Lay me Down to Sleep

Chapter 3

  I stay in that field long after I finish my prayers and manage to calm myself. I've never been here before but, it's a peaceful place. The grass is soft and laced with sweet-smelling flowers. I stay there and watch as the sun sets below the horizon and the sky turns black and speckled with stars.
  I don't know what I'm going to do. I hope that maybe I somehow got confused and maybe she isn't my mate. I have been very tired and stressed lately so maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe she isn't the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Maybe her touch didn't make me want to melt. Maybe I don't want to just hold her and spend the rest of my life with her.
  I sigh and drag a hand down my face, I'm so screwed. I met the girl for half a second and I'm practically picking out wedding colors. She's most definitely my mate.
  However, she didn't seem to react to me at all. Does she not know? She might not be a wolf. If she doesn't know then maybe I can hide it from her. Dr. Azur did say she's only staying here for a bit do maybe I can stick it out until then. If I just avoid her she'll never know. I can't help the smile that overtakes my face at this new plan. No one ever has to know.
  Explain why I ran might be a bit difficult though. Maybe I can tell Dr. Azur that I remembered my mother needed something. Dr. Azur has an idea of how demanding my mother can be.
  Oh no, my mother! I shoot up from the grass and run to my house. I'm going to be in deep trouble when I get home.
  I reach my house and dart up the creaky porch steps to unlock the door. Unsurprisingly, I find that it's already open. I step into the house and instantly the scent of vodka evades my senses. I sneak quietly into the living room to see my mother passed out drunk on the couch. I breathe a sigh of relief.
  I grab a blanket from a chest at the end of the couch to drape over. I love my mother despite some of the more terrible things she does.
  I grab a half-empty pint of the liquor from the coffee table and take a long draw. The liquid burns my throat but, it's a burn I've learned to enjoy. I take the bottle up to my room with me to polish it off before bed.
  Waking up the next morning I realize that I forgot to draw my shades before bed. The first rays of the sun are peeking through and giving me a headache. I glance over at my clock to see that it's five-thirty am. I sigh a realize that I have to be at work at six. I slip into my uniform, brush my teeth, and head out the door. My mother is still snoring when I gently ease the door closed behind me.
  I go to the side of our house and get my bike. I get up on the seat and start to pedal off. Gravel crunches under my tires as I go.
  I reach my work in about ten minutes. I step into the building and hear the sounds of the dogs barking. I love my job. I started working at the pound when I was about fifteen years old and I couldn't dream of leaving. I don't much care for my coworkers but, I do love the animals.
  I'm the first one here today so I head to the back to feed the cats and dogs. If I were human I'd never be able to do this all by myself. Toting around a few fifty-pound bags of dog food is trying even for me. Luckily the cats are much easier as they eat less.
  Once I'm done feeding them all I release the dog into our enclose lot and clean out their kennels. The cats are a bit trickier as they don't much like to leave their space so I mostly focus on litter boxes until they decide I'm worthy of cleaning their kennels. Luckily the dogs don't mind the extra playtime.
  Once I finish with the cats I go outside to run around with the dogs for the hour before I have to start setting up the lobby. They bound along happily at my sides and jump all over me as I run with them.
  I dread the time that I have to put them away and focus more on the human aspect of my job but, of course, the time comes. I bring the dogs back in and sort them into their kennels before heading to the lobby to make sure everything is ready for potential adoptive families.
  A couple of my coworkers are already sitting at the front desk mocking me. They never do much of anything here except gossip. I don't blame them though, I am a pretty hot topic and will be for a very long time. The entire pack blames me in part for chasing off the Luna. They're such hypocrites. Now that she's gone everyone pretends that they were so close with her and that it's destroying them on a personal level that she left. Some of them can't even get her name right and call her synonyms of hope. Still, I was more of a catalyst than they were and no one is stupid enough to talk about our loose cannon Alpha, so I have to take the brunt of the abuse while they play saints.
  I sigh and head to the back office to fill out paperwork and get everything organized. At least with them not doing anything, there's plenty of work for me to do so I don't have to show my face.