[Avira]
After pushing the door a few more times, and getting no response, the Beta left, and soon I began to hear my name in a not-too-far distance.
I heaved a sigh, and sat on the low stool in the kitchen. The smoke from the steamy cup seemed to be inviting me for a continuation, and so did the slice of bread that was left.
I took a big bite of the slice, and emptied the cup in my mouth. It was not as hot as it was before the Beta had come calling but it was still hot, hot enough to burn my throat alittle.
I made fire, having been energized by the bread and steamy tea, and placed the big pot which contained herbs on it. It was for the Beta, and I knew exactly what the herbs were for, even though I was not supposed to know.
I stepped out of the kitchen afterwards, to answer the Beta after rinsing my mouth out with fresh water. I found him at the front of his room, looking relaxed. Too relaxed in fact for someone who had tried to open the kitchen door by pushing it only a few minutes ago.
"I heard you calling," I said with all innocence when I got close to him. He looked at me closely, his face grim, and his teeth clenched. Now this was the expression I was expecting to see in his face.
"Are you done with the chores?" He asked. His voice and attention seemed distant, like he was thinking about by something else.
"I'm yet to make lunch, and I'm yet to to clean the rooms." I replied. Whatever it was that made him distracted was not my business. He waved, and I took his dismissal clue and went back to the kitchen, wondering why he had actually called me. It definitely wasn't to ask about chores. Since when did he care?
I fetched herb water from the big pot which was now steaming on the fire, and took it to the Beta. Just when I stretched the cup to him, I realized my mistake.
"Stupid girl," he barked. "What the fuck were you thinking, bringing this to me before noon? Do you want the Alpha's curse to fall upon me?" He asked, and I faced down. It was really stupid of me to forget. Really, what was I thinking? Noon was over three hours away, how could I not remember that?
I turned back to return to the kitchen with the steamy cup still in my hand but his voice stopped me.
"And where are you going with that?
He thundered, and I sighed. Really, what is wrong with me today? Or did I eat too much for breakfast?
I poured the herb water away, and continued my walk back to the kitchen. I could feel the beta's eyes boring into my back but I did not turn to look at him.
Back in the kitchen, I brought down the pot, and since I had over three hours before noon, cleaning out the rooms now didn't sound like a bad idea.
I started with the empty rooms, the rooms no one occupied, three in all. It was in wreck, every last one of them, like it was each day since the past two weeks. Also there was the awful smell of a wolf which was supposed to scare the wits out of me but it didn't. I have seen worse, I mean worst.
The smell of a wolf in the room meant that the Beta had shifted last night again without the presence of a full moon. It had rained heavily last night, and there had been no moon, not even a tiny thread appeared in the sky, and yet the Beta had shifted. It was the reason I had to place that big pot full of herbs on the fire, and serve him the steamy herb water each day.
I swept out the debris which consisted of torn pieces of clothes, furs, and several drops of blood. The items in the room was also scattered about, the bed was upturned, and so were the chairs in the room.
Beta Maverick probably didn't know that I understood everything that was going on, he didn't know that I knew of his recently abnormal shifts, but he knew just what would happen to him if Alpha Demian finds out.
I gathered the debris into a big bag, and headed for the next room. The condition of the room was similar to the first which was no surprise at all- furnitures were upturned with pieces of clothes and furs scattered about. There were drops of blood as well but not as much as the first room. Again I put the debris into the same big bag, and headed for the next room.
This third room was the worst of all, covered in wolf's fur and blood. He must have become really violent and got himself wounded, I thought as I swept out the debris. It took me thrice the time I used for the other rooms to get this one clean. It was a total wreck.
I added the debris from the third room to the ones in the big bag, and kept the bag under the Beta's rocking chair for proper disposal at night. I could not burn it, the smell of fur will rise with the smoke, and the other members of the pack would easily detect it just by sniffing. I could not bury it either, it would be easily detected during one of the pack's hunt.
I went back to the Beta, ready to clean his personal room, although I doubted that it needed to be cleaned. Whatever was wrong with him, and making him shift abnormally could not have affected his brain. He wouldn't dare shift abnormally in his own room. As the pack's Beta, and next in command to the Alpha, he was accustomed to receiving guests at any time of the day, and he didn't want any member of the pack telling the others or worse, Alpha Demian that his Beta has taken to shifting abnormally.
Just as I predicted, the Beta's bedroom was clean, not a piece of paper needed to be lifted as everything was perfectly in order. A quick look at the clock showed that I still had an hour before it was noon. My room could use some cleaning out, I said heading for my bedroom. But the Beta had a different instruction for me.
"Hurry up, Alpha Demian has asked that we assemble in his palace at exactly noon." Beta Maverick instructed, and I stared in disbelief.
He can't seriously call for an assembly at exactly noon when he's aware that all the other members of the pack have patiently waited for noon to have lunch, since breakfast was forbidden. Well all others except me of course.
But what is so important about this assembly?