Silver Kitsune Clan 03

Jon walked over and hugged her from the other side. "You should have seen me when I was informed that I was Alysson's mate. I come from a fairly average middle class family. At least you grew up in a house that was fairly large and spacious. I assume it is large since most packs tend to live in the same house unless they are really large. My house was a relatively small house where I lived with my brother and younger sister and parents." He laughed a bit. "I don't have a large family and Alysson's shocked me since there are cousins and aunties and uncles by the bushel."

Mari turned her head and looked at him. "Really?" That was said in a tiny teary voice as if she thought he was pulling her leg.

He nodded. "Really. I don't know about you, but I actually tried running when they drove me up here. It scared me silly and I knew that I was going to embarrass Alysson to no end by using the wrong fork or dressing funny or even talking funny."

~~~

Gettie hurried to do Alysson's bidding about delaying dinner and when she rushed into the kitchen and over to Sam, she threw her arms around her and started crying even more. She mumbled something about not having pleased Geoff's new mate though her words were hard to understand. What Alysson had said hadn't made much of an impact.

Sam was rather used to this. Some days it was annoying, but Gettie really was a great worker and would do a very good job at whatever she was assigned so she took it with a grain of salt. "What happened sweetie? I am sure that you did a great job and it was a misunderstanding." She let Gettie explain what had happened and contacted Alysson. *Ma'am what happened please?*

Between what Gettie had told her and what Alysson told her she realized it was a misunderstanding as she had expected. "Why don't you have a seat for a moment and get a bit of tea. You did fine! It was a misunderstanding and nothing you did." She comforted the girl for several minutes before going back to check on dinner.

~~~

Once Mari was calmed down she found a hankie being handed to her and she used it to wipe her nose and tears. "Sorry, it just has been so much. Never wanted much else than to take care of the pack and cubs and maybe someday have a junior wolf as a mate. Never expected this." She waved her hand around the room. That was when she noticed the girl was gone and her memory reminded her that she had heard her getting upset when Mari had her melt down.

"Did I upset the other girl? I really hope that wasn't my fault." She strained her ears and could hear some sobbing coming from somewhere and lowered her head. "I did upset her didn't I? Can I go and talk to her?" Now she felt ashamed for bursting out like that.

Alysson sighed. "You did but not for the reasons you might think. She is a gentle soul and easily upset." She looked away since she hated saying things that could be taken negatively about her staff. "She is sort of a simple girl and sometimes can be easily upset. That is why Sam is in charge of her. She is really good with her. If you want to go and talk to her you can but she might start crying again, just so you know."

Mari listened to what she said and nodded. "I think I understand and will be really gentle with her." She looked up at her mate. "Take me to where she is please." When he led her out of the dining room she leaned into him.

Once at the kitchen she moved slightly away from him. "Excuse me, can I come in please? I wanted to apologize for upsetting you."

*Her name is Gertrude but we call her Gettie.* Geoff sent to her.

Both women looked up really quickly and stood before Mari walked in. "Please don't bother with that. I just wanted to talk to Gettie and explain what happened. Please sit back down Gettie." Her voice was soft and gentle, sort of as if she was talking to an upset cub.

Gettie finally did after getting a nod from Geoff and she kept her eyes down and didn't notice Mari getting close till she wrapped her arms around her and had to look up in astonishment. She didn't know what to do and started to tremble slightly and Sam had to rescue the cup of tea in her hand before she dropped it.

"I am so sorry if I upset you Gettie. Where I come from, I am at the bottom of the pack. Dan, my Alpha, calls me a submissive and that means I am the most junior of wolves, not including cubs. Back at the pack house I worked in the kitchen, cleaned, scrubbed bathrooms, and did laundry as well as watched the cubs. My bed was in the cubs room and that was the little bit that was mine." She could feel the other girl trembling and stroked her hair as she was talking.

"Just over two weeks ago, Geoff showed up on my door step and I discovered he was to be my mate. Three days ago I left the only home I knew, my family, and my Alpha to come up here and be his mate. There are only thirty six in the pack and I thought we lived in a nice house. We show up here and my entire house could fit in the main areas almost. The rooms we are going to live in are way larger than my Alpha's and I thought they were huge. When I walked in to the dining room it was just too much, why do you need two of everything just to eat a dinner?" She laughed slightly when she said that.

Gettie couldn't help but lean into the smaller woman's hug since she wasn't making fun of her like some people did. When she started talking, she listened really hard as Sam had taught her and was shocked when the Lady said that she had done much the same work Gettie did. Just looking at her she looked like a lady. She was pretty and had long beautiful hair that was so black it almost had a purplish sheen to it. "But you are a lady. I can't believe you did that stuff."

Geoff couldn't help but grin a bit. "Believe me Gettie, she did. When I arrived and met her, we spent most of two weeks sleeping in the kits room. Usually in the morning we had two cubs in bed with us. I have to admit it was a rather interesting experience waking up with a small wolf curled up next to me. Getting poked by a cold wet nose isn't a good way to wake up in the morning."

She looked at Geoff and then Mari and got a nod. "Really I am telling you the truth, and if your nose isn't telling you that you need to get it checked silly." Mari grinned at her when she said that. "Now Geoff and I are going to go back and will be waiting for dinner to be served. Thank you for working so hard to welcome me to the clan." She gave the girl a good hug before releasing her and walking over to Geoff and walking out of the room.

Gettie sat there for a moment or two looking totally shocked by what Mari had said and it showed in her expression. She was right in that her nose told her that Mari wasn't lying to her or believed she wasn't lying to her. Gettie was caught up in her thoughts enough that Sam had to clear her throat several times to get her attention. When she did, Gettie jumped up and looked really abashed.

"Well? Are you going to start taking things to the dining room? You heard her; she is waiting for you to bring the food in. Start with the salad bowls and then come back and help me get the next course ready." She pointed at the large tray that had four salads, several dressings, and a basket of bread and rolls on it.

She did that and carried it into the dining room and placed it on the side table and carried the salads over and quickly served all four before bringing the bread and dressings over. "Here you go Lords and Ladies. What would you like to drink please?" She was back to sounding like a professional. She might be sensitive but she usually recovered quickly.

They called out their drinks and Mari looked down at the salad and had to grin. "My wolf just grumbled about rabbit food. She said this should be fed to a rabbit and then the rabbit should be fed to her." She poured a bit of the oil and vinegar dressing on it and started munching on it. "Me personally, I enjoy the occasional salad."

Everyone snickered at her comment. "Thank god we are far more integrated with our foxes since we are essentially a fox that can change form. I am not sure I could handle having a second voice in my head." Geoff said and when Mari snickered at him he simply smiled and kept eating.

Eventually Gettie came in with the main course and Mari's mouth started really watering. It was some sort of fish with butter, capers, veggies, potatoes, and roast beef. She couldn't help but sniff the air and almost groaned. "Oh man that smells good and I can't wait."

Gettie served the other three first before coming over and putting two plates down in front of her. "We weren't sure if your wolf would be satisfied with just salmon so she cooked some rare roast beef as well. If you need more to eat, please don't hesitate to ask ma'am." Once she was done serving, she settled off to one side and as people finished their drinks she refreshed them.

Mari stared at it for a moment. "Oh my, I think this will be fine and compliments to the chef even before I eat." She started eating and the salmon had been fried in butter and was sitting in a dish that was partially filled with melted butter and the fish had capers on it. She took a bite and the flesh was delicate and flakey. It filled her mouth with a rich buttery goodness and she had to close her eyes and slowly enjoy the flavor.

The others noted how she enjoyed it and had to smile. Gettie was looking very pleased with Mari's reaction since she was obviously enjoying it. Maybe what she had been saying earlier really had been true. The others were enjoying it but were almost getting some amusement from Mari's reaction.

She started digging into the food and though she was trying to eat with decorum it was hard. She was hungry and the food was really good. "If you eat like this every night I don't know how you aren't round as butter balls. I think I would even end up round and I have a wolf's appetite." Eventually she finished eating and rubbed her tummy. "Goodness if I ate another bite I wouldn't know where to put my cubs."

"Cubs ma'am? I take it you are pregnant?" Geoff must have been a faster worker.

"Yup two of them and I am close to 6 weeks now." She burped slightly and murmured an excuse me.

Gettie blinked at that but had been trained well enough not to comment even though she was more than curious. "In that case ma'am I will inform Samantha so we can make sure that you are getting a well-balanced diet at each meal."

Mari made a face. "You know what diet means to a wolf? It means die with a T... Thank you Gettie I appreciate the thought." She tried not to yawn though it was hard. "Sorry, is there any more?"

"Dessert ma'am and let me get the plates and I will be back in a moment." She collected everything and hurried out of the room for the next round. When she came back she had four plates of carrot cake with some ice cream and handed one to each of them. "There you go and I hope you enjoy it. When you are done, please feel free to just leave everything on the table and I will take care of it later." She hurried to the kitchen to help clean up.

Eventually dinner was totally done and Alysson smiled. "Sam outdid herself this evening. Mari, I would like to talk to you for a few minutes but we can go to your suite and talk in your solarium; I only need a few minutes." She stood up and waited to see.

"Yes Alysson and while we are talking Geoff can start the bath." She rubbed her tummy and had to let out another small burp with an 'excuse me' added on. "Please lead the way. I am still trying to wrap my brain around a house this size."

Shortly they were at their rooms and Alysson showed her into the solarium. "This could also be called a Lady's waiting room but I prefer the term solarium. If you want anything changed, let me know and I will see that it is taken care of. You are going to be part of the family and we want you to be as comfortable as possible.

Mari followed her in and had to smile. There was a large window overlooking the gardens and ocean as well as a large skylight. The walls were pale lavender with a darker magenta trimming. There was a small desk and a sofa and several comfortable chairs as well as two large built in bookcases already filled with books. Those she gave a wry glance at since she had a feeling that they were the books she was going to need to study. When Alysson settled in a chair, Mari settled in one across from her.

"One thing I am going to do is see about assigning you an assistant to help you with your day to day things as well as to teach you about the clan. She will do things like set appointments, help you pick clothing, dress your hair for formal occasions and more. Think of her as your right hand man sort of like Sheliae is to Geoff. She won't be your instructor or teacher since Sheliae will be taking care of that. Whoever your assistant ends up being, you need to be comfortable with her since she should become your confidant and friend since she will be with you for a very long time."

Before she could continue Mari smiled. "Well in that case, can I request Gettie? I like her and like the feel of her and know that we will work well together."

Alysson blinked when she asked for Gettie, since that hadn't been anywhere on her radar and really didn't seem like a good choice. "May I ask why? Well beyond that you like her?"

Mari had to frown slightly and her brows beetled together. "Well, first we come from a similar background and are used to seeing things from the ground up. That is important to me since she will be able to explain things to me in a simple straightforward way. I am sure that Sheliae will give me the view from the top and all the complex clan structure stuff but that is only half the story. The other half is from how the bottom half sees it. The two don't always match and I want to know the differences."

Now she was lightly plucking at her lower lip. "Also I know that she won't lie to me. I am not saying that whoever you might help me pick would but Gettie simply wouldn't be able to shade the truth. That will make it easier for me to not take what I am hearing with a grain of salt." Mari looked up and locked eyes with Alysson and they were old and worldly eyes. "I came from a damaged pack that had a bastard of an Alpha running it. Abuse, rape, and even the random killing was common place and you couldn't take what anyone in the senior ranks told you at face value."

Alysson tensed since she had heard some of the stories from some of the packs. She tried to make sure the packs that owed allegiance to her were run better than that, but they were semi-autonomous and she didn't always hear about problems in them. "I am sorry to hear that Mari. I really am." One question showed in her eyes even though she didn't ask.

"Yes, I was and the single females were rarely asked before being taken to bed. Dan started to teach me the difference between a good pack and a bad pack, as well as how to start trusting and even believing that I might be both able to be loved and to love. That is one reason when he asked me to his bed I said yes. He was gentle, kind, protective, and never took advantage of me, even though he easily could have. I might not have wanted cubs before then but I will never regret having his or that one night we had together." She had to look away since her voice was starting to get brittle and if she spoke much more she would break.

Alysson met her eyes and listened to what she had to say and nodded her understanding. "I think I can see why you are asking for her. She won't try to play you, is a terrible liar, and has a huge heart. I will have her come to your rooms with breakfast tomorrow and after that you can talk to her." She gave her a warm smile and stood up. "I think you are making a good choice Mari and take good care of her. She might not be the smartest but she is a very valued clan member and is loved by most everyone in this house." She gave Mari a hug. "Now go play with your mate and have a good evening."

Mari had to take several slow deep breaths before she felt in control enough of herself to get up and go and see if the bath was fully run. The tub looked huge, but she didn't have any idea of how fast it might fill. When she walked in Geoff was standing there staring at the wall and she could see the muscles in his jaw rippling. "I guess you heard us talking?" She walked over to him and leaned against his chest.

"You could say that. Can I dig the bastard back up and kill him again? I would really like to do that." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Do you want some bath salts in the water?" Geoff personally didn't care but it seemed like most of the women did.

~~~

Shortly after they woke up and took care of their morning ablutions, there was a knock on the door and Mari hurried over and opened it. Gettie was on the other side and had a large tray with three breakfasts on it and looking slightly confused. Mari had to assume it was because of the third breakfast. "Please come in and put it on the table in the kitchen nook." She assumed the girl knew where it was.

"Yes ma'am I will take care of it." She moved towards the kitchen and Mari had to really look at her. She was close to Geoff in height but was sort of willowy but her dimensions were just slightly off and made it seem like she just didn't quite fit her body. She had short silvery gray hair that was in a sort of pixie cut and regular features that were just this side of plain. The one striking feature was her silvery gray eyes that had a wonderful warmth to them. "Do you know why they sent a third breakfast up ma'am?"

Mari had to sigh. "Gettie you are going to call me Mari unless it is a formal occasion. You are not going to call me ma'am or lady or lady something. If you need I will make that an order and yes I know why. You are going to be joining Geoff and me for breakfast." She waited for Gettie to be startled and got a gasp.

"Ma'am, I mean Mari, I am just a servant; I can't join you for breakfast. I will eat later." She was standing off to one side staring at the three meals on the small table.

"You are going to join us, and then after breakfast you and I are going to have a conversation since I have an important question to ask you. You are not going to argue with me about breakfast either since I am meaner than you are." She snickered when she said that and Geoff snorted.

"You had better believe her. She is a meanie alright. Please, have a seat and relax." He walked in and settled down at the table and held Mari's chair out for her as she settled down. "I have the fun and excitement of seeing what all piles of papers they have left on my desk in the three weeks I have been gone. Lunch is usually about noon in the larger of the two dining rooms and is usually a buffet affair since the staff get to eat at the same time as well. I will send to you when I am getting ready to go."

Gettie carefully sat down as if the chair was mined and looked rather uncomfortable but pulled her plate over before reaching for the pot of coffee. "Would either of you like some coffee?" Geoff waved at his cup and she filled it before hers after Mari indicated she didn't want any.

"Tea? Sam figured you might prefer something herbal and she also thought you might want some mint as well." She gave her a shy smile and after pouring her cup full set the small pot next to her. Once everyone was served she actually started eating though she did wait for the other two to dig in first.

The room was mostly silent as they were eating and there was also a feeling of discomfort as well as awkwardness from what Gettie was feeling. Mari's meal was much larger than the other two and she almost felt guilty but wolfed the eggs, hash, toast and sausage down. "Thank you for bringing the food up. I hate to admit it, but I am not sure if I am quite ready to face all the stares I am going to be getting during breakfast. Lunch maybe, but not my first breakfast."