Cold Flames

The Crumpled Note and The Respect She Deserves .16.

.November.

"Morning sweetie!" a voice chirped in my direction.

I snapped out of my dazed state with the paper now slightly crumpled in my pale hand.

"Miss Iris." I curtsied a little, slightly distracted with the bomb Alpha Hunter had dropped on me like I was Nagasaki. It had only been a day since I had come to his territory and already I was meeting his family.

I had heard a lot of rumors about Alpha Hunter's family but none of them deemed important enough for me to remember. All I knew was that his dad and older brother were dead and he only had his little sister and his mum left as an immediate family. It was only about nine am and I could feel myself get a headache. A reminder that my pills were upstairs deep somewhere in my toilet bag fleeted across my mind but I buried the thought.

"Luna!" She pulled me up with a frown, most likely shocked that I had curtsied for her and I was left flabbergasted. I realized that below the lines which were caretakers and omegas were supposed to bow to the Royals and general committee members but to me, so long as she was older than me, I would give Miss Iris the respect she deserved, whether or not she was a caretaker. After all, I had been brought up by a group of them.

She wrapped me in her strong arms firmly and I remained a bit stiff, still a bit unused to being touched by people I didn't know so much. I wasn't counting on Miss Iris replacing Melissa but I had a feeling that as long as she was around, a listening ear would never be too far away.

Last night after my talk with Gracie and my unstoppable crying, Miss Iris had been the one to calm me down a bit before I went to bed and in those few moments she had held me tight in her arms while I wept, I felt I had found my first friend, despite the age difference.

"Come on, Mrs. Gracie and Darla are in the kitchen."

Miss Iris wrapped her hands around my bicep and she led me to a path I was unfamiliar with. As we walked, we passed by numerous closed doors and I wondered what story lay behind each door. Making our way down the corridor I realized once again how truly large the house was and how it still managed to seem homey and not too extravagant; I felt comfortable.

Pictures were lined up against the walls but Miss Iris didn't give me any time to linger. She opened the door in front of us and led me into a room that had me gasping like a fish out of water. The kitchen was ravishing. Having grown up with a small kitchen at the Cold Flames Pack, it hadn't occurred to me that a kitchen could be so big and extravagant!

A large counter covered a good amount of space and the floor was covered in beautiful dark wooden tiles. The marble walls sparkled indicating that they had just been wiped and the white cupboards and cabinets shone as though they were freshly painted. Who knew what were behind those shelves –most likely cups and plates but still! The place was too magnificent to not imagine more.

"Whoa," I couldn't help but to softly mutter. A giggle was heard from across the room and in surprise; I turned and was met with Gracie on a chair who was watching a feeding Darla who sat on a highchair. Gracie had on a red singlet which did little to hide her bump and black joggers. Her luscious blonde hair was held up in a bun and she cooed at a Darla whose breakfast covered the bottom half her face and palms before smiling at me.

"November!" Gracie scrambled out of her seat with a napkin in her hands which she threw over her shoulders before giving me a bone crushing hug. Miss Iris left me and walked towards the direction of the cupboard, pulling out ingredients to what looked to me like a fresh pancake mix. My body itched to join her. I hadn't been in the kitchen in a few days since my leaving and I missed the feel of preparing a meal, but I stayed put.