Shadows of Orange

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning, Rain chose to use the shared bathroom instead of Ryker’s because she wasn’t ready to confront him yet. When she woke up, she found a small, clear plastic bag on her desk, filled with a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, hair ties, face wash, and lotion. The bag was carefully placed on top of a light blue towel. Rain smiled as she read the small note inside the bag.

Good morning, Rain.

Hopefully, you had a good night’s sleep on your first night in your new room. I took the liberty of preparing a small bag of essentials for you. If you run out of anything, feel free to let me, Lanie, or J know, and we’ll get you whatever you need. If anything is missing that you would like, please don’t hesitate to ask us. We’d be more than happy to get it for you.

Brent gave me his Zon account details, and I ordered some clothes for you, which should arrive later tomorrow. You seem to be about the same size as me, so I ordered some shirts, pants, and underwear for you. Until they arrive, you're welcome to borrow anything you need from me.

I figured you might want to avoid Ryker this morning. The shared bathroom on this floor is down the hall and to the left. You can’t miss it. Just make sure you clean up after yourself. If you need anything, I’m on the third floor, with the second room on the right. But I’ll probably already be awake, working with Brent.

Breakfast is served at 7:30 AM, and you’re more than welcome to join us in the main dining room. It’s where we ate yesterday. Hope to see you there. Have a good day. And don’t worry, we’ve got your back.

Rain smiled at Lexie’s kind gesture. She grabbed what she needed and went to find the bathroom. Luckily, it was right where Lexie said it would be. When she opened the door, she was greeted by two other doors—one leading to the men’s side and the other to the women’s side.

Rain was surprised to see it looked more like a gymnasium locker room rather than a bathroom. There were three toilet stalls, three shower stalls, and three sinks. Rain happened to be the only one there, and she comfortably attended to her business, showered, and completed her morning routine. She realized that the clothes she was wearing smelled awful, but she didn’t have anything else to wear.

“Crap,” Rain muttered to herself. She had no way of contacting anyone for help, and no one else had arrived at the bathroom while she was showering and brushing her teeth. With no other options, she wrapped the towel around herself tightly, grabbed the plastic bag with her new bathroom essentials, opened the door, and peeked out. She didn’t see anyone in sight. She braced herself, noting which room was hers, and headed straight for it.

Unfortunately, Rain didn’t get there in time before another door opened and someone came out. Rain bumped into them and dropped her towel, exposing herself completely.

“Holy f*ck,” a male voice muttered. Rain looked up, shocked to see someone she had never met before. “Damn,” the man said as he admired Rain’s fit body. “If you need someone to worship that sexy body of yours, my room is right there,” he said.

“What?” Rain was stunned that someone could be so bold. She reached for her towel and tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and spun her around again.

“What’s the hurry, baby?” he started to flirt. Rain wanted to refuse his advances, but before she could say anything, a thunderous roar shook the floor beneath them. The unknown male snapped his head around and looked down the hall to see a furious Ryker with his claws extended.

“If you want to keep your life, Trent, I suggest you let her go,” Ryker threatened in a deep snarl. Trent looked down at Rain and then back at Ryker. When he realized what he was doing, Trent let go of Rain as if his hand had been burned.

“F*ck, I’m sorry, Ryker! I didn’t know she was yours! I’m so sorry!” Trent immediately apologized. He looked at Rain again and sincerely apologized to her as well before he ran back into his room.

“Why are you running around naked?!” Ryker shouted at Rain as he stomped toward her and pushed her into her room before she could even respond.

“Why are you acting like I’ve done something wrong!?” Rain shouted back, spinning around angrily at him.

“Do you know how many unmated male wolves are on this floor!? You can’t be walking around without any clothes on!”

“You’re acting like I did it on purpose! I took a shower and didn’t have any clean clothes, so I had to run out in a bath towel.

“Why didn’t you bring clothes with you before showering”?

“BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANY, YOU BIG STUPID TYRANT!” Ryker was surprised to hear Rain talk back to him that way, but when he dissected what she had just said, he sighed in defeat.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“No, of course, you didn’t. Because you only care about yourself and what you think. If you had taken a few more seconds to ask me a little more politely, you would know. Or perhaps, you could have used your damn brain and some logic to realize that I came here just a few days ago with nothing, and I’ve been wearing the clothes provided to me at the hospital.” Ryker sighed heavily, feeling guilty for snapping at her without thinking first.

“Let me go get you some clothes,” Ryker offered sincerely, but Rain was already annoyed with him and sharply declined.

“I don’t need your clothes, Ryker. Lexie already offered to share hers with me. I’m going to find her,” Rain spat, then prepared to leave the room again, her towel still wrapped around her.

“You’re not going anywhere with just a towel on!” Ryker immediately stopped her.

“And who do you think you are telling me what to do!?” Rain snapped, yanking her arm free from his grip.

“I’m your mate!”

“That’s funny, because you sure as hell weren’t acting like it yesterday,” Rain sneered, pushed past him, and went to find Lexie. Ryker followed after her, grabbing her arm again. “LET GO!” Rain yelled.

“Rain, stop acting like a cub!”

“YOU’RE NOT MY KEEPER, RYKER!” Rain roared in her tiger voice, her eyes shining with rage. Ryker was stunned to see her so angry. “Let me go or I’ll make you,” she warned, her tiger claws extending, ready to defend herself.

“Rain, why are you so angry with me?”

“Because you don’t f*cking listen!”

“I’m trying to help you!”

“I don’t need your help! I have the girls for that!”

“Rain—”

“You want to talk about how our species behaves in the wild, then I’ll show you how females act when you back them into a corner,” Rain threatened, partially shifting to get Ryker to back off.

“Whoa, what is going on here?” a feminine voice asked. Ryker looked over Rain’s head to see Lanie, Lexie, and J. “Ryker, why are you manhandling her?” Lanie asked.

“She was going to—”

“I can speak for myself!” Rain said, cutting him off. Ryker gritted his teeth to stay calm.

“Rain, what’s wrong?”

“I didn’t have any clothes after showering, and I was coming to find Lexie because she offered to share some of her clothes with me until the stuff she ordered came in tomorrow,” Rain explained, tears welling in her eyes from the frustration caused by Ryker and his barbaric attitude.

“I was bringing you some clothes, Rain, because I thought you’d need them before showering, but I guess I’m too late,” Lexie replied.

“Ryker, let her go,” Lanie told him authoritatively.

“Are you commanding me, Little One?” Ryker asked.

“Damn straight, I am. Drop her arm, now.” Ryker obeyed as Lanie instructed. Though she was just a child in his eyes, she was the Luna of the pack, and Ryker had sworn loyalty to Golden Moon, which also meant he had to follow the ranked members' orders when they gave a direct command.

“Ryker, Brent wants you at the training grounds in five minutes,” Lexie said to him sternly.

“But—”

“We will take care of her, because you seem to really suck at it, right now. Go!” Lexie said with no room for argument. Ryker grunted and did as he was told. The girls came to Rain’s aid and helped her back to her room. Once the door was closed and locked, Rain burst into tears. Arguing with Ryker first thing in the morning was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Are you okay?” J asked as she rubbed Rain’s arms.

“No! Why does he act like that? Just because he’s older and an Alpha doesn’t give him the right to treat me as if I’m a child!”

“No, it doesn’t. But he’s right, you’re still not fully mated, and walking around naked could bring about unwanted attention,” Lanie explained.

“Why are you defending him?” Rain asked.

“I’m not. I’m telling you the facts. It doesn’t matter what species you are, Rain. There are a lot of unmated males in our pack, and you’re a newly added member, a tigress, and beautiful. Wandering around without any clothes on isn’t really a good idea.”

“But I thought your kind was used to nudity?”

“Oh, we are, but it’s different if it’s not just after a shift,” Lexie responded.

“That still doesn’t excuse how Ryker treated you just now,” J added, hoping to soothe Rain’s emotions. Because of her powers, J’s empathy ran a little deeper than most, and she could feel that Rain was truly feeling burdened by Ryker and his demeanor.

“No, it doesn’t,” Lanie agreed.

“Do you want us to talk to him again?” J offered. Rain sniffled and nodded. She still wasn’t in the mood to deal with Ryker, especially now that they had their first fight.

“I wonder what his problem is?” Lexie asked no one in particular.

“He’s a man. That’s his problem,” J replied.

“An old one, too,” Lanie added.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Rain whispered. The girls were stunned and silent when they heard this.