Chapter 15: Welcome to the Pack

MORANA

Olcan and Lowell were in the living room when Lyall and I arrived home. They both stood up from where they were seated. They seemed to have showered, were clean, and had changed clothes.

"It looks like she survived," Lowell joked, moving towards me, with Olcan right behind him, both smiling.

I was glad they were the first ones I met since they had been in favor of letting me join.

"Yes, both the challenge and Lyall," Olcan teased, making me roll my eyes.

"Her clothes are still intact, so I guess that means Lyall didn’t get his reward," Lowell observed.

Lyall leaned in to whisper in my ear:

"That's their way of saying welcome, get used to it."

"For such a small female, you were impressive," Olcan said, looking proud. "I'd hug you if you weren’t all wet."

"I thought you were a wolf, not a kitten," I teased, raising an eyebrow, making Lowell laugh, while Lyall walked past them shedding his soaked jacket.

"Please, Lyall, tell me we're really keeping her," Lowell joked, stopping by my side and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Don’t worry, I don’t mind the water," he winked at me, his green eyes twinkling with mischief. "Besides, if you need help during your bath..."

"Since you're so eager to help her, Lowell, I guess you won't mind showing our princess where she’ll be staying," Lyall's voice came from the other room.

He returned shortly after, with a glass of water in hand.

"Of course, I don't mind, right, princess?"

"Great. Now everyone's going to pretend I don't have a name," I sighed.

"Let her know where each of our rooms is," Lyall said, handing me the glass. "She won't want to bump into Kallias in the middle of the night."

"Why do I feel like he doesn't like me?" I asked, intrigued.

"Believe me, it's nothing personal, he’s just practical," Lyall explained.

"So, he thinks I'm useless."

"Don’t worry, you proved otherwise today," Olcan said, winking one of his dark eyes at me.

"It's late, and I need a shower too. We'll have a busy day tomorrow. So, good night!" Lyall bid farewell before heading towards the stairs.

"Looks like you wore him out," Lowell whispered in my ear.

"At least I managed to find her," Lyall retorted, from the middle of the stairs.

I drank the water while wondering why he had just left me in Lowell's hands. Maybe he was just as tired as I was.

Every muscle in my body was aching now that the adrenaline rush had passed. I guess I was a bit out of shape, after all.

"Shall we go?" I asked, stretching my neck, hating how the wet clothes clung to my body.

"Come on. I think you’ll be staying on the second floor," Lowell said, leading the way to the stairs.

Olcan approached, taking the glass from my hands.

"You did great today, get some rest," he said, seeming genuinely sincere.

I tried to ignore how charming he was, with his combination of long dark hair, black eyes, and beard. It was becoming more evident how challenging living with all of them would be.

"Thank you. Good night!" I offered a grateful smile before following Lowell up the stairs.

I caught up with him on the first floor, stopping at the beginning of the corridor.

"Olcan, Ivaylo, and I are on this floor. There's a bathroom at the end..." He stopped speaking when Ivaylo emerged from a door at the end of the corridor, wearing just a towel around his waist.

His hair was loose, and his wet chest glistened. His body looked like a mountain of muscles, toned and tanned.

I averted my gaze as he walked towards us, noticing us. I was a bit nervous, remembering that he had been against letting me join.

To my relief, he stopped in front of one of the doors, on the right side of the corridor. Then, he gave me a look from head to toe before nodding.

I nodded back, taking the simple gesture as an acknowledgment. He then turned the doorknob and entered.

"I forgot to mention that you might occasionally run into a shirtless male around the house," Lowell joked.

"Well, I guess I'm willing to make that sacrifice," I said, making him laugh.

"Great, then you probably won’t mind if they aren't wearing pants either," he stated before starting up the second flight of stairs.

No pants?

"What?" I asked, following him.

"Don't worry, Olcan only drinks sometimes," he explained.

"Ah..." I tried not to picture the scene. "So

... It seems Ivaylo also thinks I'm useless."

"No, he’s just reserved, but don’t be fooled."

"What do you mean?"

"It means he's still a male."

What was he implying?

"I'm not sure if I understand," I said but got no reply.

However, I noticed how his lips curved into a smirk before we reached the second-floor corridor, where we stopped.

"Your room will be on the left. Lyall is across the hall on the right, and Kallias is in this one," he pointed to the first door on our right.

Learning that I would have to share the corridor with Kallias made me groan inwardly. It seemed avoiding him would be harder than I thought.

"I bet he’ll be thrilled about that," I said sarcastically.

"He’ll get used to it. After making you suffer a bit, of course," he said, moving forward.

"Suffer? What do you mean?" I asked, following him.

"You’ll find out on your own."

We stopped in front of the door on the left.

"Remember, the bathroom is at the end of the hall," he instructed.

"Wait... Does that mean there's only one bathroom?"

"You can also use the one on the first floor if you want," he said with a suggestive smile.

Great. It seemed the hallway wasn’t the only thing we'd have to share.

"So, do you need anything else?" he asked, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.

His blonde hair shone in the dim corridor light.

"I think not, thanks."

"Are you sure?" He raised a blonde eyebrow suggestively, making me roll my eyes.

"Yes, good night, Lowell," I said, opening the door and stepping inside.

"Good night! Oh, one last thing..." he said, making me stop.

"What?"

"You might want to lock your door, just to be safe."

"Rational, remember?"

"Not always," he winked before turning away.

Closing the door, I leaned against it and took a deep breath, trying to relax. It had been quite a day, and I had a lot to process. But first, I needed a shower and to get out of these damned wet clothes.

*

Standing in front of Lyall’s door, I took a deep breath and knocked before I could change my mind. It was hard not to feel nervous, clad only in a towel.

I heard footsteps from the other side before he finally opened the door.

"Hi?" He said, his expression a mix of surprise and confusion, his eyes quickly scanning my body.

His hair was loose and tousled in a wildly attractive way. I swallowed hard as my gaze dropped to his broad, sun-tanned chest and defined abs, which led into the waistband of his pants.

I cleared my throat, bringing my focus back to his face.

"Hi... sorry to bother you, but, um, I just took a shower and realized I don’t have anything to wear. It would be strange to sleep without... well, could I borrow something to wear until tomorrow?"

He seemed to consider my request for a moment.

"Sure. I'll see what might fit." He disappeared back into the room briefly.

I stayed outside, unnecessarily checking the corridor behind me several times while trying to calm my breathing.

Of course, he had to be shirtless. Hadn’t we had enough tension for one day? It was getting harder and harder to ignore how he affected me.

"Morana?" He called out suddenly from inside the room. "Are you there?"

I leaned forward just enough to see him standing by the bed.

"Yes?"

"Are you scared?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I just... don't want to be a bother."

His lips curved into a smile. Maybe I was being a bit pathetic.

I forced myself to walk in, entering a room not much different from mine, with most of the furniture made of wood.

He approached me, holding a few pieces of clothing in his hands, which he handed to me.

"I don’t have anything quite your size, but these should work until your clothes dry. I picked the smallest I could find."

"Thank you, I'll head into town tomorrow to pick up some things I left there. So, good night!" I turned to leave, but before I could reach the door, Lyall stepped in front of it, closing it.

I looked at him, puzzled, my heart rate accelerating. What was he doing?

"You don’t have to be afraid of me. I don’t bite," he whispered, his smile turning mischievous. "Unless you ask me to." He stepped closer. "So, do you need anything else from me, princess?"