“Alright, that sounds like a good plan then.” She replied to me and I was seriously happy that she wants to try to meet with them. I already informed Zack to not bring too many people so I hope it would be okay. As we were slowly approaching, I could feel her scanning the area around. “You didn’t buy the grill yet?” She suddenly spoke and I turned the same direction she was looking at this moment. I have to say I didn’t expect to see what I saw. I would never ask Zack to take care of something ever again. I guess he took part of the fence and used it to create this abomination. “You noticed, huh?” I tried to cover up and make it sound like a joke and which actually made her lips widened. “We are here,” I announced and everyone stood up or turned our way to welcome us. I could see the smiles on their faces. I am sure most of those who still didn’t know that Rei is my mate started to guess.
“Good evening. Thank you for having me.” Rei sweetly greeted everyone and I could feel the scared cat trying to hide in the corner. She really didn’t like groups and I guess the people around here already were a big one. They all started to laugh. ‘Stop laughing idiots. Don’t you see she is nervous and scared?’ I scolded them with the harsh voice in our mind link. They directly stopped laughing. Zack came closer and stole my mate from me leading her to sit on one of the logs they used as benches. I followed since she let him lead and I sat right beside her. Every time I came closer to her body and she noticed me her body unconsciously relaxed which made me feel really happy. Zack sat down on the other side of her which I didn’t like and a small quiet growl escaped from my throat which I stopped and controlled instantly. He tried to approach her and talk to her and I didn’t want her to feel she couldn’t talk to others. “Relax girl, we don’t bite. Calen already told us some little parts so we understand that you are not very talkative, no one would be spending so many years alone. So please don’t restrain yourself and just enjoy your time with us.” He joked with her giving her a really amazing smile. I wanted to punch him square in his face. For some reason, it had the opposite effect on her than I expected. She was stiffened and nervous and when I say nervous, I could sense her sweat. Something was definitely not right. The people were coming one by one introducing themselves to her and I was introducing her to them. As more people were coming harder it was for her to keep her emotions hidden. ‘Guys give us some space please.’ I told them. They stopped coming or talking to us and everyone was suddenly busy with something else. I was really grateful in this moment for their understanding and really giving us space. ‘She would have a panic attack.’ Thoth informed and I didn’t know what to do. At this moment I started to panic myself. I was the reason she felt this way, she felt cornered. ‘Take her hand idiot.’ Thoth ordered me and obliged. I startled her.
“Don’t worry. I am here.” I tried to calm her down and she accepted my hand letting me hold her hand. Just from our touch, I could feel she relaxed rapidly. “You are okay?” I asked her to keep eye contact with her to make sure she is alright. “Just nervous.” She replied to me and I could see she was trying to push the smile on her face. I turned to Zack asking about the food. I was sure she must be now starving and also, I was thinking that maybe with some food in her stomach she would feel a little better.
“Thank you.” She suddenly spoke to me and I was caught surprised because I had no idea what. “For telling them to give me a bit of space.” She added seeing the confusion in my expression. “Oh, that. I felt you are distressed so I guess there were too many people, but not sure about that.” I told her honestly. She doesn’t need to know that I was actually frightened from the thought of her having a panic attack and for more I had no idea what I should do in either case, at least one of us know what to do, and I didn’t mean myself but my wolf at this moment. I could feel Thoth being proud and full of him at this moment but I didn’t care. He deserved that. “You were right. Honestly, I was afraid to freak out and almost got myself into a panic attack. This helped.” She said pressing on my hand that was holding her and it actually calmed me down knowing that I could help her overcome these hard situations and that my presence and my touch have this effect on her. I felt really blessed for the first time in my life.
Chapter 16
REI’S POV:
The rest of the evening was calmer since he sat right beside me and held my hand. I don’t remember when I felt such peace last time. ‘I told you it would be alright.’ Maat told me, smiling. ‘Thank you for everything, sis.’ I replied to her back. After the meal, we sat and talked a little bit but the rest of the group kept their distance, and only from time to time some of them approached. So after my little panic, everything calmed down and it was a really nice time back there.
As he promised he showed me my room which was by the way right beside his, not like I didn’t expect that and I was left alone to relax and sleep. ‘I think I could get used to this.’ I commented on the whole grill party and Maat laughed. ‘Good to know, because we would have it more often from now on.’ She replied to me which brought a smile to my face too. I could really get used to life like this. ‘You should go to sleep now; there is some work to do tomorrow so you would need to wake up quite early.’ Maat informed me. It is not like I don’t wake up early; it is just that in the last few weeks I could not sleep very well and due to our little party, it’s already late.
‘Good night sis.’ I wished Maat and she replied to me the same.
~*****~
“Good morning sunshine.” I was still sleepy. I tried to open my eyes but it was pretty difficult and honestly painful. The beam of light hit me hard like someone just uncovered the curtain and made a very unhappy noise and started to complain. “Well, sorry to wake you up so early princess but it’s already eleven o’clock and there is some job we need to do in your cabin. So, either you would wake up and supervise the work or they could do it without you. But since it is your cabin, I thought maybe you would want to be present.” I recognized the voice belonging to Calen. Why is Calen in my cabin and what is he talking about? I was confused and my mind just couldn’t catch up with the information that he just provided.
“What are you doing in my home?” I asked him and heard some laughter before the bed moved and I assumed he just sat down beside me on my bed. “Technically, you are my home princess.” He told me and my eyes were wide open in an instant the memory finally caught up with the words he was saying. “How long have I been sleeping?” I asked confusedly. He gave me a grin and I was lost in his glowing icy blue eyes. “Given the fact that we left the party around twelve and you went to sleep directly, I guess maybe like ten and a half, almost eleven hours.” He told me and I could believe it. “That’s not possible. I don’t sleep so much.” I practically whined and complained and checked the clocks that were hanging above the door of my room. He didn't lie. ‘I tried to wake you up but you were sleeping like the dead.’ Maat told me with guilt in her voice. ‘I don’t remember when you slept like that last time.’ She told me. I knew that she felt guilty to let me sleep in the end but I assume she decided that I just need to finally relax. What surprises me is the fact I could sleep like this in the foreigner area and on top of that not even in my own bed. ‘Oh, about that, I think you slept like this because this is actually his room. The bed has his smell.’ Maat told me. So at least now I know why she felt so guilty. But why didn't I notice yesterday? It didn’t make sense. ‘You felt his presence the whole evening so logically you didn’t notice that the scent is his because it didn’t change from what you smell the whole evening.’ That actually made sense.
I looked again into his eyes and saw that his smile got wider during my little talk with my wolf. I guess I made one of my funny faces Maat was always talking about.
“You finished your little conversation?” He asked me and I blushed to give him a nod. “Good, so now I guess you should go take shower,” he told me, eyeing me from head to toe, well, to the part of the body that was not covered by the blanket. I hurriedly checked what I was wearing and felt happy
that at least I was able to change yesterday to my normal shirt and shorts: “before we would take Zack and would head to your cabin. You already missed the breakfast but I asked Tamara to prepare some light breakfast since you don’t have much time. We would be back soon for lunch and Emily would like to borrow you for the rest of the afternoon.” He practically announced that my whole day was already planned without me. What am I a kid to be treated like? I wanted to complain but then I saw his stressed face. He actually tried to hide as much as possible and rather decided to stay quiet.
“I am not hungry at this moment so I would take shower and we could go. Sooner we leave, sooner we would come back and I would have my cabin back.” I told him and I guess my words made him realize everything he just said about today and his face held unreadable worries. I think he planned the whole day without even realizing that this is not something I am used to. But sadly, I am mated to Alpha who tends to have everything under his control. When I was watching him, he reminded my dad. He was like this many times with my mom and my mom always scolded him that she is not one of his warriors to command her this way. Maybe I could try to do the same as my mom did with dad. Just the thought of it makes me smile.
“I am sorry.” He suddenly apologized and my expression changed into a puzzled one. “I tend to keep everything under my control. I guess I started to do it with you. I am sorry. I would try to control myself.” He explained and it made me really laugh. Yeah, I was right. Damn Alpha genes. “I am not angry, to be honest, you remind me of my parents,” I replied to him and this time he looked at me with confusion from not understanding. “My dad was like you. He needed to control everything as Alpha and my mom always scolded him that she is not one of his warriors to talk to her this way. I was actually thinking to use it on you but decided to keep till we are mated.” I said that without thinking and when I saw the blush in his face, I realized what I just said. I practically agreed and showed that I am already expecting us to be mated. The moment I realized that the heat came into my cheeks. “I am glad that you are actually thinking this way and I would look forward to being scolded by you this way.” He replied shyly and my cheeks were now literally burning. What the heck did I get myself into? ‘Our mate is cute and amazing.’ Maat commented on his blush and replied. ‘Yeah, we were really blessed to have someone like him.’ I replied to her and could hear her purr. Can actually wolves purr? I was confused.
“I still have this half a year so just make sure I would not change my mind,” I told him teasingly as I winked at him. He laughed but I could see that he was actually afraid that it might be the option, so much for his cockiness and confidence. I think that part of him is just a mask to cover his own worries. I shushed him off the bed as I tried to get down from this monstrosity, they called bed. Now when I am fully awakened and my eyes are wide open, I could see that the bed is at least two and a half meters over two and a half, like literally maybe four people could sleep on something so big. The room was modest and nice, nothing extra or over-decorated. I could see that he likes natural furniture made of wood without too many decorations. I honestly preferred simplicity and this room was exactly my taste. There was another door in the room except for the entrance and I assume that would be a private bathroom. I collected my backpack and headed there. “I meet you down at ten,” I told him but the moment I ran inside the bathroom and saw the bird’s nest that grew overnight on my head, I corrected myself. “In twenty,” I shouted from the bathroom and heard the laugh before the door closed and I hope that I am alone again.
The shower was nice and refreshing. I put on sweatpants and a shirt and put my wet hair up in a messy bun before I left my room. I managed to be down at the entrance of the pack house in eighteen minutes which was pretty awesome given to the state I was in. The only problem was that the black color went down and I had no time to put a new one so now I was again stuck with my awesome silver hair. I just hope no one would stare at me or ask too many questions. Before I was able to open the door of the pack house and leave, I heard from the kitchen Calen calling me. “Come to eat at least some fruits. I assume we would run again in our human form and yesterday you didn’t eat that much.” I could fight that since he was right. I still wasn’t ready to show them my wolf and despite being hungry yesterday I was so nervous that I could eat as much as I should. I entered the kitchen and saw that Zack wanted to say something but was probably stopped by Calen the moment I entered. Tamara and Emily and some other warriors whose names I still didn’t know gave me a not very pleasant gaze because of my hair but no one said anything and, in a few seconds, they were again fully focused on their meals.
“Come sit here.” Calen stole my attention from others and I saw him patting the chair right beside him. “Thank you,” I told him, smiling when I saw sitting down. I took a place that was placed in front of me and placed some fruits from the big plates in front of us with the bread and ham. “I know I already told you about the plans for today but if you want to change it we could.” He said and once again I saw guilt in his eyes as he realized that he didn’t discuss with me my day. I had nothing to do anyway so I didn’t mind. “It is okay. We could check what could be done with my cabin and then we would see.” I replied to him and he shyly smiled at me.
“Oh, and I forgot. Today evening one of our elders would come here and she would like to talk to you privately if you don’t mind.” He spoke and his expression changed. I couldn’t read this one. His eyes held worries but at the same time hope. Is this elder somehow important to him? I didn’t know and honestly, I don’t think it is important at this moment. “Do you know why she wants to talk to me?” I asked him curiously and he shook his head. “But she is the sweetest from the elders so I am sure she would just like to see you and get to know you. But if you don’t want to it is not a problem.” He assured me that I am not obliged to talk to her. It’s all up to me. I already survived the first meeting with some of his pack members and sooner or later I would have to meet everyone so I assume if it’s only one person at a time I could do it sooner. “I think it is okay. I could talk to her.” I replied to him and he smiled at me happily so I guessed that this person is someone related to him or someone close to him if it meant so much to him that I would meet with her.
What made me curious were actually silent and careful stares from others. I could feel that they wanted to talk to me but at the same time, they were keeping distance. The air here was heavy from their expectations and I could feel the pressure their thoughts were creating. I tried to finish my food as soon as possible so we could just leave. I wanted to talk to them and get to know them but at the same time, I wanted to run away and never come back. I am not sure how I am gonna survive this whole pack thing. ‘We would figure it out together. You are not alone on this so don’t worry about that now.’ Maat tried to comfort me and I was happy to have her. I knew that she would do anything to help me. More and more I started to think that living completely alone wasn’t really a good idea because many things are being really hard at this moment.
Once we departed from the pack land and headed west to my cabin, they both had to again adjust their speed so I could keep the pace with them. “I think you would need some training,” Zack told me around in the middle of our trip. I guess he was fed up with slowing down because he didn’t even wait for me to reply and just run ahead of us shouting something about waiting. “Don’t worry. He didn’t mean it badly. He is just an impatient type. Sometimes I am curious how Emily could end up with someone like this.” Calen told me once Zack was out of our sight. He was really fast. I started to feel like a snail compared to them. Now I am not sure I want to know about Calen’s speed.
We arrived at my Cabin and Zack was already walking around making the schemes on something that looked like a flat TV just smaller so he could take it anywhere with him. Calen saw the direction of my few and checked what caught my attention. “It’s called a tablet.” He told me and I shook my head not understanding. “It’s like a pocket c
omputer. The one Zack has is actually small. There are bigger ones. This one is good where he is running around and wants to do some job out in the territory.” Calen explained to me. I didn’t want to ask more questions now because I didn’t want to show how little I actually know about the current world. I was living in the cabin even without the TV itself so for sure I didn’t follow any modern technologies or anything that might be currently available. One would say I lived for six years in the cave.
I think he had the same thought at this moment. “You would catch up with everything. I promise. No need to rush.” He told me and I nodded little ashamed as I felt stupid. I unlocked the cabin and let Zack in so he could check the options.
Chapter 17
REI’S POV:
I don’t know how long we spent in my cabin but honestly, I didn’t feel that comfortable with Zack coming from room to room and checking everything. At some point, I started to feel like maybe he wants to rebuild my whole cabin. It is not like I built this one myself but I made the most changes to make it more suitable for me. The truth is I found an emblem of my pack on the porch of this cabin so I knew that I was belonging to my pack but it had to be secret since there were no records in the city who was the owner. It was Rosie who approved my stay back then.
“How much longer do you need Zack?” Calen asked him, feeling that my patient is quite getting thin. I have to give him the credit he is really observant but I think he practices this skill to be sure never miss even a single enemy. I have to ask him one day what exactly happened to his pack. I know they were attacked sooner than my pack but maybe those attacks were connected. Who knows what we might find?
New Beginning : A Beautiful Ethereal Creature (Spirit Wolf Book #1) Page 10
