Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 36: Anxiety, Issues, and Food

Layla POV

A couple hours after Drake and Jackson had left, Layla found herself in the small room she’d been given as an office when she took on the role of commander, going through security reports. At least, that’s what she was trying to do. It wasn’t going very well, considering her mind kept drifting to Drake. She hadn’t heard from him yet, which didn’t help.

She’d never known why, but whenever someone she cared about took more than an hour to drive somewhere, anxiety would slowly begin to grip her. She’d always puzzled over it, wondering where it had come from, but, eventually, she had given up on ever figuring it out. Sometimes anxiety just made no freaking sense, and it was frustrating as hell. At least her anxiety was better than most people’s. In fact, one of the omegas that worked in the kitchen, a beautiful teen named Angela, had it so bad she had a hard time even being near the other pack members. Which was incredibly difficult, considering how many of the pack members lived in the pack house. They all had plenty of space even with almost half of the pack living there and still having quite a few extra rooms available, the numbers alone meant it was hard to find a time, day or night, when you wouldn’t bump into a good few of the shifters that called it home. For Angela, that meant that, when she wasn’t in the kitchen or out running in her wolf form, she spent the majority of the time holed up in her room, avoiding everyone.

It was unfortunate she was so anxious, she was a lovely young woman. Thankfully, cooking was one of the few things that calmed her. When she was in the kitchen, she was able to feel comfortable enough to open up to the other omegas working with her, rather than casting her eyes down and giving only one-word answers when someone tried to talk to her. Layla had met her a few years back when she had transferred from the Blood Moon pack, and, upon seeing her apprehension, had taken a special interest in her. She’d worked for months to earn the girl’s trust and get her to open up a little, but it was worth it, as she soon learned about her love of cooking. She’d immediately gone to Alpha Richard and suggested that she be moved from cleaning duties to the kitchen. Ever since then, she’d slowly become less frightened of social interaction, and now could hold a full conversation with her fellow omegas as long as she was cooking. She’d even started being able to have small, casual conversations with her fellow pack members outside of the kitchen. Some might not think that was a big accomplishment, but Layla knew that it was, and that conquering anxiety didn’t happen at a rapid pace, but slowly, almost carefully. Either way, she was damn proud of the girl.

Now if only she could deal with the little bursts of anxiety she felt at times. She put down the report she had in her hand and rubbed her eyes with a sigh. This was the fifth time she’d reread the damn thing, and she still didn’t know what it said. Putting her elbows on her desk and closing her eyes as she massaged her aching temples, she tried to still her racing mind. All she could seem to think about was Drake. If he was safe, what he was doing on the long car ride home, if he missed her, so many things her focus was absolute s**t, which wasn’t normal. What was she going to do? She couldn’t get him off her mind, and all the emotions surrounding him were putting her through the wringer.

A knock at her office door shook her from her thoughts. “Come in,” she said, straightening up her papers as the door opened. Looking up, she saw Isaiah standing in the door, his wary eyes taking in the small room. “Oh, hey, Isaiah.”

“Hey,” he said, finally looking at her.

A moment of awkward silence passed before she cleared her throat. “Would you like to sit down?” she asked, gesturing towards the single chair on the other side of her desk.

“Sure, I guess,” he shrugged. As he walked over to the desk, his movements indicated he was uncomfortable, as usual. He sat down carefully, again looking throughout the room instead of at her.

“So, what’s up?” she asked gently, giving him a welcoming smile.

“Not much, got bored,” he replied simply, chewing on his lip.

“Still not going to try hanging out in the game room?” she asked. After the first few days he’d been there, she’d shown him around the pack house, including the game room, in hopes he’d get more comfortable and start making friends. Of course, she’d known he wasn’t likely to be quite ready for it, but she’d still hoped that maybe, just maybe, he’d start at least being more comfortable. And since they had all the gaming systems anyone could ever want, not to mention a myriad of video games to go with them, there was a chance he’d at least be able to find some entertainment. Hell, she even played when she wasn’t working sometimes. Unfortunately, he hadn’t seemed even remotely interested, and apparently he still wasn’t.

“Not my thing.”

She bit back a sigh. Usually, she was pretty good at helping people open up more, but with Isaiah, it seemed like nothing she did could break through his shields. She felt frustrated, not at him, but rather that she didn’t know what to do anymore. “Well, you’re free to hang out with me, but it’s not going to be much fun. Unfortunately, as usual, I have work.” She paused for a moment, looking over at him. “By the way, I’m sorry I haven’t been around much, with Dr-Alpha Drake observing everything, I haven’t been able to be around for you as much as I would’ve liked. But I do appreciate you making the effort to attend training.”

He nodded. “I’ve learned a lot,” he said with a look that made her shiver involuntarily. She wasn’t sure why, but it almost seemed like his words had a hidden meaning to them. She shook her head. She must need a break from these reports, apparently they were driving her nuts. Or, perhaps, it was her constant overthinking about Drake. Either way, she needed a way to get away from it all.

On that thought, she slowly stood, stretching her back. “It’s about dinner time, would you like to get some food? We could eat together in your room or, if you’re ready for it, we could eat with everyone.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think I’d rather eat in my room.”

She did her best to hide her disappointment at that. Reminding herself that these things take time, she gave him an understanding smile. “Alright. You want me to bring up your food again?”

“Yes, thank you,” he responded, promptly rising and walking to the door.

“Alright, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she called after him, watching him disappear without a word in response. She sighed heavily as soon as she knew he was out of hearing range. All she could do was be patient with the boy, but she desperately wished she had some magical way of making everything better for him. Unfortunately, that was never how the world worked.

At least she could do one thing for him; she could get him some food. It wasn’t much, but he did need proper nutrition, and it would be easier to help him through everything if he was well-fed. Thus, she pulled herself up by the bootstraps, putting everything away in the locked file cabinet before heading out of her office. She locked the door, putting the key in her pocket as she walked towards the delicious scent of food.