps.

“She’s finally here!” shouted the blond guy. He walked up to me and grabbed my suitcase.

“Welcome, Aurora. I’ve been eager to meet the girl who’s caught our alpha’s attention,” he said as he extended his free hand for me to shake.

“Um, hi, Beta Maximus.” I attempted a bow, but was stopped midway.

“Don’t be so formal around me. You can call me Max.” He winked, and was pushed away by the gamma.

“That’s enough from you. The girl must be scared enough without your flirting. Miss Craton, I’m Gamma Remus Bowman. Welcome, officially, to the leader’s house.”

He pushed his glasses up his nose as he spoke, a practiced gesture.

“Th-thank you, Gamma Bowman,” I answered, bowing my head to him.

“You will be in charge of delivering his meals, and having his laundry washed and delivered every morning before dawn, understood?”

Remus cocked an eyebrow and eyed me warily.

“Umm, yeah. But…why?” I asked. I turned to face Mrs. Kala. “Why does he want me to be his personal maid?”

I looked around at the three of them, but, surprisingly, none of them had an answer.

“Because I said so. That’s why,” boomed a deep voice from above us. Shivers went down my spine.

We all looked up to the top of the stairs to see the alpha, whose icy blue eyes glared down at me.

All four of us bowed our heads as we saw our leader.

“Alpha Wolfgang,” we said in unison as he came down the stairs.

Once he stood in front of me, I couldn’t help but shiver more violently.

What if he beat me, or punished me for questioning his orders?

“Is there a problem with my decision, Miss Craton?” he asked.

I made brief eye contact with him but couldn’t hold it, so I looked down at my feet. My hands fidgeted with the hem of my shirt.

“No, sir,” I managed to say.

“Very well. Follow me.” He turned and led me up the stairs and away from everyone else.

We walked down the hall and turned right, stopping before a huge, mahogany double door.

Wolfgang took out a key and opened it, then walked inside. Nervously, I followed him in.

The room was posh and elegant, with walls painted a dark blue. The wall to the left had a huge library filled with books that reached up to the ceiling.

In front of it was a l-shaped leather couch with a lovely tea table in front of it. At the far end was a huge window with beautiful, velvety curtains.

Before that was a massive desk with an Apple computer sitting to one side of a stack of papers, pens, and other things.

A grand leather chair sat behind it, and two small wooden chairs sat in front, for his guests.

On the walls hung various portraits, which I recognized as being of our previous alphas.

~This must be his office.~

Alpha Wolfgang walked around the grand desk and sat down. I stood in front of the desk, uncertain if I should sit or not. I decided to stand.

“Do you remember what I told you earlier?” he asked.

“I begin tomorrow,” I began, trying my best to remember. “You drink coffee at six in the morning. Your clothes should be ready by seven. Breakfast should be served by eight thirty in your room.”

He eyed me with his usual stoic expression, but I saw a glimmer of emotion in his eyes. Was that approval? Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

“While I have my meal, you will arrange my bed and dispose of my dirty laundry,” he said. “I drink another cup of coffee at eleven, and expect lunch ready at one p.m. Lunch is always served in the alpha’s dining hall. Kala will show you where that is.”

I stood before him, listening to his orders and trying my best to memorize them.

“After lunch, I’ll be out patrolling, so you may have the evenings off to do as you please, with the exception of leaving the mansion grounds. Dinner is served in the dining hall at seven p.m. sharp. Is that all clear?”

I nodded.

“I prefer words to be used rather than common body signs, is that understood, Miss Craton?”

“Ye-yes, sir,” I squeaked.

“Very well. Go and get settled in.”

With that, he turned his attention to the papers that sat on his desk.

I stood there, unable to move an inch. There was something I needed to ask, but I didn’t know how. Eventually, he noticed my uncertainty.

“Was there something you didn’t understand?” he asked, exasperation clear in his voice.

“N-no sir. I…I wanted to ask about Montana. My stepmother,” I said.

“What about her?” he asked without bothering to look at me.

“Will I be able to visit her?”

He put down the paper he was reading and gazed at me for a minute before turning his attention back to his files.

“You may see her on Sundays. That will be your day off,” he said. “You may go now. I expect you’ll do a good job.”

I took that as my cue to leave. “Yes, sir.”

I left his office and released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

~“Things will work out,”~ Rhea tried to assure me.

I walked down the lavish halls of my new home, trying to find the positive in it all.

~“I hope you’re right Rhea,”~ I thought.