Bella
In the morning, the brothers left me to go to training, with a vague promise that they were going to start taking me with them. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I’ve never been allowed to train, I’ve never been allowed to defend myself from my aggressors, and I’ve definitely never been encouraged to be the aggressor. I wasn’t sure which intimidated me more, the actual training, or the prospect of being out in front of the whole pack.
I ducked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. With the bandages off my back, I could finally fully bathe myself. I was still awed by the luxury of a clean, hot shower, and the bottles of shampoos and soaps that I was free to use. I loved the way my hair felt now that it was clean and soft and regularly brushed free of tangles and knots. I left the shower in a billow of steam, with my hair wrapped up in a towel turban, and a second towel wrapped around my body. I dressed in some of the casual, comfortable clothes the brothers had ordered for me online. I made the bed and tidied up the bathroom, and then looked around for something to occupy me until breakfast.
My eyes fell on the sleek new laptop that was still sitting open on the coffee table. I sat gingerly in front of it and automatically tensed as if someone was going to yell at me just for looking at it. But it was mine. I delicately reached out and pushed the power button the way that Daphne had shown me. I smiled to myself as the screen lit up. Whoever would have thought that I would be using a computer? I carefully pecked in the password with one finger and pushed enter to log in. The home screen displayed a colorful nature scene as the background and a dozen little icons. Daphne had said that they opened different programs, but I didn’t know what they were or how to use them, so I just used my finger on the mouse pad to swirl the cursor around and point at different things without actually doing anything. It was silly, but I felt empowered. I could learn to use this.
I yanked my hands away when there was a light knock on the door, and Daphne poked her head in. “Oh good, you are up! Can I come in?”
I nodded and she came bouncing in. “Look, I ran out last night and picked up some workbooks for you.” She set three books in front of me. They were kids' practice books, with colorful cartoon characters. Reading, Writing and Mathematics. I felt a little silly getting children's exercise books when I was a grown-up, but I suppose I was like a little kid when it came to learning. “You work on these this week, and when I come back next weekend, we’ll go over them together, okay?” I nodded and flipped through the pages with big eyes. “They might be too easy for you, but I wanted to start with the basics.”
“Th-thank you.” How do you express your thanks to someone who has just opened up a world of knowledge to you? I impulsively reached over and hugged her. Her eyes widened in surprise, but then her face broke into a pleased smile as she hugged me back.
She smoothed my hair away from my face and glanced at the computer. “Ohhh, you’ve got it on! That’s great! Let me show you how to do a video call.” She patiently went over the steps with me, “Now click here. Yes. See, there you are on the video.” She moved across the room and made a mock call from her phone, and we giggled as we tried to video chat together in the same room. We were so engrossed in it that we didn’t notice the time until Wyatt called to ask if we were coming down for breakfast.
Daphne grabbed my hand and we flew down the stairs, and arrived breathless in the dining room. Wyatt quirked an eyebrow at us, but Byron was wearing a pleased smile. The brothers stood up, as though they were welcoming important visitors. They kissed Daphne on the cheek and held a chair for her. They then turned to me, and each took a turn kissing me on the lips, lingering a little longer than necessary before they sat me down between them. I felt my face grow hot as I looked down at my hands. Would I ever get used to their attention? I had watched the Alpha and Luna at White Pines interact with each other for as long as I could remember, but I don’t recall the alpha ever showering so much care and attention on his wife.
“Good morning Alphas, Luna, Daphne!” Hailey came waltzing into the dining room, balancing a big tray of plates. A second girl came behind her with more. They all chatted easily as Hailey served the table, pouring coffee and tea, and setting plates of fluffy vegetable omelets with thick slices of ham in front of each of us, along with berry yogurt parfaits and some kind of sweet pastry. It was like three breakfasts rolled into one, and I knew I would never be able to eat all of the food they set before me.
I sipped my tea and took small bites, trying to prolong my meal so that I would finish at the same time as the Redhawk family. I watched in wonderment as Daphne demolished all of the food on her plate, and poured a second cup of coffee for herself. How did she do it?
“I would like to take Bella to town for shopping,” Daphne announced when she had finally reached her fill.
The brothers looked at each other and looked down at me. “Would you like to go shopping, Bella?”
“Uh.” I rolled a napkin up in my hands. “I don’t know if I like it. I mean, I’ve never been.” I thought I would die of embarrassment, but Daphne rolled right over it with a squeal.
“Oh your first time! This will be SO much fun. We’ll head up to the mall in Rutberg, and boys, you are going to give her your credit card.” She wiggled her eyebrows at them, “Right?”
Byron coughed into his hand and Wyatt swore under his breath. Daphne was not the kind of girl they trusted to turn loose with a credit card that had no limits. With a reluctant sigh, Wyatt produced his card and slid it across the table to me. “Bella, I am trusting you to be the voice of reason with this card.” He said sternly, with a warning glance at his siit'sr.
“Don’t scare her, moron, it's just a little shopping.”