Terr5tory by Susan Bliler Page A

he faced the sink of dirty dishes.  “Alpha instincts kicking in, I guess.”  He heaved a great sigh and shook his head.  “Why are all these dishes still dirty?”
    Swallowing her bite of roll, Eleanor shoved back from the table.  “My fault.”
    Delano turned to study her as she stacked her half-full coffee cup on her empty plate.  “Slept in.  Haven’t gotten to it yet.”
    Delano’s shoulders slumped on a second great heave of breath.  “Christ, El.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.  “Please don’t tell me you wipe their asses too.”
    “No!” She barked indignantly.  “I don’t!” 
    When Delano’s eyes snapped open, Eleanor was glaring up at him as she hobbled toward the sink. 
    “It was my turn on the schedule.”  She explained with a bit of bite to her words.  “Yesterday was my day to do dishes.  They didn’t get done.  I apologize.”
    She’d just gotten to the sink and was reaching to set her dishes on the counter when Delano took them from her.  “I pulled you off rotation.”
    “I thought you meant perimeter runs.”
    “I meant all of it, and frankly it’s fucking annoying that I have to tell the rest of the pack that an injured pack mate obviously can’t do her assigned chores.  Christ,” he hissed.  “They are like babies, or brain dead, or brain dead babies!”
    She snorted at his words as a smile found her lips.  She’d often found herself thinking the exact same thing.  “Well.” She reached around him and snagged the dish cloth.  “I can’t do anything else, so I might as well double up around the house.”
    Lightning fast, Delano snatched the dish cloth out of her hand.  “I said you are off rotation for two weeks.  That means no chores, no duties.”
    They stood glaring at each other and Eleanor didn’t know what to say.  She could argue, but defying the word of the new Alpha was not only bad form, but foolish.  Still, she didn’t like being treated like a child. 
    “I can carry my weight, Alpha Bowden.  Been doing it for years.”
    “No.” His expression darkened.  “You’ve been carrying your weight and theirs.  That’s over, Eleanor.”  He jerked his head toward the door.  “Go get some rest.”
    When he turned his back on her dismissively, Eleanor had the urge to snag a picture off the wall and chuck it at his head.  Instead, she balled her hands into fists and hobbled toward the door in a huff. 
    “You need help getting up those stairs?”
    “No,” she growled without looking at him.
    “Eleanor!”
    She stilled but didn’t turn to face him.
    “I liked your nightgown.”
    Her head jerked to the side and she gaped at him over her shoulder, trying to gauge whether he was making fun of her.  The look on his face told her he wasn’t.
    “I liked it a lot.”
    Heat filled her from head to toe and without another word, she exited the kitchen and made her way back up to her room as quickly as her bum leg would let her.
    She didn’t see Delano smile to himself as he rolled up his sleeves and blasted on hot water to fill the sink of dishes with suds.

Chapter 16
    A few hours and a long nap later, Eleanor was back in the kitchen.  Surprisingly, the dishes had been done and the room was immaculate.  Nice!
    She’d hoped to find Delano there because she hadn’t even had the chance to ask him how things had gone with the other packs when last they talked.  The room was empty and the house was surprisingly quiet.  She understood that the guys were taking rotations, so the ones who weren’t out on the perimeter were most likely sleeping, but that didn’t explain where all the females were.  They’d been directed to stick close to the house and the kitchen was usually their gathering place.  Thinking on it, she decided that May and June were probably still lying low to avoid Delano’s wrath.  Riss was in all liklihood still pouting in her room and that left Shade who, if she had to guess,