Not long after, Charles exited the bathroom. William tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the passed out form of Nicolas buried under a pillow, “Make sure he is up and ready to go. We don’t have a whole lot of time.” Charles nodded as he bent down to grab his clothes to get dressed.
William pushed into the bathroom and found a small pile of morning toiletries waiting for him. He grabbed the various items and used them quickly, toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, a little bit of under arm deodorant. He hadn’t used the stuff in a really long time. He never stunk no matter how hard Efraim pushed them during exercises, but since it was there he might as well use it. He threw some water over his shoulder length hair and face. He grabbed a hand towel and walked out of the bathroom.
With his vision temporary blinded by the fluffy white cloth of the towel, he was unprepared for the rough should slam that he received as he was walking back into the living space. He ripped the towel from his face just as the bathroom door was slamming behind him. Gee, that’s a great way to start my day, being shoulder checked by a grumpy asshole.
Charles was finished dressing by then and the two of them waited for Nicolas to get done with what he needed to get done. After a while the fire that had sparked itself inside his gut at the rudeness of Nicolas wore off and all that was left was a sticky, groggy, hazy feeling from not getting enough sleep.
A few minutes later Nicolas came lurching out of the bathroom. He too had a towel around his head as he was scrubbing at his long hair trying to dry it properly.
“Are you ready, Nicolas?” Charles asked politely.
“Sure,” came the muffled reply from underneath the white towel.
Charles and William shared a look but left Nicolas to get dressed. It was too early in the morning for any of this and William would just as soon not get into it with Nicolas. Besides, it was obvious that Nicolas was tired too.
William walked out of the room with Charles. The two stood in the hallway not really knowing what to do or where to go. William turned to look down the hallway back towards Ansuya’s room, which was open, if he was reading the light that spilled out into the hallway correctly. He nudged Charles and pointed down the hallway toward the open door.
Charles nodded, “That must be where we are supposed to be.”
William nodded in agreement, “Yeah, but we probably shouldn’t leave Nicolas…”
Just then the door opened and Nicolas came walking out to join them, “Nicolas, what?” he asked harshly.
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William shook his head, “Nothing, we were just waiting for you before we up and left.”
Nicolas glanced down the hallway toward the abnormal light indicating the open door, “Well, I guess we better go before somebody comes looking for us.” With that Nicolas moved past the other two men and strode down the hallway toward the elder’s room. William shrugged and Charles smiled as he shook his head. The two friends followed after their suddenly motivated pack mate.
Nicolas didn’t hesitate about entering through the open door and so the other two didn’t have a problem either. They walked in to find the other four people already dressed and ready to go. Ansuya and Katherine both had leashes in their hands which were attached to Alexiares and Aceso who were in their wolf forms.
William tried to stop a shiver from running up his back at the sight of the leashes. He couldn’t help but put a hand to his neck and feel the long shallow scab that had formed over the bite that Aceso had given him. She seemed to be just as remote and listless as she had been hours before. He wished that he could do something for her, say something to her that might ease her conscience. In a wolf pack if an alpha was beaten, the way Alexiares had beaten Aceso, that alpha would be shunned from the pack. The new alpha would take over and the old one would be forced out, to be a lone wolf. Until he found a mate or another pack to join. Of course, then he would have to beat the alpha of that pack to be accepted. Wolves were very strict in their roles, once an alpha, always an alpha, at least in demeanor. Most pack alphas didn’t like having an upstart around.
Ansuya was sitting in her chair much like she had been the night before. Her hands were gently folded in her lap and her legs were crossed. Her deep brown eyes gazed at each of them in turn. She seemed neither hurried nor patient; there was an energy that pulsated from her that he could almost feel.
She glanced over at Alexiares for the briefest of moments, “Now we can leave.” She stood up from her chair and moved beyond them toward her door which was still open. She disappeared around the corner with Alexiares in tow. The five of them looked at each other for a moment wondering if this was some kind of joke. Aceso didn’t seem to be interested in much of anything and she just stood there. If William didn’t know any better, he would have said she was sulking. The three guys just kind of looked at each other and Katherine. William knew that the elder expected them to follow her. He was about to move out of the room when Katherine took a firm hold on the leash in her hand and moved back out the door into the hallway with Aceso giving no resistance to being guided. The three males shared a look between them. Aceso’s behavior was a little disturbing this morning, much more than just simple sulking. Charles looked at William and all he could do was shrug his shoulders. Nicolas gave them a quizzical look as he turned around and followed Katherine out into the hallway. Charles and William followed.
As they came out into the hallway they could see Ansuya walking away from the elevator. The five followed her as she opened the doors to the stairway and disappeared. They followed after.
Ansuya led them out of the Inn into the quiet back lot. The night air was cool. The whole earth seemed to be asleep. There was harsh orange light spilling into the lot from on overhead parking lot light, painting the surrounding trees an eerie unnatural amber. William glanced up to see the multitudes of stars fanned out across the heavens. William nudged Katherine and glanced up. Katherine looked up and smiled. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the night air around her.