ANGEL
With a loud clank, my tray, utensils, and untouched bowl of oatmeal crash into the dish pit at the cookhouse. The room full of dozens of shifters quiets. I’m sure their eyes are on me, as they have been for the past five days. These outbursts aren’t helping me win any friends, not that I’m trying to. Staying in the cabin, sleeping, staring at the walls, and only coming out to shower or eat isn’t a plan. It’s denial.
Letting myself get so wrapped up in a male who clearly doesn’t want anything to do with me is downright pathetic.
I’m behaving like a five-year-old having a tantrum.
A lost five-year-old.
One who doesn’t need to be escorted back to camp by an asshole shifter who thinks he knows better than me just because this is his pack.
And this is where I get stuck in my head, unable to escape.
“That’s why I don’t usually eat here,” a familiar voice says.
I turn to see Tess standing there, a smile on her face, hair in aponytail, and a tray of half-eaten eggs in her hands. “They overcook everything. Come on, how about I get us some coffee?”
“Where?” The last place I want to be is her house, where the alpha lives.
“Are you always this suspicious?”
“I’m on edge.”
“I’ve noticed. Everyone has.”
“I don’t need any lectures.” I resume walking, at a faster pace than usual, but she doesn’t take the hint.
Despite being much shorter, she catches up and matches my pace. She’s not an easy person to ignore, so I halt and face her. “If you’re trying to help, thanks, but I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone.”
Tess slips an arm through mine. “Then don’t talk. Just come with me. I have someone I want you to meet.”
“When I’m pissed off and moody?”
“Oh, that won’t matter. Langdon’s rather moody himself. I’m told it comes with the territory.”
“Langdon. Isn’t he the supply master?” I look down at the too long sweater I’m wearing today. Someone filled my drawers with clothing. I didn’t ask who, though I should have. To thank her for getting me supplies, something I should have done on my own. But that required leaving the cabin.Meetingpeople.
“You need a job, Lina.”
“I get it. No freeloading. Earn my keep or leave. I’m still debating which will serve me best.”
“That’s definitely not what I was going to say, though you’re right, everyone has a job here.”
I slam to a halt. “What’s your job, Tess? Assimilating new shifters into the pack? Or following the ones already here to make sure they don’t cause any trouble? Buddy up to me, get close, then report back to your alpha-mate instead of just telling me you’re in a position of power.”
“I deserved that. I should have been up front with you.”
Fuck, I didn’t mean any of that. Not really. I understood where she was coming from, where they all are. I’m the outsider, and I haven’t done anything to get to know these shifters.
I sit down on one of the logs by the firepit in front of the Christmas tree. “I used to love Christmas. It was a time for the entire pack to celebrate. Every decoration we used had to be from the forest. Sprigs of juniper and baby pinecones, dried wildflowers on the rare years when the snow didn’t hide them all. Any winter berry we could find, especially the colorful ones, were always popular, and the kids got super involved, picking and stringing the berries. We even used feathers, dangling them like your ornaments.”
“That sounds lovely. You’re welcome to add to our tree. Anything you’d like. Talk to Sadie Lynn. She’s in charge of the tree, with her own army of little minions. Well, not all of them are little. She has the teens this year too, including the ones who are just learning to shift. They’re full of energy and literally running all over the place. I think she’s gonna start pulling her hair out soon. Collecting and stringing berries sounds like a great activity for the kids.”
“Sure, why not,” I say just to end this conversation. “Which way to Langdon?”
“I’m starting to think working in supplies isn’t the best idea for you. You might enjoy helping Sadie Lynn instead. You can use that attitude to get the kids in line.”
I chuckle. Hard not to. “Fair point.” I release a long breath, striving for calm or at least to be civil to her. “You were thinking supplies because of what I did in my pack?”
