The next morning, I woke up very early. After having slept so much the day before, I was full of energy and wanted to make sure that I would be at breakfast on time. I couldn't deal with any more of Katie's anger.

I got to the cafeteria with ten minutes to spare, but noticed a line already forming at the steam table. Silently, I took my place in line, going completely unnoticed. At least until I felt a heavy arm sling around my shoulder.

"Hey, you! How'd you sleep?" Ashton greeted with a lazy smile.

"I slept very well, thanks."

"I must have worn you out, then," he chuckled, tousling my hair.

Unconsciously, I leaned in to him, smiling before I caught myself. I couldn't get attached. I needed to stop treating Ashton like we were friends or mates. He was probably just greeting me before he went to sit with his other girls.

I shrugged his arm off as we began to fill our plates with food, immediately feeling the loss of his warmth. He just played it off and hummed a little tune to himself. 

"Will you come sit with me? I'll introduce you to my friends," Ashton asked after we had gotten our food. I simply nodded, not knowing where else to sit. I could eat in the courtyard again, but if I kept that up, the isolation would slowly start to eat at me.

A warmth spread from my lower back and settled in my chest when Ashton's hand hovered just behind the small of my back as he led me to his table. I wanted to wiggle my butt back to force his hand to make full contact, but that would be inappropriate. 

Ashton smiled widely as we approached his table. He always seemed to be smiling. I was really starting to admire this boy who was so full of joy and kindness.

"Hey, everyone. This is Olivia. She's new here. Olivia, these are my friends."

Ashton went around the table introducing his friends one by one. 

Hannah, the olive skinned, raven haired beauty with warm eyes the color of chocolate.

Allie, who, from her hips to her hair, was all curves. She exuded sensuality.

Eve, the flame haired girl with cheek bones graced with countless freckles. She seemed to be kissed by the sun.

Marcus, who was chiseled like a statue. Everything from his jawline to his biceps was strong, defined lines. He was attractive, and he knew it based on his arrogant posture.

I felt inadequate next to them, to say the least. Fighting the urge to curl in on myself and hide my imperfections from these visions of beauty, I took the seat next to Ashton and began eating. The group began to converse, and politely attempted to include me in their dialogue, but my mind kept wandering.

Were any of these girls one of Ashton's other breeding partners? It hurt to think of him with any one of them. They were all so gorgeous and perfect, and more than likely willing to put out. How could I compete with that?

You don't compete with it, I scolded myself. When you fail to produce offspring, you will be relocated and will never see him again. You can't even afford to be friends with the boy.

That didn't make the image any easier to deal with, though. The feeling of Ashton resting his hand on my arm and rubbing soothing circles into my skin calmed my frayed mind. Why was he doing that? I wouldn't complain, though, because somehow, his touch was helping me keep my grip on sanity.

After breakfast was finished, I was unsure of what to do with myself. I didn't have to go to the doctor again until next week. What did everyone do between now and lunch?

Hannah answered my question before I even asked it.

"Even though it has never been explicitly stated, residents are sort of expected to exercise after breakfast. You know, keep in shape to increase the chances of a healthy birth. You can come work out with us if you want?" She smiled sweetly at me. Hannah had a sort of nurturing quality about her that seemed well suited for motherhood. Too bad she would never see her children.

"I would love to," I replied nervously.

The three girls accompanied me to my room. Everyone was already dressed in gym-appropriate clothing, and I had apparently lost the memo, so I needed to change.

Searching through my closet, I pulled out some tight black spandex shorts and a tank top, which looked like they would allow for increased mobility. I wasn't really sure though, as I had never worked out before. In the sweat shops, our only exercise was our monthly run in wolf form.

After I had changed, I quietly followed the girls to the gym while they talked among themselves. I hoped that they didn't find me rude, it was just hard to make conversation with people I didn't know and shared nothing in common with.

I ran on the treadmill for a good hour. I wasn't used to running in my human form, but the adrenaline coursing through my blood made my heart beat faster, my body feel more alive, and my mind feel more focused. This new high was addicting, and I ran until my sore legs could take no more.

Next, I joined the other girls on the mats as they did some strange stretches that they called yoga. One girl would show me a pose, and I would try to emulate them, but the others would always have to correct me, grabbing my body and moving it around to their liking. It had seemed easy enough from a distance, but by the end of our session, my muscles were quaking with the effort.

The males spent most of their time lifting weights to build muscle. I tried my best to ignore Ashton and focus on my own work out, but it was almost impossible once he took off his shirt. I was enraptured by his bulging muscles and the line of sweat dripping down his toned chest. He looked practically delectable. Damn, I needed to get a grip.

Several times throughout the hour, I swore I felt his eyes on me too. I refused to look over and confirm my suspicion that he was staring, not wanting to make eye contact and let on that I was watching him as well.

By the time that everyone started to filter out of the gym, I was completely exhausted. There was maybe an hour before lunch, and I needed to use that time to wash the sweat off of me and lay down.

When I finally came down for lunch, I was starving, the exercise fueling my hunger. There was already a long line for food. Sighing, I took my place at the end and waited for the food. Warm arms wrapped around me from behind and Ashton rested his head on my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Okay," I replied, relaxing back in to him.

When we reached the front of the line, I piled my plate high with food before following Ashton to his table again. As soon as we sat, I started to shovel food into my mouth. The others laughed before going on with their business. 

At some point, Ashton reached over to nab a strawberry from my plate, and I growled ferociously, protecting my food. For some reason, he thought this was terribly funny and laughed so hard that he actually cried. I merely glared at him.

Finishing my food long before anyone else, I sat back waiting for them to finish and finally tuned in to their conversation. They were debating about whether or not the girl in some horror movie they had recently watched was a complete idiot for going into the basement alone.

Eve said, "No. If you thought that there was someone in your basement, you wouldn't just go about your business as if they weren't there. You have to check!"

To which Marcus responded, "Yeah well she should have called a guy over to do it for her. Females can't handle that type of stuff." This earned him several angry glares and a slap over the head from Allie.

"Yeah, but in the movies the killer always waits till the cops or the friends leave to make another appearance. Then, everyone thinks that the girl is insanely paranoid and she still ends up getting murdered," Hannah points out.

I just remained silent throughout the conversation. I had never watched movies before, so I was not an expert on how horror films played out. Besides, I was pretty sure that if someone was intent on killing me, they would succeed no matter what decision I made. When it came to self defense, I was horribly hopeless.

When Ashton finished his meal, he turned to me. "How are you feeling?"

I rubbed my distended stomach and replied, "Full. And sore." My muscles were complaining from the unexpected workout.

Ashton smiled and rested his hands on my shoulders, squeezing rhythmically. Shivers of pleasure ran up and down my spine as his movements released the tension from my shoulders in a euphoric way. I threw my head back, basking in the sensation when a moan slipped out of my mouth.

Embarrassed, I jerked my head up and looked around the table to see if anyone had noticed. Yup, they all had, and everyone, especially Ashton, seemed to find my mortification absolutely hilarious. Well, everyone except for Eve, who was staring at me with what looked like pure hatred. Was she jealous? She had no reason to be, I would have to leave soon one way or the other.

Once everyone finished eating, I was planning on just going back to my room to take a nap. The work out had seriously drained me. When I got up to leave, Ashton wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I was going to go back to my room."

"Come on, there is so much stuff to do around here. Let me show you around."

After thinking this over for a bit, I nodded. It would be nice to know my way around, even if I wouldn't be here for much longer. Ashton smiled and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the cafeteria.

The complex was a lot bigger than it had seemed from the outside. There was an indoor pool on the first floor that immediately caught my attention. I didn't know how to swim, but the idea appealed to me. Also on the first floor, there were the gardens, the game room, the gym, and countless areas to just lounge around.

Next, Ashton showed me the fourth floor. There were four huge ball rooms that had been converted for recreational use. Two of them were sort of movie theaters and held giant screens, a projector, and loads of plush chairs. The third room was a sort of multipurpose room filled with arcade games, board games, televisions, and speakers pumping out music. There was even a dance floor in the corner that no one was using. The last room excited me the most.

 It was a library. I bet that almost no one used it, considering how uncommon it was to be literate now. The selection was limited, but still, there were books and it made me feel at home. Mostly it contained young adult fiction, and I was excited to start reading them. I would probably never get the chance to read again after I got moved to the labor camps, so I had to make sure to savor every word.

Ashton noticed my utter glee and wrapped his arm around me in a side hug. "Good, I'm glad that you don't totally hate it here. Now come on, free time is almost over and it's time for dinner."

Wow, had we really spent over 4 hours touring this place? I walked back to the cafeteria next to Ashton, our shoulders occasionally brushing. After dinner, he walked me back up to my room and told me he'd be back in a few hours.

Going into my room and sitting on my bed, I noticed that I was strangely excited for Ashton to return. At first I had thought that he was treating so nicely because I was one of "his girls," and that he must act the same towards his other breeding partners. However, he had spent the entire day with me and I hadn't even seen him spare a glance at any other girl. Could he maybe be as affected by me as I was by him?

All throughout the day, he had seemed to find any excuse to touch me, rubbing my shoulders, holding my hand as he guided me through the building, and even lingering his fingers on my cheek as he brushed my hair from my face. Yes, maybe there was something going on between us. It didn't totally make sense why Ashton would take a liking to me when he was surrounded by so many beautiful girls, but I wouldn't question it. And even if I would eventually have to leave the breeding sector, I sure as hell was going to enjoy every single moment I had with Ashton. This was probably the closest thing I would ever have to love.

Unable to stop smiling, I lay back on the bed and waited for Ashton to return.

Thanks again for reading!