Ensnare

Chapter 13

                I woke up the next morning before anyone else it seemed. I gathered my stuff and tiptoed into the washroom. Turning on the shower, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

                My blonde hair was messy from just rolling out of bed, but it fell in honey coloured waves down my back. My emerald eyes twinkled back from the mirror. Something about me looked different. I was still the same, but my cheeks seemed rosier and I was less pale. I looked…healthier. Maybe from spending so much time outside yesterday?

                I dismissed the thought and quickly undressed, stepping under the steaming water. Showers were one of my favourite things in the whole world. No matter what mood I was in, they always made me feel better. The warm water was relaxing and the clean feeling made me feel like there was less to worry about. I had no idea why, I just knew that they made me feel better.

                After stepping out of the shower, I towel dried my hair and brushed my teeth. I pulled on a pair of shorts and a pink t-shirt that fell off of my shoulders. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and walked back to my room, my damp feet sticking ever so lightly to the hardwood floor. I heard dishes clanking together from below.

                I dropped my things off in my room and headed downstairs. It felt like it had been a while since I’d talked to Eve. No one else was in the kitchen except for the motherly woman. She was cracking eggs into a mixing bowl.

                “Need a hand?” I asked. Eve smiled and handed me a spatula.

                “Pour the batter into the waffle iron, will you?” She said, missing in other ingredients. I picked up a bowl of batter and set about pouring four waffles. I set the lid down and the batter hissed as steam escaped. Eve was still mixing.

                “How are things going? Are you adjusting alright?” Eve asked.

                “I think so. It’s just a lot to take in all at once.”

                Eve pulled up the lid of the waffle iron and popped out four golden brown waffles. She opened the oven door and set them on the stack that was piled up inside. She was keeping them warm for everyone.

                “Can you grab the syrup from the fridge?” she asked.

                I opened the double doors to the refrigerator and looked inside. The thing was packed full of food. But what had I expected? A house full of werewolves would eat a lot.

                “Where does all this food come from?” I asked setting the bottle of maple syrup on the table.

                “We make the syrup ourselves. A lot of the food we buy in bulk and freeze in the deep freezers. But produce and other things, I go grocery shopping for every two weeks. We’re probably due for another trip into town soon.”

                By now I could hear conversation coming from the stairs and living room. People were waking up. Zeph and Oakley came down the stairs together at the same time Buck came around the corner. Merlin and Wilbur followed Buck in from the living room.

                Eve handed me a stack of plates to hand out. I passed them around and turned back to Eve. She handed me the steaming stack of waffles. All eyes fell on the mountain of fresh food. I briefly wondered if I was about to be tackled to the ground as the group fought over scattered waffles.

                Luckily no such thing happened. Instead plates were held out and I did my best to pass out waffles, three on each plate. There were five waffles left when everyone had a plate. Eve was still making more.