Chapter Seventy-Two
Robin
Once I start telling Katie about Falcon, it’s hard to stop talking, and she really does want to know every last detail, to the point where she can tell I’m holding something back, and she gives me a sly nod when I get to my feet and turn to face her.
“Oh, you are so going to have a mark before the week is through. I thought you looked different this morning. You totally have that glow a girl gets when she’s been with a guy she’s really into.”
“Glow? I think I’m just blushing,” I murmur.
“Oh, no. It’s definitely a glow. Your pink cheeks can’t hide it.”
She grins as she picks up her purse.
“I can’t wait to meet him … I mean them. A whole pack. How lucky can one girl get?”
“I’ve only really met Falcon, and I guess, kind of, Shayne.”
“And they were both really hot, right? Of course they were. They’re Alphas. The other guys will be hot, too. And one of them is an Omega? That’s so cool.”
“It’s a lot to take in. I didn’t expect to have fated mates.”
“Well, once you get over the shock, you’ll feel like you’ve won the lottery. Most Betas are lucky if they find a decent guy. There aren’t too many of us out there with true mates, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah,” I agree, as I move toward the door.
I grab the keys and open it, glancing back at Katie.
She’s standing by the chair with a dreamy look on her face.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She laughs. “I was wondering what it would be like, that’s all. We should go so Pierre doesn’t get time to miss me too much.”
I hold the door while she exits, following her and locking it behind me.
I slip the key into my pocket as I follow my friend down the corridor to the staircase.
She’s as full of energy as she was on Friday night, practically bouncing along, humming a cheerful song under her breath.
The smile she gives me doesn’t leave my lips as I catch up to her and we walk into the academy’s kitchens together.
“Hey, Pierre,” she sings as she runs her fingers along the counter in passing.
The chef straightens as he closes the oven door, glancing over at us with an unimpressed expression on his handsome face. It’s instantly obvious why Katie likes him.
He’s attractive in a very polished kind of way.
Black hair, blue eyes, tall, and when he speaks, very French.
“Already getting the new girl into bad habits? Really, Katrine.”
“Katrine?” I murmur, making Katie blush.
“It is what you call a pet name,” Pierre explains.
“Nick name,” Katie corrects him, though she clearly enjoys the mistake.
“Non,” he mutters. “Pet name.”
“We’ll be in the laundry room,” she tells him. “We’ll let you know when we need fed.”
He shakes his head. “I will be waiting patiently for your orders, Princess Katrine.”
He glances at me, but he doesn’t say anything.
If their exchange is anything to go by, I don’t think Katie’s crush is one-sided.
I follow her into the laundry room, and she swoons theatrically against the door once she closes it behind us.
“That man is too hot to be real.”
I laugh. “I think he likes you too.”
She laughs. “I seriously doubt it. He’s friendly with everyone.”
“He didn’t even notice me.”
“Well, you’re new. You’ll see. Once you meet more of the girls and guys around here.”
She moves over to the baskets of sheets that are lined up against the wall.
“The night shift clears the rooms of the early risers before they finish up. That’s what we’ve got to get started with this morning.”
“Huh,” I murmur. “Don’t Omegas kind of hate having their sheets changed?”
“Maybe they do when they’re mated. It’s not a big thing before then, and they’d still need to be cleaned regularly either way.
We use soaps and detergents that are unscented to make them more comfortable.
Most of the Omegas here haven’t perfumed yet, but every now and then you might catch a hint of perfume.
It’s kind of a trippy feeling when it hits. ”
She opens one of the huge washing machines’ doors.
“Start handing me the sheets from that first basket.”
I notice the basket is numbered as I follow her instructions.
“Is this a suite number?”
She nods. “Since Omegas are really sensitive, we try to make sure they get the same sets of sheets over and over again. If you give them sheets they’ve never had before, trust me, they notice.”
“Really?” I ask as I hand the sheets over.
“It might sound like a joke, but it’s not. You’ll see the first time someone gets stuff mixed up.”
“What do you do when that happens?”
“If we can correct it, we do. If we can’t, we grab a new set of sheets. I’ll show you where we keep those later. We have a whole suite full of consumables, new sheets and towels.”
I pass the last of the sheets from the first basket to Katie and she stuffs them into the machine, closing the door with a resounding click.
“Okay, this is how we do it. Load up the machines and then put in the cleaning solution and then switch them all on. It’s the best way to make sure you don’t forget what you’ve already done.”
She laughs lightly as she motions to the next basket. “Trust me, you overuse the cleaning solution once and you find a way to make sure you never do it again.”
It’s kind of reassuring that there’s a set routine to all of this.
The added pressure of making sure I don’t upset one or more of the Omegas is a little scary, but if it’s as foolproof as Katie seems to think, hopefully I’ll do okay.
Katie opens the door to machine number two.
“What happens when you use too much cleaning solution?” I ask, as I start to pick up the sheets from the second basket.
“Depending how many times you forget you already put some in, you can fill this whole room with water and bubbles,” she mutters, wincing lightly before pulling her lips back into a smile.
“Pierre told me to ask Lana for a room change if I wanted a bubble bath that much. The other girls were calling me Bubble Girl for months.”
“It can’t have been too bad if you’re still here,” I reassure, as she starts stuffing the sheets I’m handing her into the second machine.
“Well, the crew I was working with was just finishing their shift, and they stayed an hour with the dayshift crew to help me clean up, so Geraldine wouldn’t need to find out.
Geraldine wasn’t exactly the nicest boss I’ve ever had.
She was the head of the school a while back, way before Lana.
” She laughs. “Man, I thought I was dead-meat when it happened. Geraldine walked around this place like a Drill Sergeant. Everyone knew if she found out, I was canned. They saved my ass. People like that are worth sticking around for, you know? After that though, they stopped letting the night shift people start the laundry. They said it would stop mistakes from being made when Geraldine noticed something was different, but no one ever ratted me out.”
She finishes stuffing the sheets into the machine and closes it.
“We have a good team, and it’s mostly the same as it was back then, with a few less people. You’re the first new person in a long while, but I can tell you’re going to fit in.”
“Thanks, I hope I do,” I admit.
Everyone’s been so nice to me. It really feels like this is where I’m supposed to be.
If it wasn’t for Falcon and his claims that I’m his true mate, I’d be content.
Instead, I have a knot in my stomach.
I like it here, but if I say yes to him and his pack, I’ll be leaving.
I tell myself it’s a decision for another day while Katie talks me through more about the job and I follow her instructions. I want to get this right. That’s all I need to think about for now.