From Above the Treetops

III

The continuous buzzing of my phone sounded from my bedside table as I blinked away the sleep. I was the type of person who was alert from the moment they were awake, but I enjoyed knowing that I probably woke the teenage pack-member in the room next to me a little early each day with my obnoxiously loud alarm. He tended to keep me up late with his incessant drum and base music. It was even worse when his girlfriend stopped by.

I shut off the alarm and swung my legs out of bed, stretching and cracking my limbs out of their tired, rested state. I did a few pushups to satisfy Icarus and sipped from my water-bottle, noticing my phone had too many notifications. Mila and N.J had been blowing up our group chat lately with their excitement around moving into the pack house, despite knowing I hate texting. We usually spent all of our time at their place since the both of them lived there, so I'm sure my nice, neat bedroom will be ruined in no time by the chaos that is N.J. I grabbed my towel and shower caddy, stepping out of my room and walking down to the communal shower rooms.

As soon as I entered, the line of people waiting dissipated; the people made themselves scarce, heading back to their rooms as quick as they could until the bathroom was completely empty. I shook my head, letting myself into a shower stall. It was like this every day. My wolf enjoyed the privacy and I suppose it was one of the only perks about being avoided like I am; no line for the bathroom.

I let the cold water flow over my head, cascading down my face before the droplets split and take their individual courses down the rest of my body. I soaped up my body and hair, standing with my face against the cold tile until the water eventually ran clear, all evidence of soap suds long gone down the drain. Mila had once called me a freak for liking cold showers, but I found them refreshing. It was the best way to start a day.

Once the water had stopped, I wrapped myself in my towel and headed to the sinks to brush my teeth in the still-baron bathroom. Nobody would dare enter until I was long gone. As I walked back to my bedroom I towel dried my hair, hearing people hesitating leaving their rooms until they'd heard me walk past and enter my own room. I suppose the people who lived on my corridor in the pack house got the short end of the stick, having to live on eggshells.

If I was N.J, I'd be oblivious to it. I'd prance around always wondering why the rooms I entered always happened to be empty. If I was Mila, I would recognise it, but simply not care. Both of them talk to the pack members anyway, ignoring the fact that it makes them uncomfortable to be spoken to.

I'm not them, though.

I changed quickly into some black jeans, a grey t shirt and a black corduroy button-down, not bothering to button it up. I grabbed a hoodie and my backpack, heading down the stairs to the dining hall. According to the history books that Xavier had made us read a thousand times, the dining hall was once a ballroom. The sheer size of it when it was empty made it seem impossibly large, but at feeding times it seemed too small to handle the growing numbers of pack members.

I grabbed toast, a chocolatey cereal bar, a melon pot, and a grapefruit, eating the toast on my way to my car. I chucked my bag onto the passenger seat and slid into the drivers seat, wiping away any crumbs before I climbed in. The drive to the Alpha's house took mere minutes but they were never ready to leave on time. I beeped the horn to let them know that I was outside and settled into my seat to eat my grapefruit, peeling it with the music humming out softly.

The taste was sour but I liked it, the smell lingering in the car even now that I was done.

The front door finally crept open and N.J came bounding down the pathway, yawning and scratching his head tiredly. Gracie came running out after him to give him his lunch that he had forgotten, which she had to do most days. N.J wasn't much of a morning person and usually looked like he had just rolled out of bed at all times of the day.