Page 8 of Bearly Yours
At the end of the meal, I took my dishes to the sink and rinsed them off, making it easier for the person who had dishwashing duty tonight, then I quietly made my way to my alpha’s office.
I was too keyed up to sit in the chair outside his door , so I just stood, looking out over the first-floor living room, trying to keep my thoughts from spinning in useless circles.
Our alpha’s office was on the second level, well away from the normal hustle and bustle of the main parts of the lodge. Also up on this level were Alistair, Mathan, and Mateo’s offices; another smaller kitchen, Alpha Riggs’, Mathan’s, and Mateo’s bedrooms; a second set of laundry facilities; a library, and a conference room, which was rarely used.
The ground-floor held everything else: bedrooms for individuals, and connecting bedrooms for the shifters with families; a game room; a few lounge areas; a living room; a lower laundry room; a den; our huge kitchen; an enclosed sun room; a technology room, loaded with game systems and a huge flatscreen TV for the older teens; and a play room for the younger cubs.
Most of us didn’t live in the Clan lodge. It was used mostly for guests and the alpha, the secretary, and our First and Second. The loudness of the lodge usually got to me after a while, and I liked being able to retreat back to my cozy home and workshop.
I’d only been standing there a few minutes, stewing in my thoughts, when Alpha Riggs’ steady footsteps sounded downthe hall. I couldn’t scent his mood, but that wasn’t unusual. The alpha was always locked down pretty tightly, rarely letting trace emotional scents seep through his control. His ice-blue eyes were warm with affection as he nodded at me and opened his door, ushering me inside with a sweep of his large, callused hand.
His office was huge, with unfinished beams on the vaulted ceiling and a warm honey-brown wooden desk that sat near the middle of the room. His secretary, First and Second met here with him often, and the seating arrangement reflected that. I chose a chair at random and sat down.
Alpha Riggs sat back in his chair and looked at me for a few moments. His gaze seemed to take in the bags under my eyes, my messy hair, which was falling out of its bun, my ratty sweater, and the general air of nausea that I was probably giving off because I was in a meeting with him. He politely refrained from mentioning any of these things.
“How is school going?”
I was taking online classes to be an architect. Unofficially, I already knew a lot on the subject matter because I’d been designing houses and doing carpentry and woodworking since I was a small cub. I’d worked alongside a Clan member who was an architect. He eventually moved when he found his mate. I’d wanted to the get the degree because Moonhaven was tightening down on the requirements for their builders and my Clan needed an on-site architect.
Per the PNW Council, anyone building within Moonhaven Cove’s boundary limits needed to either hire an architect orbean architect, and there was only one architectural firm in town, so they wereconstantlybusy.
“Good, Alpha. I’m just finishing up my Bachelors. I start my Masters next spring.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. When we’re alone I’d rather you just called me Riggs,” he gently reminded me. “The deadline the Council enacted passed this last December, so any further actual building on our Clan property we will need to hire the local firm to do until you get your degree.”
I nodded. “I’ll work hard, Alpha.”
“Just Riggs,” he corrected again gently.
I winced. “Respectfully, Alpha, you’re notjustanything to me, and the title of alpha deserves my respect.” I twisted my hands in my lap in nervousness. “I hope you don’t mind?” I asked gently. “It’s just...it’s how I was raised. To give respect, and to remember to use the correct respectful titles for other beings.”
Alpha Riggs’ glacial blue eyes grew softer. “What about between friends?”
I looked down, fiddling with the hem of my sweater, then sighed and looked back up at him. “I think between friends it’s okay, but only when we’re alone, because I want to give you the full respect you’re due among the rest of the Clan.”
He looked touched for a moment, then he cleared his throat. “Thank you. I know it’s not something you’re used to.”
I shook my head. “But I understand why you like the informality when we’re alone. I get it, I do. I’ll get better at it.”
He nodded his thanks and leaned back in his chair, circling back to his earlier topic. “We’ll still need you for the odd woodworking jobs around here. We’ll always be in need of your expertise.” He smiled and shook his head. “With the way our Clan breaks things, we might need you until the next millennium.” He tapped his fingers on his smooth desktop. “The woodworking, is it still fulfilling to you?”
“Yes. I love what I do. It’s wonderful, especially when people request custom orders from the Pirate’s Chest in town, and I’m able to create something that someone has been dreaming up.It’s fun creating people’s dreams...even though people’s tastes can be a little bit weird.”
I thought of my recent custom order. Someone had asked me to make a headboard and footboard for their queen bed, and they’d wanted vultures as the finials. It had been hideous, but I’d done a good job on it.
Alpha Riggs nodded thoughtfully. And even though this had turned out to be acheck on Emriemeeting, and he was being gentle with his questions, and Iknewhe wouldn’t hurt me, I was still so nervous that my hands were sweating.
Call it nature, call it my more introverted and quiet personality, or the fact that my alpha was huge and his full, direct attention was very intense, call it whatever you wanted, but I would definitely need another shower after this because I was sweating so much my deodorant was having to work overtime.
I eyed the bottle of water on his desk, feeling suddenly as though I’d gone ten rounds with a desert and lost. He handed it over with a small smile, and I guzzled it down gratefully.
Alpha Riggs’ lips curved upward. “I can tell that you’re still nervous. Really, Emrie, there’s no need for nervousness. You’ve been in this Clan your whole life, and I’ve been alpha for several years, and you’ve never given me a moment’s worry. Now, Taco, on the other hand. He’s in trouble every Tuesday.” He smirked, clearly trying to set me at ease.
I had the sudden, crazy urge to laugh, but I didn’t think he’d intended to use the words Taco and Tuesday together in the same sentence that way, so I controlled myself. “Taco is special,” I said instead.
Alpha Riggs sighed. “Let’s go with that descriptor for him.” He smirked. “I, personally have others that I prefer to use for him. But yours is more PG rated, and a lot kinder.”
He then laced his hands together, leaning forward again, and directed the conversation to what had probably been his original query and reason for me being called into his office in the first place. “I’ve heard of a few of the Clan’s attempts to set you up on blind dates. Are you comfortable with that?”
