Chapter 5 Breakfast

Lara

I took a quick shower and settled for a shirt and a pair of shorts. I tied my hair up with a ruffle I found on the dresser. Not even bothering to look as perfect as I always tried to be at Silver Pack, I headed out searching for breakfast. The first step was eating and then getting out of here. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I was hit by a strong aroma of food and chattering. It was strange having all of that happen at once.

I thought this was supposed to be like the Alpha’s house.

I reached the stairs and was met with pairs of eyes staring at me. I could count at least ten people scattered all over the place eating but at that point, they all just stared at me in disbelief and some with mischief in their eyes.

“It’s the leader’s wife!” One exclaimed and some laughed.

“Quit joking around. Come and have breakfast dear.” An older woman said, appearing from the kitchen and waving at me to come over. I sheepishly followed her without saying a word and sat on a stool by the counter.

“I’m not joking, Matilda. He got married last night!” The man stated and others concurred.

“They were bound by some ritual at the Silver Pack. It was crazy.” Someone else said.

Matilda dropped a plate filled with greasy but tasty-looking food in front of me while humming. Normally I wouldn’t have looked at something like this twice but my stomach screamed in delight at the sight of it.

“So you boys are telling me that Elijah went to war and came back with a wife?” She asked with her hands on her waist.

“Exactly.”

She chuckled and handed me a glass of water. I thanked her and took it from her but she paused. She gently turned my fingers and I realized I was still wearing the jade ring, my wedding ring. How I didn’t feel the weight of it was surprising.

“Are you really..?”

“Elijah! There you are! Matilda doesn’t believe you’re married.” At the mention of his name and knowing he was close, my face burned. I focused on shoving the food down my throat.

“And why is that Matilda?” I heard the smugness in his voice and I rolled my eyes. Bastard.

“Good morning to you too.” I heard his voice say in my head. I looked up and saw him already looking at me and I almost raised my middle finger.

“Elijah!” Matilda gasped, “You really got married. How..?”

“Am I going to get breakfast?” He asked and Matilda recollected herself and began fixing him a plate. He settled on the farther end of the counter which I was grateful for.

The chattering continued like nothing had happened which I was grateful for. My plate was almost empty and I was nowhere close to being full but I couldn’t ask for more. What I had eaten was already more than I usually had. The governess back at Silver Pack would die of shock if she saw me. Just when I was about to suck it up and leave, Matilda swapped my empty plate with another one filled with a different dish.

“No.. I” I barely got words out but Matilda was already serving someone else breakfast. Warmth went through my body as I began to eat the second serving of breakfast, slowly this time around.

The kitchen door swung open and I didn’t bother raising my head to check who it was. The entire house was already filled up so whoever entered wouldn’t make any difference.

“Ron, I have warned you to stop coming in through this door!” Matilda cautioned the new person who came in.

“Well pardon me for using the easiest way in.” The person retorted sassily and I smiled. “Am I seeing things or is there a goddess in our kitchen?” He suddenly said and I looked up to find a man staring at me mouth agape. He looked like he was my age and his dirty blonde hair was packed in a messy bun. The rugged look made him look more attractive than he already was.

He quickly sat on the free stool beside me with a grin on his face. “Hey, I’m Ronald. Everyone calls me Ron but you can call me yours.” I physically cringed at the cheesy pickup line while he winked at the end.

“Back off Ron, she’s taken.” Someone said and he scoffed.

“Taken? She just arrived.” He said with a frown on his face. He probably thought I was a rogue that was cast out too.

“She’s Elijah’s wife.”

Silence passed for a whole minute. Ron looked at me then at Elijah who was talking to a huge guy then back at me before laughing.

“Yeah, nice joke.” He said before taking a big bite of his food.

“She has THE ring on her finger boy,” Matilda says adding sauce to my food. It’s like she read my mind. I almost preferred she was the one who could read my mind instead of the douchebag across.

“Thanks,” I said and she gave me a soft smile.

Ron grabbed my hand to look at the ring and I snatched it back.

“Ron, watch it,” Elijah growled and the room went silent.

Ron mumbled an apology but kept on looking at the ring. “You didn't agree to this marriage willingly, did you?” Ron whispered to me and I almost cried in relief. Finally, someone saw through this whole charade. I shook my head.

“No,” I whispered back and he nodded in understanding.

“Kidnapped?”

“Basically.”

Ron sighed before playfully glaring at Elijah. “Maybe there was a reason?”

“You could’ve been there. There was absolutely no reason at all.” I said. I was really grateful for Ron. At least he seemed like the only person who understood me.

“What’s your name?” Ron asked.

“Lara.”

“Pretty name for a pretty lady.” He said with a playful wink and I laughed. A genuine one since I came here. I felt someone burn holes in the side of my head and I didn’t need to turn to see who it was

“Getting comfortable, are we?”

At that moment, I wanted to scratch my brain off if it meant not hearing his condescending voice.