3. Payback

Payback

Larken

B y the look on Deke's face, I would not enjoy whatever he had cooked up for me. There was a determined set to his square jaw. A braced look to how he held his shoulders straight. The alpha was gearing up for a fight.

Shame for him, I would not give it to him. Deke was my boss and unless he had a total personality transplant, then he wouldn't ask me to do anything he wouldn't do himself.

"Hey, Deke! How's it going?" I called out in greeting, plastering on my friendliest expression.

It stopped him short. "Uh, good, thanks." He took a moment to recover his stride. "Look, I've got a job for you."

"Okay," I agreed, catching him further off guard.

"Uh, alright." It shouldn't be this fun to play with him. "So you'll go help Dalton clean up Axel's office, and I'll hang out here at the gate until someone can replace me," he finished with a wicked grin.

Well, if it wasn't the consequences of my actions coming back to bite me in the ass.

"Cool, see you later!" I tried to inject as much false cheer into my voice as I could. Deke wasn't convinced in the slightest, judging by the way he was failing to hold in his laughter.

"Right, Dalton is out for blood, so have fun with that!" His grin as I walked away was smug.

Just thinking of the mess in the office broke me out in a cold sweat. I knew it was shitty of me to leave it in such a state. I had just been so busy with helping Roan, taking over the kitchen duties, guarding the sleeping betas, that I'd run out of time to tidy it up.

If I'd known Dalton was heading back into the office so soon, I might have done something about the mess. At least cleaned up some of it, so it wasn't so bad. I didn't know where to start with his filing system.

In the weeks since they had woken, I had been pulled in so many different directions, there just hadn't been an opportunity for me to clean it, but I'd have made time if I'd known. A sleepless night would be better than whatever punishment Dalton was dreaming up for me.

The least I could do was face the wrath of Dalton and get it in order. I owed him that .

Why was the distance between the gate and the mansion so damn short? Dalton wouldn't do anything other than verbally tear me apart, something I actually deserved, would he? He might have a list of tasks for me as long as my arm.

My alter, a Komodo dragon, growled at me. He felt frustrated by my lack of accountability. He disliked leaving things unfinished and blamed me for this situation. I wondered if other alphas were often at odds with their alters like I was with mine.

In my short time in the pack, just over a year, I'd gotten to know most of the pack members who worked in the main house. Dalton was instrumental in keeping the house running, something we had all learned once he went to sleep, along with the other betas.

Some of the betas, like the guards, Sam and Melody, hadn't left such a gaping hole when they had been down with it. Sure, they played an important role, but unfortunately, they were easily replaceable. I was easily replaced, too. The absences of Dalton, Axel, Chase, and Winter were keenly felt. We had all scrambled to fill their jobs and keep them safe while they fought whatever the sickness had been.

"Stop lingering and get in here," Dalton ordered from the doorway of the office .

Determined to make amends, I plastered on a smile and walked in. Hiding my wince was hard. Somehow, it was messier than when I'd last seen it.

"I am so sorry, Dalton!" Apologies always came before making amends. My parents always drummed that into me as a child.

My apology must have been genuine enough because he waved me off. "Oh, this wasn't all you, I know that. Chase has been in here." I grimaced, and Dalton grinned. "Yeah. So if you could lift those boxes to the side for me so I can get into the cabinet."

Over the next few hours, Dalton had me rearrange the furniture to make way for another empty cabinet he had ordered. Then move everything back because nothing "fit right," then he asked me to move everything again. By the time the furniture was in the correct place, I was slick with sweat. Dalton, though, had a cheerful smile on his pale face. The light which usually surrounded him was dim.

This had to be part of my punishment. I took it wordlessly, growing concerned for my friend as the hours passed.

I stood side by side with him as we sorted the papers into some semblance of order. Instead of hovering over Dalton, or asking him if he was okay, I worked hard to get everything done as quickly as possible, while still doing it to his exacting standards. Slowly but surely, the room began to take shape.

Dare I say it, the place might have looked better than it had pre-sickness and all the drama that came with it.

It wasn't only the office that was different. Dalton had changed. He was mellower than before. Calmer. Being around him was soothing when before I had always been on my guard. We chatted about random subjects, always agreeing on topics. Clearly, I'd barely scratched the surface of a friendship with Dalton before, because there was so little I knew about him.

Before the sickness, he would certainly have made more of a drama of his office being hit by tornado Chase. Okay, and of my efforts to fix the disaster. Now he'd gotten his payback with the furniture arranging, but other than that, there were no snippy remarks or an uncomfortable atmosphere. He was just focused on getting everything where it belonged.

Aside from his personality, his body was altered, too. He had always been on the lean side, now he was almost painfully thin. It hurt me to see. I wanted Dalton fresh faced, his golden skin gleaming with health, dimples popping as he laughed. His hair was usually neatly styled and shining. Now it was overly long, and dull. I wanted to see him thriving, not slightly hunched and pale .

My alter wanted to feed him. Care for Dalton. It was unusual for him to feel so responsible for another person, even a pack member as important as Dalton.

"Hey, we need to take a break. Want me to go to the kitchen and get us some lunch?" Winter was back at work, so the kitchen was safe from my cooking efforts. The cook would know exactly what Dalton needed.

The mention of food had his stomach growling. He grinned, a smile that took over his face and made him shine. I saw a glimpse of those cute dimples.

"That'd be great, thanks Lark."

I left him sitting on the floor surrounded by files, in an order only he understood.

Down the corridor from the office, I took a breath of fresh air. Almost instantly, I missed the strawberry and earth scent of Dalton. I needed to get my head on straight before Winter saw me. He didn't need me panicking over Dalton's health.

Instead of going straight to the kitchen, I went to Alpha Blake's office. Roan was missing from his place outside Kade's office, but Dakota was in place.

"Hey, is it possible for me to speak to Alpha Blake for a minute?" I asked the other alpha. He was Blake's assistant, as well as his father-in-law. It seemed like everyone in this pack was connected to everyone else.

"Sure. He's just checking over some paperwork. Go right in." He must have caught me glancing at Roan's desk. "Roan is watching Kade have a nap in wolf form. For the babies," he explained.

Roan was my best friend and roommate. He was also Kade's ex. See? All involved with each other one way or another.

"Okay, thanks." I knocked lightly on the door to Alpha Blake's office, though he had likely heard me talking to Dakota, then waited for his reply before entering.

"Everything okay, Larken?" he asked. "Do we need to set a ward?"

"No, well, I'm alright. There's no need for a silencing ward. Dakota's okay to hear this, too." I could understand his concern, it wasn't like I went to him often, though I knew he was always there to help me if I needed him.

"Why don't you explain your problem, then?"

For an Alpha, Blake was young. Just twenty-two. He had taken over leadership as soon as he came of age at twenty-one and since then had steered the pack out of financial trouble, making it flourish. There was still a way to go, but it was getting there .

He was responsible, caring, strong, everything a pack Alpha should be. Just being willing to listen to me like this, offering privacy, was such a stark change from my previous packs.

"I'm worried about Dalton."

"Dalton? Why?" Alpha Blake sat up straighter in his chair and motioned for me to take the one opposite him.

"He's… I don't think he's ready to be back at work. Have you seen how thin and pale he is?"

The Alpha's eyebrows rose. "No, I haven't had a chance to see him. I'll do that later today—"

"Booking an appointment with Aldrin too," Dakota called.

Alpha Blake smiled. "Thanks Dakota. Right, so I'll have a look at Dalton. Though all the betas have to be cleared to return to work, so it's likely just the lingering effects of the sickness."

I deflated somewhat. Though I wasn't sure what I'd hoped to gain from this chat, I guess I'd hoped for something more. Okay, they had listened to my concerns, Dakota even going as far to book an appointment, but they didn't seem to grasp how upsetting it was for me to see Dalton like that.

"Could you just check him over, please?" I urged my Alpha. "Maybe he's just overdone it today. I've been helping fix the mess I made in his office while he was gone and feel responsible for him." Alpha Blake gave me an approving look. I hadn't spent much time with him since I usually went to Deke with any issues, but I liked the younger man. "I'm going to make sure he has a decent lunch—"

"Winter will make sure Dalton is properly cared for. If you're heading to the kitchen, we can speak to him together, then I can come with you to see Dalton. See for myself what's going on."

We headed to the kitchen where a solicitous Winter made up a hearty lunch for the three of us. Then the Alpha followed me to the office where Dalton was still working.

Only Dalton wasn't where I'd left him. He was lying on the floor, passed out.

"Shit! Get a healer!" I ran to his side, falling to my knees and frantically searching for signs of life, only to be nearly knocked over as Dalton jerked into a sitting position, clutching at his stomach as he laughed.

"Oh, my goddess!" Dalton laughed on and on until tears streamed down his face as I clutched at my poor heart. "So funny! Your face!"

Alpha Blake chuckled from the doorway. "Don't think he needs that doctor's appointment." He laughed again. "That, I think, was your payback for the office."