Broken Souls

Kay’s POV

I sit up in bed, awoken by my nightmares; it’s the middle of the night. The clock on the bedside table says 2 A.M. I lay back down and try to go back to sleep, but it’s pointless. I’m very much awake and hungry. I wonder if I can find the kitchen. The cooks won’t be up yet, and no one said I had to stay in my room.

I slip out of bed and put on one of the oversized dark green hoodie sweaters from the pile of clothes. It’s huge on me, but I don’t care. I like it, and even though it’s been washed, I can still smell this wonderful cedar smell on it. The scent on it makes me feel relaxed.

I pull on some fuzzy socks and head for the door. No one will be up, so I won’t be bothering anyone. The kitchen can’t be hard to find, I think to myself as I slip quietly out of the door and down the hall and stairs. I remember the way Oriel and I came up here, so I just follow it back down. I’m in the common room and start heading to the back of the house. The kitchen must be back there. I hope they have cereal in there.

I find the kitchen easily and begin looking around; the milk is easy to find so is the cereal and spoon. I find the cabinet with the bowls and frown. They are on the middle shelf of a very high cupboard. Damn, I think. I don’t see a stool, so I painful hop up on the counter. I will get that damn bowl from that stupid cabinet if it kills me.

Alpha Aaron’s POV

It’s a little after 2 in the morning, and I’m working in my office. Sleep is still something I avoid. I lean back and rub my face with my hands. I’ll go raid the kitchen before the cook, Ms. Walker, gets up; she hates when I get in her way in the mornings, and she is definitely the boss of that kitchen. I sigh and stand up, making my way to the kitchen. In the hall, I get faint hints of jasmine, but I don’t pay much attention to it.

I get to the kitchen and freeze in the doorway. There, climbing up onto the counter, is a small figure. She stands on the counter, and I know Ms. Walker would have a fit if she saw this. The small figure is in fuzzy socks, black leggings, and a green hoodie sweater. Wait, that’s one of my sweaters, and it’s clearly way too big for this tiny person.

I keep watching as the figure is getting a bowl from the cabinet. I see her long hair sway as she moves; she has it up in a loose high ponytail. I move toward her, and she doesn’t notice me. She has her bowl and is starting to get down. I see her flinch as she moves wrong, hopping down. I’m standing at the counter now and see the cereal and milk.

“You know we have step stools around here somewhere,” I tell her. She jumps back and squeaks, dropping the bowl. It shatters on the floor.

She looks at me with shock and fear. “I……..I’m….. So……Sorry.” She finally stammers, stepping back away from me. Am I that scary? And who the hell is this? Is this the girl from that horrible room? So many thoughts are running through my head, but I honestly can’t stand how scared of me she looks, and I don’t know why that’s bothering me so much.

“It’s fine; just don’t let cook see you standing on the counters.” I’m just trying to tease her a little, and she looks more afraid as she drops down, picking up pieces of the broken bowl.

“Hey, wait, hold on, you’re going to cut yourself.” I didn’t mean for that to sound as hard as it came out. I need to get control of that. I see her freeze as I move to the closet and get the broom and dustpan. “I just didn’t want you to cut yourself,” I try to say more gently.

I walk over to her, and she stands up, holding out her hands for the broom and pan, but she doesn’t look at me. I sigh and hand her the pan. Standing next to her, I can see how small she is. She’s more than a foot shorter than I am. She’s very thin and has yellow and green bruises on her face and hands. I don’t understand how this tiny woman is still alive, let alone climbing on counters.

She takes the pan and looks at me. It is then that I see those eyes, those sapphire blue eyes. It is the girl we found. I didn’t expect her to be up and around already. She was so badly hurt I just thought she would be kept in bed. I don’t know much about her condition, but I know she had some broken ribs and a sprained wrist, and she doesn’t have her wolf yet, so she heals slower. I must have been staring too long because she looks down and shifts again uncomfortably.

“I’m really sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t think anyone would be awake, so I thought I would get something to eat.” I shake my head to clear my thoughts. Didn’t I tell Oriel to watch her? Also, I think I like her wearing my sweater.

“It’s fine,” I tell her and start sweeping up the broken bowl. We get it cleaned up, and I notice she has found the trash can and throws the broken bowl away. I take the dustpan from her and go to put the broom and pan away.

When I turn around, I see her back at the counter with the cabinet open looking up at the bowls. It looks like she’s going to climb up there again. Before she can, I come up behind her, and she freezes. I grab a bowl from her. She turns, looking up at me, then it hits me: the faintest hint of jasmine. I step back quickly, handing her the bowl. Griffin is shifting around my mind, restless, so I move further away to the other side of the counter. She starts to pour her cereal glancing at me now and then.

I realize I’m still staring at her, and I rub my face. I must be tired. “Don’t leave a mess. The cook won’t like it,” I tell her, leaving the kitchen. Damn it. I didn’t mean that to sound as cold as it did. I don’t look back at her as I leave. Why did I come down here?

Kay’s POV

I got the bowl and hopped down from the counter, flinching because I landed harder than I intend to.

“You know we have step stools around here somewhere.” A strong, ruff male voice makes me jump. I drop the bowl, and it breaks on the floor. Crap. Now I’m in trouble. I just got here, and I’m messing up. He sounds annoyed.

I look at him, hoping he won’t be angry at me and hurt me. My eyes land on his face, and he’s the most handsome man I have ever seen; he’s so tall with broad shoulders. He’s in a white tee shirt and gray sweatpants. I can tell he’s pure muscle. His large chest and arms are plain to see even through his shirt. He has a strong jaw with stubble on his very handsome face. His auburn hair is longer and shaggy, hanging around his ears. I realized it was him I saw walking to the training grounds earlier. His hair is a bit messy like he’s been running his hands through it.

He’s watching me with dark honey-colored eyes, but they seem to have pain hidden deep within them. I understand pain, so it’s easy for me to see it. I could get lost staring at him if I wasn’t so scared he was going kill me or throw me out of the pack house for being in the kitchen. Oriel didn’t say I had to stay in my room, just that I should stay ’til I felt better.

I manage to stammer out an apology, and he tells me it’s fine, but I shouldn’t let the cook see me standing on the counter because she wouldn’t like it. That just makes me more nervous, so I start cleaning up the broken bowl.

“Hey, wait, hold on, you’re going to cut yourself.” He orders, and I freeze. He sounds mad. I see him move to a door. Oh crap, please don’t hit me. “I just didn’t want you to cut yourself,” he says, sounding less angry, and he comes back with a broom and dustpan. I breathe a little.

I stand up and hold out my hands for the broom and pan. He sighs, and he hands me the pan. I look up at him, finding those wonderful honey eyes. He’s staring at me, and I’m getting scared again. I tell him I’m sorry again and that I didn’t think anyone would be awake. He shakes his head and grumbles, “It’s fine.” We clean up the broken bowl.

After the mess is cleaned up, he puts the broom and pan away; I’m back at the counter staring at my nemesis, the high shelf. I’m thinking about climbing the counter again even though I know the cook won’t like it, and it’s going to hurt, when suddenly I feel him right behind me. I can feel the warmth of his body as he reaches up and grabs a bowl.

I turn around, and he’s standing so close. I look up at him. God, he’s handsome. He suddenly steps back, handing me the bowl, and moves to the other side of the counter. I pour my cereal, but he’s still watching me. He rubs his face and tells me not to leave a mess because the cook won’t like it and leaves quickly. I finish eating, clean up my mess and go back to my room. That was strange.

Alpha Aaron POV

I get to my room and lay in bed. What was that? I’m having a hard time getting her blue eyes out of my mind, and I definitely like her wearing my sweater. I rub my face trying to clear my head again. I don’t like where these thoughts are going; I can’t. I need to avoid her, and I’m not even sure what her name is. I don’t know why she’s bothering me so much.

I sit up on the bed. Clearly, I’m not as tired as I thought. I think I’ll go for a run. I am going to spend the day getting some work done and looking through the papers from the Boss’ office. There are still rogues to interrogate. I get up and hurry out of the pack house. I need to clear my thoughts, and Griffin is acting even stranger, prowling around my head. I wish he would talk to me again. I make it to the trees stripping off my clothes and shift. I take off running as fast as I can, pushing my body as hard as I can.

I make it back to the pack house as the sun comes up. I race up the stairs as a few omegas look at me and bow their heads a little. I get to my room, shower, change, and head straight for my office, closing the door and getting right to work. I don’t plan on leaving here for the rest of the day. Am I hiding from a small girl? I shake my head. Of course not, I have work to do. I need to find that monster.

She’s just some girl whose name I don’t even know. “Her name is Kay, and you know it is.” Griffin’s words are sudden, shocking me slightly. Then he’s gone again, retreating to prowl and whine in the back of my mind again. He’s right: I did know her name.

Kay’s POV

In the morning, someone brings me a tray of food. I’m already up sitting on the floor, folding and putting away clothes. “Thanks,” I say to the omega woman as she puts the tray on the nightstand.

She nods and gives me a small smile as she leaves the room. I finish putting clothes away and look at the tray: toast egg whites and juice. Thank God it’s not oatmeal. I eat and shower. I’m already feeling better, and my eyes look less dull. The bruising is better but still awful. I dress and braid my hair. I leave the bathroom and sit on my bed. I have no idea what to do now. I’ve always had chores, even when it was just dad and me.

I nearly jump to the door when someone knocks. I’m still in pain, and it hurts to move so suddenly. I open the door and find Oriel standing there. I can’t help but smile back at her.

“Want to go look around?” she asks me.

“Oh, thank you. I’m so bored.” I sigh at her.

She giggles, “I figured I would hate to be cooped up too.” Oriel takes me on a tour of the pack house and grounds. This place is impressive. I’ve never seen anything like it.

We come back inside through the kitchen, and I see the cook. She’s a large, no-nonsense woman, but she looks kind, really.

“Hey,” I say to Oriel, stopping, “Do you think I can help in the kitchen? I don’t like sitting in my room without anything to do, and I like to cook. I’m pretty okay at it too. Do you think I can help?”

Oriel smiles at me. “Let’s ask her.” And she leads me over to the large plump she-wolf.

After Oriel introduces me and explains to her that I want to help, the cook eyes me and says she’ll try me out and see how I do. I’m to come back at 2:30 to help with dinner prep. I can’t help it: Oriel is smiling, so I excitedly squeal and hug her. She seems shocked for a split second, but she recovers quickly and hugs me back.

“Just don’t overdo it, or doc will blame me,” Oriel tells me. I promise her I won’t, and we both end up giggling as she finishes showing me around. She shows me the Alpha wing last and shows me where Alpha Aaron’s office is. She asked if I wanted to meet him, but I say no. He’s probably busy, and I want to go back to the kitchen. It’s almost time to start dinner prep. We leave and go back to the kitchen.

Alpha Aaron’s POV

It’s almost 3 P.M., and I can’t sit in this office anymore. I’m hungry. I think I’ll go grab something from the kitchen and head to the training ground. I’m sure I’ll find Michael there with a group of recruits. In the hall, the faint smell of jasmine is there. It’s almost relaxing, and I want to linger in the hall, but I push it forcibly from my mind and walk down to the kitchen.

I freeze hallway through the kitchen door. This seems to be a thing I do now, stopping in kitchen doors, but there she is. She’s in jeans and an off-the-shoulder light blue sweater, her hair braided down her back. She’s chopping vegetables talking with Oriel, and dear God, she’s smiling. She’s beautiful. In the daylight, I can see her better. She was pretty last night, with her heart-shaped face and large blue eyes. In the daylight, I can see the healing bruises, and she’s definitely too thin. Griffin growls in my head, and I hear a faint growl leave my chest. What was that?

I rub my face, and Oriel is looking at me with an eyebrow raised, then shoots a look at that beautiful girl chopping vegetables. Did she hear me? I walk over like it’s nothing all while hiding my internal struggle.

“Hello, sis.” I say to Oriel, “Since when do you hang out in the kitchen?”

“Well, Kay was bored sitting in her room, so she asked to help out, and so far, she’s doing a great job,” Oriel tells me, eyeing me suspiciously.

“I see, and since when do you know anything about cooking?” I tease her. She’s absolutely hopeless in a kitchen. A great fighter, yes, but in the kitchen, no.

“I may be a terrible cook. but I have eyes and can see she’s doing a good job. Ms. Walker said Kay is doing a great job, you big jerk.” Oriel huffs at me and crosses her arms.

“Okay, I surrender,” I say, holding up my hands. I look at Kay, and she’s still working, glancing at us every now and then.

“Nice to meet you, Kay. I’m Alpha Aaron.” I nod at her.

“Nice to meet you, Alpha,” she says quietly, never looking up at me. I grab an apple and head to the training grounds.