Chapter 4: Pack Meeting

Rosette’s POV

Walking into the meeting hall, I don’t know what to expect about what could be inside. It has been a long time since we have had a pack meeting in a long while. I believe the last time we had a pack meeting was before the battle with the rogues that killed my parents. All around the room I see cobwebs, dust and what could be mold, as well as, I think, rat droppings. It shouldn’t take me long to clean this room up.

I turn around and head to the cleaning closet, where all of the cleaning supplies are stored, listing all of the things I need to get the massive, but not too massive, hall clean. I need cleaning cloths to clean the table, chairs, podium, and the supposed mold, the duster, a broom and mop, as well as a bucket of water, window and floor cleaners, and maybe bleach. Getting to the door of the closet and opening the door, I instantly start grabbing everything that I need, not sure if I will have time to go back and forth before having to start on my other chores after cleaning the pack’s meeting room.

Back at the meeting hall I get to work, turning on the lights to see what all that I am actually working with. I was right on my assumption that there is mold and rat droppings, so I tackle those first, knowing that they need to be cleaned first before I start on the cobwebs and dust. These tasks take me about two hours, the rat droppings being the easier of the two. The dusting and getting rid of the cobwebs takes thirty minutes, with me running around to get all of it, since the ceiling isn’t vaulted, unlike some of the other rooms of the pack house. Cleaning the floor with both the broom and mop takes another thirty minutes, seeing as everything that is getting cleaned up is the dust, cobwebs and grime that fell as I was cleaning the ceiling and other spots of the room, including the furniture.

After getting all of the chairs and podium put in their places I exit the room, heading for the cleaning closet once again. I drop off all that I don’t need, only keeping the mop, the bucket of water, the floor cleaner and the duster, and grabbing the vacuum before closing the door. I get started on vacuuming the living room, the stairs and all of the other rooms with carpeting around the house, dusting the rooms beforehand. For the rooms with the fake hardwood floors, I quickly dust before mopping the floors, those rooms including the dining room and the kitchen, where I finish up. I dump the water out the bucket in the kitchen sink and then dash off to the cleaning closet, dropping everything off.

Coming back into the kitchen, I clean my hands and get to work on one of my final chores of the night, cooking dinner. I grab the pasta pot and get it filled with water as I grab the multiple boxes of Penne pasta from the pantry. Once it is done being filled, I place it on the stove, setting the stove’s large front burner on high so that boiling will happen faster. I grab a few pounds of tomatoes, knowing that I will need a lot for the whole pack. It will take me two hours to get all of the food done and ready for dinner.

***

TWO HOURS LATER

All of the baked pastas are done in the oven, having a crust of shaved Parmesan on the bottoms and sides. I bring all of them to the island, allowing them to cool as I heat up some of the bread that I made at the beginning of the week to go with the saucy dish. While the bread is in the oven, I go ahead and grab the larger serving tray and pot holders, getting two of the twenty-five non-stick baking pans on the large metal serving platter. I grab twenty-five bowls for the bread, placing them down on the counter as I grab another cutting board.

Pulling one bread loaf out of the oven at a time and cutting it takes about fifteen minutes in total. Separating the bread into the twenty-five bowls, I make sure that they all have the exact same amount before grabbing five and taking them to the serving board. I notice that I can fit three more baking pans so I make sure that they are all secure before picking up the heavy tray and exit the kitchen and enter the dining room.

No one is there yet, so I get the tables set up with all of the food and silverware, going back and forth between the dining room and kitchen. In the kitchen, after placing everything that I need to, including drinks, I press a button that is in the wall, connecting to every room in the pack house, signaling that food is ready. Not even a second after the signal for food ends, a stampede of feet meets my ears. I turn back to the counter to see that there is a piece of a loaf of bread left, having not fit in any of the bowls of bread. I go over to it, feeling my stomach start to growl at the fact I haven’t eaten at all today or yesterday.

I take a small bite of the bread, softly moaning at the taste of the warm bread when I feel my head be grabbed from behind and slammed into the counter. I let out a yelp as the bread falls from my hand and to the floor. I get yanked back and see it is Alpha Powell.

“Did I say that you could eat, dammit?” he seethes. I shake my head ‘no’, knowing that I’m in for it now. “That is what I thought. As punishment, you will be having no food for a week, only a minimal amount of water, enough to keep you alive. Do I make myself clear, b*tch?”

“Y-yes, A-Alpha,” I whimper out, the pain from my forehead and scalp combining and my head feeling fuzzy.

“Good,” he drops me to the ground, kicking me as he leaves the room. “The meeting is in ten minutes. Be there or your punishment will get worse.” He smirks at me before saying, “Much worse.”

I scramble to my feet, rushing to the dining room to get all of the dirty dishes gathered and put into the kitchen, where it will wait for after the pack meeting to all be cleaned. I rush to the meeting hall, only to see that all of the chairs are taken and there is only a small space left available, a corner in the very back of the room. Seeing as I am the last one to enter, Alpha Powell is already explaining what is going on.

“The Vampire King has invited us and other packs and covens, as well as humans, to the castle,” he informs everyone. “There will be a Royal Ball held in a week. All of us have to attend. There is a possibility that the king is looking for his mate, and if they are a part of this pack we will have power over all of the other packs.”

“Don’t the other packs and covens hate us?” a male voice calls out.

“Yes,” the Alpha agrees. “But if one of our pack members is even remotely a possible mate to him, we will gain power over all of the packs. No one will question our authority. I will be king of the werewolves.”

I hear cheers coming from all around me, happy to be in a position of power. I feel a presence beside me, causing me to look at them from the corner of my eye. An older male figure is standing beside me, a frown on his aged face.

“I heard about your punishment, dear,” he says, his voice soft so no one hears except for me. “Are you going to be okay?”

I smile endearingly at the man, knowing he means well. “Yes, Grandpa,” I tell him. “I didn’t even watch my surroundings before I did it. I will be fine, don’t worry. I have been through worse.”

“I know you have,” he sighs. He looks at me, his eyes reminding me of my mom. “It still doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t worry. I would be a bad grandfather if I didn’t worry.”

“Thank you, Grandpa,” I softly smile at him, unshed tears in both of our eyes.

“Get some sleep, Rose,” he speaks, turning away as people start to leave. “You will be having a lot of chores for the next few days. I will drop one of your mother’s old dresses off for you tomorrow. Maybe you can make it your own. I love you, my little moon.”

“Thank you,” I smile before turning away and heading to my room in the basement. “I love you too, Grandpa.”