Page 3 of Alpha's Embrace
It helped. For a little while, at least.
I read to him all afternoon and when I last peered through the hole I saw him curled up, his arms wrapped around himself, his wild dark eyes closed. His thin chest rose and fell. He’d fallen asleep.
And just in time, for I could hear the footsteps in the long hall. My servants were coming to take me to survey my realm.
Chapter Two
Geo
I’d only had my new job for two weeks and already my to-do list was piled high. How such a small institution could be fraught with so many problems mystified me.
My predecessor had been chief of staff here at Lakeside Colony for sixty years. It was obvious in his older years he’d let a lot of things slide. He’d been one hundred and seventy five when he left, long past retirement age. I wasn’t entirely sure why he stayed on.
I was thirty, extremely young for such an appointment, but this colony was small, with only fifty-nine patients, all Sylphs, and out in the boonies. I was qualified as far as running a staff was concerned, but I didn’t fit the protocols. I figured I got the job because, simply, no one else wanted it.
Looking over my daily to-do list, I sighed. I rang my assistant, Tory.
Tory came in with a put-out look and an Alpha’s arrogance, as if I’d interrupted him from something important. He was older than I, and he’d been here ten years. So far we were stepping softly around each other, wary.
“I’d like to go over a few things with you.”
“Do I need to take notes?” he asked. His face was hard, unreadable.
“No. Just sit.”
He came in and closed the door.
I began to rattle off some things on the list I thought should have been taken care of by now.
“Why is that scum-infested pond out back not yet filled in and replanted with grass?” I asked. “There was an order for it over a year ago.”
“There was a hold up,” he replied. “I think it had to do with a permit.”
“You think that’s what it was? Or do you know?”
“It was turned over to the township last spring. They have been taking their time getting back to us.”
“All right, then.” My gaze trailed down the list. “What about the new beds. I see here fifty new ones are on back order, but that’s been for six months. What happened?”
“Ah, we ordered those when we had a lice outbreak, but it turned out to be nothing. The patients really don’t come into contact with each other, so it was contained. To be safe, we disinfected all the rooms, bleached the mattresses, and sprayed the patients. Problem solved. The money was allotted for other things, I guess.”
“You guess?”
He nodded, looking bored.
I rattled off more problems and Tory had some trumped up excuse for them all. Broken windows never replaced. A part of the fence falling down in the back lot. A roof leak. Insufficient dumpsters for the amount of garbage the colony put out so that they were always overflowing, attracting flies, mice and rats.
From the outside, the place looked old but fairly all right. Inside, everything was ancient, but kept clean. However, looking over these papers and lists, honestly, it was a dump. I had my work cut out for me.
I understood the budgetary problems from day one. We had government subsidies and grants that kept the place running, but it was expensive, especially the in house clinic which operated like a full-on hospital. Some of the patients had extreme needs and required round the clock nursing. The majority were infants or children under twelve. The staff was large to manage their care and that cost money. When patients died and beds opened up, more patients were assigned to us. Some years we were filled to capacity. Other years the colony grew quieter.
I had three Alpha doctors full time, a full staff of Alpha nurses and Alpha guards. I had a smaller staff of Omega cooks, janitors and secretaries to keep the place running smoothly. Everyone I employed was required to be mate-bonded which diminished the lure of the Sylphs, and the urge to give in to the older ones’ seductive tendencies.
Misconduct remained at a minimum and our record cleanly showed that.
But I, as chief of staff, remained unbonded. It was completely outside protocol for working around Sylphs. But no one seemed to care. They had needed a new chief of staff and needed him now.
I had almost turned down the job because of that. It wasn’t that I had loose morals or would ever take advantage of anyone who could not legally consent, but if a mate-bond was required by everyone in the institution, then I should have been bound by those same rules.
