Guardian Wolf Ch. 07

"Hey!" James said in protest. The rest of the group just laughed at his expense.

"Okay, okay. In all seriousness, we would like to welcome you. Gus and I look forward to meeting your wolf next month at the pack run," Tabitha said as she embraced her new cousin. Rachel had a hard time holding back the tears and choked back a sob as she embraced Tabitha in return.

"Thank you!" Rachel said. It was the only thing she could get out without breaking down completely in front of them.

"Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. Get out of here and enjoy the rest of your honeymoon," Gus said as he shooed the young couple out the foyer towards the exit.

When James and Rachel exited the hotel into the brisk October weather, they were greeted with their SUV gassed and ready to go; it was shining like a new penny after a fresh car wash and wax. James helped Rachel into the passenger seat and passed the two omega valets a fifty dollar tip each. He believed in always showing your appreciation to those who work for you. Both omega's gushed a heartfelt thank you and turned to continue their parking duties.

James fired up the diesel engine and pointed the massive SUV east towards I-90 and Bellevue Hospital. They were off to make friends with one of the most cold-hearted and callous women either had ever met.

************

Jessica Hamilton sat in her hospital bed in room 208 of the Bellevue Medical Center staring with unmasked disgust at her 'lunch' sitting in front of her. Calling the congealed mess beneath her food was an insult to all things edible. But it wasn't just the hospital meals that were ruining her mood; it was everything about a hospital that was causing her grief. The nurses were no relief for her mood either. All her berating and insulting had gone unheeded by the nursing staff; Jessica detested being ignored, even more so when she was telling someone off. All of the mindless chattel simply smiled stupidly at her and went about their business like they didn't have a brain cell in their bodies. How she hated having to rely on such imbeciles. Having to depend on people, no, servants like these were totally beneath Jessica and her status as a Hamilton. She was in a terrible mood; maybe having the entire hospital staff fired for incompetence would cheer her up some. She would need to have a frank discussion with her father about the matter when he finally noticed her missing and sent someone to pick her up. Gods! Her father was such an asshole!

Today the nursing staff had woken her up early in the morning, disturbing her sleep with the excuse of 'checking vital signs' and other such bullshit. When they were finally done poking and prodding at the tender spot on her head they had given her a few more painkillers and antibiotics and left her to fall peacefully back into unconsciousness. Then that ass of a doctor had come in and woken her from blissful oblivion to once again check and prod at her bandaged head. He clucked and muttered unintelligent prattle about a concussion and 'taking it easy' for a few weeks until the swelling went down around the back of her skull.

He had warned the stubborn teenager that all strenuous activities would be detrimental to her recovery; this included things like cheerleading and practicing cheerleading. What sort of nonsense was that? What would she possibly do with all that free time if she couldn't cheerlead? Study? As if! Besides, she had an army of geeky fanatics who worshiped the ground she walked on to do her academic bidding. She had already conned enough nerds and four-eyes to satisfy her GPA until graduation. And if that were not enough, Jessica had enough dirt and sexual harassment on most of her teachers to blackmail them into silence; well, the male teachers at least. Jessica had become very adept at sucking teacher cock to get what she wanted out of them. However, she did not have enough on the few female teachers to aid her much. And she most certainly wouldn't use her feminine charms on them; she didn't swing that way. That is where the nerds were most useful. They filled the gap where sexual blackmail was lacking.

Jessica once again looked at the tray sitting in front of her with a scowl. This was only the latest insult that had marred her day. The young wisp of a female orderly that brought her the food ensured her that the turkey dinner now sitting in front of her was one of the better meals at the hospital. She would most certainly hate to see what their worst was; probably not unlike the dog food the guard dogs at her estate feasted upon. And how could you exactly qualify this as turkey? The processed turkey carcass and water that was pressure formed into sliceable chunks was unlike any turkey she had eaten before. Just looking at the poor excuse for a holiday bird made her think of SPAM...ugh...Stuff Posing as Meat. She imagined this turkey sliding out of a can with a slurping plop that put her off entirely of even considering eating it.

And then there were the side dishes. First there was the cranberry sauce, if you could actually call the congealed reddish mess such a thing; it was obviously fresh out of a can and sliced just as easily as her 'turkey'. Jessica would bet there was not anything in that sauce that even resembled an actual cranberry.

Second, there were the mashed potatoes. It was bad enough that they had covered the pretentious carbohydrates in a thin brown liquid they had the balls to call gravy. Gods! How she despised gravy! How could you deem liquid turkey fat and flour as anything remotely edible? Beyond the disgusting topping, the potatoes were lumpy and obviously a dehydrate substitute. How could someone fuckup potatoes? How could someone fuckup add water and stir? It was likely the entire kitchen staff was bussed to the hospital on short buses; retards, the whole lot of them! Besides, it was one of the simplest vegetables the Gods had put on this earth! Even if it was nothing but starches, sugars, and carbohydrates; something her girlish figure demanded she not ingest.

But the greatest affront to her delicate digestive system was god damn fucking peas! If there was anything Jessica hated more than anything on the planet, it was god damn fucking peas! Just the look of the vegetable was disturbing. It was small, round, and wrinkled; and if the look of the little abominations didn't throw you off your appetite, the texture would. The taste was just...just...wrong. God damn fucking peas! And they were canned god damn fucking peas at that! Jessica pushed the mobile tray as far away from her as possible in utter disgust. Gods! What she wouldn't give for Chinese takeout at this moment. She would even forgive that slut Rachel Merchant if she brought her Chinese from PF Chang's or something. It turned out the Gods have a sick sense of ironic humor!

************

James and Rachel's stomachs growled in stereo as they made their way from the I-90, I-405 junction towards Bellevue. They looked at one another and laughed aloud; even their stomachs seemed to be in sync today. As James turned the large Ford Excursion to merge on the Bellevue off ramp, Jessica spotted a PF Chang's just east of the exit.

"How does Chinese sound?" Rachel said as her mouth salivated.

"Sounds like you read my mind...did you read my mind, baby?" James asked his wife playfully.

"Maybe...maybe not," Rachel said cryptically with a smile.

"Refusing to answer my questions, eh? Vell, ve have vays of making you talk Fraulein!" James said in an exaggerated German accent as he placed his hand over Rachel's T-shirt and pulled and stroked her left nipple until it was painfully hard. Rachel gasped then moaned as she allowed the pleasure to wash over her. She was getting to the point of very turned on when James pulled the large SUV into the parking lot, cruelly removing the source of pleasure from her tender nipple.

"You are such a bastard!" Rachel said, only a hint of anger in her voice.

"What? It takes two hands to turn this beast into the parking lot. I won't have us in an accident just because you were getting close to orgasm," James said as he winked at his mate. Rachel chose to say nothing and stuck her tongue out at her mate.

James exited the vehicle and made his way over to the passenger door to help his mate down to the asphalt. Among the many lessons he learned from his father, gentlemanly conduct and chivalry were two he took to heart. After opening the door he picked up his tiny mate and swung her around playfully until she punched him giggling to put her down. After finishing their play and locking their truck, they made their way into the restaurant hand in hand.

Upon entering the restaurant, James and Rachel's senses were met with a cornucopia of delicious pseudo oriental smells that left their stomachs growling and their mouths salivating in anticipation. They were met at the entrance by a bubbly hostess with blond ringlets who stood no more than 4' 11". She flashed them a stellar smile but spent a moment longer enjoying James's considerable attributes. Rachel decided to be a big girl and let the minor infraction go...this time. She was becoming increasingly possessive of her mate.

"Hi! Welcome to PF Chang's. My name is Bridgett. Is it just the two of you?" she asked as she reached for a couple of menus beneath the counter.

"Yeah, but we are here for takeout, not dine in please," James said politely.

"Sure thing hot stuff! The takeout counter is just over there beyond the double doors," Bridgett said, pointing to a pair of doors down a long hallway. She continued to watch James's sculpted butt as he walked with the small woman arm in arm. Bridgett seethed a bit in unspoken jealousy. That bitch was a lucky, lucky woman to have such a gorgeous sample of manhood wrapped around her. She sighed in resignation as she realized she had no chance with the man and reluctantly turned around to greet the next customer.

James opened the door to the takeout area and followed his mate through the door. They were met by a gothic woman behind a glass serving area who clearly did not enjoy her current employment opportunity. She looked at the couple with a completely bored look and responded with an equally bored greeting.

"Hello, welcome to PF Chang's. My name is Sadie, how may I help you?" the young woman said like she was reading a script she had read a million times before.

Unfazed James smiled at the young woman with way too many piercings and spoke with an easy air, "Hi Sadie. My name is James and this is my wife Rachel. We have quite a large order, is that okay?" Sadie shrugged her shoulders in indifference.

"Okay. I would like one dozen egg rolls, a dozen spring rolls, two orders of spicy chicken, two orders of crisp honey chicken, and a large order of white rice please," James said as Sadie was forced to write down his order.

"What do you want baby?" James asked. This caused Sadie to look up in disbelief. That was all for this one guy? I guess he needs all that because he is so big.

"Um...I would like a dozen spring rolls, two orders of the pepper steak, two orders of the Szechuan beef, and a large order of white rice please," Rachel said. This caused Sadie to actually gasp in utter surprise as she realized this was all for the tiny woman.

"You sure you can eat all that? It's a lot of food," Sadie said.

"Believe me, I know. But we both have very active metabolisms and need a lot of calories to keep going. Don't' worry about us, we do a lot of strenuous workouts to burn the calories," Rachel said this with a saucy look at James and grabbed his butt for good measure. Sadie did not miss the sexual innuendo at all.

"Okay, is that all?" Sadie asked. The couple had her complete attention now.

"Almost...babe, what do you think Jessica would want? I figure this is as good a peace offering as any. I'm sure she does not like the hospital food at all. If I had to guess, I would say she is probably starving for outside food," James said with a chuckle.

"Good point. She likes the sweat and sour chicken a lot. Give us an order of that with white rice and a couple of spring rolls please," Rachel said.

"What? No mass quantities?" Sadie asked, completely forgetting her place and asking with brazen candor.

"Not this time, thank you," James said with a reproving look. Sadie caught the look immediately and hung her head behind her black and purple hair. She mumbled a quick apology and disappeared quickly to fill their order.

Rachel and James sat on one the cushioned benches offered to waiting customers. James put his arm around Rachel and pulled his little mate into his muscled embrace. Rachel sighed in satisfaction as she rested her head lovingly on James's strong pectoral muscles. They were lost momentarily in each other and Sadie had to petition them twice to get their attention.

"Um...your order is ready please," Sadie said with a hint of embarrassment.

"Oh...sorry," Rachel said in her own moment of embarrassment.

James and Rachel followed Sadie over to the payment counter.

"Your total is $74.28 please," Sadie said as she finished bagging their order into a large takeout bag.

James reached into his wallet and pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to Sadie. As she rung them out, James and Rachel picked up their parcels and started walking towards the exit and their truck.

"Wait! What about your change?" Sadie asked as Rachel turned and walked after her mate.

"Consider it your tip for good service Sadie," Rachel said as she went through the exit. Needless to say Sadie was somewhat shocked but pleased at such a large tip. Just because of that, her day was just a little bit brighter in this otherwise dreary world.

************

James and Rachel pulled into the visitor's parking lot of Bellevue Medical Center. After saving his wife from the safety harness in the passenger seat and helping her back to Terra Firma, he grabbed his mate in a fireman's carry over his left shoulder and, holding their lunch in his right hand, proceeded towards the entrance. Rachel was giggling and screaming in mock alarm as she beat half-heartedly on her mate's muscular back. Rachel wasn't surprised to see more than a few spectators observing the rather abnormal couple as they walked/carried to the entrance. When James reached the entrance he deposited his mate back on the concrete walkway and smacked her pert backside with a firm slap, making Rachel yelp and rush through the entrance to escape her mate's attention.

James caught up with his mate on the lam with ease and picked her up making her scream in surprise as he swung her around the large hospital foyer. Rachel dissolved into a fit of giggles as she quickly became dizzy from her mate's aerial acrobatics. A firm clearing of the throat from the information desk brought their fun to an end. A stern short woman was looking at the young couple with a disapproving glare. After a few moments of the evil eye, the woman clucked her tongue with a shake of the head and returned to her administrative duties. Remembering they didn't know what room Jessica resided in, forced the couple to approach the elderly crone in abject humility.

"Um...excuse us. We are looking for Jessica Hamilton. Could you direct us to her room, please?" Rachel asked in her most polite voice.

The woman who earlier rebuked the couple for disorderly conduct shook her head in resignation and turned to her computer to look up the appropriate information. After retrieving the necessary room number she turned back to the young couple with an agitated glare.

"Ms. Hamilton is in room 208," the elderly woman spoke in a short tone. She wished for nothing more than this annoying teenage couple to leave her alone so she could return to her tawdry romance novel.

"Thank you," James said as he steered Rachel towards the elevators.

Before James could reach around Rachel to push the button to the second floor, Rachel escaped his grasp and ran towards a gift shop she noticed moments before.

"If we are going to be making a peace offering with the wicked witch of the West, I think a bouquet of fresh flowers and a couple of balloons will reap us benefits in the long run," Rachel said as she entered the small shop waiting for her mate to follow.

As James entered the gift shop he saw his mate talking amicably with an elderly matron whose attitude and demeanor were infinitely more pleasant compared to that of the information desk. The woman was smaller than Rachel and nearly two hundred pounds of bubbly round flesh that bespoke too many years of grandkids and baking goodies. However, her rotund figure only added to the grandmotherly aura the women seemed to exude from every pore.

"Well, well. Aren't you a lucky girl? Who is this fine young man?" grandmother asked as she spied James coming through the exit.

"I'm the husband," James said good-naturedly.

"Of course you are," grandmother spoke sagely.

"What can I get you dears?" grandmother asked. She always enjoyed talking with young people. Especially such well behaved ones as these.

"Do you have a dozen roses and a couple of balloons that say 'Get Well'?" Rachel asked hopefully.

Grandmother laughed with a loud clear voice. "Of course dear! This is a hospital after all. I doubt we have anything other than 'Get Well' or 'Feel Better Soon' and the like. As for roses, I have just the thing. You wait right here and I'll be right back," grandmother said after patting Rachel's cheek a couple of times.

I like her!Rachel thought in her mind.

I do to!James thought back.

Just as quickly as she had left, grandmother returned with a dozen fresh red roses in a glass vase and a couple of polychloroprene balloons that indeed said 'Get Well' emblazoned in rainbow colors on the front.

"Will these do?" she asked.

"They're perfect!" Rachel said with glee.

"I knew they would be dear," grandmother said.

"How much do we owe you?" James asked.

"Ah! For the future Alphas of the Wolfe clan, you can consider them on the house," grandmother spoke. She obviously knew much more than she was letting on.

The look of surprise and confusion on James and Rachel's face was priceless. Both their mouths stood open in shock at her observation. Neither had even suspected she was of supernatural origins. This pleased grandmother immensely, knowing her little trick had fooled even the great Wolfe clan; even if they were still far too young to know better. Grandmother laughed loudly for a few minutes before properly introducing herself.

"I'm Matron Matilda Graham of the Golden Hammer Caste. That's dwarves to you, dear Rachel. I can tell James has not gotten around to properly explaining the different special clans that compose the supernatural world. I don't know what it is with the Wolfe clan men. They always seem to wait until the last possible moment to speak with their mates. Must be unable to work their tongues before necessity absolutely demands it," Matilda guffawed loudly at that.

"I'm sorry I didn't properly introduce myself earlier; I couldn't help having a little fun at your expense. If you'll forgive me, I do love a good practical joke. You obviously already met my older sister Gretchen at the information desk. You will have to forgive her; she has been in a foul mood all week. She found out that her youngest grandson is to be mated to a human coal miner's daughter from West Virginia. She knows that the Alphas have to breed with the humans, but not when it is her own flesh and blood. My sister and I are of that age where racial bigotries are hard to let go. I have, she has not. She obviously doesn't approve of the union and has been stewing in her own juices all week. Stubborn old goat she is. Anyway! It is very nice to meet you both, properly of course. Feel free to stop by any time and chat. I always enjoy catching up on the gossip that floats around in the supernatural world," Matilda winked at the young couple.