The Lost Goddess, A War On Mates

Chapter 23

Drew sat in his office at school reading through book after book. Sighing in frustration he closed another dead end and leaned back in his chair. He had been trying to figure out what exactly Aeris was. He was curious but he knew she was more important than anyone could comprehend in that pack. He found plenty of species with red eyes or white hair but never both. He had considered that maybe she was a human albino, but her odd stamina and strength did not match up to that because most albinos were fragile. Looking at the clock on the wall he smiled, ‘Time to head to the pack house for lunch with Aeris.’ He quickly packed his bag and locked his office door. Walking out he was caught by Jason Apollo waving him down. He put on a fake smile,” Hey Jason, how have you and the wife been?”

He smiled but then his face hardened, “Its fine Drew. Has Aeris been attending your classes? I have not seen her for a while now and the Alpha just kept saying she was sick.”

I frowned,” Oh, the Alpha actually graduated her early and now she is a fulltime worker at the pack house. You know how he is about his private business.”

Jason’s face fell, “Oh, I wonder why she never told me or came to visit. My wife invited her to eat dinner with us from now on because of the packs food restrictions they put on her. I miss my favorite student you know.”

Narrowing my eyes I smile, “I am sure she has been busy lately. I received permission from the Alpha, and she now lives with me. I take care of her pretty well.”  Jason’s eyes widened in shock, and he nodded ruffling his hair.

Jason mumbled, “Well, as long as she is healthy and safe, we have no complaints. Maybe she could visit us soon?”

I nodded and started to walk away, “Sorry coach, but I do have to be going.” He just waved and walked back towards the gym. I smiled to myself happily running the trail back to the pack house. Entering the house, I internally groaned, the Alpha was showing around that nasty rogue. They had seen me before I could dive past the wall and find Aeris.

“Drew come greet our newest member, this is Colt Smith. He will be initiating into the pack as a warrior. You should show him around as one of our best.” The Alpha glared at Drew; this was a demand not a request. Sighing Drew nods and waves towards the kitchen. Colt follows closely looking around the entire pack. He seemed busy in his head.

Entering the kitchen Drew smiled seeing Aeris back towards him and her hands soapy from the dishes. He walked over and sat on the countertop watching her. She never once glanced up in her own little world. It made me chuckle which made this Colt guy give me a weird look. He sat down next to me and looked towards Aeris, he seemed confused.

I just sat and watched her working; she was oddly graceful for such a clumsy girl. At home I was constantly catching her from falling on her face.

“Hey kid, why are you doing the dishes alone?” Colt blurted out startling Aeris. I growled at him loudly and he jumped.

Aeris sucked in a quick breath and kept quiet. I could see her shaking from anxiety and fear. She slowly turned around never lifting her head, “I am sorry, but this is my job sir.”

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, “Look at me when I am talking to you, its rude you know.” I quickly stood up and pulled her into my chest whispering soothing words and rubbing her back. She clenched my shirt tightly; she took beatings daily for the most mundane things and she had told me she never wanted me to see her bruises or scars. It embarrassed her so her knowing I was about to watch a beating scared her to death.

I would never let it happen, but she did not know that. I growled out staring at this i***t, “What the hell is wrong with you! She is the pack slave; you need to not put her in position to be beaten worse than she already is. She never makes eye contact with members. Understood, Colt?” I had venom and hate dripping from my words. He seemed confused so I quickly picked her up bridal style and took her back home leaving that guy in the dust.

Entering the house, he took her up to his room and tucked her into bed. She snuggled in and fell asleep exhausted. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed stroking her hair. He looked at the time and would wake her closer to dinner as it was only slightly after noon. This day had been more stress than he had anticipated.

Colt sat staring at the back kitchen door. This pack screamed suspicious behavior but what he just saw took the cake. A human slave that was so afraid of a new person they had visibly been shaking. The first thing wrong was a human slave, the next was a mistreated slave. The high council and that vampire would be pissed to hear about this. Purchasing slaves was frowned upon but not illegal, purchasing human slaves was illegal, and finally abusing or mistreating any slave was a punishable offense.

He looked around the house, glad he did not have that Drew guy following him around. He would nod at passersby but kept himself heading forward. After a few hours he had walked the entire pack house and spoken to many different members. Most of them had the same story, they had a slave because the pack barely had any suitable omega workers for the pack house. When I questioned them on that, each one gushed about how they had found their mates and moved packs. I found it suspicious that so many omegas were mated outside the pack, along with the fact that did not warrant buying a human slave. When I pointed that out only a handful looked guilty while the rest just shrugged. This pack was twisted to not give a s**t about a human, an underage one at that.

Coming across the Alpha’s office he sniffed the air and knocked cautiously. No answer and it stayed silent. He opened the door and shut it quietly all the while examining the halls for any prying eyes.  Looking through the office he found it too be a stereotypical office. He went over to the desk and looked down at the papers, nothing out of the ordinary, some pack finances, business licenses and endeavors, investment opportunities, etc.

I went to the other side of the desk and went through all the drawers feeling around for any special compartments or levers, nothing. I sighed and looked at the unlocked computer, ‘Jackpot!’ I quickly pulled out a USB and started copying and transferring all the data available on the computer. I was lucky for my first day here in this s**t hole. I smirked to myself and pulled out the USB once it finalized the download. I quickly wiped my scent off everything with a lemongrass and mint scented cloth. It was so strong it hid anything.

Quickly walking out of the office, I turn around and find a kid glaring at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What are you doing coming out of my dad’s empty office?” He raised a brow and I cursed myself.

“Listen kid, I was waiting for your dad, and he was a no show. It was embarrassing that the Alpha stood me up, so I was leaving discreetly.” I stared at him with a sheepish smile hoping he would buy it.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Figures he does this s**t. Sorry, he has been out of it lately. I am Lucas, the next Alpha. What was your meeting about maybe I could help you?”

I let out a sigh of relief and smiled,” Yes I was simply wondering what my role was here, where I would stay, when my official initiation would be, that type of stuff.”

He smiled at me and started walking away,” We can talk about that over dinner, you hungry?”

“Starved, is the food any good?” I could feel myself getting excited at the prospect of homemade dinner. It had been a while.

A small blush crept onto Lucas’ cheeks, “Yeah, it is the best food you will ever eat.”

Colt smirked and slapped his hand on Lucas’ shoulder, “Must be an excellent cook then.”

Lucas mumbled, “She really is…” He went quiet and Colt found it amusing this boy liked an omega cook. Lucky omega for now.

I smiled and boomed laughing, “Well then I am sure I will be happily satisfied if the next Alpha enjoys the food so much.” He nodded and stood straighter with pride. As we entered the dining hall I could smell beef brisket, barbeque ribs, glazed pork chops, sweet carrots, macaroni and cheese, and finally apple pie. I was floored at how my mouth practically pooled with saliva.

Lucas gave me a brief rundown of my previous questions and then I went and sat next to a bunch of other warriors who were already eating and looked close to an orgasm. I stared at the buffet style setting and made a plate, ‘Is it really that amazing?’ I looked at everyone one last time noticing the whole pack was here for dinner except that one slave girl and that Drew guy.

I shrugged it off and took a bite of the meat. It melted in my mouth, and I groaned. I could stay here in this s**t pack for this food alone if it was this tasty at each meal. I scarfed down four plates before I gave in. I was going to take my plate to the kitchen when I once again noticed no one took their dirty dishes to the sink.

‘Huh, that is really odd. Even shitty packs usually have everyone chip in on small messes like meals…’ As I contemplated fitting in or taking my plate to the kitchen that slave came out of the rear kitchen door and started to collect many plates. It started to give me anxiety at how tall the towering plates were in comparison to this frail tiny girl. I did not move though getting the sense that it would only make me an outcast here, which was not ideal for my purposes.

I watched carefully and then looked around, no one else noticed this girl moving about except that kid Lucas. His eyes never left her working form. Every time she went into the kitchen he stared at the door until she came back out. I smirked,’ He likes the little house slave, she must be something special then.’ I rubbed my chin and decided I should shave later with how scratchy the hair was. Everyone had left the hall except me, Lucas, and this girl.

He never made a move to speak to her and the longer he was here the more she seemed to be stressed and exhausted. I picked up my plate and walked into the kitchen following a few feet behind her. As I stepped in, I saw an empty kitchen and her splashing water on her face at the sink. Dishes covered every inch of bare counter space. ‘How did they expect anyone to do this much cleaning by themselves?’ I wondered.

She sighed and turned around only to gasp and look down, “I am sorry I did not see you. Can I help you with something?”

I stared her down, she was oddly nervous. I walked over and saw her flinch slightly. I frowned and set my plate in the sink. She glanced up and I smiled at her putting my hand out to shake, “Hi, I never did get your name sugar? I am Colt Smith, a new warrior here in the pack.” She stiffened when I mentioned my warrior status. I furrowed my brows as she did not take my hand and I awkwardly pulled it away.

She fidgeted and mumbled, “I am Aeris the pack slave.” She nodded curtly and turned back to the dishes.

“Do you want any help with the dishes Aeris?” She froze and shook her head no. I sighed, “I can go grab the rest of those dishes if that is okay with you?” I felt terrible for this little thing, and as I was about to leave, she nodded her head yes. I smiled and walked back out to the dining room that was completely empty. I started to clean quickly and bring back all the dishes. By the time we had finished both the dining room and the dishes it was ten at night.

“Are your nights always this long?” I groaned out which made her giggle.

I smiled at that and looked down at her, she had the faintest smile, “I actually finished about three hours early because of you. Thank you so much Colt, I appreciate this.” I just nodded at her irritated that she was cleaning until about one in the morning by herself. She walked out the kitchen door waving and I headed back to the common floor looking for the room Lucas had shown me on our way to the dining room.

Opening the door, I looked in and scoffed. A tiny twin bed, a small closet, and a lamp were all that was in this room. I rolled my eyes flopping onto the bed. “For the first day, it was not too bad.” I said to no one in particular, deciding to sleep on my collected information until later.