Belonging To The Luna

Cleaning House

       By the time Sloan arrived home with Sookie, I had managed to make the Alpha’s quarters livable. My mate lived out of boxes for the most part since he took up residence in the packhouse. I had managed to organize and unpack the bulk of his boxes, leaving anything that looked important in the Alpha’s office for him to deal with later.

           Once I had my grandmother situated in one of the spare rooms, we settled into a quiet dinner and reviewing the files of the omegas I had interviewed. With the exception of Tiffany’s file, I handed over the ones for anyone who hadn’t shown up to Sloan. He slipped away to cross-check them with the member roster while Sookie and I set to work reviewing the rest. Even without her magic, she had an instinct about people that hadn’t failed me yet.

           Daylight had faded by the time we reviewed the last file. None of the omegas had left Sookie with an uneasy feeling. Helping her to her feet, I walked her to her room and said goodnight before turning toward my own. The concerned look on her face hadn’t eluded me as I slipped through the door. I knew she would start questioning why Sloan and I were sleeping separately before long, my only hope at avoiding it was to keep her busy with other things.

           “Wake up, girl.” Sookie whispered, shaking me roughly.

           With a groan, I rolled to glance at the digital clock beside my bed. The display read ‘2:50 a.m.’.

           “Why are you up so early?” I grumbled.

           “Tsk, Tsk.” She clucked her tongue at me. “You called me here for a reason, child. It’s time to cleanse this house.”

           “Sookie, it’s only Thursday.” I whined. “Wasn’t it you that thought me cleansings are done on Saturdays?”

           “They can be done on any day, girl, the more urgent the need, the less the day matters. Now get out of bed. We have work to do.” She ordered.

           I pulled myself from the bed, wishing I could snuggle back down into the comfortably warm cocoon of my blankets. I knew Sookie would only continue to press for me to get up if I did. Satisfied that I was compliant with her demands, she stepped from the room so that I could dress. Throwing on a baggy t-shirt and a pair of running shorts, I found her dragging one of her oversized suitcases into the main living area.

           “Don’t just watch me, girl. Give me a hand.” She snapped.

           “Sookie, did you pack your entire herb collection?” I grimaced, lifting the heavy suitcase from the floor and sitting it on the counter for her to open.

           “Only the things I thought I’d need.” She chuckled. “I need a big pot. The more we can make at once, the faster this will go.”

           I dug through the cabinets in the Alpha quarter’s kitchen. Each pot I pulled from the cupboards was waved away in disdain. Nothing kept in the living quarters seemed to suit Sookie’s needs.

           “I thought werewolves ate a lot. You sure that’s the biggest you’ve got, girl?” She asked as I pulled the last pot from where they had been stored.

           “I can go down to the pack kitchen. The pack used to eat together when Maxwell was in charge. There might be something useable there.” I sighed.

           Giving me a quick nod, she turned to survey the options I had already laid out once more. I hurried down to the pack kitchens, praying that I could find something satisfactory. The oversized pantry was loaded with a variety of cookware suited to a restaurant kitchen. I let out a slight squeal of thanks as I grabbed two of the eighty-quart pots and raced back to Sookie.

           “I knew you’d find what we needed.” Sookie grinned, grabbing one of the pots and filling it with water before placing it on the stove. I began to dig around in her oversized suitcase that was open on the counter, trying to locate the herbs I knew she would need. The sound of a door opening drew my attention just as Sookie reached over my shoulder and grabbed a jar of dried lavender. Sloan stepped from his room, drawn by the racket we were making. I felt my teeth pierce the soft flesh of my lower lip as I bit back a moan at the site of my shirtless mate rubbing the sleep from his eye.

           “Um.” He started, his eyes growing wide suddenly as he caught sight of Sookie tossing herbs into an oversized muslin cloth. “Nope, nuh-uh, not again.”

           “Hmmph, It’s not for you boy.” Sookie chided. “Get a shirt on and get back out here to help.”

           I couldn’t help the laughter that erupted from my lips as he hurried back into his room, returning moments later fully clothed.

           “What is she doing?” He whispered in my ear as we watch Sookie make her concoctions.

           “It’s to cleanse this house, child.” Sookie answered, winking. “I know I’m no werewolf, but my hearing is as good as it ever was. Now, usually, I’d recite one of the Psalms, but you wolves have your goddess. You pray to her to cleanse this house while you work.”

           She poured one of her hoodoo concoctions into a bucket that I hadn’t seen her retrieve before thrusting it towards Sloan with a cleaning rag. She motioned for him to use it on all the counters and tables, turning back to the second pot boiling on the stove. She considered the boiling pot momentarily before pulling a mop and bucket from a nearby closet. I barely had time to wonder how she had figured out where everything was so quickly before she dumped the water into the bucket and set me to work.

           We went through the entire packhouse like that. Sloan washing any flat surface that caught Sookie’s eye while I scrubbed floors and baseboards, and she followed behind with the mop. It was well past breakfast time before we reached the final room to be cleaned. I had learned long ago that houses should be cleansed toward the exit, the better to run the evil out. I was struggling to focus on my task over my growing hunger when I heard Sookie hiss.

           “You of all people should know better than to interrupt a cleansing.” Her voice boomed across the room.

           My eyes landed on Charles, looking thoroughly chastised as he stood just inside the door. I wondered for a moment what Sookie had meant about him knowing better, but she shooed him from the house before I could ask.

           “Back to work!” She ordered, catching sight of Sloan and me staring. “We can deal with your Beta in a moment; we’re almost done.”

           There was a sense of urgency to the final bits of cleansing the house. Sookie scrubbed the entryway one last time before giving a nod of approval. Grabbing the buckets, we had moved along with us as we worked, we made our way to the tree line behind the house. Charles followed us, an air of curiosity surrounding him. I didn’t wait for my grandmother’s instruction, dumping my bucket once she had led us a satisfactory distance.

           “This place just feels, I don’t know, better.” Charles whispered once we were back inside.

           “A good cleansing will do that to a place.” Sookie smiled. “I’m a little surprised you don’t seem to know that. Your people have magic; I felt it the moment you stepped in the middle of mine.”

           I set to work, whipping up a quick breakfast for everyone while listening to my grandmother and Charles chat. Sookie was always spot on with her assessment of people, and she seemed to be taking to Charles quite well. I hadn’t pried into his parentage, the questions about what I was had always been hurtful, and I didn’t want to do that to someone else. Sookie held no bones about asking, her directness and kind nature somehow making the question feel softer.

           “My mother was native; my father is a Silver Pelt wolf.” Charles answered, smiling.

           “I find it hard to believe that your mother didn’t teach you your ancestral magic.”

           “She tried.” Charles replied sheepishly. “I didn’t listen. I thought I was too good to learn being the son of a Beta.”

           “My Jaz didn’t know her magic either. Her momma, bless her, did her best, but Clara has no business messing with hoodoo, so Jaz didn’t learn until she started coming to me. You should find your mother’s people, learn your magic.”

           “I’ll have to think on it. I never met any of her people. She said they were angry with her for marrying a wolf spirit, said they told her it was arrogance that made her think she could bind one to herself for life. I’m not sure they’d be too keen to meet me from the things she said.”

           “Well, you should know something. The devil will use you if you don’t know how to protect yourself. Those of us with ancestral magic have always been a prize to demons.” She frowned. “Sookie will teach you a few things while I’m here. Maybe you reconsider your mother’s people by the time I leave. For now, eat up. Me and you gonna have a busy day.”

           I smiled to myself at the huge grin that broke out across Charles’s face as I sat the last of the platters of food on the table. It was starting to feel like, maybe, my return to the pack could be everything I wanted growing up.