"Are you sleeping?", Nora's voice drifted toward Marcy who was lying on her bed and pretending to sleep.
"I brought you food."
At this second part, Marcy opened her eyes. "What did you bring?"
She left the diner in the spur of the moment, but the truth was that she didn't eat anything since lunch, and she was hungry. The dingy motel didn't offer room service, so there was nothing to eat. Marcy already thought about drinking a lot of water to fill her stomach until morning, and she didn't want to acknowledge Nora's presence, but if there was food, she will take it.
"I packed your burger and fries. I asked for extra ketchup on the side, and added a chocolate milkshake.", Nora said. "We all had a shake. It was the best part of dinner."
Marcy looked at the styrofoam containers, and she remembered that in the United States is common for people to pack their leftovers. She never did that while in Europe. Probably because food portions in Europe are much smaller, so normally there are no leftovers.
Marcy scooted off the bed and went to the sofa to attack her food. She will pretend to sleep later.
Nora observed Marcy as she opened the containers and was arranging napkins on her lap. It was all done in elegant movements, and Nora thought how Marcy looked like royalty. Will she know how to eat the messy burger that had sauces, salad, and a fried egg inside?
Nora frowned when she realized that Marcy was ready to eat and she didn't even say thank you. George and James obviously didn't care if Marcy goes hungry, and that meal was there only because Nora thought of asking for carryout boxes.
Nora saw Marcy as an educated lady with exquisite etiquette, someone who wouldn't neglect to be grateful to the person who did something nice for her. Marcy's behavior was strange.
"Marcy?", Nora called. "Is everything OK?"
Marcy was about to take a bite of the burger when she paused. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Nora shrugged. "I don't know. You seem a bit distant."
Marcy's lips lifted into a stiff smile. Distant? That's an understatement.
Marcy didn't want to get too close to Nora out of fear that she will contract some disease.
Nora slept with Marcy's father and with Marcy's future husband. Oh, and she was trying to sleep with George (aka Marcy's mate). How can Marcy be OK with that?
But Marcy couldn't voice her thoughts at this point. If a fight breaks out, Marcy was not sure if she could come out of it unscathed. After all, Marcy never trained anything beyond what PE classes required, and if her father hears that there was a conflict between Marcy and Nora, Marcy was confident that her father will support his mistress over his estranged daughter.
Marcy told herself to endure. Once she becomes Damon's Luna, she will be in power and she won't need to tolerate despicable people like Nora.
"I am just nervous.", Marcy responded to Nora who scrutinized her. "You know… with us going to see Alpha Damon and everything. What if I mess up?"
At these words, Nora visibly relaxed.
For a moment, Nora thought that Marcy was up to something, but it seems that the poor pampered princess was just scared.
"You won't mess up anything.", Nora said with a smile. "If you think it's too much for you to bear, I will be there to help you, as your best friend." And this included taking care of Alpha Damon also.
Marcy didn't think much about Nora's words. She was glad that the questions stopped.
The food that Nora brought was cold and greasy, but the chocolate milkshake helped push it down Marcy's throat. At least she won't go to sleep hungry.
At some point, Nora sat next to Marcy, and asked, "What do you think about Commander George?"
Marcy's wolf went into a jealous fit of rage and Marcy nearly choked on the food.
Nora patted Marcy's back. "Are you OK?"
Marcy grabbed the milkshake and started gulping it. The cold sensation down her throat helped her to gather her senses.
She hoped that her displeasure didn't show. Why was Nora talking about George?
Did George spill the beans they were mates? No, he wouldn't do that. If people found out, he would be in trouble also; Probably in more trouble than Marcy.
"What about him?", Marcy asked.
"He is hot.", Nora said with a big grin on her face.
Marcy was not sure if Nora was testing her or not, but she knew that Nora meant it. It was obvious that Nora was drooling over George.
"He doesn't seem to be friendly.", Marcy responded.
Nora stifled a laugh. "I'm not looking for a friend."
"What are you looking for? A hookup?"
Nora shrugged. "I never had a boyfriend, but Commander George might change that."
Marcy narrowed her eyes. "I would imagine that a guy like him will wait for his fated mate."
Nora rolled her eyes. "Aren't we all hoping that the right person will come? But until then, fooling around is fair game. But he seems to be too good to just fool around with."
"Why are you telling me this?", Marcy snapped. She really wanted to ask if George will accept a skank like Nora, but she swallowed that question with her next bite.
Nora blinked at Marcy. "It's just a chatter among friends. You can't deny that he is a good catch. A commander at such a young age. He definitely has qualities beyond just muscles. Since you are about to meet Alpha Damon, I took the liberty of sitting in front of the car, next to George. You don't mind, do you?"
"I don't.", Marcy mumbled and continued eating.
"Good!", Nora exclaimed and leaned closer to Marcy while continuing in a low voice, "I felt his arm. He is so hard that I nearly broke a nail. What do you think, how does he compare to Alpha Damon? Ah, I bet that in your eyes, no one compares to Alpha Damon, but Commander George will definitely be a close second…"
Marcy started gulping down food with haste in the hope to finish as soon as possible and go back to bed so that she can pretend to sleep and not listen to Nora's nonsense.
Marcy thought that she might need to pretend to sleep in order to avoid Nora's chatter, but soon after she finished her meal, her eyelids became unusually heavy.
Nora watched as Marcy settled on the bed and she smirked when Marcy closed her eyes.
Mission complete!
Nora shook her head at Marcy while thinking how the latter was definitely a pampered princess. How come Marcy didn't think that something was wrong with the food? Who would do a good deed (like bringing food) without an ulterior motive?
Sucker!
