Chapter Six

Chapter 

Olive. 

For three days I have avoided the alpha. Wherever he was, i made sure to avoid him and not be there or cross paths at all. His home was so large that smile had been able to do that, and i noticed several rooms he never seemed to venture in and spent most of my time there. The first was the kitchen, which became my new best friend. Again, that was kind of weird as the kitchen was once my enemy.

In my previous pack, i had been banned from using the kitchen at all. My own father ordered me to be away from it, and i hadn’t been allowed to fix myself a snack, let alone cook. Several of the pack members here had held their hands up, giving me the room for me to do what i liked in there.

Since I had started cooking, I had made friends. They had come in to greet me, and a couple of the men had sunk to their knees saying they were not worthy and asked if i could cook all the time.

The bell on the alarm by the oven rang, and i pulled open the door, the scent of cinnamon raisin cookies filling the air.

It had been years since I had baked one, or tried one. 

My mouth was watering so badly. I had already made myself a cup of coffee.

Placing the cookies on the countertop, i prepared the cooling trays, and after a few minutes began to transfer the cookies. Once that was all done, i placed the baking trays on the counter near the sink, took a seat, held a cookie, and tasted it.

I closed my eyes as the flavor exploded on my tongue, and i let out a little moan.

“I like that sound.” i squeaked, coughing out the cookie in my mouth. I quickly swallowed and patted my chest as i did.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was a private thing,” Alex said from the door way. 

“You have never come to the kitchen.” i said in a low tone. 

“I have never smelled oatmeal raisin cookies before.” He moved towards the counter where the cookies rested. He picked one up and took a bite.

I watched him close his eyes and savor the bite. “They are fucking fantastic,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. You baked these? They were not out of a package?” he asked surprised. 

“No. Carl told me they purchased all the stuff to bake, but no one ever got around to it. They kept throwing out the old baking stuff and restocking the shelves. I figured it was okay to use it up. It’s kind of a waste otherwise.”

He took a second one. “Can I have a cup?” He pointed towards the coffeepot, and i laughed.

“Of course. It’s all yours.” I sipped my coffee.

Alex joined me, placing a cookie besides me. “I didn’t mean to spoil your enjoyment of a cookie.” He said with a grin. 

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not, and you should stop taking crap. Accept an apology when you are due one. Even better, demand one.” His voice snapped each word at me, and i nodded, taking it.

“Thank you.”

“Good. You have been avoiding me.” i didn’t even try to deny it. I couldn’t.

“I don’t accept you trying to hide from me. You have got to learn to handle your strength, and if you can’t show me your best, then this pack is not for you.”

My heart began to pound. “I don’t want to leave.”

“It would be difficult to get rid of you. I have heard the pack talking. Your food over the past three days has won them over. Some of the women are not happy, but don’t take shit from them. I don’t accept it. Learn to stick up for yourself, understood?”

“Yes.”

“I have really enjoyed the food as well.”

“You have?”

“Yes. I have not had good home cooking like that since my mother was alive.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

“What if you can’t control me?” i asked.

“What?”

“If I go feral or if you can’t control me, and I can’t be brought back. What … how … I don’t want to die.”

He nodded. “Follow me.”

When i saw that he picked up his coffee, i followed him, eating my cookie as i did. We moved towards the gym, and i noticed a door that I had previously assumed led to a storage room. It didn’t.

Alex opened the door, switching on the light and allowing me to enter. The instant we were inside the room, i became aware of the warmth. My wolf moaned against it and seemed to bask in the sudden flush of heat.

He didn’t say anything as we moved down a long, old-fashioned flight of stairs that led to a dungeon.

“You have got a heated dungeon?” i asked surprised. 

“A long time ago I realized that with a lot of wolves who have been hurt and struggle between packs, warmth helps to soothe them. Calming them is always a challenge, but in these rooms, it helps to relax them, to draw them out. The cold only makes them more violent, and their rage is always in full force. Heated rooms are expensive but necessary. When it comes to the pack, I don’t spare any expense.”

He opened one of the doors, and i stepped inside. There was no window, just walls, and as i moved toward the wall, i saw the chains.

They were so thick.

I lifted them up, feeling the weight within them. “You have kept wolves here before?”

“Yes. After sedating them, even when they try to change, the wolves stay shackled to the wall. If they do break free, I have reinforced doors. Everyone will be protected at all costs.”

I felt relief as i stared at the chains and the room. “This is amazing.”

“Thank you. I will protect you,Olive. That I can promise you.”

“I believe you.” i held the chains in my hand, wondering if they could hold me.

“Would you like me to try?” Alex asked.

He stepped towards me, opening one of the chains. My heart once again was racing as he held it there. “Put your hand inside, and you will be able to feel it.”

I placed my hand in the chain, and he snapped it closed, doing the same with the next. Completely chained, i stared down at my hands. The weight was there, and to most pack, that would be enough to keep them still, to not fight. In fact, if i wasn’t so strong, i would have collapsed to the floor just to take the pressure off.

It wasn’t even hard for me to hold the chains up.

“Try and pull free.”

Taking a deep breath, i jerked forward. I kept on pulling the chains, trying to get free. Nothing budged, and u breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how hard i pulled, i wasn’t going to get away.

People were safe, and i wouldn’t hurt anyone. Smiling, i turned toward Alex.

“Feel good?”

“Yes. I feel a little weird that I’m really happy about that.”

“Do you like to cook?” he asked abruptly. 

I frowned. “Yes. It … soothes me.”

“I have really enjoyed the meals you have been cooking. That’s what I want you to do every single day, and to bake for me and the pack.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, that will be your job. From now on, I don’t want you to hide from me. You have got to learn to deal with your anger, and to keep your strength under control.”

“I have never lashed out in anger.”

“You haven’t?”

“It takes a lot for me to do that, and no one has ever been able to do so. I don’t think that will be a problem.”

He stared at me, and i didn’t like the way he did. It was as if he was assessing me, trying to find a weakness.

“You have only lost control during fear?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

He moved toward me, removing the chains that bound me to the wall.

I picked up my coffee that I had placed on the floor as i had looked around the room.

We left the room, and i looked around, seeing at least six rooms.

There was a room beneath the stairs.

“Are all of these rooms for wolves?”

“No. There is one that is my personal room.” He turned toward me.“You don’t get to see that yet.”

The promise in his words made me frown. Why would Alex have a room in the dungeon? And why would he be willing to show it to me?