“Here is the guest bedroom,” she said opening the door to allow him to enter. “The bathroom is down the hall so we are going to have to share.” Artur could tell she was a little uncomfortable about that, and he smiled to himself.
He nodded his head as turned to scan the room, and he had to admit that it was clean and airy. The room was a good size one with a king size bed and matching furniture, the comforter was a dark green with the curtains being a lighter shade.
“Grace,” he began.
“There are three bedrooms in this house, and unfortunately the third bedroom needs furniture because my parents used it as an office,” Grace explained. Then she turned around to leave, “There is food in the refrigerator. Since I am not too sure what you like or not, feel free to tell me anything you don’t like so that I won’t make it, although I assumed you will probably have most of your dinners at the pack house.”
She turned at the door to look at him, “I know that you do not really want to be here, Artur, but I do appreciate what you are doing to alleviate Amy and Ted’s worries.”
The last thing he heard was the door shutting behind her, and he sat down on the bed. She forgot to tell him which one was her room, but he figured he would find out soon enough. He looked around the room, and on the dresser, he saw a picture of a decent looking man with black hair and hazel-brown eyes, and a pretty woman with brunette hair and violet eyes just like Grace’s eyes. He picked up the picture, and spoke softly, “You have an amazing daughter” and could have sworn that the two people in the picture winked at him.
He shook his head at his imagination then unpacked his bag noticing that although the room had probably not been altered since her parents’ deaths, the drawers were empty from any clothes so was the closet. After unpacking, he headed to the bathroom where he took a quick slower, and although he rarely wore anything to bed, he pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt then he went downstairs to find Grace.
She was in the kitchen cleaning up any last minute dishes left, and she glanced at him as he entered the room.
“Find everything okay?” she asked turning back to her dishes.
“Yes,” he said picking up the dishtowel, and started helping her with the dishes. She threw him a startled glance, but she continued working. They worked in silence as they finished the dishes.
“Would you like some hot chocolate or coffee?” she asked wiping down the kitchen counter.
“Hot chocolate sounds good,” he said, and watched as she boiled milk and grabbed two mugs. She threw him a rueful smile as she said, “I guess I should have asked before we cleaned the dishes” and he laughed.
After she finished making the hot chocolate, they went into the living room where Grace sat down in a huge recliner and he settled on the couch. He looked at her over the rim as she curled her legs underneath her, and sipped her hot chocolate.
“So why did your parents name you Artur?” Grace asked him looking into his blue-gold eyes.
He laughed as he explained, “My father loved bears; in fact, from what my mother told me he would constantly track them down just to see if they would attack him or not.”
She smiled slowly as she said, “He tracked in human form.”
He smiled at her, as she was the first person to make that assumption. Most would assume that he would track them in wolf form, but his father had loved the experience in tracking in human form; said it made him stronger.
“He named me Artur as a reminder that we should use both our human and wolf form to keep us strong,” he said surprising himself for he rarely told anyone more than his father had been fascinated with the animals.
Grace nodded her head in understanding, “Both are human form and wolf form identifies who we really are, and each form gives a representation of what makes us special.”
Lana did not even understand when we tried to explain it to her, his wolf told him, and Artur agreed as he looked at Grace.
He was about to ask her something when the phone rang, and Grace glanced warily at the machine.
It rung four times before the answering machine picked up.
“Hi, baby,” the voice, said as it laughed, “I thought I would just call to wish you goodnight and to remind you to dream of me. Although you do not know what I look like, I can tell you I know what you look like and I am imagining you now when I finally give you what you must be aching for.” Then he hung up, and in the silence, Artur could see Grace’s anger.
“Don’t let him get to you,” he said softly and she glanced up at him. “That is what he wants for you to get so emotional although I think he is counting on your fear more than your anger, so that way he can keep you off your game.”
She looked at him, and then she smiled in embarrassment, “The bad thing is I know that you are right, but if you had not been here to point it out, I would have let my anger get the best of me.” She sighed gently and leaned her head against the chair, and she closed her eyes.
“Every time he calls, he changes the timbre of his voice, but it is the same person. The only reason the timbre of his voice changes is due to the situations he is in at the time. When he called earlier, I think he was a little drunk; this time, I am sure that he just had sex. He believes that he is scaring me, and in a way, he is right, but he is making me uncomfortable more than anything, because I know he is watching me.”
She opened her eyes, and looked at him for a moment. She opened her mouth to say something else then she closed it shaking her head. She got up from the chair, and said, “Goodnight Artur.”
She went into the kitchen, and he heard the running of water as she washed the pan and mug before he heard the creak of the stairs.
Artur sat on the couch a little longer before he headed to the kitchen to rinse out his own mug, and headed to bed himself. As he lay down in her parents’ bed, he thought about the phone call and the look on her face when she opened her eyes. He closed his own eyes, and normally his last thought at one time would have been of Lana, but lately the last thing in his thoughts are a pair of violet eyes framed in a small face surrounded by black hair.
Goodnight Grace, he said before drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 8
Artur was tired when he walked through the door, and he called out, “Grace, I am here” as he closed the door behind him. They have been patrolling for over two weeks now, and still they have found nothing of the rogues. He took off his jacket, and hung it on the stand next to the door. He had been staying with Grace for these two weeks, and they have gotten closer as friends. She was still receiving the phone calls but she seemed to be handling it better now that he was here with her.
He walked to the kitchen because something smelled good, and when he entered, he saw Ted, Amy, Ace, and Susan. He frowned slightly for he had been hoping of it being just him and her, but he smiled as he walked to the refrigerator to grab himself a Pepsi.
“Hi Artur,” Ace said as the rest waved at him, and Grace turned away from the stove to grace him with that smile that he was beginning to love because it lit up her eyes. He smiled back, and his blue-gold eyes softened before he turned back to the others.
“Where is Steve, Amy?” he said although he had a good idea.
Amy answered as she thought about the look that he and Grace exchanged, “Alpha Tomas asked to speak with him so he went over there. He said he would meet me here.”
Artur nodded his head, and at that moment, the doorbell rung.
“I will get it,” he said to Grace who nodded her head as she kept her eyes on the pan in which she was frying something.
He walked to the front door and opened it to let in his tired and frustrated Alpha.
Before he could say anything, Steve said, “Can it wait until I see my mate, and have something to drink? Then I can tell you all at once.”
Although as his Beta, Artur should be the first to know, but knowing the pressure on him, he just nodded his head. He stepped aside to allow him inside and shut the door behind him.
They walked back to the kitchen were Ace was cracking jokes, and he had Susan and Amy laughing so hard that they were about to fall off their seats.
Ace glanced over at them, and he saw the look in his Alpha’s eyes.
“Hi, Alpha,” he said with humor, and Steve smiled at him wearily.
He walked over to Amy, and pulled her into his arms holding on tightly. Grace looked up from the frying pan, and she knew the news was not good, but she figured that he would tell them when he was ready.
They sat down to dinner thirty minutes later, and everyone groaned as they dug in. Artur hid his smile as he began to eat for he already knew what a great cook Grace was.
“Ted,” Ace moaned in delight, “Why don’t you have her working as a chef in your restaurant?”
Ted merely said, “Who do you think cooked some of those dishes that you guys were eating a few months ago?”
Artur’s head snapped up as everyone looked at him, and Grace continued eating.
Ted looked at them as he said, “Grace, you really need to tell people you know.”
Grace just shrugged as she drunk her sweet tea.
“Tell us what,” Amy asked.
“Grace has a degree in culinary cooking,” Ted explained. “After she graduated, she applied for a four year school, but she did not have the funds to go, so she applied to the two year school and they accepted her into their culinary cooking course. She graduated about a month before your pack arrived, Steve.”
Ted frowned as he remembered, “Grace, your 21st birthday is approaching fast.”
“I know,” Grace said with a slight frown.
“Grace, why didn’t you tell anyone?” Amy said.
“Amy, we were just starting to talk after six years. I don’t think the first thing that you wanted hear was about my degree in cooking,” Grace reminded her.
Amy sighed as she admitted to herself that she was right.
Artur growled, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Grace looked at him as she said honestly, “I enjoyed cooking for you, never thought about it as my profession in my own house.”
At her words, Artur stilled for it rung in his head and his wolf pounced on it she enjoyed cooking for us.
Steve decided to intervene when he noticed Grace was starting to grow wary as she realized what she said.
“The Alpha is thinking of lifting the restrictions that he placed a few weeks back,” he said.
“Why?” Amy said as Susan nodded her head in agreement, and Grace looked at him with the same question in her eyes as Artur and Ace growled in frustration.
Steve understood their frustration for he felt it too. “So far, we have found nothing about any rogues in the area. Any evidence of rogues seems to have vanished which makes the Alpha think that they moved on.”
Amy, Susan and Grace looked at each, then at the others in the room. “You don’t think so,” they concluded.
Steve shook his head.
Amy asked, “So what do we do then?”
Steve glanced at her and she nodded her head. “We need to make sure to keep up the patrols. Unfortunately, it is somewhat hard because our pack house is closer to the town then I would like. We need a place that the members can crash at as they patrol in shifts.” Ted looked over at Grace as she got a thoughtful look on her face.
“What are you thinking, Grace?” he asked although he had a very good idea.
“The attic is a decent size room, and I always wanted to make it into my bedroom. My…dad was going to do it for me on my 16th birthday, but…” she tampered off. “Anyway, if I do that now then that frees up the bedroom I am using. If we put double beds in the guest room and my bedroom that will be four extra beds that can be used.”
Steve looked at Artur who nodded his head agreeing with suggestion.
“That could be useful,” Steve said thoughtful.
“What about your parents’ bedroom?” Artur asked Grace quietly, and he watched, as her eyes grew misty for a moment before she added, “If you add two more to that room then that will make six. Seven if anyone is willing and able to sleep on the couch.”
Grace knew that Artur saw her eyes go misty but she was not going to tell him that by adding more beds to that room than it meant that he would probably go back to the pack house.
“It seems like we have ourselves a plan then,” Steve said rubbing his hands together. “When do we get started?”
They threw ideas out, and Artur listened to the conversation as he thought about what this meant. He glanced over at Grace as she listened to the conversation adding her advice, and his wolf howled we are not leaving her.
No, Artur said to him, we are not.
Artur took a sip of beer before he refocused his attention on the conversation as they decided on when to start the moving around of rooms. Once they moved the master bedroom as Grace requested, he would be sleeping on the couch until he was able to talk Grace into sharing her bed with him.
Grace looked around her new bedroom and sighed with pleasure. The attic was huge, and with the many trunks pushed to the unused side then she had plenty of room for her parents’ king size bed including the furniture. She sighed again more softly, and then her thoughts went to Artur. They were almost finished moving around the rooms so that Steve’s pack had a place to crash after their patrols. As Grace thought about Artur, she frowned for many of the members in Steve’s pack had mates. She got off her bed, and headed down stairs.
“Hi, Grace,” Susan said as she entered the kitchen, and Grace smiled. Susan had been coming around more lately; one because Ace was involved in the patrolling and she knew that he would be crashing here often and Susan had become good friends with Amy who tended to hang out more at Grace’s house when Steve was busy or she was bored.
“Hi, Susan,” Grace said noticing the look in her eyes. “You welcome to come here anytime, Susan, especially since I don’t think you would like to leave Ace alone too long.”
Susan smiled as her eyes shined, “Thank you.”
Grace nodded her head, “Tell any of the others that if their mate is crashing here, then they can come too although how you guys decide the sleeping arrangements is up to you. I don’t mind, but destroy my house and I will be kicking asses.”
Steve and Artur heard the last statement and they laughed as they entered the room.
“We are almost done,” Steve said, and he walked over to Grace giving her hug. “Thank you” he said simply as Amy and Ted entered the room. As soon as he saw Amy, his eyes brightened and Grace chuckled.
Amy, girl, do you know that this powerful Alpha would do anything for you, she said as she watched Steve take Amy into his arms.
I would do anything for him, Amy said back as she looked at her mate with shining eyes. Grace shook her head and turned away walking right into Artur.
“Sorry,” Grace said as she pulled back, but it was hard. Every time they touched, it felt as if she was on fire and her wolf was screaming at her to stand closer. She took a deep breath and looked up at him attending to apologize again, but when she met his eyes, all thoughts left her head. Artur’s eyes were almost pure gold as they focused on her, and Grace could feel him leaning towards her. Oh God, he is going to kiss us, her wolf howled in excitement, and Grace could not pull herself away. She had to admit to herself that she wanted this as much as her wolf did.
Artur could not stop himself from leaning into her, and the way her eyes widened the violet turning a deep shade of purple had him wishing they were alone especially when he heard his name.
“Artur, what do you think about using Grace’s backyard as a secondary training ground?” Steve asked him not aware of what was going on until he glanced around when Artur did not answer right away. Steve turned around with a frown until he saw the look on Artur’s face, and then it was as if the spell was broken.
Grace stepped back muttering, “Excuse me” as she exited the room, and Artur closed his eyes breathing deeply. When he answered a
few seconds later, his voice was husky, “Sounds like a good idea. It would definitely help with the ones who are away from their mates.”
Susan clapped her hands as she told them, “Grace said that any mates where welcome when their mates are here, as long as they did not destroy her house and they had figure out the sleeping situations themselves considering the fact each room has two beds in them.”
Amy sighed as she snuggled into Steve, and they all heard her whisper, “Good.”
Everyone smiled at that as Artur try to calm his racing heart and his wolf who was telling him to go after his mate, and finish what they had almost started.
I will, he told his wolf, but when she is more ready; right now, she is wary of us, and besides, we need to tell her about Lana first. Artur walked over to the others as his wolf agreed with him about telling Grace everything about his first mate, Lana.
Grace had gone up to her bedroom where she curled up on her bed. She had to calm herself and her wolf that was going crazy for leaving her mate down there. We should have let him kiss us, she argued, and Grace could not argue back for she was right. Grace closed her eyes as she remembered the look on his face and the look in his gorgeous eyes. She pulled the pillow tight to her throbbing body; she had never felt like this before even when she bumped into Bryan, her body did not feel like this.
We want him and his wolf, her wolf told her, and Grace knew she was right again. She had been fighting it since he moved in with her, and she had to admit having him around made her feel safer although she could take care of herself. However, Artur being here made each day seem more alive and she loved finding out a little things about him, as he liked to throw his clothes on the floor before his shower. When he smiled at her, those eyes of his would soften, and she felt her knees go weak.
So what about his first mate, which we have not asked him about, yet, Grace said to her wolf with sadness.
Her wolf did not answer right away, and then her wolf gave her this advice, we need to learn more about his first mate. Grace fell asleep thinking her wolf was right about everything; they needed to find out more about Artur’s first mate.
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