Chosen

13

Oof, this thing reads like stereo instructions.

Whoever had transcribed the book on Black Moon history and events had a very dry, confusing, and half-thought way of doing it. I had been seated in Rykor's office for three and a half hours trying to read the thing, but every time I turned the page, my headache intensified. I was almost to the halfway mark, and had hoped to get there today, but that was proving to be rather difficult. Thankfully, the Alpha himself was not present to watch my struggling. He, the Gammas, and the Betas had had a meeting at the Beta home to discuss what they might have missed during their stay at White Moon. One of the Gammas had been in charge of the pack while the Alpha and Betas were away, and he was filing them in on what had transpired in Black Moon.

We had woken up and had a lovely breakfast together before Shawn had come to collect him. Rykor had told me he didn't think it'd be a terribly long meeting, as anything of importance would have already been reported, but the time on the clock would disagree with his statement.

I closed the book on my lap with a resounding thud. My brain felt fried, and I felt I needed a bit of a break before I even attempted to continue. I sat back and looked around Rykor's office. The stained glass window in that particular room was an intimidating depiction of a large wolf combating several smaller wolves. Some of them lay dead on the forest floor, while others tried to attack the bigger wolf, who was standing tall and proud with a limp wolf in his jaws.

The might of an Alpha.

The rest of the room caused an even bigger headache for me. It was very much disorganized and messy, which had never been an ideal "thinking space" for me. Cleaning usually calmed me down, and that was ultimately why I found myself behind Rykor's desk, fixing the papers on top of it. I separated them into piles of "completed," "urgent," and "needs review." I found an old glass cup from the kitchen that could no longer hold liquid, but wouldn't have a problem holding pens, and made a makeshift pencil-cup. I grabbed a cleaning rag and wiped down the dark desk, pleased with the polish and shine on it once I was finished. There were scattered bits of crumpled and torn paper that had been lazily thrown in the direction of the waste bin, which soon filled up once I deposited them in their proper place. Next was the bookshelf. I took the books he had and arranged them in alphabetical order, according to their titles. In between the books, I found the odd file. Those I separated and also alphabetized before giving them their own two shelves on the bookcase.

By the time I was done scrubbing, dusting, and straightening the study, it had been a total of eight hours that Rykor had been gone. I stepped back, admiring my work, when the front door creaked open.

"Lahla? Where are you."

I flinched, wondering how mad he would be that I messed up his study. "I-in here."

Rykor walked in, looking tired from the long meeting. His eyes brightened a bit when they saw me before they wandered around the room. I cringed a bit, hoping he wouldn't be too mad, but I knew better. Travis hadn't even let me step foot in his study, and he's my Mate. I couldn't imagine how angry this could make the Alpha.

"Did you clean my office?" There was genuine surprise in his voice, causing the question to actually sound like a question. I nodded, looking at the newly vacuumed rug. "It is...this is wonderful, Lahla." My head shot up in shock.

"Wait, you're not mad that I touched your things?"

He raised a thick eyebrow at me. "No. They are only things, Lahla. If I minded, which I don't, I would just move them back where I wanted them. But this is good. I'm impressed, and very grateful."

"G-grateful?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I have been trying to organize this study since I became Alpha. It was a mess before and always has been. I got as far as getting rid of old files before I started getting swamped with work. This is much cleaner." Rykor strode over to me, cupping my face with his large, warm hands. I held my breath. "Lou gratum, Lahla." 

Blood rushed up my neck to my cheeks. I knew he could feel them heat up under his hands, but he made no mention of it and instead graced me with a breathtaking smile. I smiled back, finding it so easy with him. It was a while before either of us moved, and it was only the growling of my stomach that broke us up for a meal.