TWELVE - Redwood Pack

POV – Lillia

The bathroom is huge, half the size of my room, and there’s a goddam fireplace in it. There’s a marble counter with double sinks, and when I look in the cabinets, there are spare towels, shampoos, conditioners and body soap. I take my time to open each bottle and sniff each one before placing what I need in the shower. I grin at the large spa bath and the shower cubicle with four showerheads.

I test the heat on one shower head before I press the buttons for all the shower heads to turn on, and I stand in the water bliss. I’ve died and gone to heaven; the water feels so good. I’m used to the shower turning cold after a few minutes, but the heat in this shower is constant. Hmmm. So, this is how the other half lives? I wash and rinse the suds out of my hair and off my body before I reluctantly leave the constant warmth of the water.

I dry myself and redress in my clothes. This bathroom is so fancy the mirror doesn’t even steam up. I walk out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Nubia is busy emptying one of the boxes that were in mum’s car and placing items in my room. We didn’t leave with much, just photos and books, but I smiled at Nubia’s effort to make me feel at home.

“I checked your sizes and had these brought up. Tomorrow I’ll send one of the girls to buy you some new clothes. I put your own clothes away in the wardrobe. I noticed most are wearing thin and have holes, but I didn’t want to throw anything out without your permission,” Nubia smiles.

“Thank you,” I say, touching the material of the clothes she set aside for me on the bed.

“Those are our delta uniforms. Sorry, it’s the best I could do at this short notice,” Nubia says. I nod, grab the clothes, and walk into the walk-in wardrobe to change. I grin and pinch myself. This is a fantasy. I read books where girls had their own bedrooms; now I have my own bedroom, bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe!

I walk out wearing the uniform Nubia gave me.

“What do you think?” I ask, patting the material that sits softly against my skin. I’m not used to having new clothes or clothes that fit. It feels nice.

“You look good. Now, are you hungry?” Nubia asks. At that moment, my stomach grumbles, giving me away.

“Yes,” I grin.

“Normally, Alpha Brent eats with the pack in the dining hall. Come on,” Nubia says.

I nod and follow her out of my room and out of the wing.

“I’ll give you the code to the door later, but for now, take note of where we’re going so you can find your way back,” she instructs.

I try my best to remember my way, but soon it blurs, and I lose it.

“This is the pack dining hall. If you become a member, you may be expected to work here for a week during your school breaks. Toilets are across the hall,” Nubia says, walking into a large room with many tables and people sitting and eating. More people are here sitting and eating than in my entire pack.

I follow Nubia to a line and copy what she does, grabbing a plate and walking down a line where there are food cabinets.

“Can I choose anything I want?” I ask Nubia, who laughs.

“Yes, and you can even come back for seconds,” she says. I smile but still grab what she does, just in case.

“You can sit with your grandad or me. What would you like?”

“You,” I reply. I met my grandad briefly, and although I’ve only met Nubia today, I feel like I know her better.

Nubia walks over to a table where a male wolf and two girls sit. Nubia greets the male with a kiss on his cheek and puts her plate down.

“Everyone, this is Lillia, Lillia, my mate John, and my daughters Bella and Josie,” Nubia introduces. The girls look at me and smile. Bella looks around ten, and Josie about five or six.

“Hello,” they smile.

“Where are you from?” Josie asks.

“Matraville, it’s one of the bigger towns,” I reply.

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen. How old are you?”

“I’m six. What’s your favourite food?”

“Um, bread. I like bread. I ate a lot of it growing up,” I reply.

“Josie, stop being so nosy,” Bella says, poking her sister in the ribs. I giggle.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. What’s your favourite food, Josie?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs,” Josie grins, taking a bite of her spaghetti.

“and Bella, what’s your favourite food?” I ask, making Bella grin.

“Strawberry ice cream,” Bella says.

“I’ve never had ice cream before,” I reply, both girls looking at me in shock.

“Why not?” Bella asks.

“I’m an omega. Omegas aren’t allowed ice cream in my pack.”

“Well, we’re omega’s, and we are allowed, aren’t we, mamma?” Josie asks.

“Yes darling, we are. But some packs aren’t as nice as ours,” Nubia explains.

“Well, after dinner, you can have strawberry ice cream,” Bella states.

“Really?” I ask, looking at Nubia, who laughs and nods.

I don’t get up for seconds, although I notice most of the wolves, including Nubia and John, do. I decide to join Bella and Josie and get ice cream instead.

“Oh, my goddess,” I moan as I take my first-ever bite of strawberry ice cream. Bella and Josie watch me with big grins on their rosy-cheeked faces. I gobble my ice cream down and go up for a second serving, this time asking for chocolate, which is also divine.

“Are you going to get thirds? Daddy always gets thirds,” Josie says, making me and John laugh.

“No, I am so full I think I’m going to burst,” I say.

“I think I have a food coma,” I say, suddenly tired.

“I’ll take you back to your room,” Nubia suggests.

“Yes, please,” I agree, making Josie and Bella groan.

“Goodnight, girls,” I say, hugging each one before walking away with their mother.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find your way back to the dining hall tomorrow morning?” Nubia asks after giving me the code to the doors of the wing.

“I think so,” I reply.

“Good; I’ll meet you there at nine to show you the pack facilities,” Nubia smiles.

“And back to mum,” I add, feeling guilty that I haven’t thought of her since I left the hospital.

“Yes. Alpha Brent lives here also; he might pop by later to say hello tonight or tomorrow morning, okay? Goodnight,” she says, leaving me at the door.

I wish her goodnight and enter the wing.

//\\//\\//\\//\\

Grandad did knock on my door that night, but I pretended to be asleep so he would walk away, which he eventually did. I don’t know what to make of him. Mum never spoke about him, and my only knowledge of Alphas is that they’re selfish, horrible people who have a right to bully and put down others.

I do have questions for mum. I want to know why she left this pack and how she ended up at Urban wolves. And why were we treated as omegas when we weren’t?

I did find my way back to the dining hall the following morning, although I got a little lost on the way and had to backtrack a couple of times. I noticed two service workers glaring at me when I entered the dining hall without scanning a card. I mentioned this to Nubia, who explained the whole card system and how pack members paid a fee from their wages every month to support the running of the pack house, and part of that gave them ten free meals per month.

When I asked if this also applied to the omegas, she laughed at my shock when she said yes. I can’t help but compare this pack to Urban Wolves. They’re so different. I thought that the way Urban Wolves operated was the way most packs ran things, but seeing this pack and how happy the members seemed to be, brought up a whole lot of questions.

I didn’t see my grandfather or other high-blood wolves at breakfast, making me feel less tense and stressed. I ate with Nubia and her family, and afterwards, Nubia showed me around the pack house. I marvelled at the largeness and the facilities.

The pack-house is comprised of three buildings. The first is the main building, with the hospital, kitchens, dining hall, offices, community rooms, and service rooms. The second building is where Grandad’s suite is, and there are also accommodations for pack members and guests. A laundry room is also included in this building. Lastly is the training building. The packs’ gymnasium, pool, health centre and training rooms are found in this building.

I was astonished when I realised the buildings were separate, connected by causeways and corridors. Nubia smiled when she told me that, apparently, there were underground tunnels linking the buildings as well. This made sense. The facilities were generous, and one large building couldn’t fit everything this pack needed in the one structure.

“Can you take me back to mum?” I finally ask. I feel guilty after not having seen her for so long.

“Of course,” Nubia smiles. We walk together through the buildings, other members smiling at Nubia and saying hello in greeting as we pass.

“Everyone looks happy here,” I comment.

“Of course. Things changed for the better after Luna Hailey,” Nubia agrees.

“Luna Hailey? I thought my grandmother passed away when my mother was a pup,” I commented.

“Oh, um. No, she’s the, was the Alpha’s second choice mate. She was exiled shortly after your mother left. I’m not sure of the details. After she left, Alpha Brent changed for the better. With the help of the fay, this pack has grown and become more prosperous,” Nubia smiles.

“The fay? Are there fairy clans around here?” I ask, feeling excited. There were some Vampire nests in the city, but we didn’t have much to do with them.

“Yes. They come by yearly; we’ve had some pack members find fairies as mates, which is a positive,” Nubia says. I smile in delight. Nubia sure likes to talk. She must have good ears with the gossip she fills me in on.

“We have nests near our pack but no fairies. I’ve never met one. We were kept quite isolated from the other supernaturals,” I admit.

“Even during the war?” Nubia asks.

“The war?” I ask.

“The race war that happened twenty years ago between the wolves and Andre Aubert?”

“I don’t think my pack participated in that. We are really small… plus, you know, information like that was only for those who needed to know….”

“And being an omega, you weren’t needed to know?” Nubia grunts. I nod.

“Where are we?” I ask, realising we’ve stopped.

“Your mum got moved last night. I can wait for you out here.”

“Thank you,” I smile, opening the door to the room and walking in.

“Mum?” I ask, noticing that she is sitting up in bed, awake.

“Bubba!” mum cries out when seeing me. She puts the magazine she’s been reading on her lap and opens her arms. I run over and give her a hug, squeezing her.

“How are you feeling? You gave me a fright yesterday,” I say. Mum gives me a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, Bubba. But I feel great. I think this is the medicine they didn’t have at the pack. I feel really good. Much better.”

“Does that mean you’re going to get better?” I ask, hoping. Mum opens her mouth to say something when the door to her room bangs open, and a man in an expensive-looking suit walks in.

“Aviary?” he asks, his eyes focusing on my mother.

~

Edited with Grammarly