Chapter 7

On Wednesday morning, my mother and I decided we should take the opportunity and go look around the town, get a few things and maybe meet a few people. My mother especially wanted to go look around the clinic, meet everyone there.

So at around 10 am, we set out and began the trek through the town.

It was as beautiful as I thought. The buildings were all made from the same sandstone as the packhouse, and most seemed to have this sort of organised chaos look to their gardens. Wisteria or ivy grew up the side of the buildings, giving them an overgrown look, blending them into the surrounding areas. The roads and pathways were clean and well kept, as were the little parks we strolled past. Everything was beautiful, like a town out of a book.

Strolling down the path, towards the town centre, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the people we walked past, were glancing at us. It made me feel a bit anxious. I did not like it when people watched me.

I did my best to ignore them, calming myself as we emerged into the centre of town. Shops lined the square, and nestled between shops were little cafes and a few restaurants. In the centre of the square stood a stone clock tower, surrounded, at its base, with gorgeous springtime flowers. Benches were placed around the clock tower, giving people a lovely place to sit and people watch.

“Wow,” my mother breathed, “I was not expecting the town to look like this.”

“Neither was I, it is so pretty here!” I gushed.

“Look, there’s a clothing shop, there,” she pointed out, “let us go see what we can get, the Goddess only knows how little clothing you have now that some of them ripped,” she chuckled, mostly to herself.

Making our way to the shop entrance, we were stopped by a woman, around my mothers' age.

“Hi there, you must be the new pack members, my name’s Eliza Archer,” she beamed, holding out her hand for us to shake. 

“Hi,” my mother smiled, shaking her hand gently, “I’m Leigha Baker, and this here is my daughter, Amelia,” she offered.

“Hello, Amelia. I heard that you’ll be starting at the school tomorrow. You’ll be in the same year as my daughter, Danielle. I hope you both get on well together.” she rambled, a genuine smile on her face. “And Leigha, you’ll be working with my husband, right?”

“Your husband is Dr Jacob Archer, right?” Eliza nodded her confirmation, “then yes I will be. I am looking forward to getting back to my work.”

“I’m glad. I heard you are amazing at what you do…” Eliza prattled on for several more minutes, making my mother and I smile. “Oh! Shoot! I’m so sorry, I have to run. I am so happy to have met you both,” she exclaimed. “I will see you both tomorrow!” she added, turning and running off in the direction we had just come from.

We watched after her for a few moments, both of us still smiling.

“She was lovely,” my mother gushed, “quite chatty, but lovely.”

“It looks like you have made your first friend here,” I said jokingly, “Not including Matthias.”

She chuckled at me, swatting my arm and pushing me towards the shop entrance.

Entering the shop, I’m greeted by the scent of fresh, new clothing. Looking around, I’m immediately drawn to the section of leggings and jeans. Picking out a few pairs of leggings and a couple of pairs of jeans, I begin searching for my mother and finding her by the underwear section.

Strolling over to her, I dump my items in the basket she had picked up and grabbed a couple of packs of pants and some bras.

“Is there anything else you need?” she asked.

“Umm, a couple of vests, a nice top or two, a cardigan and a hoodie. I don’t want to have to wear the same thing every day, or people will talk.” I explained.

“Well you go grab those bits and I’ll get a few bits for myself and you can meet me at the checkout. Sound good?” she queried.

“Yep!” I responded.

I headed towards the other clothing sections, looking for what I needed and picking up a few other bits I forgot about. I turned to the section at the front of the store, by the windows looking onto the square. Looking through the racks of clothes, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and looked up quickly.

It was the Alpha and he was headed straight towards this shop. I began to feel nervous and my heart was beating a little faster, but I couldn’t understand why.

The bell above the door jingled, as he opened it and walked in. His eyes were bright, a smile, hidden inside them.

I quickly bowed my head respectfully, almost forgetting to do so.

“Here, let me help you with those,” he offered, taking the armload of clothes from me. His fingers brushed against the bare skin of my forearm, sending those strange little electric currents up my arm.

“I-... you don’t need to… but thank you” I stuttered, flushing slightly.

Why am I like this?

“You’re welcome, Amelia,” he smiled, gesturing for me to lead the way.

I nervously walked forward, towards the checkout where my mother was waiting for me. She glanced towards me, shock shooting across her face at who was behind me before she quickly bowed her head, the cashier following suit.

“Is there anything else you both need?” Alpha enquired, glancing at my mother, then turning to look at me directly in my eyes.

“I swear, my cheeks are going to burst into flame any moment!” I silently uttered.

“Ha, looks like somebody might have a teensy little crush on her new Alpha!” Atonia teased, her laugh flowing through our bond.

I blocked her out. Nope, not listening to her!

“No, thank you, you’ve been so generous already, Alpha,” my mother complimented, raising her head and offering him a kind motherly smile.

He placed all my items on the counter and waited as the cashier scanned them all. Before she could utter a word about the total, he asked her to send the bill straight to his office. She nodded quickly, printing the receipt off and handing it to the Alpha.

“Thank you, Penny,” he smiled.

“Of course, Alpha,” she responded, bowing her head again.

The three of us exited the store with our bags in hand. The Alpha turned to me and took one of the bags I was carrying.

“Right. Follow me, I have something for you both.”

Curiosity flowed through me as we followed him, back in the direction of the packhouse.

We came to a stop outside a large building, much like the packhouse. Full of windows, a large oak front door and covered in gorgeous growing vines. Our Alpha led us into the building, the walls were the same oak and paint panelling as the packhouse, but the floor was a smooth granite tile. A small section of brass letterboxes filled one wall and large ficus-like plants were placed decoratively. Doors lined the corridor directly by the front doors and at the end of the corridor stood an elevator.

We were led to the elevator, and once the doors opened we all piled in. Our alpha pressed the button for the 4th floor, the doors slid closed and the elevator shuddered to life and began climbing. As we reached our floor destination, the doors slowly hissed open again and we all stepped out into a grey carpeted hallway. There were only a few doors up on this floor and the Alpha had taken us to one of them. 

He unlocked the door and pushed it open, gesturing for us to enter. My mother strolled right in, but I took a moment before I followed.

It was a flat, readily furnished and decorated.

My mother had already wandered off, to have a look at everything. I stood near the door, taking it all in.

The walls were a clean, creamy white and the wooden floors were a warm oak. Large grey sofas took up a big portion of space near the windows towards the back, looking out onto the forest and the field outside the packhouse. A TV sat on top of a small unit of drawers, and a large bookshelf sat on the opposite side of the room. Looking to my left, I studied the kitchen. Pale grey cabinets, with white marble countertops, lined the walls. A small breakfast counter separated the living room from the kitchen.

I was shocked, stunned into silence.

“This is your new home,” the Alpha stated, breaking the silence. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? Of course, it's beautiful, and that view!” I exclaimed walking towards the windows. “Thank you.” I breathed.

“I am glad you like it.” he smiled, “I had your belongings brought over from the packhouse and also had the fridge and pantry stocked up. So all you need to do now is settle in and I suppose, ready yourself for tomorrow,” he added.

I turned and looked at him, and smiled shyly.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he settled, placing my bags on the sofa and heading towards the door. Placing the keys on the counter, he strode out, closing the door behind himself.

I stood watching after him in wonder.

This can’t be the same Alpha who everyone had said was cruel, ruthless. He can’t be. Can he?