Alpha Assignment (GL) Chapter 5 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Quinn pushed one of her many spiral notebooks across the dining table.

While Remi had eaten her breakfast, interspersed with sniffs and swipes at her swollen pink cheeks, Quinn had been scrawling in the notebook when she should have been creating brightly coloured graphs.

“I wrote out my daily schedule on the first page of this notebook. You can use the rest of it for whatever you like.” She rolled a new pen to Remi’s side, too.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Remi said sincerely. Her voice was a little croaky, but she wasn't shaking or crying and that was a win to Quinn. Hopefully they never had to speak of what had transpired that morning ever again.

Remi curled her hands around the notebook and pulled it close. She studied the handwritten schedule as though she were going to be tested on it.

Quinn’s Schedule

WFH - Mondays & Wednesdays & Alternating Fridays

6:00 - Wake Up & Wash & Dress

6:30 - Morning Meditation & Stretches (Headphones On - please do not disturb)

6:45 - Prepare Breakfast & Coffee

7:00 - Eat Breakfast & Drink Coffee

7:30 - Leave For Work OR Set Up WFH

8:00 - 16:00 - Work

16:30 - Gym OR Yoga Class

18:00 - Cook & Eat Dinner

19:00 - Cleaning & Laundry

20:00 - Bath

21:00 - Reading & Planner Organising

22:00 - Bedtime (No noise after this time please)

Weekends

Saturdays - Errands/Chores

Sundays - Rest

Quinn interrupted her memorisation, “you’re obviously not a morning person, so you’re welcome to have your breakfast whenever you want." She hoped she sounded friendly and teasing, but it was a mystery at this point how Remi would interpret anything Quinn said or did. "But we should have lunches and dinners together to save time - there’s no point cooking different meals. I already cook double portions of meals to use leftovers for work lunches.”

Remi nodded, but kept her eyes on the paper. “You… live a very efficient life, Alpha.”

“I like to make the most out of every day.”

“Does that ever tire you out, Alpha?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

Quinn hesitated, wondering if she had been too abrupt in her answer. “I make the most out of the day to fit as much self-care and as many healthy habits in as I can. I plan my time to spend it taking care of myself.”

“I understand, Alpha.” Remi nodded very convincingly. “I will try to be healthy, too!”

It was impossible to fight the small smile that pulled Quinn's cheeks up. Remi's enthusiasm, as frustrating as it could be in the context of their expected relationship, was endearing. “Sure," she replied. "Why don’t you use the notebook to make your own day plans?”

“Yes, Alpha!” She clicked the pen and brought it to the paper. “Um, Alpha?”

“Yes, Remi?”

Remi pinched her lips in disapproval at hearing her own name, but said nothing in reprimand. If she called Quinn Alpha with every other breath, Quinn felt it was only fair she should get to call her by her name. Especially after the events of the morning. Remi's name was a palate cleanser over the word that had lined her throat with bile. Omega. As though she were nothing more than her genetic structure. You wouldn't address a woman as 'Woman,’ and you wouldn't refer to someone with yellow hair as 'Blonde' instead of their name. Whether you received your name from your parents or yourself, it was meant to be used.

“What day is it today?”

Quinn tilted her head. “You don’t have a phone?”

Remi shook her head.

"We’ll sort that out at the weekend." The sooner the better. They weren't on pack lands, they couldn't call to each other like dogs in the neighbourhood. "It’s not safe to be without a phone in the human world. And today is Wednesday."

Remi's beaming smile was interrupted briefly by a hiccup, followed by another sniff. "Thank you, Alpha! I can use it as an alarm clock, too. That’s what the alpha and betas at my old pack did."

"Sure. For now, do you want me to wake you up right before I leave for work?"

Remi squeezed her little fists either side of the notebook. Determination brightened her eyes and pressed her lips into a pink line. "I want to wake up when you wake up, Alpha!"

Quinn hummed her scepticism, but didn’t try to reason with her.

"I need to get back to work. Do you want to... watch TV or read a book or something?"

"I'm going to work on my plan, Alpha!"

"Sure."

Quinn got very little done in the hour that followed. Her eyes were drawn to the other end of the table, to Remi, over and over. Crowded over the notebook, Remi scrawled on the paper in sudden bursts. Quinn started to wonder if she was actually drawing pictures on the lined paper. Anything that kept her entertained, she supposed.

Lunchtime arrived, Quinn set her status, and Remi immediately noticed the switch in Quinn's body language. She glanced up warily, and Quinn stretched her arms above her head with a quiet groan.

"Time for lunch," she explained. Before she voiced the question, she knew the answer, but she still asked, "would you like to help me make it?"

Remi jumped up from her seat. "Yes, Alpha!"

The fridge was full, but Remi stared at the contents as though she wasn't seeing anything edible between the doors.

"Do you like pak choi?"

"I don't know what that is, Alpha."

Quinn pointed at the leaves hanging free of their packaging. "This vegetable."

"Oh, it looks nice," Remi said uncertainly.

"What kind of foods did you eat back home?"

"All our vegetables came from the garden, Alpha. Lots of potatoes and onions and green beans. Some other stuff. We didn't have as many different greens as... this."

"Well, I buy my vegetables from the supermarket and they get them from all over the world so if there's anything you don't recognise, just ask."

Remi scanned the various shades and textures of green crammed into Quinn’s refrigerator. "What is that?"

"Kale."

The finger darted away to point at the punnet of strawberries on the other side. "Those are out of season, aren't they?"

"You can have anything in any season from supermarkets, Remi."

A nod with raised eyebrows. "Sometimes we bought things from supermarkets, too... but only if we couldn't make it ourselves. Or trade it with another pack. There was a pack a little way from us with a huge greenhouse. The plants grew all the way to the ceiling." Something had set off Remi's chatterbox function, but Quinn wasn't necessarily eager to switch it off. It was refreshing to hear her voice. Talking about anything that wasn't rules or apologies, that was. "They had grape vines! They didn't grow many ripe bunches, though, so they wouldn't sell them to our pack." Her voice got quieter and quieter. "We bought their soaps sometimes and they bought our leeks." There was an expectant pause. Quinn giving Remi a moment to check she had nothing else she wanted to say, and Remi uncertain of the response she would receive.

Quinn wasn't sure how to respond herself. She didn't want to share her childhood pack's imports and exports, didn't want to relate to Remi over something she was trying to forget. "That's very interesting, Remi," she said finally. "Does that mean you would prefer foods that you're familiar with? I have some potatoes..." She turned away to pull the wicker basket full of potatoes from the bottom cabinet of the island.

"I can eat anything, Alpha!"

As tempting as it was to revert back to the lunch she had planned to make today and have half tomorrow, potatoes sounded comforting. Autumn was on the horizon and eating a warm and hearty meal was one of the best parts of the colder seasons.

"Let's have pesto baked chicken with potatoes," she decided aloud.

Chicken duty was Quinn's, and she gave the potato prep to Remi. Seeing such a tiny hand wrapped around such a big knife was a disconcerting sight, but Remi seemed pleased beyond words to be allowed to assist.

Together in a ceramic dish, Quinn spread pesto and shredded cheddar cheese over the top of their meat and veg. She let Remi sprinkle over some pumpkin seeds. When she checked her watch, she noted that by now she would have already eaten her salmon and mixed vegetables, and have a portion stored in the fridge to take to work the next day.

To keep Remi's fidgeting at bay while their main dish cooked, Quinn produced ingredients for a side salad. They washed and chopped in near silence. Silence was normal for Quinn, but having another being in the room with her brought about the urge to speak. To say anything. As though silence alone was acceptable, but silence with another was inherently rude.

The timer on Quinn's watch rang and they brought the plates and dishes to the dining table. Quinn peeked around the edge of her laptop screen to ensure she hadn't received any urgent messages since she changed her emoticon to a plate and utensils. According to Jordan, setting the status to 'on lunch' was too boring, and she had demanded that everyone on their floor use the emoticons. Jordan's was currently a teacup and saucer, which Quinn could only assume meant 'coffee break.’

The silence continued to hold the pair as they ate. This time, at least, Remi seemed to be eating much more heartily than she had her breakfast. It eased some of the tightness in Quinn's chest to watch her enjoy her meal.

When Remi caught her watching, she slowed and reverted back to her nervous, self-assuring glances to Quinn every few seconds. Quinn tried to smile in a way that would appear at ease. Remi didn't return it. There was the wariness again, self-preservation creeping back over Remi's good mood. It felt like the young woman kept forgetting where she was, and who she was with. When reality snapped back like a rubber band she would lock up again and Quinn felt quietly defeated.

Perhaps, over time, the elastic could be stretched out.