Calla Lily

Breakfast and Books ⚪️

Sorren got out of the car and made his way around to the passenger side. He opened the door and offered me his hand. "May I?" He asked. "Yes." I said placing my small hand in his larger one. What we talked about swam around in my head and I felt nervous. Sorren most likely sensing the speed of my heart beat spoke up "It's alright. Don't worry about what we talked about, okay?" That was easy enough for him to say, now I know everyone is judging me. It was fine when I believed everyone would be looking at him.
Sorren shut the car door and still had my hand in his. We took a few steps and I removed my hand from his still walking beside him. He didn't react as I did so and let my hand fall to my side with ease. "Alpha." A wolf nodded his head in respect and moved to let Sorren and I pass. Sorren only nodded his head in response and barely glanced at the wolf as we continued on. I swallowed thickly, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The diner had the name Carla painted in large letters on the glass. The space was packed and all eyes watched us through the windows as Sorren pulled the door open for me.
I entered the diner first and looked at the nervous hostess "Hello," she seemed unsure how to address me "Alpha." She bowed as Sorren stood behind me protectively. "Hello. A table for two." He said to the nervous girl. Chatter was still filling the quaint restaurant which had an array of booths and tables all jammed into the small space.
There was a table by the windows that we were lead to "Is this table sufficient Alpha?" Sorren looked to me and I nodded "Yes, thank you." Sorren said and pulled my chair out for me. I sat down and he sat down across from me. "Here are your menus. What can I get you to drink?" She asked "Coffee." Sorren said. "I'll have a hot tea with cream and sugar and a glass of water please." She nodded "Of course, your waitress will be over with those." The girl smiled at me and Sorren before walking away.
After not being around a crowded setting like this in months it was almost overwhelming. I felt like my ears were fine tuned to listen to what was going on around me, but perhaps that was due to the overwhelming number of wolves in the space. They were all like Sorren, although not the Alpha, they were all wolves and all huge. "Calla are you okay?" He asked. I nodded and reached for my menu. It wasn't like I hadn't been around wolves before I mean in the human part of town back home I think we out numbered them and that was where we went out if we did go out to eat because it was affordable. The menu was large and my eyes raked over it until I found the breakfast burritos.
"Hello Alpha," a waitress bowed as she set our drinks down onto the table. She glanced at me again unsure of how to address me. Sorren saw her starring a moment too long and a look of what could be contempt on her face and so intervened "No greeting for your Luna?" He questioned deadpan. The waitress paled and the tables around us were none too discreetly listening.
"I-I apologize Alpha," she then corrected her self "Luna I didn't know." She was flustered now and her head was bowed again. Sorren looked at me and then back to the waitress "I'll have a breakfast slam with egg whites, sausage, toast, and 3 pancakes." He said. The waitress scrambled to write down his order most likely terrified of missing anything in the order.
She then looked to me "And for you Luna?" It felt strange to be addressed by that title and I wanted to tell her not to call me that, but thought better of it because of what Sorren said, the pack had to respect him and me. "I'll have a cheesy breakfast burrito with hash browns." I concluded "Of course. I will put that in for you both, again I apologize for the disrespect Luna." She grabbed the menus off of the table "What is your name?" I asked looking for a name tag but finding none. She looked nervous "Sara, Luna." She answered "Well Sara, since I had to ask for your name, it seems only fair that you would've had to ask for mine too," she smiled shyly realizing I wasn't trying to put her on some list for not calling me by my title.
When she walked away I looked at Sorren who was smirking at me "What?" I asked uncertain. He shook his head "It's just nice to see you interacting with the pack." He said. I looked out of the window people watching for a bit sipping at my tea. "I can't believe you drink your coffee black." I said to Sorren. "Not a fan of coffee?" He asked "No, bitter bean water really isn't really a favorite." He laughed "You prefer leaf water?" He asked referring to my tea "Leaf water with cream and sugar." I corrected.
  Our food was brought out quickly and the burrito was literally the size of my head. Sorren's meal took up the entire table I was amazed at the appetite of this giant wolf. I began eating my burrito and hummed in satisfaction. Sorren's cooking was good but I'd been craving this for a while. "I thought after this I could show you around town a bit? There's a bookshop I've purchased a lot from down the street." The perspective of new books excited me "Sure, your library kinda needs refreshed." I said earning a smile from him. "Ouch." He said playfully. He finished his food well before I was done with mine. I actually had eaten the whole giant burrito and all of the potatoes. The diner owner then approached us as Sorren asked for the check. "Hello Alpha Sorren, it's a pleasure to see you as always. I see you've found our Luna! Hello Luna, I'm Carla the owner of this place. I hope the food was to your liking?" I nodded "Yes the food was wonderful! My name is Calla." I extended my hand and the woman looked shocked for a moment before she took my hand smiling broadly "It is nice to meet you Luna Calla."
  We paid and then left the restaurant. Sorren walked closely behind me until we got out onto the sidewalk "Where are the books?" Sorren inclined his head and I followed him "May I hold your hand?" He asked quietly. I liked that he took what I said seriously, I was nervous what he thought about when I said he should ask for permission, I didn't mean it to sound sexual. "Yes." I answered and instantly I felt his warm hand envelope my cold one. "Your hands are freezing? Are you cold? I can give you my jacket." Sorren said eagerly "No I'm okay, just my hands are cold." I said. "We can get some gloves." He said . "No, I'm fine I have pockets." I said. He didn't seem satisfied with my answer but didn't argue with me as we neared the book shop. It was in a small square full of other businesses. There was a small water fountain in the middle of a round about and bricked streets. It was very nice, nicer then the part of town I grew up in.
  We passed a few wolves who of course greeted Sorren all but jumping out of his way. A few bowed their heads to me but I hadn't received another formal title of 'Luna' yet which I was thankful for. The book shop was a place straight from one of my dreams, the door hit a bell as we opened it alerting whoever worked here of our arrival. The entryway was framed in stained glass and led to a large room packed to the brim with books both old and new. It looked to me a few rooms branched off of this one. The shelves in the walls were so tall ladders on wheels were there to help one find the book they desire. The whole room was like a a maze and I was intrigued to say the least. A small desk with an old brass cash register sat piled with papers and receipts. There was no one behind the counter they were most likely through the small corridor behind the desk.
  "This place is great." I said as I journeyed deeper into it. "This is where I got most of my books. There is every type of genre here." Sorren pointed to a brass ornate name plate which had the genre of said books on the shelf scrawled in fancy writing. "If you have a particular book you'd like to look for, there is a computer that has the books cataloged so you can go to the section." He explained pointing to an ancient looking computer beside the checkout.
  "I'm not looking for anything particular, just something new."
I said. "Although I would very much like to climb one of those ladders." I could tell by the look in Sorren's eyes that was not going to happen "I would rather if you wouldn't. You could fall," he confirmed my suspicions and I decided it best to just drop the conversation. I decided my plan of action was to wander around the store until a genre caught my attention.
  I walked down an aisle labeled 'romance' and rolled my eyes as I saw one displayed with the title "My Alpha". I got to the poetry and walked through my fingers skimming over a few spines. I stopped at an Emily Dickenson poem book and pulled it off the shelf. I leafed through a few pages and decided to get it. Next I went to the travel isle and picked up a few memoirs on hiking.
I went back into another small room and found a comfortable seating area. I sat down and began my assessment on the few books I gathered. It was always a rule of mine to read a few pages of the first chapter to see if I liked it or not. I snuggled down into the comfortable arm chair and began reading.