I wake up to loud voices throughout the house. I rub my eyes, sit up in bed and look around the room once more. It's looks a lot bigger when the sun is shining through the large window beside the bed. I move the blanket off of myself and pull on my jeans that some how ended up on the floor while I was asleep. When I step out into the hallway, the voices grow louder. Laughter fills the house.
I slip into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. The bags that were under my eyes last night have vanished but my hair remains a matted mess. I look for a brush of some sort and brush through my hair quickly. I sit on the toilet seat for a couple minutes before gathering the courage to open the door.
There is an overwhelming smell of wolf when I enter the living room. I see three guys sitting on the couch and a few more standing around them. Their eyes pierce through my body when they notice me. None of them are John. "Um, do any of you know where John is?" I ask.
The boy sitting in the middle of the couch is the only one who answers me. "He's in the kitchen."
"Okay, thank you." Everyone's attention is back on the boy who looks as if he's telling a very intense story but there's one girl who catches my eye. She stares out the window with her arms crossed over her chest. Another person notices her standing there and he gets up and walks over to her. He puts his hand on the small of her back and whispers something in her ear.
I turn on my heel and walk toward the kitchen. I find John sitting on a stool in front of the counter, speaking to the boy who stands across from him. When I step into the kitchen, they both stop and look at me.
"Good morning," John says. "Sleep well?"
"Morning," I respond. "And yes, I did." I look at the other boy who stares right back at me. He has light brown eyes that match the colour of his hair.
"This is Alex," John motions to him. "Alex, this is Anna."
His face breaks out into a huge smile and he extends his hand in my direction. I grab his hand and shake it. "Nice to meet you, Alex."
"My pleasure," he says in a thick voice. Then he pulls my hand up to his mouth and kisses it lightly. I feel heat rising in my cheeks and I look back at John who just smiles at me.
"Am I interrupting?" I ask.
"Nothing that we can't discuss later," John assures me then nods at Alex. "Come with me," he grabs my hand and we head back to the living room. "I want you to meet some people."
"Okay," I say and follow close behind him. We stand in front of the same people I was just wondering about.
John squeezes my hand and calls for everyone's attention. There are a couple guys that have joined since I was last here. "I want you all to meet someone. This is Anna," he says and looks down at me.
I wave at them. "Hi everyone."
"These are the other members of the Elora pack," he says in my ear but still loud enough that everyone hears. "There's Josh, Adam, David, Jason, Kyle, Ryan, and Nathan," he says while pointing at each one of them in order. Josh is the boy I saw earlier who stood with the girl by the window. He's short with long, wavy brown hair that falls just above his eyes which are such a dark brown and look black. Adam is tall and skinny and has reddish-orange hair. His eyes are a dark shade of blue. David is average height and looks like he could lift a boulder with his pinky finger. He stands next to Jason who has light blue eyes that stare at me intensely. Kyle is at the back of the room and he doesn't even acknowlegde us. From what I can see, he has blonde hair and he would tower over me if I stood next to him. Nathan is sitting on the couch next to Adam with his legs outstretched in front of him.
One at a time, they walk up to me and greet me the same way Alex did. Some of them stare at me for a long time, some smell me and their eyes widen and some just kiss my hand and move along.
"Forgetting someone?" I hear a girls voice and she steps in front of me. "I'm Sarah."
"Hello Sarah," I say and extend my hand for her to shake.
She grabs it tightly and pulls me close to her. "I'm not going to kiss it like they did," she whispers in my ear.
I pull away from her and look her dead in the eye then laugh and say, "I didn't want you to."
Her smile is bittersweet. "Good," she says before turning around and walking out the back door.
I look up at John and say "I don't think she likes me."
"She doesn't like many people. Don't take it personally."
