A New Start (original version)

Chapter 4

Aria

After we left the infirmary, we went to the kitchen to get some food for the girl. She was incredibly underweight, and we were afraid she might not have a lot of strength with the wolfsbane in her, along with a lack of food. I sat with her on a stool at the kitchen's island bar as Beau cooked up some delicious smelling food. "So, Rowena, what was your position in your old pack?" I asked her. I saw a blush creep into her cheeks, and she stared at a cup of hot chocolate I had made her. "I was Omega. I had to cook for every single pack member breakfast, lunch, and dinner and wasn't allowed to eat myself. They even had cameras in the kitchen so they could make sure I didn't eat. So, I'm not used to eating much." She explained.

After that, Beau placed plates in front of us. On Rowena's, he only put a couple of small pancakes, a couple of sticks of sausage, and an egg with cheese on it. She was able to eat one pancake, one sausage, and the egg, and she finished her hot chocolate. After our first small family meal, she asked to explore which we said yes to. I hope she likes it here and makes friends.

Rowena

After the small meal, I asked them if I could go exploring which they said yes. I was walking around when I came to a big room that had several TVs and game systems. There were laptops on one side of the room. There were beanbag chairs placed in various areas in the room, mostly in clusters. I walked a little further in and jumped whenever a couple of the TV's made gun sounds. I believe that is what they called Call of Duty but, I wasn't sure. I continued looking around until I found Jaylen talking to some guys. She was wearing a loose tank top and a pair of yoga-like pants. She had her hair pulled up in a tight ponytail with a few strands falling out. One of the guys said something, and she punched his chest sharply, and it soon turned into some kind of sparring match. I stared in awe and wonder at her moves and grace. "Hey, aren't you the Alpha and Luna's new daughter?" I heard a masculine voice say behind me.

I squeaked and jumped while spinning around, causing me to trip and start to fall. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the blow that will hurt like a b***h, only it didn't come. I opened my eyes to see a guy with short dark brown hair and strange gray eyes had caught me. I stood quickly and took a small step away from him. "Thank you for catching me, and yes, I am," I told him quietly. "Come take a walk with me through the house for a bit. We can hear better that way." He said, and I hesitantly nodded.

We walked down the hall silently for a few minutes before either of us spoke up. "What's your name?" I asked him softly. "I'm Seth Harrison." He said simply. "So... what did you want to talk about?" I asked awkwardly. "Well, I just thought you probably still don't know much about our pack." He explained. My eyes brightened, and I smiled. It felt strange still to smile. He laughed at my reaction. "What do you want to start with first? A tour, an explanation, or questions?" I thought about that for a few minutes. "How about a tour? I still don't know where everything is yet. They haven't given me a tour since today is just my first day here." I told him. Then he gave me a grand tour of the place.

We were in the last place of our tour. "And finally, this is our indoor swimming pool. Pretty cool, right?" He finished the walkabout of the house by saying. I went to say something when something ran into me. I felt something hit my legs, and when I looked down, I saw a little girl that had fallen on her butt after running into my legs. She had black hair that went to the middle of her back, and she had tears at the corners of her baby blue eyes. I picked her up gently. "Hey, there. Are you okay?" I asked her softly. She looked at me as though in wonder. "Wow, you're pretty," Was all she muttered, and I blushed.

"What's your name, little one?" I asked her. "Juliet." She said in her soft voice. "Well, Juliet, my name is Rowena. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?" I asked her. She snapped out of it then and shook her head softly. "No, I'm alright. It hurt at first but, then it went away." She said. "Juliet, where is your brother?" Seth asked her. "I ran from him. He was trying to make me take a nap, and I don't want to." She said with the most adorable pout. "How about you introduce me to your brother, and maybe after your nap, he'll let you and me play outside," I said, trying to convince her. "You have to meet mommy and daddy. They're crazy." She said adorably. "Okay, Juliet. I'll meet your mommy and daddy." I told her while giggling softly.

She giggled as well before suddenly she was lifted out of my arms, and she was squealing and giggling. I look up and saw a man with shaggy black hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed to be about 6'5" and maybe a bit muscular. "Juliet, I told you not to run from your brother." The man said to her before turning to me. "I'm sorry if she bothered you. I'm her father, as well as the Beta of the pack. My name is Shayne Sanders." He said before holding a hand out to me. My eyes widen at the mention of his title. "Oh, no, Beta Sanders, she was bothering us at all. But, I wanted to ask something." I said softly, hesitantly shaking his hand. "What is it?" He asked. "Well, I wanted to know if I could take her to a park later. I could even watch her for you whenever you and your mate need me to." I said.

He thought for a couple of minutes, during which I believe he was linking his family about it. "Ah, Rowena. You're the Alpha's new kid. Well, she does need someone to play with her. She usually just runs away from her brother." He said. I bowed. "Thank you, sir. Whenever she is in my company, I will protect your daughter with my life." I told him. He turns around and walks away. "I'll let you know when she is awake." He tells me, and I find myself yawning. "You need to go rest yourself. The Alpha told me that you had wolfsbane in your body. We'll continue after you sleep a little." Seth said, and I nodded. "Alright, we'll finish some other time then. It was nice meeting you, and thank you for all of this." I told him before turning and going to my room to sleep for a bit.