“Yes, Alpha,” I answered, hoping that using her title would alleviate any worries she might have about my behaviour.
I just had to make it through the next five weeks. Five weeks and I’d be back home. It wasn’t that I wanted to be back with Ashford. I didn’t. But I wanted to be back in my own pack. Being an omega was hard enough; I didn’t need to add being an outside wolf on top of that.
“Good girl, let’s go,” she commanded, and I ignored the way the praise bubbled warmly in my chest.
She opened the door, and I walked beside her as she led me down the driveway towards the sidewalk.
“Lucian Hill is technically open to all wolves, but Sandstorm has a monopoly,” she said as we crossed the road. “We own every property in the northwest; it’s a clear divide down Main Street. We also own over a third of the entry townhouses. Those are assigned to lower-ranking, working members of the Pack. Council members and leadership all reside much closer to the Pack House, where our individual offices are located,” she explained as we walked and turned down a private street wherean impressive, regal-style mansion took centre stage. “The Pack House.” She waved towards the building.
“You mean Pack Mansion? Is there something bigger than a mansion?” I asked. I’d never seen a bigger house.
She laughed beside me.
“It’s a true Pack House. Every member of Pack Sandstorm is welcome to visit its safe haven. We have daily meals and social events, and there’s a daycare in a new extension at the back.”
“Pack Blizzard doesn’t have a Pack House,” I told her.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said in a belittling sort of way. It made my metaphorical hackles rise, but I didn’t have a chance to respond as we reached the Pack House.
The entrance door was wedged open, and we walked into a cloakroom with numerous jackets hanging on wall hooks, disused umbrellas in a bucket in the corner next to the door, and a laminated sign reading If You Take It, Bring It Back! The exclamation suggested whoever had made the sign was frustrated by non-returners.
“We won’t be here for long; keep your jacket on,” Cole said.
I hadn’t made any attempt to remove it.
I followed her through another door out of the cloakroom, which led into a long hallway. Various corkboards hung on the wall with printed flyers and posters filling and decorating the space, advertising movie and quiz nights, sports and exercise, educational classes, and social help.
“Down the hallway and around the corner, you find the main stairway, which leads to the function rooms on the second floor, and the councillors' offices on the third. The ground floor is where you’ll find the communal kitchen and dining space, the community open rooms, and Alan’s office,” Cole explained as we walked down the corridor.
I tried not to be distracted by all the posters when she stopped in front of a wooden door with a frosted-glass windowreading Facilities Manager! I couldn’t help but notice the use of an exclamation mark again with the sign. “Alan makes all the signage and notices,” Cole whispered, and I saw a blurry figure through the frosted glass get up from a desk.
The door swung open.
“What do you want!”
“I have a new temp for you,” Cole answered, unperturbed by the rudeness.
Alan was a tall, thin, and ageing man. His hair was a dark grey, and he had a rough, unkempt beard that clearly hadn’t been shaved in a week or longer. He wore corduroy brown trousers and a green-and-yellow checked shirt.
His eyes flicked to me sharply and back to Cole.
“Never know what to expect with you, Colette,” he replied.
Colette?
Was Cole a nickname? It surprised me. Colette seemed wrong somehow. Less in control, less alpha. The name Colette belonged to a person vastly different from the woman beside me.
She suited Cole better.
I watched her jaw tense and relax.
“I’m bringing you something useful, Alan. The correct response is 'thank you’,” Cole said.
Alan’s eyes crinkled in amusement.
“Got to wait to see if she’s any use first before I thank you. Where’d she come from anyway?” he asked.
“She’s my omega,” Cole told him, and his eyes moved between us quickly.
