Chapter Eight

Achilles led Mel into the mansion, passing groups of curious eyes. His eyes were only on Mel though, her was head down and her hands were behind her back. He could tell she was scared and he wondered why. The whole pack would be at her feet, he could tell. They would want nothing more than to talk to her for even just a minute. To the pack, Mel and Achilles were royalty. Well, Mel would be when she accepted who she was.

Soon, to Mel's delight, Achilles stopped in front of a white door that had four rectangles and two squares carved into it symmetrically. It was the same door she had had in her childhood bedroom. A flash of a memory came into Mel's mind and she hissed.

Younger her was laying in her bed staring at the door, while her parents screamed at each other behind it. She heard a smack and then another. Her parents were fighting again.

Mel gasped shortly before getting her barrings. Maybe she should start writing down these memories she had. Perhaps she would be able to piece everything together if she did.

"What are you thinking?"

Mel's heart lept as her eyes quickly flicked to Achillies'.  He was looking at her expectantly from the threshold of the room.

"I was just wondering about," Mel drew out her works longer than normal as she thought. "Um, what will I have to do here? I mean I could cook, oh wait, a new Omega would start off washing dishes. I could do that? Then maybe they'll belive-"

"That's not how we do things here."

Mel looked up into electrifying blue eyes. They were set firmly on her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, that pack jobs are switched around every other month. That way nobody is stuck with a terrible job for long. Keeps thing fair and interesting."

Mel had never heard of anything like that before. It had always been the Omega's that were stuck the undesirable jobs while the rest of the pack had easier or more glamorous ones. She had to admit that it was a better way of doing things.

"Will you be able to get me an assignment? I'm here during the middle of a month, so I get it if you can't."

"I can get you one," Achilles affirmed.

Achilles felt the corners of his mouth twitch up as his mate beamed. He could have sworn she was a goddess when she smiled like that. But his heart quickly sank when he remembered that she had asked for space.

"I have to go. I hope you like the room," Achilles said, briskly.

Mel wondered what had gotten into him as he strode away purposefully. Had she said something? She was rather good at saying the wrong thing.

Eyes gliding over her new room, she lost her train of thought. She nearly ran into the room powered by the awe she felt.

The room was shaped like a p  and had walls the shade of lilacs. On the right side of the room, there was a bed with a white bedspread covering it. There were two walls on the back and to the right of it. Two windows carved into the back wall of the room that looked over a large yard full of people. Far off into the distance, the field met the woods that seemed to go on forever.

Mel stopped there and stared at the scene before her. Everybody had a smile on their face as they went about their day. Everybody seemed genuinely happy here. Mel's heart lurched. Could she be happy here?

"Hopefully," Mel whispered to herself.

She turned from the window and was immediately drawn to the chair in the corner of the room. There was a bookshelf next to it with a few books on it. Mel could imagine herself snuggling up in the chair with Achilles and reading all night. Her eyes widened at her own thought.

"Stop becoming so dependent on others," she reprimanded herself. "You know they always leave you."

Taking a deep breath Mel sat at the desk against the left wall. There was nothing on it and nothing in the small drawer that pulled out of it.

Mel's breathing got a bit heavier when she noticed there was nothing to write on. Her hands started absentmindedly picking at each other's dead skin. She was alone in a place she didn't know, again. She just wanted her mom. A nice warm embrace where she could finally feel safe again. But she hadn't felt safe since that night. Or maybe it was before that.

Her wolf pushed her to get her mate.

Mel squeezed her eyes shut as a knocking sound filled her ears. Her hand absentmindedly drifted the scar above her right eyebrow.

A girl in a fancy gown was being held by a large man. Blood was seeping from a gash on her forehead. Her arm was bent at an odd angle as she screamed out for mercy. These people were rogues, that much was clear to the girl.

"Please stop! They are suffering! Don't you care? Please."

The girl wasn't begging for the mercy of her own quick death. She was begging for her parent's death as both were crumpled on the floor screaming. They were bound with silver and stabbed more times than the girl could count.

"I don't care,"  The man in front of her said. His features were fuzzy to the girl. "I want them to suffer and I want you to watch. They are getting what they fucking deserve."

The man grabbed her mother's arm and snapped in half. Screams of anguish echoed in the girl's ears. She closed her eyes and sobbed.

"No! You will watch!"

The girl's eyes were forced open as the vile man took a baseball bat in his bleeding fingers. The girl shrieked as he brought the bat down on her father's skull. The banging kept going even as the girl passed out into her captor's arms.

Mel's body shook as she was thrown back into reality. A girl was standing above her shocked as Mel breathed heavily.

"Are you okay? I knocked and you wouldn't answer, so I was going to leave and then you started screaming. I rushed in and you were still not answering and I was so scared."

"I don't want to talk about it," Mel stated.

"Are you sure? You seemed really upset?"

The brunette girl looked over Mel with her large grey eyes. She couldn't help but worry about the girl huddled up on the floor in front of her. She looked so broken.

"I'm sure. You were here to talk to me anyway. What is that you wish to talk to me about?"

The girl dropped the sensitive topic and smiled at Mel, "Well, first things first, my name is Estrella. The Alpha requested for me to debrief you on your assignment until the next switch."

Mel took Estrella's hand in her own firmly shaking it, "My name is Mel. It's nice to meet you."

Estrella pulled her hand away and held the wooden clipboard she had firmly in both of her hands. She studied it briefly before looking up at Mel.

"Okay, Mel. It looks like you are on landscaping duty. So really all you have to do is report to the garden at eight in the morning and Zora will assign you the work you will do for the day. Since you're new Zora will probably want to talk to you for a bit and then you'll get going. Don't worry though, he's the kindest person ever."

"Sounds good," Mel said genuinely. "The only issue is I currently don't have any clothes other than what I'm wearing right now."

Estrella's eyes widened. She then glanced around the room and noticed that Mel had no personal belongings with her at all. This situation was piquing Estrella's curiosity. If there was one thing that Estrella was, it was curious; maybe too much so.

"That is certainly a problem. I also couldn't help but notice you literally have brought nothing with you. Did you come from a bad situation?"

"You could say that," Mel answered uncomfortably.

"Hm, well I'm sure I could ask the Alpha to get you some-"

"No, that's fine," Mel cut her off. "I have money. I just need somebody to take me out so I can buy some clothes."

"Say no more Melly, darling. Off to shop we go!"

Mel was slightly taken aback. She didn't think it would be that easy to convince Estrella. Instead of questioning her, Mel followed the beautiful girl out of the room.

Estrella happily led Mel, through the house and out the front door. She was dying to find herself some new makeup and perhaps a new dress for Dia de Los Muertos.

Mel was slightly apprehensive as she and Estrella stopped before a small house with a silver car in the driveway.

"Do you live here?"

Estrella yanked the key out of her pocket, "Yup, my brother and I built it last year. We're living here together until we find out mates. We both couldn't bear being apart so we decided to build this house so that we stay together. I can't imagine life without my brother. He's my best friend."

Mel's heart swelled. She wished she had a sibling to love her unconditionally.

"That sounds so nice," Mel said.

"It really is," Estrella said, opening the door to the driver's seat.

Mel swatted away her nerves and hopped into the passenger seat. The car turned-over and Estrella began to drive.

"Are you guys allowed to go places whenever you want?"

So maybe Mel hadn't completely extinguished her nervous flames. The last thing she wanted was to get in trouble on her first day.

Estrella laughed, "Well, not really, but my brother's the Beta so we should be fine."

Mel nodded, "Okay, but what if the Alpha finds out?"

"You're a worrywart aren't you, Melly?"

Mel nearly scoffed at the childish nickname, "I am not. I just don't want to get in trouble on my first day."

"Live a little Melly," Estrella whined. "It's not like we're running off to Spain to elope or something. Unless you want to because we totally could."

"Estrella!"

Estrella gasped, "Am I that ugly?"

Mel's eyes widened, "No!"

Estrella laughed as she flicked on her blinker and turned left.

"Relax, I'm just kidding. Also, it's not Es-tr-ella. The double letter l makes a y sound. It's basic Spanish. So it's really A-stray-a."

"That's super pretty. What does it mean?"

Estrella pulled the car into a parking lot packed filled with vehicles. Mel grimaced at the sight. She hated shopping when other people around her. It made her feel self-conscious.

"Well the direct translation in Spanish is star," Estrella explained.

Mel smiled, "That fits you perfectly."

Estrella beamed, "I think so too. Now, are you ready to get our shopping on?"

Mel nodded and stepped out of the car. She followed the dark-haired girl into the mall. It was busy with rushing people. Mel kept her eyes down until she found herself in a clothing store.

She was immediately drawn to the clearance rack. It was all she could afford.

"I'm going to head over there, okay?"

Mel was thankful that Estrella didn't point out her lack of money. Mel smiled and nodded. Estrella gave her a thumbs up and headed over to the lavish dresses.

Soon enough Mel had a few plain shirts and two pairs of black leggings. She did the math multiple times and was sure that she could afford the total. She even would have fifteen dollars left over, so maybe she could even get a hairbrush, shampoo, and conditioner.

Mel headed up to the cash register and paid for her items. The man touched her hand for a little longer than necessary when giving Mel her change, which made her quite uncomfortable. Nonetheless, she smiled and patiently waited. The man put them into two large bags and stuffed the receipt inside one of them. Mel liked to be meticulous with the things she bought. It was something she picked up being an Omega. then she would have proof if somebody stole something from her.

"Melly, I totally forgot that I have to go to training soon. We can probably go to one more store. I'm so sorry we have to cut our trip short."

Mel stepped aside to let Estrella check out.

"It's fine. I only need a couple of more things. Just shampoo and stuff."

"Awesome. I'll finish this up because there may or may not be a surprise for you in here."

Mel moved quickly as she was ushered to the exit by Estrella. When she reached the exit she smelled a scent she couldn't possibly mistake.

"Oh shit," she whispered to herself.

She could see Achilles walking through the mall right to her. He had multiple bags and was headed to the store she was in. Mel's heart pounded as she imagined the worst. She couldn't hide and she couldn't run. She had to face this.

"Mel?"

Her head slowly arched up to met Achilles' eyes.

"What are you doing here? I sent Estrella to get you settled in. How did you even get here?"

Achilles' eyes narrowed at something behind Mel.

"Oh, hello Alpha," Estrella's voice said, brightly.

"Hello," Achilles said tersely. "I will see Mel home. You'd better get back for training."

Mel could feel the Alpha tone in his voice. Estrella had no choice.

"Of course Alpha."

Mel watched as Estrella begrudged walked away. She met Achilles' eyes.

"I just wanted to get clothes."

Achilles shoved a bag into Mel's arms. She peered inside and saw women's clothes. He was here shopping for her.

"I know that you aren't used to relying on people Mel, but please let me help you. I want to be the person that you can lean on. You don't have to do everything on your own."

Mel inhaled deeply. She wanted to be independent. But maybe other things were more important than proving yourself to people who didn't even care.

"Well, I still need a hairbrush. We could go get one together?"

Achilles gave Mel a small smile, "Only if I can pay."

"Achilles I-"

"Please Mel, I know for a fact that you only had forty dollars. Please let me help you."

Mel felt an internal battle rage inside of her. She wanted to prove that she could be strong and independent. But the man before her was her mate. He wanted nothing more than to help her and protect her. Could she let him do that? To her, this meant so much more than a hairbrush.

"Fine, but this doesn't mean I'm going to let you do everything for me all of the sudden. I'm still landscaping tomorrow and I'm going to find myself a job. I don't want to be a housewife. I know that a lot of women are perfectly happy like that, and there is nothing wrong with it, but it's not me. It used to be me, but now it isn't"

Achilles nodded, "I know that's not you. And the last thing I want to do is control your whole life. I just want my mate to be happy and healthy."

"I want that too."

"This is going to seem hypocritical, but I would appreciate it if we got out of this store. The cashier is staring at you, and I can only hold back my desire to punch him for so long."

Mel unconsciously grabbed Achilles' hand and dragged him out of the store. She could feel the tingles erupting up her arms and butterflies swarming in her chest. Everything in her told her to drop Achilles' hand, but she didn't. She held it firmly until she stepped into the store that looked as if it would have what she wanted.

Achilles fought the urge to kiss the gorgeous woman in front of him as her messy hair framed her face. How could he be so smitten with a woman who wouldn't even hold his hand without blushing?

Mel smiled brightly as she found her favorite type of brush. It got all of the tangles out of her unbelievably thick hair without causing her hair to be ripped from her head.

"Perfect," she said choosing the brush in a light purple.

Achilles didn't go without noticing this. It seemed that he had hit the jackpot with her room color.

"Crap," Mel frowned.

Achilles immediately answered, "What?"

Mel had forgotten that she needed shampoo and conditioner as well as the brush. She didn't want to make Achilles pay for that too.

"I just forgot I needed two other things."

Achilles smirked, "You seem to look down upon my shopping skills. If I remember correctly from years of my mother's training you need shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, a toothbrush, and toothpaste."

Achilles laughed at her shocked look, "The only thing I forgot was the hairbrush. I think I get a solid ninety percent."

"Technically it would be an eighty-three, but who's counting?"

Achilles beamed incredibly wide, "My little mathematician."

Mel felt her heart rush, he cared that deeply for her. She did have somebody that cared for her unconditionally.

"Thank you," She whispered. "Thank you for caring."

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Okay, so I know I haven't updated in like a million years, but this chapter is uber long! Are we okay?

Reading Question:

-What do think of our new character Estrella?

-Do you think Mel should try to let Achilles help her more?

-What do you think is going on with Mel's flashbacks?