Blood-Stained Moon

The plot thickens

I was able to spend the rest of the day without incident, watching over my shoulder the entire time. I slept way too long in bed and was woken just before lunch by Ryan's frantic knocking, until I stumbled out and down to the kitchens. Ryan and I weren't the only late ones, a few others joined us to be chewed out in front of the kitchen staff by the head chef. We learned his name was Resley as he barked at us, and that he was a real stickler for timing. Lunch was easy at least, all we had to do was slice the bread we had been baking the last few days, and there was a machine for that. Our punishment however, was to stay behind to do the dishes, just 10 of us, under the watchful eye of one of the sous chefs. He sat back in a chair with his hat over his face snoozing while we scrubbed. My back was seriously aching from standing, stooped over the large metal sink, we had a nice rhythm going, passing dirty china over, scrubbing, rinsing and drying. It only took us an hour, we still had some downtime before dinner, and I stuck to Ryan like glue, much to his disappointment. We ended up back in Grace's room, catching up on the latest laundry gossip and comparing jobs. Leon and Grace seem to enjoy working in a larger laundry room, but they also have a heavily increased workload with the additions of gym and spa towels. Leon branched out into the heavier duty washing for the hospital, enclosed from the rest of the washing area. Grace didn't seem too happy to be separated from Leon, but I think he preferred to be away from the gossiping women, and with the men instead. We had a long discussion about what to do with our weekend. Once breakfast was done, it was everyone for themselves for the day. A few in the kitchen would stay behind on a rotating schedule to make a smaller lunch and dinner, and luckily this weekend we were all free. Leon chimed in that the town was closer to us now than back at Silver Clan, but we usually save town visits for after payday once a month. I mentally made a note to check when that actually was later. Grace suggested trying the spa and booking a group massage, which I was definitely up for. A look was passed between everyone, apart from me, as if there was some secret behind it. I groaned thinking of the date, knowing my birthday was in less than a week. My sudden protests were shot down quickly, even Leon was more adamant than usual, and a spa day isn't his idea of fun. Grace texted Amal to confirm the plans and invite Marie also. I had a sneaky suspicion that really she was just confirming I was going, and the plan was a go. After that Ryan and I went back to do the dinner shift, it was just baking more bread we had proved earlier and slicing it ready for the deliciousness of the pasta dish that came later. We all yearned for a second bowl, although our stomachs did not agree, we all agreed show much nicer the food was here, I guess more money, better food. I snuck a few peeks at the head tables and the Alpha and Beta's were still absent, much to my relief, it didn't settle my nerves much though. The fear of constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for glaring eyes kept my pasta from digesting. After dinner on the way to the lounge to hang, I tried to convince Ryan he wanted a sleepover buddy, which gave me a confused look back from the group and a lot of inquisitive questions, mostly from Grace about the night before. No matter how much she tried to break my story down, I held up. I'd rather her snooping than sleep alone tonight, waking at every sound thinking Roan was on his way back. I tried to blag it off as missing home, and bad nightmares, but even Leon laughed at the lame excuses. In the end I had to spill that the Alpha and Beta's had all run off earlier seemingly after danger, and exaggerated that I was scared there would be another attack. Everyone immediately stiffened up after that and the conversation died out, until Leon brought up the topic of vampires. It made me think about the other day when I bumped into Alpha Peterson on my run through the forest, and the badly injured wolf with the foul smelling blood, whether they were investigating the attacks or if they were getting ever closer. It put everything that's going on into perspective. A mate bond seemed trivial compared to survival issues. When we all decided it was late enough to retire, I headed back to my room to grab my pillow, sheets and a fresh set of clothes. Once I entered my room what I saw was not what I left there. I quickly closed the door behind me to prevent anyone seeing the sight of my room turned completely upside down. The ceremony dress I had borrowed from Grace was no longer on the end of the bed where she had left it, it was now hanging off the mirror, shredded and covered in what smelled like red paint, along with a horrifying message painted on the mirror itself. 'I'll get you next time W*ore'. I shudder and rip the dress off, stuffing it into the bin. The paint was hard to remove from the glass, with no cleaning products, it just smeared all over my hands and the glass. I chose a shirt I hadn't worn in a while that I wasn't much attached to, and mopped up most of the paint with that. Once I was satisfied it was cleared enough, I took a long hard look at my paled face, knowing that choosing to sleep with Ryan tonight might just save my life. I take a few deep breaths and grab what I need and head down the hall to Ryan's room, to safety.

His room is a bombsite, clothes hanging from his opened drawers, towels on the floor and a pile next to his washing bag. Putting my hand to my face in exaggeration, I sigh and fix it up quickly, as Ryan watches from his bed and mutters under his breath about bugged out women and how he didn't have to share his room with me, like I couldn't clearly hear him. I throw my pillow at him and laugh. "Top or tail then?" I ask, one eyebrow raised. "B*tch after that charade you can take the floor" he mocked back, lobbing the pillow back at me. Too bad I know he's not that horrible, I jump on the bed and make myself comfortable at the opposite end to him, burrowing down in his duvet and fake snoring. He kicks me, "C'mon at last brush your teeth and put your PJ's on. What are you, Leon?" He accuses, tearing his duvet back from me. I huff and get myself prepared for bed, as he puts his head deep in a dating advice book while I change. Ryan stays up late, using his torch to finish reading while I settle down to a disturbed sleep, cocooned in my own quilt.