Olivera's POV:
"Have a seat." The man called Nick, said to me as he sat on a stool close to the wall opposite me.
I obliged, and took a seat on one of the sofas in his sitting room, mainly because he looked and sounded kind.
But I wasn't stupid to think that every member of this evil pack was the same. After all, their alpha was evil himself.
"How did you come here?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.
I paused before answering his question, knowing that he was expecting a narrative on how I had managed to find myself in the wrong pack at the wrong time, that is if any time was right.
"Our pack was attacked. I was escaping with my best friend when we were hijacked by members of your pack. End of story." I said, picking up to courage to look at him, since he was the only person in this pack, apart from Leonard, interested in knowing about me; not that I have met a lot of people here though.
When I had been coming with my taskmaster, Rose, we had walked through the other side of the field, through a narrow path flanked by bushes on either side, which had led us into another wide field, but this time, occupied with houses and gardens. It was beautiful, like a little city.
I had known it was the residential area.
But I hadn't seen anybody as I had trudged alongside my taskmaster. Perhaps, because it was still morning.
"Okay. I guess it's fate." He said, and I scoffed before I could stop myself.
"I'm sorry." I apologized immediately, bowing all the way; at the same time, cursing my mouth for being too impulsive.
"It's alright. I can understand your feelings. My pack isn't known for the best things. But I just hope you would have a tight rein on your mouth when you're amidst my pack members. They can be quite...well... troublesome." He said with a shrug, as he stared at me with pity-filled eyes.
"I will remember and ensure to do that," I promised, before shifting my gaze from him to the interior decor of the room.
There were pictures of plants and herbs on charts that were hung on the wall.
There were plants in vases and containers.
There was green everywhere.
"Are you a botanist?" I asked, as my eyes rested on the plant with yellow flowers in a vase on the center table.
"You can call me that." He said, before standing up and walking into the passageway.
**
I crossed and uncrossed my legs for the umpteenth time as I waited for Mr. Nick. I wasn't with a watch, but I was sure that I had already spent ten minutes or more waiting for him.
Where had he gone to?
Feeling quite uncomfortable with sitting down, as my gown seemed to have drawn up the more, exposing the entirety of my thighs, I stood up from the sofa, and with a steady gait, walked towards the window.
From the window, I could see some guys lifting weights and training in a field, some kilometers away.
The training grounds. I thought, allowing my eyes to strain and watch.
The guys were shirtless, only wearing combat shorts.
Their muscles rippled as they lifted the weights, and I fanned myself as if to quell the hotness of what I was seeing. The guys were so hot. But Jeremy was hotter. I thought, smiling sheepishly.
"I didn't know you had a thing for shirtless guys."
I heard a voice behind me and swiveled around at a great speed, exceedingly disturbed at being caught gawking at guys.
I bent my head low, as I felt my cheeks redden out of embarrassment.
"Hey... don't get so discomforted about it. You girls are all the same. Who wouldn't gawk at such finesse in men?" I heard Nick say and lifted my head in time to catch him winking at me.
What the hell! I shrieked in my mind.
Is he gay?
"I'm not gay for god sake. I'm just appreciating good things like you are." He said, with a smile, as if he knew my thoughts.
"Come and eat. It is not the best egg sauce. But it is something. I know you haven't eaten a thing today, so, manage this. When you're done, we can get to work." He said, pointing at the tray which I was just noticing, before walking back into the passageway, before I could mutter a thank you.
All those time I had spent waiting, he had been preparing something for me?
I thought and blinked back tears, as I ruminated on his kind gesture.
I had already removed my mind off food till the end of the day, had already commissioned my stomach to fast, and now this.
I smiled, as I walked toward the table, not bothering to wipe off the tears in my eyes.
I sniffled, as I bent and picked up a slice of bread from the plate, before taking up a spoon and scooping some egg from the bowl, and layering it on the bread.
A bite from that, had me humming in pleasure.
And for a minute, just that moment, I thought that perhaps the slave work wouldn't be as stressful to me as I had thought. Perhaps, I would be stationed in homes that were as kind as Nick.
Dropping down on the stool, I thought of Jeremy and felt sad. I wished I could get some of this to him.
I had eaten more two slices of bread when I heard a sharp knock on the door.
I hesitated, waiting for Mr. Nick to get the door himself.
I wasn't sure if it was okay for a slave to do so.
But he didn't come.
The knock came again, and again, and again.
And then a loud shout followed after it.
"Doc Nick!!"
Immediately, Mr. Nick rushed out of the passageway and moved hurriedly to the door.
I heard a woman crying as he opened the door.
"My child… my child..." She kept on muttering, as she came inside the sitting room, and sat on one of the sofas.
"I'm coming now. Let me get my bag." Nick said to her, before rushing past me into the passageway.
And as I watched the weeping woman, my eating suspended, all I could think of was that I had been communicating with the Pack's doctor all this while.