Chapter Eleven

I looked at the kitchen door and bit back a curse. Why did he have to be so... so intense? His calculating grey eyes missed nothing and the intensity he put off as he had me caged into the wall made desire rush through me so strongly that I had been a little scared. He hadn't even touched me and that was what got me. The male could make me melt without touching me. That did not bode well for me. If he could simply be near me and make my insides turn to mush then I didn't even want to know what his hands on me would do.

"I'd probably do something fucking stupid." I muttered it and saying it aloud didn't comfort me. It almost made it worse. I ran a hand through my hair. I was out of practice for the whole 'not letting the bond control my actions' part of the plan.

Sure I had deliberately played along in front of the group of assholes as my mother had taught me and true I had acted a bit territorial where Dickhead was concerned but the bitch sucker punched me. I needed to draw a line. On one side was her inferior ass and all of the things she could touch and on the other side was things she wasn't allowed to touch, like Dickhead. He was currently mine. Not hers to ogle. Mine.

I slapped myself once more. The cracking sting helped pull me from such possessive thoughts. A possessive mate who doesn't even want to be a mate was extremely bipolar and made me look insane. Not that slapping myself didn't help with that but still. It was the only way I could think of to keep the bond from influencing my thoughts. I thought it was ridiculous with all of those who couldn't see the bond influencing their actions as soon as it was made. It was ridiculous and here I was falling for the same old tricks.

I let out a faint groan as I stared at the wood. He was fucking charming. I never thought I would be impressed by blood and murder. Never thought I was the type of girl who got off on that shit but he made it quite clear he had done it for me. To make a point, of course but he and his wolf were just looking for an excuse because the bastard and his buddy had touched me. I felt no pity for the guy Dickhead had killed. He should have kept his mouth shut.

A surge of anger hit me again. How dare that asshole say Dickhead was less of a male? The thought was infuriating and I wasn't exactly which of the feelings were mine or which were influenced by the bond. It was frustrating. I needed a bit of time to sort through the tangled web of emotions that the bond had caused. I couldn't trust any of my emotions until I had that figured out.

"Are you going to stare at the door all day or actually come in?" At the calm but snappish voice I yelped and jumped backwards in surprise. My face flared red as a rather tall, grey haired female looked me up and down from her position in the doorway. I hadn't even realized she had opened the door. The bond was seriously fucking with my mental faculties. "Well?" I opened and closed my mouth, embarrassment was filling me as she narrowed her blue eyes at me slightly.

"Well if you are going to linger and not talk to me, get into the fucking kitchen and help me make breakfast." She said it sharply and without thinking I quickly entered the kitchen as she stepped aside. I was still trying to find my voice as her hand gripped my shoulder tightly. It wasn't a painful grip but more of she wasn't aware of how strong her grip was. "Some might call you a muddie but I know a Colectoare de Respingeri when I see one." She said it evenly and at the foreign words I finally managed to find my voice.

"A what?" I kept my voice low, I was very much aware that this was her domain and she had an edge of savageness to her that warned me she wasn't exactly someone to mess with, regardless of how old she looked.

"Collector of Rejection." She responded before patting my shoulder and moving over to the counter and waving me over. I followed her quickly. "There was a tradition in my pack. It was hundreds of years old. Surviving rejection was considered the greatest strength because it slowly killed your wolf if you weren't careful." She moved over and grabbed some ingredients. I looked around and spotted an open recipe book. It looked like she was making pancakes. I kept my hearing focussed on her as I looked around for a large bowl. I spotted one underneath the island.

"The females would try to be rejected by their newly found mates. The more rejections a female gathered the stronger she was considered. It didn't matter that she became physically weaker because after it was all over and the mate that was strong enough and beat her at her own game, the power came back." She brought more ingredients over and I put the large bowl I found on the island before grabbing a whisk from a small cup of utensils. "We are making eight batches so I suggest finding a bigger whisk." She didn't look at me as she pointed to a drawer. I silently retrieved the whisk she had been talking about and started to mix the ingredients in the bowl. She started throwing them in quicker than I could count but I said nothing. She was scary. Any shifter who lived to her apparent age was never one to fuck with.

Ever.

"That tradition never really fell out of favour but it changed. It was a game to see if you could make it to five rejections. I made three before I met my mate, Zeus." Her expression turned wistful as she rapidly cracked eggs into the bowl. "Oh he was strong and such a warrior. Scars covered him and the moment he looked at me, I knew he was mine. I couldn't bear to go for another rejection." She let out a small sigh of sadness. "I spent five wonderful years with him before pack war took him away from me and then the cold took the child that had bloomed within me. I had been left with nothing so when my childhood friend had found her fifth mate was the Alpha of Fortis I begged her to let me come with her."

She frowned as she watched me stir the batter. "The mountains I grew up in had become my weakness and I would not let that weakness rule me." She stopped and stared at me intently. I stared at the bowl as I did my best to mix the pancake batter. I didn't want to meet her intense gaze. "Five rejections was our limit and the most I ever heard of was fifteen because the female lost the ability to shift. So how many?" Her blue eyes pierced into me and I tried to ignore how vulnerable she made me feel. The old female saw a lot more with her gaze then I think even Dickhead could. I didn't like having a probing gaze pull back my layers, inspecting me intently.

"Twenty-nine." I coughed slightly and glanced at her. There was no surprise on her face and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Give that to me. I don't want you to fuck up the pancakes." She shooed me away, yanking the whisk from me before she pushed up her sleeves and furiously began to whisk the batter.

"What does gurr-ee-tah mean?" I tried to remember the pronunciation but I wasn't sure if I had gotten it right.

"Little mouth." She grunted it out and I found my mouth dropping slightly slightly. That was what it meant? I felt insulted he had called me a little mouth. I knew I could be caustic but that just seemed insulting. "Go check the grill, girl, before you get the spoon." She gave me a look and I let out a small eep and headed over to where I thought the grill was. I found it and stared at it with wide eyes. I had no idea how to cook on it. I was used to campfire stoves and open flames. The grill looked like a fucking rocket ship.

"Ummmmmm." I glanced at the grill and then to the old female and then back to the grill.

"I know you have no idea what to do with it, fetita." She laughed loudly and I scowled at her. I didn't particularly like being made fun of.

"Haha make fun of the rogue who's been raised like a savage." I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at the floor, trying very hard not to look like I was pouting. I didn't particularly like having my shortcomings mocked. I had no clue what to do with fancy technology. Shit, I didn't even own a cellphone but if you gave me two fucking sticks I could make a fire. "What does fetita mean?" My curiosity overtook my irritation slightly as I glanced at her.

"It means girlie. And that's the best way to be raised. Take any of these pack members away from here and drop them in the middle of no where and they would struggle to survive. Take you and drop you off in the middle of no where and you would thrive." She gave me a pointed look. "I came from the mountains, fetita. I was raised as you were. Nothing but surviving up there and it's how we thrived. We didn't need advanced gadgets like my grill or even my kitchen." She grabbed the large bowl and carried it over. I moved out of her way as she lifted it onto the counter beside the grill.

"Now. When are you and my boy going to claim each other? Because I want great grandbabies" She turned around and looked at me expectantly as I choked on my own spit. I coughed loudly, bending over to catch my breath. That was not the comment I had been expecting.

I caught my breath and looked at her, my face red. "Well, ahhhh. I kind of don't want to be his mate and he's holding me here against my will." I winced slightly as I said it but she simply pointed at me with a wooden spoon.

"Tough titties, fetita. If you are still here then that boy isn't going to let you go." She looked smug and then pointed at my stomach with the spoon. "You are going to be cooking me a great grandbaby before the year is up." My eye bulged at her statement as I coughed some more. The year was up in just over six months. That was not going to be happening. Not ever, nope. I could not handle a baby and a mate. No mate and no baby that was how my life was going to be.

"Well, that is something I don't plan on having happen." I said it firmly and she tilted her head up.

A rather dark expression crossed her face. "You think you can fight the moon's pull, pup? You think you're arrogant enough that you can fight fate?" Her words were harsh and her eyes narrowed. I gritted my teeth, irritated by her tone. I was an Alpha and despite everything that had happened and my wolf being so weak I wouldn't take disrespect of my choices.

"I let the moon pull me into her embrace when I was sixteen years old. Only I had those dreams of pups and love shattered on me deliberately and harshly by the male who claimed to love me but he loved the power my grandfather promised more." I straightened and looked down at her. My hands clenching into fists. "Male after male crushed me repeatedly at the whims of my own blood so do not stand there and chastise me for resisting the moon's pull when it has only ever brought me pain." My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it.

My choices would not be mocked by a female who saw much but knew little. "You see many things, you know many things, but you can't even begin to fathom what I have gone through so I suggest you don't assume anything of me." I spat it out and her gaze turned thoughtful.

"I can see why he calls you guriță. It suits you, Alpha." She smiled at me before opening her arms. "Come give Gamgam a hug." I was suddenly swarmed with the feelings of confusion and utter bafflement.

"But you- and then I... What?" I stared at her and she shrugged.

"I could sense Alpha Blood in you. I wanted to know if it was active or dormant. Active firstborn it seems." She waved her arms slightly and I found myself stepping into her embrace despite the rampant confusion I still felt.

"So you were testing me?" I struggled to get my brain around the words and she squeezed me tightly before letting me go and grabbing my shoulders.

"Yes. I need to make sure you are good enough for puiu meu de lup." She kissed my forehead and I blinked at the warmth of the action. I felt like I had just passed a hurdle I didn't even know existed.

"What's his name? I've been calling him Dickhead." The words came out before I knew what I was saying and she chuckled.

"Dickhead suits him and I'm not letting you cheat in this game. If you want his name you have to ask him yourself." Gamgam waved the wooden spoon around before pointing so a little nook by the door. "The mop and cleaning supplies are up there. I will send someone up to help you move that carpet. No use in trying to get the stain out. It's secondhand so it doesn't matter." She shooed me towards the nook and I slowly made my way over. I had underestimated Gamgam and I felt a bit foolish. Old shifters needed to be respected for the exact reason she had just shown.

"That pui de lup made you cake at three in the morning. I would keep him if I were you. The best mates are the ones who know when to give into your silly demands. Even if it is cake at three in the morning." She wasn't ordering me but I hated that I slightly agreed with her. When I had been younger I had wanted a mate to do just that. Give into my silly demands of ice cream in the winter and hot chocolate by the fire in the heat of summer. The memories made me wince. That had just made it easier for me to get hurt. "Your grandfather was always a prick, Shey Lazera." At her words I whirled around my eyes wide. I had not expected that. There had to be a limit to how much she knew.

"How did-"

"You look just like your mama." She looked me over and for some reason I felt a lump form in my throat. I could barely remember what my mother looked like anymore. "She was just as beautiful and just as mouthy as you. Nothing held her back, not even her father. He was a prick when I knew him with my best friend and he's a prick now." Gamgam gave me a look before her face softened. "Where is your papa, fetita?" She asked it so softly that it brought tears to my eyes and the hole in my chest that my mother used to occupy throbbed with pain.

"My mother killed him because he nearly killed me." I turned away and grabbed the mop bucket. I didn't want to have a conversation about my mother with anyone. It hurt too much. I moved to the sink and lifted the mop bucket into it.

"The pain never really goes away." She didn't specify what she meant with the words but I knew she understood what I was feeling. The pain of losing someone never truly goes away. It haunts you in your dreams and hurts you when you least expect it.

"No it doesn't." I didn't turn from my place by the sink where I was filling up the bucket. I poured some soap into it and watched it bubble.

"Morning, Gamgam!" It was a soft and sweet voice that was still laced with tiredness. I turned off the sink and lifted the bucket. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted a shorter female with brown curls stretching by the island. I set the mop bucket on the floor.

"Morning, pui de lup. Will Bennett be joining us this morning?" Gamgam's entire demeanour was soft for the female and I watched their exchange with interest.

"He went to see if L-" Gamgam shoved a bunch of metal bowls off the counter to make a loud clatter to interrupt the female and I scowled slightly. Sneaky old female cut off the female before she could say Dickhead's name.

"Maricella, we have a guest. This is Shey but when she is around Alpha Sterling we are to call her Pisică." She gestured to me and I wondered how the hell the old shifter knew all that she did. The shorter female whirled around, her soft grey eyes wide. "When we are around Shey we need to refer to Alpha Sterling as Alpha Sterling or Dickhead." The female looked utterly confused at the words. I stared at her and my wolf tugged at me slightly. She wanted me to protect her.

"Why?" She drew out the words slightly as she looked me up and down. Gamgam moved to her side and pinched her cheek gently.

"Because they are both stubborn and don't want to ask each other their name. So now it's a game and we can't help either of them cheat." She said it sweetly and gave me a rather amused smile.

"No offence but who are you? You aren't part of the pack." Maricella looked confused and I had no clue how to answer her question. It seemed like news of our mating hadn't made its rounds as quickly as I thought it had.

"That's Alpha Sterling's mate. She's going to have a pup in her belly before the end of the year." Gamgam looked pleased with herself. My mouth popped open in horror as did Maricella's.

"She's pregnant. I'm going to strangle him!" The small shifter looked livid and I was happy that at least someone else hadn't gone crazy. Babies were not something to just have. Babies needed planning and there was so much responsibility involved. It made me shudder just thinking about it.

"No, child. She's not pregnant but if she knows what's good for her health she will work on that." Gamgam gave me and look and I resisted the urge to flip her off.

"I'm not getting pregnant." I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered at her. Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

"You know the moon's pull gets stronger the longer you try to ignore it. It's inevitable. Like two galaxies colliding. It will take some time but when they do it will be awe inspiring." She looked at me smugly and I shook my head. No matter what the crazy old shifter said, I would not be getting pregnant by Dickhead or anyone for that matter.

"Not happening." I knew I could resist it. I had for years. Dickhead was no different than the rest. True he murdered for me but I wasn't swayed by those types of gestures. Well maybe a little swayed by them but it wasn't enough to change anything.

"I don't understand." Maricella looked between Gamgam and I with a small frown.

"Shey doesn't want to be mated to Alpha Sterling. Shey's a Colectoare de Respingeri. She's been rejected twenty-nine times in her life." At that silence fell and Maricella blinked several times.

"How are you not dead?" It was a rather blunt question and I frowned slightly before giving her a weirded out look. That was both a weird and awkward question to ask. She huffed slightly. "I suffered one rejection and I nearly died. How are you still alive after twenty-nine of them?" She looked almost at the edge of disbelief and I lifted my hands in a slight shrug as if to say I don't know.

"Practice?" I honestly didn't know how to answer her question. I wasn't even sure what type of response she had wanted. I wasn't dead because I had accepted the rejections. That seemed to be the easiest response to the question and something she should have thought of.

"Are you alright?" She looked slightly worried and I frowned, glancing between her and Gamgam with a clear, what the fuck, look on my face.

"I'm fine?" I wasn't sure what she wanted from me with her questions.

"Why are all of your answers questions?" She huffed again and I bent down and picked up the bucket. I didn't particularly wanted to be interrogated.

"I'm not used to this line of questioning... or being questioned at all." I shuffled my feet slightly towards the door. "It was nice meeting you but if I don't clean up that mess it will stain the floor." I shuffled my way to the nook to grab the mop. I didn't want to spill my water everywhere. That would just create a bigger mess.

"What mess?" Maricella sounded suddenly apprehensive and I glanced up at her, my urge to protect her surging forward.

"Hunters came this morning. Had the audacity to attack Pisică. Alpha Sterling did as wolves do to protect their future." Gamgam shrugged and Maricella stared at me as if I were a troubling puzzle she couldn't figure out.

"Oh. Do you need help? I'll help." Her expression turned determined and she walked over and grabbed some clothes from a box in the nook and shoved them into the bucket.

"You don't have to-"

"L-" She coughed and frowned. "Dickhead is like my older brother. I want to get to know you a bit." I couldn't help the laugh that escaped as she called him that. I wasn't aware of just how amusing it was until others started using it.

"You know he responds to that." The thought amused me greatly and I opened the door, carrying the bucket into the hallway. I turned to grab the mop but Maricella already had it in her hand. She looked at me expectantly and I felt slightly uncomfortable. I wasn't used to people staring at me like that. Well people would look at me expectantly but the way she looked at me took the look to an entirely different level. I carried the bucket down the hall and towards the stairs.

"So, how did you end up here?" She asked it lightly and I sighed.

"Are we going to be interrogating me?" I kind of figured it would be an interrogation. Dickhead had mentioned his sister Maricella and I figured this one and that one were one and the same. Maricella wasn't an entirely common name. I had also figured a sister would want to know everything about her brother's supposed mate.

"Yes." She said it simply and I jolted slightly. I wasn't really used to such honesty when I asked blunt questions.

"You aren't going to even deny it, are you?" I looked over at her incredulously and she shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"What's the point of denying the truth? I'll be interrogating you because I love Lu-Sterling a lot." She slipped up again and I frowned. Lu- what? At least I knew it started with an 'L'. It was more than Dickhead had on me and that was a bonus. "I want to make sure you aren't going to break his heart." At that I scoffed.

"The only person who's going to get hurt in the end is me." I couldn't help the bitterness that coated my words. That was how it always was. Yes, the bond punished those who drug it out but they never loved me. They never felt their heart breaking. That had all been on me because I had been too naive to spot a fraud.

"Why do you say that?" She asked it with an almost quiet curiosity and I started up the stairs. I wondered if it was best to ignore her questions but there was no point because she already knew about the rejections.

"Matings only bring me pain and suffering. Dickhead's just like all the others and he'll find he doesn't need a mate like me. I'm too mouthy, too headstrong, too weak, too short, too whatever excuse they want to use." I waved my hand flippantly. The pain was gone and life had taught me early on to have thick skin. Stick and stones and all that. They stung a little when they had been thrown my way but not anymore. I now understood that they were just excuses.

"Twenty-nine others?" Maricella asked it softly, as if she were trying to coax the answer out of me.

I rolled my eyes slightly as I adjusted my grip on the mop bucket. "Yes." A rather awkward silence fell and we reached the top of the stairs. I frowned, trying to remember which room the office was in.

"Sterling is different, you know." She said it with conviction and I gave a small grunt of irritation. Everyone always said that and everyone was always wrong.

"No, I don't know and I don't particularly want to know. Besides I'm being held here against my will. I can't leave." I walked down the hallway and pulled open the first door. It was a linen closet. I shut it quickly and moved to the second door.

"You are very abrasive." She said it bluntly and I gave a small chuckle. It was the truth. I almost prided myself on how abrasive I could be. People didn't get attached when you were abrasive, also my mother had a similar attitude so I came by it honestly.

"I get that a lot." I opened the second door and groaned. It was a bathroom.

She grasped my arm and I resisted the urge to shake her off. "Do you want to leave?" She looked so earnest I felt a bit off-kilter before I set the bucket down and ran a hand through my hair with a heavy sigh.

"I don't do well with mates. I never have. I want to continue on my way and pretend none of this nightmare is happening but he has made sure to let me know I'm not allowed to leave." I stared at her and she pinched her lips together slightly before she shook her head.

"That isn't what I asked. Do you want to leave?" Her gaze was rather intense and I heaved out another sigh.

"Do I want to leave? Yes. Do I think I'm allowed to leave? No." That much had been made apparent and not just from Dickhead. Mene had made her will known and I wasn't stupid enough to fight against that. No one could possibly be that stupid.

"I could talk to him, if you wanted. You shouldn't be stuck here against your will." Her words were said softly and I felt my heart turn over in my chest unexpectedly and I felt a lump grow in my throat. There was a pure sincerity in her that I hadn't been expecting but I shook my head, pressing my lips together.

"He's not the only one who's holding me here. Mene had made it well known to me that he is to be my punishment and penance for my sins. She has told me I am to stay. So despite my wants, I will bow to what our goddess wills and I will stay." I stared at the smaller female and she paused before letting her hand slip off my arm and nodding.

"I don't know much about Mene but if that is what you believe. I won't interfere." She gestured down the hall. "The office is the fourth door down."

"Thank you." I picked up the bucket and moved to the door she specified before opening it. Two pack members were already in the room and I looked at them in surprise. Gamgam had worked fast. They were rolling up the carpet and taller one whirled around as soon as he heard the door click shut.

"You're still here?" He looked familiar and I narrowed my eyes slightly, trying to place him. It hit me. He was the last one I had done the prayers for.

"Yah. Being held captive against my will and have been put into indentured servitude." I kept my face even as I lifted the bucket and his expression darkened.

"Alpha Sterling promised us he would let you leave safely." His voice was slightly growled and I felt my eyebrow rose. He had asked Dickhead to let me go? That was an interesting tidbit of information.

"Ignore her. She's being sarcastic." Maricella said it quietly and I was more than aware she was hovering slightly behind me as if using me as a shield. It immediately made me want to go on the defensive to protect her. It was strange and unsettling having the feeling pushed on me. The female was somehow influencing me. It was weird, she was weird and I didn't like it, despite the lifeline she had thrown out to me that I had been unable to take.

"Really?" He looked at me and I blinked at him several times. I had told him most of the truth. I just wasn't sure why he hadn't figured out why. I kind of assumed Dickhead had told everyone and their dog that we were mates. A brilliant thought popped into my head. Dickhead didn't tell anyone because Dickhead was going to reject me after all. That actually seemed to perk up my mood. That released me from any and all obligations from Mene if it was his idea.

"Yes." I set the bucket down and he seemed to relax.

He held out his hand and I stared at it for a few moments before I hesitantly reached out and took it. "My name's Ian." He gave my hand a firm shake and I nodded.

"Pleasure, Ian, but I need to mop up the blood before it stains the floor." I looked up and my eyes widened as I saw Jackass was the other shifter. I smiled brightly. "Jack, my boy. How are you?" His eyes snapped up and I swear I heard him groan.

"Jack? His name is Sean." Ian looked confused and I shook my head and pointed at Jackass.

"No, his name is Jackass because he chased me into a river where I nearly got frostbite on my ass." I gave him a look and he rolled his eyes.

"I tried to stop you but you wouldn't listen." He sounded a bit petulant and I flapped my hand in the imitation of a mouth.

"Oh yah, yah yah, blah blah blah. Excuses excuses." I wiggled my head from side to side and Ian chuckled.

"So how long are you staying?" He looked at me intently and I narrowed my eyes slightly. There wasn't any real answer to that question and if I didn't know better I would have believed he was hitting on me. No one actively hits on the Alpha's mate. Jackass was there when Dickhead found out so he knew. I was just wondering why he hadn't told anyone. Unless Dickhead forbade him from telling anyone.

"Not sure. As long as your Alpha wants me to stay." I shrugged before turning and looking at Maricella who was clutching the broom with tight hands. A slight aura of fear and anxiety hung off of her and I frowned as the urge to protect her became stronger. I stepped closer to her, unconsciously moving so I stood directly between her and the two male shifters who were making her so uncomfortable. "Maricella, please sit down in Dickhead's chair. The desk will be between you and them so I don't have to be." I wrinkled my nose and held out my hand. She gave me the mop before quickly moving to sit at the desk.

"Could you two hurry up and get the carpet out of here?" I glanced between them and Maricella. Ian frowned slightly but Jackass seemed to catch my meaning and quickly went to rolling up the rug.

"Alpha Sterling will have us on double patrols if we shirk our duties." Ian said it with a low groan and Jackass gave a strained laugh.

"It's not Alpha I'm worried about. Carrie is wicked with that spoon." He grunted slightly as he gave the rolled rug a shove, rolling up the last little bit of it. I stuck the mop into the pail before lifting it and letting it land into the blood pool with a rather disgusting squishing sound.

"So what happened?" Ian gestured to the chunks of clotted blood that my mop was simply pushing around. I sighed when I realized I would actually need to pick them up to get them off of the floor.

"A Hunter looked at something he shouldn't have." It was simple and the only explanation anyone was getting from me. I didn't want them to know how impressed I was that he had killed the Hunter. I had wanted to. I had wanted too but I lacked the strength to actually snap his neck, that and I could no longer even partially shift out my claws. Sure I had been strong enough to get him on his back, that had been easy. A simple act of tapping the back of his knees to make him unbalanced and then using that to my advantage to get him to the floor but the act of actually snapping a neck was beyond my strength. It had been an empty threat but he had taken it seriously instead of calling my bluff.

"What was it he looked at?" He was looking at me and I shrugged. It was easier to let him think I was ignorant then to press me for details. I glanced over and Jackass was glancing between me and the other shifter with a small frown on his mouth.

"It doesn't matter, Ian. This carpet is going to start dripping if we leave it any longer." He picked up one end of it and I gave him a small nod of thanks. Ian was too chatty for my liking. If he poked enough he would discover what Dickhead had been trying to hide and then I would be truly fucked.

"Jesus, Sean. What has your underwear in a twist? I was just making conversation." Ian grabbed his end of the rolled rug and I moved my mop around, trying to put all of the blood clots in a pile so it would be easier to pick up.

"She ain't your mate, Slater. Save your conversations for that special female instead of letting them fall on deaf ears." If Jackass continued to be so nice and helpful I had a feeling I might upgrade his name to Jack permanently. I watched as he opened the door and started out of it.

"Just because you have a mate it doesn't mean everyone needs to go out and get themselves-" The conversation cut off as the door closed and I pinched the bridge of my nose. I exhaled slowly, that had been a bit trying.

"I had a feeling he was trying to flirt with you." Maricella said it casually and I shook my head slightly. So I hadn't been seeing things where they weren't, that was good to know.

"You aren't the only one." I muttered it as leaned the mop handle against the desk and bent down to scoop up the pile of blood clots. I wanted to gag as I scooped most of them up and put them in the bucket. They felt weird and slimy against my skin and they tainted my skin red. I swished my hands in the water, grasping one of the cloths in the process. I wrung it out and carefully let it drop into the puddle of bloody water that I had made on the floor.

"You weren't really giving him a chance were you?" She sounded amused as I picked up the cloth and wrung it out in the bucket. I repeated the action of placing it in the puddle.

"Well currently I am stuck with a mate and flirting with another male seems a bit wrong." I shrugged, despite the fact I didn't want to have a mate I wasn't bitch enough to blatantly flirt with another guy. I had too many instances of that happening to me. I would never sink that low.

"Sterling would probably be happy to hear that." She said it offhandedly and I rolled my eyes.

"It's not for his benefit." I continued to sop up the bloody water. I stopped and looked at her behind the desk. "Weren't you coming to help?" She glanced at me, looking almost queasy.

"I don't do well with blood. I thought I would be okay but nope." She shook her head rapidly and I shrugged before turning back to the floor. Better for her to stay back so I wouldn't have to clean up puke. The thought had me wanting to gag. "So why did he do it? Sterling wouldn't just kill someone for no reason." I started to lightly scrub at the dark hardwood with my cloth trying to rub the blood from the grooves in the wood.

"Hunters came in, roughed me up a bit, insulted him, and made a pass at me. He reacted how any wolf would to the disrespect." I shrugged and dunked the cloth in the water before lifting it out still soaking and wrung it out where the blood pool had been. I gently swished the water around, trying to get all the blood on the wood into the water.

"You said the Hunter looked at something he shouldn't have." Maricella tapped her fingers on the desk and I levelled her with a look over my shoulder. She had to know what it was because it was the one thing that made sense. I watched as realization crossed her face before her cheek tinged pink slightly. "Oh, he looked at you." I nodded and turned back to my task.

"He was a pervert and I can't say I'm upset he's dead." I scowled at the puddle of water I was currently trying to sop up. "Can you believe that he called Dickhead scrawny?" I looked at Maricella once more and her face twisted with confused disbelief.

"I mean he's not the biggest Alpha out there but its not like he doesn't have muscles. He's definitely not scrawny. He can hold his own against Micheal and Ezekiel and that's saying something. What a douche." She tapped a bit more on the desk top with her fingers as I cleaned up the watery mess on the floor. "Makes me feel a bit less sad that you're cleaning him up off the floor." An unexpected laugh erupted out of me at her words. "What?" She sounded confused and I shook my head.

"I have a messed up sense of humor. Don't worry about it." I couldn't help but smile as I finished cleaning up the bloody patch on the hardwood. "Remind me to let Dickhead know that killing people inside is a big no-no." My knees kind of hurt from the position I had been sitting in and I put the cloth in the bucket before I stretched out my legs, my knees cracking as I did so.

"Why do you call him that?" She sounded irritated and I shrugged. I didn't really care if she approved of me or my nicknames. I wouldn't be around long enough to really have a relationship with her.

"It's an insult. I wanted to make him angry but he accepted it instead of telling me his name. Too late to go back now." I stood up with a wince as pins and needles travelled down my legs. "He never asked for mine so until he does, Dickhead it is." Gamgam had been right, it was a game. It had been petty before but now it was more fun. I could get used to Pisică, the Alpha would have a harder time getting used to being called a Dickhead at every opportunity.

"You're both weird." Maricella pursed her lips slightly as she looked at me and I gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"I prefer to be weird. Less people bother me that way." It had worked for years. Well, either the weirdness or my bitchy personality. I didn't care which as long as people left me alone. There was a loud pop and smack that had us both jumping slightly in surprise. I nearly gagged as the thick smell of roses filled the room.

Maricella clamped her hand over her nose at the potent and cloying smell of teleportation magic as she looked at the desk in front of her. "What is that?" She pointed to the thick stack of papers that had landed on the desk and I tried to hold back my excitement at seeing the papers. That had been one thing I had missed most about my training with my mother. She taught me all of the paperwork and I adored doing it. I loved losing myself among pages and ink, my pen scratching a soothing melody across papers as each pen stroke made the pack fall into order.

"That would be my next job. I did promise Dickhead I would do the paperwork if he killed him." There was an apparent thread of glee in my voice that I couldn't even try to hide.

"Can we not speak of killing people? It bothers me." Her voice was so tiny that I almost had a hard time hearing her. I tore my eyes from the paperwork to look at her and her face was slightly pale.

"That's fine. Why don't you head to the kitchen and help Gamgam?" I watched as she nodded before getting up and grabbing the mop and the bucket and hastily exiting the room. I looked down at the flannel pajama pants I had on and sighed. They were slightly damp and tainted pink from the blood. I would changed and then come back and do the paperwork. That had another smile crossing my face. Paperwork was easy and it was something I could lose myself in for a few hours and I desperately needed that.