IN FULL COLOUR - Dark Fantasy

Axel

I paid no attention to the Beta as he walked away. Instead, I took my time surveying the new faces around me.

Some of them looked quite surprised that I had decided to join them but the bulky warrior next to me quickly introduced himself and everyone went back to their breakfast.

“Jarryd,” he had simply said.

“Axel.”

“I am Molly,” a friendly female said from the other side of the table, “and this is Beast,” she said, patting the guy’s chest on whose lap she was perched.

He swallowed the food in his mouth and held out a hand for me to shake. The female and male were complete opposites. The man had black, unruly, spiky hair with numerous piercings sticking out of his face.

I shook his hand and nodded a hello to his female. She had bottle-blonde, shortish hair, and a bright floral-print dress, adorned with loads of colourful bangles and two long beaded necklaces around her throat.

I could see the faint white markings of claiming marks on both of their necks, indicating that they were probably mates.

Molly went about introducing wolves around the table, but there would be no way I would remember all of their names. Just as she finished, a she-wolf placed a plate full of food in front of me and left as quickly as she had appeared.

Confusion must have shown on my face because Jarryd started chuckling again, “it’s yours. Eat.”

The wonderful plate of food was stacked to the brim with sausages, scrambled eggs, bacon bits and grilled mushrooms. Thinking back to the last meal I had, which consisted of dry bread and a weird tasting green thing, my stomach growled.

“How do they know what to bring out?” I found myself asking as I took the first bite of salty goodness.

“Everyone gets the same,” Jarryd said with a shrug, picking up his steaming cup of coffee and taking a sip, “though the girls get slightly smaller portions.”

“Yeah, everyone except for the VIP-clan,” Beast interjected.

My eyes met with his as a hot cup of coffee was placed in front of me by another she-wolf wearing a white apron.

“What?”

Jarryd growled at Beast, but he paid him no attention and carried on. “The Alpha’s household and other high-ranking wolves,” he explained, gesturing to a table over his right shoulder.

As I looked past him, my eyes met with the back of Gabrielle’s head. She was sitting a few tables away with the Beta, Delta, and a few more wolves I hadn’t been introduced to. To her left, sat the redhead who had helped me yesterday. She was talking happily with Gabrielle while they ate and the men around their table were chatting with each other. All, but the Beta, who looked extremely interested in something the girls were saying. He was leaning towards them and practically purred as Gabrielle spoke and gestured with her hands in the air.

Had he actually expected me to sit at their table? With HER mere feet away from me?

By Gabrielle’s feet lay a large grey and white wolf, curled up protectively around her legs. The wolf was sleeping peacefully throughout the chatter, but I felt no peace within me. I have never witnessed such a thing before. Why would someone choose to stay in their animal form and isolate themselves in such a way? Especially during breakfast? Or were they forced to do so? Maybe as some sort of punishment or sign of devotion? More likely, the person was her slave or handmaid. A bodyguard under strict instructions from her father even?

Whatever the reason was, I did not like the beast curled around her feet like that. It seemed way too intimate and definitely said something about their relationship.

I couldn’t tell if it was a male or female since my wolf had taken my sensitive sense of smell along with him when he decided to retreat into the back of my mind. But, whichever it was, I did not like it one bit.

“You should get into that crowd if you want something else to eat,” Beast said.

His mate immediately smacked him on the shoulder.

“So insensitive,” she hissed under her breath.

“Whaaat?” He asked, drawing out the sound and rubbing his shoulder dramatically.

“Can’t you see he is trying to avoid her?” Molly whispered although everyone around the table heard and snapped their faces towards me.

“For goodness’ sake,” I grumbled and pressed my index finger and thumb to my forehead.

Jarryd chuckled huskily again, obviously very amused by my discomfort.

It appears everyone knew what a mess I had made of my personal life AND found it immensely entertaining.

“Welcome to Dire Mountain,” Jarryd said sarcastically and shoved another heap of food into his mouth.