THE SORTING

THE MORNING

It was bright the next morning. I couldn't tell though. The black curtains in Dom's room had completely blocked it out. That is probably why I slept until 1 pm.

I arose groggy and achy if those are real words. I guess the craziness of life recently had worn me out more than I thought. For a split second, everything was normal. It was just another day. I knew I needed to get out of the bed and eat something, maybe shower again, and change clothes, but I was frozen. Everything I had learned the previous night hit me at once. I knew this would happen. I assumed my brain would be racing, moving a hundred miles a minute, but it wasn't. I felt numb.

I had werewolf blood. Or genes. I guess I would have to have both.

And on top of that, I was mated. For life. To a man I didn't know. To a man I kissed quickly after meeting for the first time. To a man who had me wrapped around his finger.

And even though Dom had answered many of my questions, I still had more. What are mates exactly? His explanation was quite vague now that I thought about it. Did my family know we had werewolf blood? Are a lot of humans descendants of werewolves? If some humans are, why do werewolves treat us so badly? Why are we lesser than them when we have parts of them in us?

I let out a huge sigh, frustrated with how my life has gone since I left my family and unsure of how to fully process everything. I needed to find out more about mates from Dom. What was my role in this? Were we in a relationship? Were we like, married? I had never had any sort of relationship with a man before. Or with anyone really. I didn't have friends back home, so I was confused on how to proceed in any relationship. If we were "together", I was completely uncomfortable doing anything "together" related, if you know what I mean. And Dom would know that. He would know that today.

As I was about to get up, I realized I literally knew nothing about Dom. Nothing. I didn't know his last name. I didn't know his age, his favorite color, what he even did for the King Alpha, considering he lived in the King Alpha's castle. And then I realized, Dom knew nothing about me either. We had to change that if I was ever going to feel completely comfortable with this arrangement.

I lifted the covers off me, slightly disappointed that I would be leaving the comfort of Dom's smell that drenched the sheets. I grabbed my glasses off of the nightstand, cleaning them, and putting them on my face.

The first stop was the bathroom. I brushed my teeth with the green toothbrush again and used some water to try and tame my unruly hair. Even with showering, my hair was a mess. I made a mental note to ask Dom to get shampoo and conditioner for me later, as his men's stuff did nothing for me, but for now, it'll have to do.

I stalked towards the door that opened out into the hallway and opened it. I continued down the hallway, towards the stairs, realizing I had no idea where I was going. Dom had only showed me to his room. Well, our room. That idea still made me shiver and I couldn't tell if it was from excitement or fear. I knew I was avoiding what Dom had told me yesterday and honestly, I think I was alright with it. There was no need to have an episode or freak out because there was no way for me to change it, any of it. This was my life whether I wanted it to be or not so why fight it? I might as well try to make the best out of it.

Right?

I shake my head as I descend the staircase, trying to come to terms with my new reality. As soon as my foot hit the floor of the entryway, I smelled it.

Pancakes. And butter. And syrup.

I almost didn't recognize it. It had been years since I had pancakes. My family was too poor to have big breakfasts like that. We mostly had eggs and bread because they were cheap. I followed the sweet aroma through an open doorway. As soon as I approached the room that smelled like heaven, my body reacted. I tensed ever so slightly and my posture improved involuntarily.

Dom had his back to me, facing the stove, his black shirt clinging to his arms and torso. He was flipping a pancake in a pan when he noticed me enter the room. Actually, it was more like he felt me, like I felt him. I always knew when he was near and I figured it must be the same for him. His back tensed, like mine had, and he turned to face me.

"Good morning, little one," he said, quietly. I responded with the same. He placed a plate of three pancakes on the marble countertop and pushed it towards me.

"Eat. We have much to do today and I do not want you to go without."

The way he spoke made me feel cared for and wanted. It made me feel loved.

"What are we doing today?" I asked cautiously, yet curiously. I had no idea what he had planned but he wasn't the only one who had a lot to do. I needed more answers from him and I was worried that it would be a chore to get them out of him. I stalked towards the countertop, towards the pancakes. I hadn't eaten much in the past few days and that was evident in how my stomach growled at the smell of the kitchen. I embarrassingly adjusted my glasses while my cheeks reddened. Dom had to have heard that. I stood at the edge of the counter, about to reach for the food, when he responded.

"Vivienne, will you go on a date with me today?"