With help from Andrew, Kris stayed back waiting from Carmen, Victoria and Baekhyun managed to make one trip with the bags. Before they left the car, Baekhyun had offered the partially smashed food to Kris, and Victoria caught sight of him picking at it all as they left. She was sure as relaxed as he seemed, Kris was fuming and this would not be the last Baekhyun hears of it. Still, she and Baekhyun followed Andrew like ducklings following their mother all the way to the pack house. Andrew, much like his father had done when she first arrived here, told her a bit more about different jobs around the pack that she could try whenever she was ready. Victoria half listened to him, mostly distracted by the clear annoyance shooting through the bond. Whenever she glanced at Baekhyun, the feeling disappeared, only to return again a few moments later. Victoria couldn’t tell what he was so annoyed about, and clearly felt no need to explain. Typical.

“I think mom wanted you to start somewhere easy,” Andrew continued to ramble on. She forced herself to turn back to him and pay attention. Andrew was clearly going out of his way to be helpful, and he was the only member of Baekhyun’s family she felt she knew nothing about. She had had barely a full conversation with the man since they had met, after all. Looked up at the man now, she could see his resemblance to the other siblings. Where the rest of the boys were clean shaven, Andrew seemed to always have stubble covering his jaw, a constant five o’clock shadow. He was tall and broad like Tanner, where Baekhyun and Chanyeol were both lean. In the human world, she was sure Andrew would have been a male model with his chiseled jaw and pearly white smile. His eyes were light, like Julia’s, a spitting image of her’s, actually. “Whenever you’re feeling up to it, she wants to take you down to the warehouse to meet some of the ladies. I never liked going. They all baby you, so be ready for that.”

“Good to know,” she smiled up at him, which he returned. They had reached the pack house by now, and Andrew led them down a hallway Victoria hadn’t seen before. They passed multiple doors on the way, each marked with someone’s name or a number. As they passed, a few were open, giving Victoria a view inside. In one, an elderly man saat in a rocking chair, looking out his window into the trees. Next to him was a little boy, no older than ten, peering out the window and giggling. She felt a gentle shove in her back, and Victoria realized she had stopped walking to watch the pair.

Facing the front again, she jogged a bit to catch up with Andrew who disappeared into a room. Victoria stepped in behind him, her eyes darting around the room. The room was about the size of her old room at her house, not too big or small, but enough space to fit comfortably. “Amber picked it all out,” Andrew spoke as he set the bags he had been carrying down next to the dresser. “So if you don’t like it, it’s her fault.”

“No, this is great,” Victoria smiled as she set her things down as well and took in the room. The walls were all an off white aside from the one the bed sat against being a darker gray to match the sheets. The bed was huge, bigger than her old one back home and littered with pillows in different shades of gray. The dresser was dark wood that matched the desk building into the wall in the far corner. A TV was mounted on the wall across from the bed, with a small thin table beneath it. Next to that was a dark wood door she assumed led into the bathroom and closet. “I.. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Andrew smiled at her. “I’ll let you get settled. Mom wants you to come over in the morning after you get some rest.”

Victoria nodded, and Andrew left, leaving her alone with Baekhyun again. Victoria opened the door near the TV, which did indeed lead into a bathroom. There was a jet bathtub against the wall, with a walk in shower in the corner, but her attention was drawn to the sinks. Or, the fact that there were two of them in front of a large mirror. Was Baekhyun staying here too? Why go through the trouble of all of this if they were expected to stay together? His room was kind of small for two people, but if they really wanted them to-

“No, I’m not staying here,” Baekhyun’s voice behind her cut off her train of thought. Victoria bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from fussing at him again for listening to her thoughts. “And they aren’t expecting anything. All of the rooms in the pack house have bathrooms like this. The closets right there, and it’s gonna be split in two sides.”

Opening the other door in the bathroom revealed he was right. The closet was clearly split into two sides, a his and hers. “I could have just slept on the couch..”

She heard Baekhyun chuckle behind her and turned to watch him walking out of the bathroom. “Yeah, cause mom would allow that, right?” Victoria followed him out into the bedroom again, and she took another look around as he spoke. “She would make you stay with me, and you hog all the blankets.”

“I do not,” she scoffed at him, which he just laughed.

“Sure you don’t.” It was quiet between them a moment, Victoria looking anywhere but at him, and Baekhyun doing the same. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but he clearly wanted to say something hence him lingering. Two days ago he would have dropped the bags on the floor and left, if he even brought them to the room for her, but now… Now it was strange. Victoria had grown so used to his off putting behavior, now that he was here, clearly wanted her to say something or wanting to say something himself, she wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of them avoiding each other’s gaze, Baekhyun spoke up. “I’ll, uh, let you get settled then…”

He trailed off a moment, before muttering a ‘yep’ to himself and walking out the door, closing it behind himself. Victoria stared after him before flopping down on the mattress. A large part of her wished she had never found out about all of this, then she continued her friendly hate-off with him in passing. That wasn’t an option anymore, it was too late. She knew, now, why she had been drawn to him, and she knew what he was, what she too had become. Although she agreed to try to be with him, it felt so forced. Victoria wanted to believe his oh so secret emotions for her were positive, why else would he want to try this? But above that, she felt differently. He hated her, and this trying wasn’t for him. It wasn’t because he wanted it. He was trying because he was supposed to. She was his mate, and Victoria knew he didn’t want her as much as he tried to tell himself he did, it was all his wolf. It all felt forced because it was, because it is.

Staring down at her lap as she thought, Victoria could feel her wolf whining in her chest. She didn’t want to believe it anymore than Victoria did, but nothing else made sense. How could you push away someone you loved? She understood before, in school. He was afraid for his family, but it was too late. That first attack made it too late. How could he be so hateful to her after that? She could never do that to someone she loved, but then again, she had no one left to love but him. Baekhyun was all she had left. Even if he hated her, what would she do without him? Where could she go?

A knock on her door made her jump, a soft gasp leaving . Victoria stood and sniffled, she wiped the tears she didn’t realize had fallen from her cheeks as she walked over and pulled the door open. In front of her stood Julia and Amber, smiled wide at her. Victoria mimicked the smile and stepped aside as Amber pushed her way in. She didn’t miss the look in Julia’s eyes, but didn’t acknowledge it.

“So? Vicky likey?” Amber hopped onto the bed and gestured to the room. She was clearly proud of her work.

“Oh, yeah! It’s great,” Victoria nodded quickly and smiled. “You really didn’t have to go to the trouble.”

Amber waved her off and slide from the bed, beginning to dig in the bags Victoria had yet to touch. “It was nothing, you should what I went through with Susan’s room after she left. Total remodel, took me days by myself. Oh, this is cute.” She pulled out one of the sundresses Victoria had gotten and shook out  the glass pieces. “You’ve gotta let me borrow it sometime.”

“Knock yourself out.”

“Do you need a hand putting all this away?” Julia looked down at the pile of bags on the floor that Amber was pulling things out of already.

Victoria nodded with a relieved breath, making Julia smile. The last thing she wanted was to be left alone right now. Just stewing in her thoughts was not having positive effects on her mood. Her life had fallen apart, and everything was moving around her too fast for her to even glance at the piece left behind. All she could do was take it all as it came and ignore the panic in the back of her mind. Julia took a seat on the bed that Amber previously occupied and began folding of hanging things Amber tossed over her shoulder as she dug.

Sitting down on the wooden floor next to Amber, Victoria began pulling out the clothes as well. Hours went by like this, the two women making small talk as they helped her put her new things away. Amber had made a pile of things she wanted to borrow, only putting it away towards the end. At one point, Amber held up at pair of red fleece boxers and giggled. “Please tell me these are for you?”

Looking over the underwear, Victoria giggled as well. “No, I was teasing Baekhyun with them in the store,” Victoria explained. Amber tossed them at her, and she folded them and set them aside.

“You have got to make him wear them,” Amber laughed as she went back to her work. “Make him go like training with them or something. He’ll feel like a total freak.”

“I’m pretty sure no amount of begging will get him into that,” Victoria shook her head.

Amber shook her head as well. “Nah, don’t beg him, bribe him. He’s a tool unless he thinks he’s getting something out of it.”

“What the hell am I supposed to bribe him with?” Victoria chuckled at her, but Amber just raised an eyebrow at her. Victoria felt her face begin to flush at that look, and looked to Julia who was clearly not going to help her. “What? No. I don’t… No, Amber.”

“I didn’t say,” the girl laughed and raised her hands in defense. “You came up with that all on your own.”

Looking away from the two of them, Victoria didn’t know what to say and chose to bury herself in folding and putting away her things. Once most of the clothes were away, Julia determined it was late and Victoria should rest. She and Amber helped ut away what they had gone through, and left her alone again after a short good night. Looking around the dimly lit room, Victoria sighed and grabbed a few things for a quick shower before bed.

The water warmed her skin, ridding her of the sweat and ache that remained in her bones from shifting, which to her, felt like happened days ago. Her days felt incredibly long lately, and she wasn’t happy with why. Pushing the thoughts away, Victoria focused instead on the water beating down on her sore body. The heat helped her muscles relax a bit, and the bathroom quickly began to fill with steam until she finally shut off the water.

She dress quickly and stared at the slice on her upper arm. It was healing well, but she missed the time she had with Baekhyun patching her up. It was the only time he was actually gentle with her, and even though most of the time he drove her up a wall and made her question everything about herself, there were still times she looked at him and her heart skipped a beat. Times she was glad he was around when she needed him. Victoria was sure she would be long dead if not for Baekhyun getting between her and the rogues.

The rogues… Why were they after her? She had thought it was an unlucky coincidence, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed less and less likely. Kris had scared them off before… why was that rogue in the woods? Why did one attack her in the water? More questions began to unravel around her head as Victoria made her way to bed. The exhaustion hit her as soon as her head fell against the pillow, and she was out cold.

The next morning Victoria went to Baekhyun’s house, not really looking for him, but still disappointed he wasn’t there. That day she spent with Julia and Amber at the warehouse. There were another six women there, all much older than they appeared and, just as Andrew warned, treated her as a fragile child. They didn’t allow her to help much, but still offered company as the day went on. Victoria tried to avoid asking where Baekhyun was all day, but when she sat at the island in his house and Tanner and Andrew came in before him, she finally asked.

“He went off for a few days,” Tanner told her, carefully choosing his words.

“Where?” Victoria asked. She could feel anger bubbling up in her already and did all she could to not make it evident on her face. He left? For a few days? After all the he told her yesterday about not leaving her side, he was just gone?

“He wanted to get something,” Tanner said simply. “He asked us not to tell you what is was or where he went.”

The conversation was dropped after that, Tanner going off to change before dinner. Victoria held in her fury, but pushed it through the bond as hard as she could. She didn’t know if there was a range on this bond thing, but she hoped he would know she was not happy with this.

After dinner, Victoria excused herself and headed to her room at the pack house. She had so many questions, and he was supposed to teach her. He promised to teach her, but he was just gone. Baekhyun left her here, alone, or at least, she felt alone. It was different throughout the day, thinking he was somewhere close by if she needed him, but he wasn’t. What if the rogues came back? She knew his family would protect her, but that wasn’t the same. They didn’t have an alarm system when she was in trouble, but he did.

Victoria did not sleep well that night. She tossed and turned, and any sleep she got was interrupted by the night in the field. The sun rose too quickly, shining in her window as she watched it, wide awake as she had been for hours. This day was the same as the one before. Victoria met Amber and Julia that morning, but she didn’t ask for Baekhyun this time. She went with them to the warehouse, and greeted the women. They taught her more today, and let her help them count the batches and ensure everything had come in. As they left, one woman, the one in charge as far as Victoria could tell, excitedly told her tomorrow would be deliveries. Victoria helped Julia cook dinner that night, Amber went out with her friends. Victoria was invited to go, but was not interested in clubs. That night, at dinner, there was still no sign of Baekhyun.

Unable to resist any longer, Victoria asked, “When will he be back?”

No one needed further information on who she asked about, and Chanyeol chuckled next to her. “What, someone misses their mate?”

No, she didn’t really miss him, Victoria told herself. “He was supposed to be teaching me, not running off.”

Julia gave her a soft and sad smile. “He will be back in a few days, I’m sure he’s going as fast as he can.”

“Where did he go?”

Again, silence was her answer, and Victoria inwardly groaned at this. No one was going to tell her where he went or when he would be back. “Has anyone spoken to him since he left?” she asked instead. Chanyeol mumbled something about her being a worried mate, but she ignored it.

“No, but I’m sure he’s fine, Victoria,” Tanner gave her a single nod. “You would know if he was hurt or in danger. Do you feel like he’s in trouble?”

Victoria thought about that for a moment. She didn’t feel anything from the bond, if that was what he meant, so she shook her head. Tanner gave her another nod, and dinner continued. That night, Victoria still had trouble getting sleep. She recalled what Chanyeol told her days ago about mates not sleeping well apart, and she wondered if Baekhyun was losing sleep as well.

On day three, Victoria had the same day. She had breakfast with Julia after meeting Amber in the pack house who was picking up bacon. They all walked to the warehouse together. Work began immediately, with little time to greet each other. Different men Victoria didn’t know came in with carts and boxes. They were the delivery men, according to Amber, who was ogling one of them. Victoria could admit they were attractive, but she was too tired to be interested in boy watching. She and Amber helped the boys load the carts with boxes of food and Amber told them where each cart would be delivered to. There were too many to finish in one day, and the sun was setting. Victoria followed Julia and Amber sluggishly back to their house. Julia announced it was a “fend for yourself” kind of night, as she was much too tired to cook.

Amber, Chanyeol, and Victoria settled on cereal, while Andrew and Tanner had left over lasagna from the night before. Julia made herself a few packs of grits and broken scrambled eggs into it. Chanyeol referred to it as breakfast night, since most of them had decided to do breakfast foods. Halfway through dinner, which Victoria had tried to enjoy more than the other nights, her wolf stirred in her chest. Victoria froze a moment, trying to understand what her wolf was anticipating, when the front door opened. Her head popped up, as did everyone else around, as a familiar head of cherry hair stepped around thee corner.

“What’s for dinner?” He asked, grinning at them all. His eyes landed on Victoria and lingered a moment before he turned to respond to something someone else had said. Victoria tuned them all out as she looked him over. From head to toe, he was filthy, his skin was caked in dirt and his clothes were wet and torn in some places. His normally bright hair was dull from dust, and some spots clumped together with packed in muck.

She wasn’t the only one to notice. “Baekhyun! You go clean up right now! Don’t you even think of touching or sitting anywhere!” Julia began scolding her son as he went to pull out the chair across from her at the island. He waved her off, but complied, turning and heading up the stairs no doubt to his room.

Victoria hadn’t realized she had been staring after him until she felt an elbow to her side. Her eyes turned to Chanyeol, who nodded at the staircase. “Go on. Go yell at him like we know you’re gonna.” He and Amber chuckled at his comment, but Victoria didn’t care as she stood up and headed for the steps.