The Mating Rules

Raelyn’s POV

I spent the night tossing and turning, my dreams flicking between me running through a wooded area trying to find my way home, the other half filled with a shirtless brown haired warrior whose mere presence makes my b***d feel like lava.

A tentative knock on the door has me sitting up, gripping the sheets as I stare around the unfamiliar room in panic.

‘Raelyn?’ comes the voice of a young girl worriedly, ‘are you in there? Are you OK? Alpha Caden asked me to come and help you this morning.’

I scramble out of bed, trying to straighten the creases out of the fluffy sheep pyjamas I’m wearing before opening the door to a younger woman with straight blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

‘What time is it?’ I ask with a frown as the woman in front of me is fully dressed and looks like she’s been up for hours.

‘A little after nine’ the girl replies, making me squeak in shock as I pull the door open fully and wave her in.

‘I am so sorry!’ I gasp as I start to hurry around the room, almost tripping over my half empty suitcase as I head for the closet to grab some jeans and a top. ‘I swear, I never sleep this late! This is absolutely a one time thing, I’ll always be down by five from now on to help with the breakfast.’

The blonde laughs musically as she straightens my blankets almost automatically and takes a seat on my bed. ‘Relax’ she giggles, ‘no one expected you to work today, you just got here.’

I feel my shoulders drop in relief as I stop my frantic clothe gathering and instead turn to look at the woman in my room.

‘I’m sorry’ I sigh, ‘I’m a little bit antsy, I didn’t sleep overly well last night and I really don’t want to make a bad impression on the head Omega before I’ve even stepped in the door.’ Straightening up, I deposit my armful on the small chair by the bathroom door and head back to my visitor, hand out.

‘I’m Raelyn’ I introduce myself, ‘but most people call me Rae, newest member of the Diamond Star pack.’

The blonde takes my hand in hers, shaking it as she grins up at me, ‘Samantha’ she replies, ‘everyone calls me Sammy, I’ve lived here my entire life but am by no means the oldest member of this pack.’

I laugh as she winks at me, yeah, I like this woman.

‘So, what are we supposed to do if I’m not expected to work in the kitchen?’ I ask slowly as I take a seat next to the younger woman.

Samantha beams widely, ‘how about some breakfast?’ she offers immediately which seems to be a trigger for my stomach that decides that is the moment to rumble obnoxiously, making me blush deeply.

‘I’m going to take that as a yes’ the she wolf giggles as she points toward my ensuite bathroom. ‘Go wash up, get dressed and we’ll go snag some food from the dining hall. Most of the pack will be out on the training grounds so we should have the place pretty much to ourselves. Then I’ll give you a tour of the packhouse and grounds, how does that sound?’

I nod in agreement as I sand up again, moving toward the bathroom and sweeping up my clothes as I pass.

Shutting the door, I place my fresh clothes on top of the small wicker washing basket, and turn on the shower, stripping down and stepping under the warm water for the worlds fastest shower.

Ten minutes later, I’m back out in my new bedroom, dressed, with my damp curls pulled back in a high ponytail.

‘Ready?’ Samantha asks, putting down the book she seems to have found somewhere and standing up, walking toward the door with me on her heels.

Once out in the corridor, I carefully lock the door behind me before I follow the blonde woman down the stairs and into a huge room filled with tables. Hot plates line one wall and we both quickly grab plates and make our way over to the warm food.

I quickly pile my plate with bacon and pancakes as Samantha goes for toast and fried eggs.

‘I already ate’ she admits as she catches me eyeing her small plate, ‘but there is always room for a little more, am I right?’

I laugh as I nod, looking around for the door that might lead to the kitchen where I assume we will eat.

To my surprise, Samantha makes her way to a table near the back, taking a seat and picking up a knife and fork. Copying her, I glance around nervously, unsure if I should really be here, despite being the Alpha’s adopted daughter, I still ate in the kitchen with the other Omegas.

‘Are you OK?’ Samantha asks in concern, tapping my hand to bring my attention back to her.

‘Uhh yeah’ I reply nervously, ‘I just expected to eat in the kitchen’ I admit.

Samantha’s eyes raise before she nods in understanding, ‘we did used to be kept to the kitchen by our previous Alpha’ she sighs. ‘When Alpha Caden took over, he said that every wolf is equally vital to the running of the pack and that meant that every wolf should eat together. Since then, those of us who want too, eat in the dining hall, some still prefer the kitchen but that is there choice rather than their place.’

I swallow the mouthful I’ve just placed in my mouth quickly, trying to temper my surprise, ‘and the stronger wolves don’t have an issue with it?’ I ask curiously.

Samantha shakes her head, smiling, ‘nope, everyone here is a cog in the machine, no one part is any more important than the next.’ She tilts her head slightly frowning, ‘well, the Alpha and Luna are obviously more important, and so are the Beta and Gamma, we wouldn’t have a pack without them.’

I nod in understanding, shoving another huge mouthful into my mouth, I’m so hungry I can’t help myself as I skipped dinner last night being too nervous to come down even though Isaac came and knocked on my door to take me. I admit I was a coward and ignored him, pretending to be asleep until he walked away.

It turns out that the mouthful is slightly too big as my cheeks bulge out with the amount of food, I’ve tried to cram in. I try my best to move it around so I can shew it and swallow but it’s not happening.

‘Good morning Rae’ comes that smooth voice behind me, and glancing at Samantha I see her eyes widen as she quickly bows her head in respect.

I’m fighting a losing battle with the food and I’m now in a situation of, grab a napkin and spit it out before facing the man behind me, turning with cheeks like a chipmunk or being rude and ignoring him as I fight to swallow it down.

None of the options are great, and I sit frozen at the table as I try to think of what to do. The choice is suddenly taken away from me as my chair is easily lifted slightly off the ground and turned so I’m facing the huge form of Beta Isaac.

My fingers grip the sides of my seat as my gaze moves slowly up the muscular torso in front of me until I reach Isaac’s eyes.

‘I don’t like being ignored’ he murmurs softly, his gaze trailing over me making my insides ignite as I try desperately to get rid of the food in my mouth.

He obviously realises that I have a little issue because he tilts his head ever so slightly to the side, a wicked grin ghosting his lips.

‘I also don’t like not being answered Omega’ he adds, his voice almost a caress that I can feel straight between my legs.

Almost choking, I force the food down my throat before gasping out, ‘good morning Beta’ in return.

Isaac’s smirk grows as he takes the seat next to me, his knee brushing mine accidentally causing my breath to catch as I grab the glass of water that was on the table by my plate and take a few big gulps.

‘Are you nervous?’ he asks conversationally, as he reaches over my plate and snags a piece of my bacon, bringing it slowly to his lips as his gaze holds mine. That evil tongue darting out to capture the end and pull it into his mouth.

I shake my head quickly, ‘no’ I croak, ‘I was . . .I am . . . ‘

Isaac leans closer, his mouth next to my ear as he murmurs, ‘it’s OK, I make a lot of wolves nervous, you don’t have to be embarrassed.’

Pulling back again, he takes another piece of my bacon, tossing it into his mouth before standing up again, ‘you want to finish your meal Rae’ he offers with a wink. ‘It would be a shame for all that deliciousness to go cold, though I have to say, I do prefer to take my time when I’m eating.’

His heavy lidded gaze holds me for a second before he breaks contact and turns to my new friend, giving her a smile.

‘Sammy’ he greets her warmly, ‘you taking care of our newest member today?’

Sammy nods, her mouth hanging open as she stares from me to the Beta and back again.

Isaac smiles, ‘good, make sure you give her a complete tour of the pack house, I’d hate for her to get lost somewhere.’

‘Of course Beta’ Samantha agrees quickly, ‘I’ll be sure to show her everything.’

With a last nod, Isaac, turns away from us and saunters out of the room leaving me alone with my thighs pressed together and a she wolf staring at me like I’m crazy.