I wake up to an empty room, not surprising since Daniel slept for hours before I did.

I throw on a wine colored top with some white shorts before heading downstairs. When I get down, I see everyone crowding around Symali, who's pulling containers out of a bag.

"Dove, perfect timing!" Sym greets me, a wide smile splayed across her face.

"What's all this?" I ask, peering at the cups she's passing out curiously.

"Breakfast! I had a diner near here delivered." Mason smiles, sipping from his styrofoam cup.

"Ah, I was wondering what we were going to do, since there's no actual food in the cabinets." I laugh, grabbing a container with pancakes in it and the lemonade that's being handed to me.

"Yeah, none of us really cook, except for Rose, but since she does it for a living, understandably she doesn't want to do it on vacation." Andrew explains, basically crouched over his plate his face is so close.

"...So ya'll are just gonna eat out every day for the next two weeks?" I ask incredulously.

"That's the plan!" Mason says, sitting down on one of the barstools next to me."

"Absolutely not. Ya'll deserve better than that." I protest, grimacing at the dryness of the pancakes as I go to pour more syrup on them.

"Well, what are we going to do? Last time I made something myself, I quite literally set the house on fire. My dad will be PISSED if I fuck up this place too." Sym shrugs and I laugh, almost choking on my pancakes. I clear my throat as everyone tells me not to die.

"Ya'll forget I was my packs cook since I was 8?" I giggle and they look around sheepishly.

"We didn't want to make you have to do anything you don't want to, otherwise we're no better than them." Rose says bluntly after a few seconds of silence and I shake my head.

"None of that. You guys could never be even a percent as bad as they were. We're going grocery shopping today and I'm making a real dinner tonight so everyone go get ready." I declare and while they were hesitant to agree, I could see them getting excited for a proper meal.

"Yes ma'am!" Andrew says, throwing back the last of his omelet and before I know it everyone's upstairs. I sip my lemonade patiently as I think about what to make. Daniels down first, Andrew on his heels.

"Alright you two, what the fuck?" Andrew asks and I look at him, obviously confused. "When you two are apart, everythings fine, but then you get into a room together and all of a sudden I can cut the tension with a knife. Plus, his soul gets sad, and you become uneasy. Did you hook up or something?"

"What? No!" Daniel shouts in protest and Andrew cocks an eyebrow.

"Then what the hell happened? You both were all chummy when we reunited and now you wont even look at eachother at the same time." Andrew crosses his arms.

"We look at eachother all the time." I blurt without thinking and I blush slightly, thinking about all the times Ive accidentally gotten caught staring. Andrew shakes his head.

"Whatever it is, figure it out. The tension is weird for all of us." Andrew states definitively and I look to Daniel, whos looking at the floor. Thankfully, at that moment Mason comes down the stairs.

"So it's just us. Apparently Sym has some business to attend to in town for her dad and Rose is going with her." Mason explains and I nod. Okay, perfect then, I was worried about us clogging up the aisles. Plus, I can surprise them with what I'm making easier.

We load up in Andrews car, me and Andrew in the front and Mason and Daniel in the back. After some confusion after we all realize we have no idea where we're going, I pull out my GPS and enter in our chosen markets name and we're on our way. The traffic wasnt bad, but it still took us thirty minutes to get somewhere less than two miles away. We pull up to a pretty non-descript building, Andrew this town that seems to be 90% stoplights.

"Are we sure this is it?" Mason asks, confused. I dont blame him. There's no signs, no decorations to draw us in, not that many people milling about, and a couple windows but the glare from the sun makes it hard to see past them. I look back and shrug before getting out of the car.

"Well, if it isn't, adventure!" I respond and the guys chuckle. I go up to the door, after waiting for them to join me of course. Safety first. I open the door to find a... Warehouse? Upon hearing the door open, one of the workers look up from the blueprint they were looking over.

"Uh, we were looking for the market?" Andrew both questions and explains at the same time. The man waves us over with a small smile. Giving me a look that screams 'if he kills us I'll kill you', Andrew walks toward him, the rest of us on his heels.

The man says nothing, just leads us further into the warehouse, and we pass various wood saws and caskets, all being built around us.

"Well, at least if they kill us, we'll have a pretty funeral."

"Not funny Mason!" I say, trying not to let out my surprised laughter.

"It was kinda funny." He links back, obvious amusement laced in his tone. The warehouse workers opens a back door and we discover we had walked in through their actual back door and that's why it looked so barren. I feel embarrassment sweep over me as I look around at an actually really pretty store front for this funeral home.

"There ya are. And no worries, it happens all the time. Somethins really screwy with the GPS here." The stranger explains, gesturing to across the street where the market we were looking for sits. We thank the man and scurry away in a fit of embarrassed laughter. The rest of the shopping trip went by smoothly, the beautiful but still cozy market not real busy, and Indie song playing quietly overhead.

Every so often, I turn to see Daniel and Andrew talking about something intently, but whenever I would ask what's up, Andrew would make a joke, dismissing my question. I looked to Mason for some guidance but he looks just as confused as I am. What I wouldn't give to be able to freely read minds.

Yeah but that also takes the flavor out of it.

You're right Lis, I guess it would be kind of boring to know what everyone is thinking all the time. We throw whatever looks good in the cart pretty willy-nilly until Andrew starts laughing.

"Jesus! How much do ya'll eat that we need two shopping carts full of food for two weeks?" He asks increduously and we all start snickering.

"Our metabolism moves a lot faster than yours so we need to eat a lot more, or a lot more often than humans." Mason teases and Andrew punches his shoulder lightly. It's all fun and games till we get to the check out and I remember I'm broke. Before I can turn and say anything, Mason's already got his card in the machine.

"Dude, what job do you have that you can pay $600 in groceries and not even blink?" Andrew asks, his jaw slightly hanging.

"Huh? Well, I work security at a pizza place, but this is the Al- Jerome's card." Mason catches himselfz reminded that were surrounded by humans.

"Oh, and why do you have his card? How much money does he make???" Andrews confusion is spiraling.

"He's the CEO of his grandfathers company. It's been in the family for ages. Plus, his wife is a surgeon, so she makes bank too. Plus, this card is given to everyone who's over 18, but it's only for purchases that are beneficial to the rest of the house. Groceries for the beach house that everyone stays at falls underneath that. We all use our own money otherwise." By the time Mason is done explaining, we've made it out of the store and are loading it into the car.

"So ya'll are set for life is what youre telling me." Andrew laughs increduously, his head looking like its going to explode.

"I guess? We all have jobs around the house though. We have the kitchen staff, the laundry staff, daycare staff, etcetera. Sym and Rose are in the packs military. We have people who organize group gatherings every week so everyone can be social, which is what I do, and Daniel helps out on the matinence staff. It takes a lot of work to take care of a building that houses over 50 adults and 26 kids, and our numbers are growing by the day."

"Why don't I have a job?" I ask, suddenly feeling like a burden.

"The Alpha and Luna wanted to give you time to rest and heal, and also to get truly settled with us." Daniel answers quickly as we drive back to the house. I guess that makes sense. I make a mental note to talk to the Alpha about putting me to work.

"Man, having a pack sounds awesome." Andrew comments suddenly and Mason shrugs.

"I guess? It's like having a bunch of siblings. It has it's perks, but there's downfalls too. It's all fun and games until you hear three different couples doing the nasty when youre trying to sleep at 2 am." We all laugh.

After getting home and unpacking all the groceries, I start getting lunch set up. I make a stack of turkey and cheese triangles, and by the time I'm setting them on the table, Symali and Rose are walking through the door in very professional clothing. Syms wearing a deep red shirt with a white blazer/slack set, and Rose is wearing a light blue button-up with a black pencil skirt.

"Where'd ya'll go? You look fantastic, by the way." I ask and they smile warmly at me, coming for a sandwich.

"Aw, thanks hon." Rose thanks me, leaving a very sudden kiss on my cheek that sends me reeling a bit. Sym swallows the huge bite she just took before speaking.

"My dad wanted me to go greet the representatives from the company he's going to be partnering with, so we went and had coffee." She explains, snapping me back to reality.

"Daniel! You should've told me you were competing with Rose! She's a huge threat to take into account!" Andrew shakes Daniel by the shoulders in fake panic and Daniel rolls his eyes.

"We're not competing for anything, would you shut up?" Daniel asks, his tone playful.

"Yeah, not exactly a competition when the other person doesn't stand a chance." Rose plops down beside them, messing up Daniels hair on the way down.

"Damn, the girls got jokes. You just gonna take that from her?" Andrew laughs.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Sym whispers to me and I roll my eyes, unable to fight the grin on my face.

"Who gets my heart. But it's no matter, they're only teasing." I explain after seeing Syms face turn into cool stone after finding out what they were doing. She looks to me, her eyes soft.

"Well, are you interested?" She asks and I freeze up, my heart skipping a beat as my eyes shoot to Daniel involunatarily. I shake myself out of it and look back to Sym.

"I-I don't know if I'm honest. Feelings are hard and I'm just getting to loving myself, much less someone else, but as Andrew would put it." I clear my throat and widen my shoulders, mocking Andrew, "The attraction is obviously there." Symali laughs.

"Gotcha. Take all the time you need love, and anyone who really cares for you will be there when you're ready." She pats me on the shoulder before going and smacking Andrew upside the head playfully, "And you, Dove is not some prize to be wom! Let the girl have some say in who she may, or may not choose!"

"She has a choice! I was only playing, you know that, right Dove?" Andrew asks, a worried look crossing his face. I smile and wave him off, munching on my sandwhich. The worried look melts away and he goes on to tell Symali and Rose about the cryptic trip we had through the workshop earlier.

We sit on the couch for hours just bullshitting before we decide to head down to the beach.

"Nah, I don't think I'm going to swim today. I'll stay on land with Sym." I smile, lifting my towel and phone.

Me and Sym head down first, taking some sandwiches and sodas down in a cooler. Doesn't take long before Andrew is running past us and diving into the waves. We laugh as he gets up and immediately gets knocked down by another wave. Rose and Daniel come down shortly after him, Daniel's hair back in a short ponytail.

"Dude, you look like an anime character!" Andrew yells from the water, pulling a giggle from all of us.

"Oh ha ha, like I haven't heard that one before!" Daniel fires back, an uncharacteristically wide grin breaking out on his face before he runs after Andrew in the water. At some point, Mason joins them while Rose sunbathes next to us. I look from the three shirtless boys to Rose and Sym, who are glowing so bright, they put the sun to shame, their hair faintly blowing in the summer breeze.

"Why the hell are all my friends so beautiful?! Save some good genes for the rest of us!" I accuse the girls, only receiving laughter in response.

"Okay, gorgeous. Though, if we have to save some good genes then that means you have to save some perfection for everyone else too." Rose counters and I feel my cheeks warm.

Ten points for Gryffindor.

Shut up! You cant just say shit like that!

I can say whatever I want.

"Woah! Uh, Dove, I think Andrews trying to get your attention!" Sym says, pointing to a nearby cliff where Andrew stands, waving and yelling.

This dumb ass is going to get himself hurt! Just because he sees us do something and be okay, doesn't mean he can. I get up from the rock I was sitting on and walk to the shore, ready to go get him. I watch as he takes a running leap before flipping into a swan dive. It was rather graceful, but that's not what's important. I barely notice my legs feel cold and realize I'm already thigh deep in the water, the waves coming up and lapping against the hem of my shorts. Soon, but not soon enough, he emerges from the water, a huge smile on his face has everyone cheers him on.

"Dove! Decide to get in the water after all?" Andrew asks, swimming to me and I feel my hands go to my hips.

"Yeah. I had to make sure a dumbass was okay." I retort, relieved he's okay but mad that he did something so reckless.

"Am I at least your favorite dumbass?" He asks playfully, crouching down so he wades in front of me.

"Andrew! I'm serious! You could have gotten seriously hurt! What if there was rocks in the water and you cracked your head open? By the time we'd get you to shore and give you to the paramedics, it'd already be too late! Plus, you could have gone unconscious and drowned!" I lecture him and his smile turns apologetic, melting away some of my anger.

"You're adorable when you worry about me. Thank you, but I had Mason scope out below for me before I even climbed up there. I was being safe, don't worry." He stands and pulls me into a hug and I puff out my cheeks in protest before giving in. The hug is short, but sweet before Andrew picks me straight up, still in hugging position. I squirm to get out of his grasp until I realize he's walking us to shore.

"Your phones in your pocket, youre gonna destroy it if you stand in the ocean like that." He explains, obviously sensing my confusion.

"And you couldn't have let me walk to shore?" I ask rhetorically once he puts me down. He shrugs.

"This was easier." He states and I just laugh a little, pushing his shoulder. I walk back to the girls and sit down where I was, feeling slightly embarassed for causing such a fuss.

"So, player three has joined the game." Rose remarks and I look to her, confused.

"Interesting." Sym comments back. What?