Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-Pax-

The sound of crickets brought a sense of comfort and relaxation. It was the sound that I associated with peace as it meant most of my social interaction was over for the day. Cedar left my side as soon as we entered the front door, going over to Rosary. I knew it was her from the sound of kissing, a sound which irritated me for several reasons.

"How was patrol?" Kian's voice came from the top of the stairs. I shrugged. I didn't quite know how it went, was it normal to bump into people? "Reporting back is part of the job." I stopped on my quest for sanctuary and turned to his voice.

"I don't know how it went. I walked the trail and nothing unusual happened." As far as I was aware, I wasn't telling any lies. I hadn't paid attention to anybody else reporting back on patrols, I didn't really understand the point of them. Nobody knew about our pack, apparently. We were small and mostly went unbothered. Bumping into humans was apparently normal too, according to Farley. It could've been a normal day.

Kian hummed. "Alright, off to your room. I don't want to see you until tomorrow."

I nodded and left. I hope I can sneak down at some point.

My plans didn't quite work, as I fell asleep quickly. The next thing I knew, I was hearing birds. My cheek was pressed against my pillow, and my nose ached. I groaned and pushed myself up. That was an awkward position to fall asleep in. I stood and walked towards my drawers, stepping on fabric by accident. I bent down to pick up the item of clothing on the floor, recognising it as my T-shirt. It had somehow wrapped itself around my foot. I shouldn't have forgotten that it was there.

There was no noise coming from downstairs yet. The birds had been waking up earlier and earlier with the sun, giving me more of a struggle when it came to figuring out the time.

I tiptoed down the stairs in the hope that my assumption was right. I didn't pass anyone in the hallway, nor was there anyone in the kitchen. The fruit bowl - a large wicker basket which had lost its handles - was full of bananas, oranges, and apples. I opted for the latter and leant against the cupboards. The apple tasted fresh and sweet, the juice filled my mouth, making me wonder if this counted as both food and drink.

"Good morning, Pacs!" The loud voice made me jump. The name made a smile come to my lips. I tilted my head down, in the direction of the voice. Reaching out my free hand, I felt a head of soft hair find my palm.

"Good morning, Alder," I replied to the six-year-old. "You're up early."

He nodded his head at me and hummed in confirmation. "Cedar said he'd play if I get up early." I shook my head at him and pushed myself off the counter. Cedar was taking advantage of Alder's naivety; he wasn't one to get up until at least 10 AM. I turned to the cupboards and started to get out a bowl, a spoon, and some cereal. "I can do that now," he said and touched the box.

I gently pushed his hand away and shook my head. "I know, but I hear you're a bit greedy," I teased him lightly as I put some cereal into the bowl and then poured in the milk. I moved it towards him with the spoon. I'd made cereal several times before, only failing when I was unable to concentrate. That incident meant Rosary had to go and buy another carton of milk, as the previous one had been spilt on the floor.

"I'm not greedy. Thank you." The noise of the spoon hitting against the plastic bowl wasn't as irritating as it could've been. At least I was able to tell he was eating it. I sat in front of him in a matching wooden chair. There were a few splinters in the back but there wasn't anything I could do about that. "What're you doing today?" Alder asked around a mouthful of cereal.

"I'm not going to talk with my mouth full." I smiled at him as I heard him gulp down the food. "I don't know if I have plans today." The spoon then fell back into the bowl. Alder quickly moved in his seat, causing the chair to make some noise.

"You could play with me," he said excitedly. His arm was moving wildly in the air, judging by the coolness that hit my face. "We could play horses or patrol. We could pretend we're on a hunt-"

"-Pax can't play with you Alder," Daphne said as she walked into the kitchen, the change of flooring under her heels made her whereabouts clear. "You know what Kian said."

I clenched my fists. I understood Daphne's issue; she felt like she owed Kian a debt because he saved their lives, she goes on about it at least once a week. I wasn't the only one who got annoyed by this. I wouldn't be annoyed by her mentioning it, but she took Kian's word as law. It was supposed to be, he was the alpha. Yet, his law goes from me not being able to train with them, to me not being able to even interact with a child for a few moments.

"But Mam, Pacs is cool." My lips twitched into a smile for a moment before I forced them to rest in a thin line. If I smiled, it would only encourage him.

"Pax is going to be busy today," Daphne said with more sternness. That was news to me. "Pax, Kian wants to see you in his office."

I nodded mutely before standing and exiting. I wasn't going to argue. I wasn't one who preferred confrontation with the people I lived with. As soon as they're assigned a room, I'm basically a shadow.

Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to get to Kian's office. The door was open, so I stood in the doorway like an idiot. There was a shuffling of papers and the clicking of a pen. I lingered there for four pen clicks before he said anything.

"You're just going to stand there all day?" He asked loudly.

I sighed and stepped into the room. I didn't know the office well; I knew that there was an uncomfortable chair in front of the desk. That was all I had to know. I stood behind the chair, resting my arms on it to help me balance.

"You wanted to see me?" I asked, my tone full of disinterest. It was never good when I got called to the office. A small amount of air hit my face; he was facing me.

"Yes." More pieces of paper were moved, another pen was clicked. "You're going to be on patrol from now on."

My mouth gaped open. "What?" That was the last thing I was expecting. If anything, I was expecting the opposite.

"Aren't going deaf there are you? Then we'd really have problems," he said with a teasing undertone. I knew he was serious.

"Why?" I moved from foot to foot as the word left my mouth. More air blew onto my face and the pen clicked once more.

"Because you made yourself useful." I exhaled through my nose and hoped he didn't notice. "You didn't completely fuck it up, which is a step up from you." My nails dug into the wood of the chair. I'd overstayed my welcome.

"Is there anything else?" My feet were already starting to face the door.

"You're starting training, with Finn." I opened my mouth to ask for more information, I didn't want it. I had spent the past few years wanting to train with the rest of the pack, but Finn would torture me.

"Gotta get some muscles onto the pup," Finn said from behind me. My head lowered slightly. I wasn't too skinny; I had a fair bit of muscle. I was a twig compared to them. "Patrol's at the same time as usual. Go get ready for training."

I nodded and rushed to my room. Why they felt like finally including me in the pack's chores was beyond me. I was unsure if I was grateful nor not. They hadn't exactly changed their disposition towards me.

I didn't have a lot of clothing appropriate for training, but the shirt I wore yesterday on my run could make-do with a pair of shorts.

I hurried past Rosary and Cedar's room, hearing them awake and active. Daphne scolded Alder for eating his breakfast too quickly at the dining table when I entered the kitchen. She became quiet as I crossed the room and left through the back door.

Outside wasn't anything special, it was just a very flat patch of grass. It wasn't too damaging when landing in an uncomfortable position after being hit. Nor was it soft enough for you to sink into it. Of course, the time of year made a significant difference. The dryness of the summer and the more frequent trampling made the grass dry.

I found myself a nice spot in the middle of the garden and sat down, I didn't care if anyone noticed me out of the window. I crossed my legs and closed my eyes. Alder had once asked me why I keep my eyes open, despite not being able to see anything. I couldn't really explain to him what I could see, nothing of any use. When my eyes were open there was nothing but a dark and hazy mess in front of my eyes, showing me nothing of true importance. It was far easier to tell him what the doctor told me: it'll stop you from being lazy. Being lazy was extremely tempting, keeping my eyes shut all day. I got a few complaints via Rosary about not being able to hold eye contact with her with my eyes shut. I couldn't hold eye contact with her anyway, but I decided I may as well try to keep my eyelids functioning as normal.

The sun was shining on my head and back, the rays penetrating the curls on my head and threatening to burn the skin. The air was refreshing, the scent of the grass, trees, and distant flowers filled my nose. The distant rushing of water was difficult to focus on, chatting and tweeting took over any attempt at successfully listening to the waterfall.

I ducked to the right and felt a small projectile whizz past my ear, faintly making my hair shift with the forces used against it. "Better than I thought," Finn's voice came from in front of me. The heat which was hitting my face started to lessen. I stumbled to my feet and walked backwards. Finn's strides never slowed until he was right in front of me. "Let's see what you can do right now."

I barely dodged a punch which brushed past my cheek. He was wearing a ring today; he doesn't usually wear rings.

I kept stumbling backwards, dodging the fists which came my way. They were easy to detect by the positioning of his head and the force moving the air. I was grateful for the fact I decided to wear shorts as he decided to change things up a little bit. It was far easier to tell when he was going to kick. The grass moved under his foot as he lifted it. I dived out of the way, narrowly missing a plank of wood.

"Dodging doesn't need a lot of work," he commented through gritted teeth. I got a slight suspicion he wasn't too pleased about that. "Let me see your punch." I didn't know what he was expecting me to do. He didn't move. "Well?"

"You want me to just punch?" I readied myself with my legs shoulder width apart and bent my arms at the elbows. He didn't make any verbal indication of what I should be doing, so I punched.

I knew that my punch wasn't good, I didn't need to be told this. I punched straight with my fist clenched, thumb over my knuckles. A warm hand closed around my fist with a lot of strength. I bit my lip at the pain of my nails digging into my palms and the noise of a few bones popping.

"That'll be what we focus on today,"

QUESTION OF THE DAY!

What do you usually have for breakfast?

I usually have cereal- Special K original to be precise :D