The Three Kings

Chapter 4

"If there is any justice in the universe, you'd have been sentenced long ago. But you are untouched by my suffering nor by any consequence. Instead, you forge ahead in life, a cold consciousness machine, trailing destruction in your wake. And I am bound to you by blood, memories of your misdeeds lingering in the haunted forest of my body, like traps waiting to spring."
~John Green
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Hanna
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Hour after hour, I was stuck in the kitchen; baking, cooking, making....Day after day I was stuck standing at the counter top or the oven or stove without an ounce of rest since Monday or Tuesday. My back ached, muscles burned, and feet hurt. My eyes were droopy and exhaustion filled my bones. I didn't know if I was going to survive this dinner.

Friday morning came around with the sun shining in through the kitchen window. I glanced out of it, admiring the beautiful sunrise. A small smile graced my face. I loved watching the sunrise, but I had to get back to work. I had a lot more to do today and my list of tasks seemed endless.

Cooking took up the majority of the day. By the time four o'clock rolled around, I was ready to be done with the whole dinner. Alpha John came into the kitchen. He was curious to know how everything was coming along. We talked for a couple minutes before he excused himself to go deal with his own duties. As he left he told me it was time that I start getting ready.

I ignored his comment and turned back to the oven. There was still much I needed to do before I could even think about getting ready.

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When the clock struck six I knew I didn't have anymore time to waste. I stepped away from the counter and wiped my hands on the apron. I cleaned up my space and placed everything onto of the counter. When that was done, I took the apron off and left to get ready for the dinner.

As I stepped out of the restaurant, I was hit with a gust of cold wind. Goosebumps coated my arms and my hair flew in my face; a shiver wracked it's way through me. I crossed my arms over my chest, bent my head, then started down the stone path to Alpha John's house.

The pack was empty; not a single person was in sight. I shivered again, but this time not from the cold. I did not like how desolate the pack looked. I knew, though, that Alpha John had asked people to either stay in their homes or make plans for the weekend because of the dinner. He didn't want to many people around causing interruptions. He just wanted a nice and easy weekend to discuss pack stuff with all the other Alphas.

So, I ignored my fear and sped up my pace.

When I reached Alpha John's house a sigh of relief escape from me. I took my keys out of my pocket and hurriedly put them into the lock. My hands had become numb at some point during my walk, so putting the keys in and turning the lock proved to be quite difficult. I heard the lock click and turned he doorknob, practically throwing myself into the warmth of the house.

I slammed the door and leaned on it. I closed my eyes and let my body warm up before I headed upstairs.

Quickly, I stripped my clothes from my body and turned on the shower. I waited a couple minutes for it to turn hot then jumped in. Instantly, the warm water seemed to relax all my tight muscles and soothe my aching back. Being in the water also seemed to lull me to sleep. My eyes grew heavy and I started to drift off; I wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep. But as the water started to turn cold, my eyes snapped open and I got out of the shower as fast as I could.

I huddled in the bathroom for a moment with a towel wrapped around me tightly; I tried to conserve body heat. I made my way to my bedroom and the first I noticed was my bed. It looked freshly made and cozy. I could feel the exhaustion cloud my head. I wanted to lay down--no needed to lay down. Sleep called to me like a siren calling their next victim.