Breaking Chains

Getting to Know My Pack

The day after the fight I had with the Duke, I decided I wanted to do something special for the pack. Since I didn't know everyone very well, I decided to make everyone a special breakfast. I asked one of the Omegas in the pack named Lucy to help me. We got up at 2 am and headed to the kitchen to get cooking. We were making stuffed French toast with homemade syrup and mixed berries along with hash browns, sausage and scrambled eggs. We also made coffee and fresh juice for everyone. Lucy and I chatted while we cooked. I learned about her favorite author, food and about her hobbies. She plays tennis and loves spending time outside reading poetry and fairy tales. She finds the books about shifters and vampires to be a complete joke. Of course, humans have no idea what we are really like. They think we are just fiction created to scare them. If they only knew how many of us there really were. Thanks to the Goddess, we haven't had an issue with hunters in over 200 years. Lucy and I had a blast cooking together and when I said I wanted to do more things like this for the pack, she smiled at me and mentioned a few birthdays that were coming up. I took a mental note and went back to finishing setting the tables. Once the tables were set up, I checked in with Lucy to make sure everything was finished cooking and that we were ready for people to come and eat. I had started hearing people waking up a few minutes ago and didn't want the surprise to be ruined. Just as we got all the food on the table, my aunt and uncle came down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed Matthew's coffee, grabbed a cup of jazmine tea for Aunt Lana and handed their drinks. I guided them to the table and helped them to their seats and proceeded to serve them their breakfast.

"Good Morning you guys."

"Good Morning Michelle," Matthew replied.

"Good Morning sweetie," said Aunt Lana.

" How did you sleep?"

"We slept very well, thank you. How about you? Did you get any rest? It looks like you have been up for hours working on this lovely surprise," Aunt Lana asked.

" I slept, I promise, and this wasn't just me. Lucy gave me a hand with everything today."

Lucy blushed and bowed to my aunt and uncle.

"It was my pleasure really," she said shyly.

Aaron came down next with a few of his friends that were warriors in the pack. When they hit the kitchen door, Aaron's mouth dropped open, and they all came to a complete

"Wow, what bug crawled up the kitchen workers' asses today?"

"It was me and Lucy, you jerk!" I shrieked as I slapped Aaron on the arm.

"Oh wow! Thank you so much Michelle!" said Michael.

"Yeah, this looks great cuz!" said Aaron.

"Thank you guys. Come sit down and get yourselves something to eat. Aaron, you and I have a busy day ahead of us."

"Don't you think you should eat too?" asked Aaron in a cocky tone.

" I will as soon as the rest of the pack comes in to eat."

"I got you. I'm going to go and round everyone up."

"Thank you," I said as he went down the hall with a cow bell.

The rest of the pack came in and sat down at the tables and started piling their plates with food. I had four or five of the pups come up to me and give me hugs for making them a special breakfast. Their parents also made sure to show their gratitude by inviting Lucy and me over around Tea time for a cup of tea and cookies that the pups had made the day before with their mother. I accepted the offer and let Lucy know we were busy later, then took my seat and began eating so I could get going with the rest of my plans for the day.

Today was about going through the pack files and seeing what needs to be repaired and or rebuilt within the pack boundaries and I also wanted to take a look at the financial records and see where we can make adjustments and maybe find some wiggle room in the budget for a couple of extra precautions I had in mind for keeping the pack safe. I can't do anything until I see all the problems that need to be addressed though. So, I ate my breakfast as quickly as I could and told Aaron to meet me in the library. When I got to the library, I noticed all the files that we needed to go through were sitting on our desks ready for review. On top of the stacks on my desk sat a medium-sized vase with a bouquet of white roses and a card that read, "To the new queen of the world, I offer my services and, if you will have it, my heart. Yours from the moment we met, Ashton" I blushed as I read the note and quickly hid it behind my back as Aaron came into the library.

"Who are those from?" Aaron asked when he got to his desk.

"They are from Delta Range Pack. Their Beta to be exact."

"Ashton huh?"

"Yes, why are you so concerned about it?"

"No reason. Just some things I have heard about the guy make me a little nervous knowing he is coming onto you"

"Well, my dear overprotective cousin, as I demonstrated on the Duke, I am more than capable of handling myself."

"Yes, I am aware. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I promise I will be careful. Besides, I have too much on my plate right now to worry about dating."

"That's so true."

We worked through the files quickly and managed to get through over half before lunch. We took a break to eat and get in some training when we got a call to meet Uncle in the library. When we got there, we found Ashton and Ryan in the library waiting with Matthew. "They came to help with repairs and planning formations for border patrol." "Great!" Aaron and I exclaimed in unison. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the pack property and the town therein. We made a note to start on repairs on the walls of the emergency shelters and to take a look at the fields to see what we would have come harvest time so we could start storing food for winter. The school needed some windows repaired and new cooking equipment in the kitchen. They could also use some new sports equipment. The rest of the town looked fine. No one else really needed anything. I noticed that we didn't have a firehouse or even a disciplinary office for handling matters that humans would use cops for. That would have to change. I need to get the pack together for a vote on who should work where. I also noticed that we have a pretty stable budget, so I really didn't need to make any adjustments there. We had the money for the repairs and money for new building projects. I also established a separate fund account for archery equipment and bull whips for weapon training. You can never be too prepared or too well-trained. If the worst happened, I wanted my pack to survive without too much loss of life. I would start training with the bows and whips when they were delivered. I still had time to get a range built. I also wanted to talk to Auntie and Uncle about firearms and silver bullets. Again, no such thing as too prepared.