New Alpha-New Rules (13 page)

Harper heard the
birds outside again before she opened her eyes. Ryder was wrapped around her
with his head on her chest. He was heavy but his weight and warmth felt good.
She opened her eyes and the room was dim. The sun was just coming up. She
untangled herself from him and got dressed. He was still asleep so she closed
the door softly when she left.

Harper stopped at
the bathroom and brushed her teeth and ran a brush through her hair. She took
care of her personal needs then went downstairs. The kitchen was empty. She
smiled with satisfaction. For once, she beat Cindy to breakfast, now she could
pitch in the way she should. It would show the pack that she cared and wanted
to belong it would also give her the chance to choose what was for breakfast.
She wanted something spicy.

She found ham and
bacon in the fridge. She grabbed the eggs while she was in there and brought it
all back to the counter. Once the oven was on and heating she went about
loading the coffee pot. When Cindy finally wandered in, Harper had the
preparations in full swing. Her ham and bacon were cooking in the oven and she
was cracking eggs in a large bowl. She’d already diced and was sautéing diced
onion and peppers.

“Good morning.”
Harper smiled broadly. “Sit and let me get you a cup of coffee.”

“Where is Ryder?”
Cindy looked at her strangely.

“Asleep.” Harper
smiled then checked the ham and bacon. She flipped the bacon over and pulled
the ham out. She chopped it and set it aside. Cindy watched. Harper whisked her
eggs and added milk then whisked again. “Did you sleep well?”

“You’re pretty
good at that.” Cindy watched her work.

“I cooked in a
restaurant for a year or so. This was the Tuesday special. Harper added the
eggs, ham and diced tomato to the onions and peppers. “Frittata.” She waggled
her eyebrows. She pulled the pan of bacon out and set it on the back of the
stove. Cindy’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t fry
that?”

“Nope. It’s faster
and more even in the oven.” Harper pulled the rack out and turned the broiler
on then arranged her sliced bread and closed it back up. Cindy was fascinated.

“To think I’ve
been using that two slice toaster all this time. Well, I think I’m fired and
you’re hired.” Harper laughed and turned the bread over on the rack. She looked
up from the oven and Ryder was seated at the counter. His eyes flashed. Cindy
took her mug and went to sit at the table giving them a little privacy.

“Good morning.” He
said quietly. She wasn’t sure what was wrong but greeted him anyway.

“Good morning.”
She nibbled her lip then went back to the toast. Harper pulled the slices out
quickly and put them on a plate. Ryder picked up the butter knife and started
to smear them. She smiled. “Thank you.” She tended to her frittata then pulled
the bacon off the pan and put it on a platter. He gave it a look but kept
buttering the toast, slowly. Harper got a knife from the drawer and helped. She
pulled her egg concoction from the stove and slid it from the pan onto a
platter. Ryder checked it out.

“What is that?” He
asked looking anxious.

“It’s eggs,
onions, peppers, tomatoes, and ham, it’s called a frittata.” She sliced it and
when she looked up, the pack was waiting. Harper got forks, knives and plates
to set out then loaded a plate for Ryder and one for herself. Cindy was there
then and filled a plate for her and Lucy. Harper grabbed a pitcher of orange
juice from the fridge on her way to the table. “Dig in boys.” She said as she
passed them.

She sat beside
Ryder and filled his glass with juice then her own. “I was upset when I found
you gone this morning.” He said quietly and she tensed. “But this more than
makes up for that.” He shoved egg into his mouth. “You are an excellent cook
Mrs. Dawson.” She grinned.

“I did this for a
living at one point but I’m sure my old boss would thank you, he taught me
everything I know.” She nibbled a piece of bacon.

“I’ll have to
thank him.” The wolves around her were quiet and she looked up to see why.
Usually breakfast was a boisterous time of day for them, it was all of that
energy from sleep. Alan was the only one that wouldn’t speak until he’d
finished a cup of coffee. They were so busy eating this morning that there was
no conversation. Cindy giggled.

“You’re definitely
hired. Quiet is a nice change.” She looked down at Lucy who wasn’t just pushing
food around as she usually did. She was eating too. Harper smiled.

“I’m glad you all
like it.” Harper said and sipped her coffee. “And I’m glad I could give you a
break for once Cindy.”

“I told you I
would put you to work.” Cindy grinned.

The pack started
the process of clearing their plates a few minutes later. Ryder followed them
into the living room. Some headed to the attic and some to the barn. Ryder
cleared his plate then kissed her chastely. “I’ll be in the barn.” She nodded.

“What do they have
left to do upstairs?”

“Um, the room
needs paint, the tub and stuff has to go in and I think that’s it. They will
cover the bed so they don’t drip paint on it. Don’t worry.” She nodded. “I
should have a delivery today, can you two manage to move the laundry out of the
way. Jack and Curtis are going to disconnect and move the machines to the
basement. When the freezer arrives they will be back to install it, if they get
in your way just run them off.” He winked. No way was she running them off, she
wanted that freezer installed too. This pack liked to hunt and not having a walk-in
was hindering them. She also wanted a place to put more turkey if the
opportunity presented itself to get one.

“Hey.” Cindy
snapped her fingers in Harper’s face. “Quit looking at his backside and grab a
pile.” Harper smirked. She was watching him stalk across the yard. He was so
graceful when he moved. She bent and scooped up as much of the pile as she
could.

“When are the
washer and dryer coming?”

“I think they’re
done with the electrical so…soon? Ryder ordered them yesterday, I think. We
should probably ask him but we can start tackling this as soon as they get the
machines hooked up.” Harper followed Cindy to the basement and helped sort the
clothes. Harper helped her make two more trips.

Jack and Curtis
moved the machines with little effort and hooked them up quickly. “There’s a
truck coming.” Jack said and headed up the stairs. Cindy looked at Harper and
shrugged. Curtis followed him.

“Thank goodness.”
Cindy muttered. “I don’t know if I hope for the freezer or the commercial
washer more. Come on. We’ll come back to this.”

The truck was
backing up to the porch when Harper got there. Ryder, Alan, Jack, and Curtis
were waiting for it. She watched as they unloaded the parts to install the
freezer first then two huge washers and two huge dryers. Cindy bounced in
place, “Laundry just got faster.” She whispered and Harper realized that they
hadn’t been here that long but she must do laundry from sun up to sun down with
the one little machine. There were many people living here. If they only used
one set of clothes a day that was a big pile every day. When she lived with
Bronson, she could do all of their laundry from a week in one afternoon.

They carried the
machines around the back of the house instead of through the front door so she
followed, curious. Around the back and on the ground were a set of double doors
with stairs leading into the basement. She hadn’t seen this set of stairs when
she was down there and wondered how she missed them. After a lot of grunting
and a few curse words, all four machines were down there and hooked up. The
basement was shaped like the letter ‘L’, she hadn’t come around, and that was
why she didn’t see the stairs. Ryder and Curtis were looking at the ceiling
over the stairway.

“I think we should
brace it. That freezer will be heavy Ry and the more we put in it the heavier
it will get. Ryder gave him a ‘duh’ look and Curtis smirked. “It couldn’t hurt
and you know an ounce of prevention…”

“I know. I wanted
the damn thing in today. Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I hadn’t really
thought about it until I saw how massive that thing is, the cooling unit is
bigger than I thought it would be too.” Ryder nodded.

“Okay, is the
bathroom done upstairs?” Curtis shook his head and Ryder thought about that for
a few minutes. Harper came over and wrapped her arms around his middle.

“They can finish
our room whenever, the freezer is more important. Your pack needs to hunt. Our
room is livable.”

“Our pack and that
includes you my little turkey hunter.” He grinned down at her. “Okay Curtis,
get the boys down here and get this floor braced and the freezer installed.”
Curtis gave him a half-hearted salute and scrambled up the stairs. “You are a
very giving she-wolf. Most Alpha’s mates would’ve demanded that her room be
first and the rest would have to wait.”

“That’s silly. I
have a bed to sleep in and a mate to keep me warm. I can walk down a flight of
stairs to pee. No big deal. Besides, they work fast so I won’t have to wait
long.” She winked at him. “Now go find something to do, me and Cindy are itching
to try out these new machines.” She looked around not seeing Cindy. “Where did
she go?”

“Oh she cleared
out when you grabbed me. I think she knew what would happen before I even did.”
He growled and pulled her into a tight embrace then kissed her passionately.
Harper was dizzy when he finished and found herself sitting on a washer. She
wondered how she’d gotten all the way over here. Ryder pulled her shirt off
then went for her pants and kissing her while he did. He lifted her and started
for the pile of clothes.

“Ryder no, not the
laundry.” She watched the indecision flicker in his eyes. “I don’t want to
smell pack while we…” He nodded and set her on her feet then pulled her pants
from her. Her flip-flop went sailing. The top loading washer that Cindy loaded
before was filling and she could hear the pack upstairs.

“We better hurry.”
He murmured freeing his erection. He lifted her and sat her on the edge of the
washer again. She gasped and he grinned. “Cold?” She nodded and smiled reaching
for him. Her legs wrapped around his middle and pulled him into her with his
warm hands cupping her bottom. Ryder sank into her slowly, the air hissed
between his teeth as she clenched around him. Harper writhed against him as he
filled her again and again. “Come for me sweetheart.” He whispered, they’re
coming. Harper fell apart at his command and felt his hot seed spill within
her. She muffled her cries against his shoulder. She shuddered against him and
was boneless. Ryder left a trail of feather light kisses over her forehead,
temple, and cheek, he placed the last one on her lips.

“I love you.” He
whispered. “Get dressed.” He said. “They’re coming across the yard and even
though they will know what we’ve been up to, I don’t want them leering at my
mate.” Harper hurried into her clothes and grinned as he blocked anyone’s view
of her. She was safely dressed and sorting laundry when they started down the
stairs.

“Honey, we’re
home.” She heard Lee call then as they stomped down the stairs. They knew. Her
cheeks flushed. They knew and they were trying to give them time to finish
without being too obvious about it. Ryder was perched on the edge of the
utility sink while she loaded the machines. Cindy came down the front stairs
with more clothes.

“Everything okay?”
She grinned. Harper nodded and measured out detergent. “Good. I remember when
Matt and I first mated. We did things everywhere and every chance we got.” She
winked. “Oh, double that hun, that washer will hold two big loads.” Cindy
stuffed more clothes inside. “See?” Harper looked inside. It was a lot bigger
than she’d thought.

“This won’t take
any time at all.” Harper mused. “We need to start lunch too.” Cindy nodded.
“You know I think that we could use some help.” Cindy lifted a brow while
loading the other washer. Harper measured the detergent for it and filled the
receptacle. “What is Nicole good at around the house?”

“Being lazy and
getting waited on.” Cindy said without missing a beat. She smirked.

“That stops now.”
Harper said quietly and turned on one heel to go upstairs.

She heard them
inside, soft voices murmuring. A TV was on and someone was snoring. Harper
stood outside of the door and drew a deep breath. She steeled herself,
straightened her posture, and knocked. Jasper opened it a few minutes later.
“I’d like to speak to your mom.” He stepped aside and let her in the huge room.
Nicole was sitting on a big bed with her legs crossed. She was reading a book.
She raised a brow waiting for Harper to speak. “Nicole. I would appreciate you
and your pups helping out with daily chores.”

“No.” Nicole said
and went back to her book. Harper folded her arms across her chest.

“Nicole. As Alpha
female it is at my discretion as to who does what inside this house.”

“You’re no Alpha,
certainly not mine and you will not direct me to do anything.” Nicole closed
her book and set it on the nightstand. She slowly got off the bed and stalked
to Harper. Their wolves had not met but Harper trembled inside. If Nicole’s
wolf was as good at intimidating her wolf as Nicole was as intimidating her,
there were going to be problems.

“I am Alpha female
of this pack.” Harper said evenly without moving from her place. “If you don’t
help, you don’t eat or get fresh laundry. These two should be helping in the
basement and she should be helping with laundry. You should be helping with
everything and if not, I will forbid that you share in any of our efforts.”

“You will not do
anything to me Missy. Will is Ryder’s best friend and he will not let you.”

“Who do you think
sent me?” Harper pursed her lips. “Make a choice. Participate or tend to your
family’s needs, and I mean all of them. You will do your own hunting, shopping,
preparing, cooking, cleaning, and laundering. What will it be Nicole?”