Chapter 6

The sweetest taste

I haven’t set my foot on mainland for fourteen years so I take a moment before leaving the boat. My stomach is filled with butterflies; it’s almost too far to take that small step off the boat.

It feels like the big coast city will swallow me whole. I grew up in a small village and then on an isolated Island. I can barely remember the few hours I spent in River Hill. There are so many people here, so much life and motion. My head is spinning from the activity. Even the Wolf Spirits are stressing around while minding their business.

I feel a spirit hand grab mine and calmness immediately washes over me. At least there’s one spirit with my mind set here. Jupiter tugs my hand and I follow his lead and walk off the boat, surrounded by his safe presence.

“Thank you Wolf Spirits for returning me to the mainland,” I whisper under my breath and I can feel Jupiter’s smile even if I can’t see him at the moment.

I send a quick glance at the ocean before joining the WSF crew. The waves are glistering like black velvet under the night sky and for once I don’t feel a longing surge through me while gazing out on it. I’m filled by a peaceful warm feeling instead that makes me happy, even excited. I’m home. Not exactly home yet, but at least not out there anymore.

“Kate, are you coming?” Mrs Denwood calls for me from the black SUV that will escort us to the facility.

I nod back at her and put one foot in front of the other slowly until I reach the car. It’s weird to be surrounded with technology. I guess I have to get used to all of this. I doubt the Ninjan Pack changed much so I hope I can live a peaceful life there. 

One of the men helps me into the car and we’re soon on the road. I grip my seatbelt tightly and feel how my stomach is twisting by the reckless driving. I close my eyes and pray to the Wolf Spirits to calm myself down. It’s like I’m trapped inside a tiny bug and its flying right into a bird’s mouth. It feels like we will get crushed any second. 

My legs are wobbling when we finally arrive to the facility. I throw myself out of the car and land roughly on the asphalt. I feel the skin break on my arms and knees but I don’t care. I’m shaking and I think someone is trying to talk to me but the words refuses to register in my brain. Someone lifts me up but I couldn’t care less. I’m already lost inside my own bubble.

-

I wake up on a bed in what looks like a clinic. I drag myself to sitting position with the little energy I have inside me. The wounds after the fall are all healed and my skin is whole again. I look at the doctor who seems to be writing a report on her computer. Mrs Denwood hands me a glass of water and I gulp it down quickly.

“You had a panic attack,” she explains to me. “We will avoid putting you into a car, but I really hope you will be able to cope with the helicopter tomorrow.” 

Her voice is cold, but I can sense a tiny bit of compassion in it. This woman cares about my well-being even if she doesn’t know me. The thought comforts me.

“It will be fine,” I answer her quickly, a bit shocked that I lost control like that earlier. “How long was I gone?”

“It’s only been half an hour,” the doctor says warmly, finally turning her attention over to me. “We should run a few tests while you’re here if that is alright with you?”

I am speechless and thankful for the respect she’s showing me. The last doctor I met who wasn’t John tried to take advantage of me but I was saved from that abuse in the last minute. That was the only time I felt thankful towards John. Other than that I didn’t have much choice than to agree with what they wanted to do.

“Rather today than tomorrow,” I agree.

The examinations took around an hour and the doctor was very concerned about my weight, like I knew she would be. A woman I never met before takes me to the room where I will be spending the night and I cry out in surprise when I see the luxury in it. I usually sleep outdoors on the ground, but the fluffy bed is more than tempting.

A private bathroom is connected to the room and I take a long and hot shower in there. I haven’t taken a shower for a very long time and I enjoy the feeling of the warm water falling down over my body. I still want to take my late night swimming and I sigh loudly as I drape the white bathrobe around me.

I guess these kinds of rooms are for the WSF who are away from home. I guess they hold the most important things for a normal person, but for me it hasn’t much to offer. Sure I enjoy the shower and I will probably love the bed, but I like my freedom more. I want to be in the wild.

“There’s a swimming pool on the top floor.”

I turn around to see Jupiter lying comfortably on the bed. He looks relaxed and I start to wonder if he ever gets bored of being around me all the time. He laughs at my thought and I growl back at him. Stupid Wolf Spirit!

“Will you take me?” I ask him nervously.

He rolls his eyes and jumps off the bed. “I wouldn’t tell you unless I intended to take you there.”

We take the stairs to the top floor and I swoon at the sight of the large pool. It is not the ocean, but it is a lot of warm water that I can swim around in. I drop the bathrobe to the floor and dive into the water in my birth suit. We didn’t see anyone on our way up here so I guess no one is going to come up here this late either.

All my worries disappear when I swim. I can forget about the panic attack and the medical examination and let the water wash it away from my senses. I don’t feel attached to the world at the moment. I was allowed to live in my own world at Rosalea, but I can’t do that anymore. I need to adjust to my new life.

Only a few lamps are lit and it makes the room even more relaxing. I close my eyes and let the water drown all the sounds from the outside world. I wish I could turn off my hearing, but it is so much harder to tune the sounds out when they are all so unfamiliar.

I swim a little while before I use one of the showers on the side to wash of the water from the swimming pool. I’m exhausted at this point so I just pull on my bathrobe again and lay down in one of the relaxing chairs.

I’m almost drifting off into sleep when I hear the footsteps. They are quickly moving up the stairs to this place. I grab my bathrobe tightly around me, uncomfortable that I don’t have any spare and clean underwear to pull on. That’s something I need to ask for tomorrow.

I almost freak when I realize that Jupiter left me. I drag myself to sitting position just in time to see a blonde man walk through the doors.

The sight of him smacks me down completely. Everything I ever thought I needed just changed in this moment. I realize that I’ll be alright as long as I have him. He is slim built with muscles showing under his white shirt. He looks so handsome, kind and down to earth.

My heart is thundering and I almost melt down to the ground when he lifts his gaze from the floor and sees me. I can see his sapphire blue eyes clearly in the dark and a hot feeling of need fills me from the toes and all the way up to my head.

I watch his surprise when he is hit by the same force. He doesn’t let it stop him and he walks all the way up to me without tearing his gentle eyes away from me for a second.

“Hi, mate,” I greet him quietly when he’s standing in front of me and I watch him longingly. I want to be embraced by him.

“Hi, I’m Adam,” he says softly in a manly way. ”You must be Kate?”

“Yes I am Kate,” I answer him and admire his strong jawline. This is a real man, a man that hopefully won’t have any trouble with the way I am. “Tell me Adam,” I ask him slowly as he is eyeing me down the same way I do to him. “Do you have a girlfriend somewhere?”

“In matter of fact, I do,” he answers me thoughtfully and his sapphire eyes are twinkling playfully.

A picture of a small fluffy thing shows inside my mind before I get the time to feel jealous and it calms me down.

“Is it your cat Josephine?” I ask him teasingly.

“Yeah, how did you know?” he says astonished and I look down on my broken nails, suddenly shy to talk with him.

“I just know things sometimes,” I whisper.

“Do you mind if I sit down next to you?” he wonders nervously and I feel how my whole body starts shaking with excitement. I nod back and he takes a seat so close to me that I can feel his body heat. “Gretel called me from the boat. I flew down here as fast as I could to see you. I come from the Ninjan Pack. Your sister is the Alpha there and I am her right hand.”

My eyes flies up to meet his again and the mention of my pack makes me forget about the whole mate thing.

“Did you come here to bring me home?”

“Yes I did,” he says and lets his hand grab mine. My whole body starts humming at the touch and he moans as he engulfs me into his arms and embraces me the way I wanted to since I saw him a few minutes ago. “I’m glad I did.”

It’s nice to sit with my head against his chest. His heart is beating quickly and I’m quite proud of having that effect on him. It’s soothing and I could sit like this forever. The sleep takes over me again but I shake it away.

“Will you take me to my room? I’m quite tired.”

“I was worried when I didn’t find you there earlier. It’s like someone whispered in my ear that you were up here.”

“The Wolf Spirits,” I add longingly and start looking for Jupiter’s presence. I feel quite sad when I can’t feel it anywhere. Where did he go? A terrified feeling goes through me. What if he isn’t coming back again? No that can’t be, he promised to stay with me.

“Are you alright?” Adam asks me worriedly when he feels my change of mood.

“Yes, but you might have to carry me,” I add embarrassed. “I used up all my energy today.”

Another horrid though hits me that scare me to death. What if he finds my body repulsive and doesn’t want me? I push myself closer to him and let my arms slide around his neck.

“It’s not like I want to let go of you,” he mumbles and lifts me up.

“You’re quite a gentleman.”

He carries me all the way back down to my room and puts me down onto the fluffy bed. I notice that it is after midnight already and I motion my hand over the clock to show him.

“Oh! Happy birthday Kate!” he cheers and his eyes lights up with a happiness I envy him for.

I climb under the covers before tossing the bathrobe onto the floor and Adam watches me awkwardly with blushing cheeks.

“You’re welcome to join me if you dare,” I tell him sleepily and close my eyes. “Either way, will you be so kind and turn off the lights?

I feel safer now. Jupiter is waiting outside the room so I’m not too sad when Adam leaves. My old friend makes room for himself next to me in the bed and starts playing with my damp hair. I fall asleep quickly with a needle in my heart; a needle filled with love and warmth.

“Thank you Jupiter,” I mumble before I drift off into the land of dreams. “Thank you, Wolf Spirits. Thank you for Adam.”

-

Another woman stops by my room at nine in the morning with fresh new clothes for me. What’s with all these women? Does WSF think that I am scared of men?

My memory goes back to Adam last night and my heart beats a little faster at the thought of him. He was so shy and didn’t know what to say. It was cute. I didn’t know having a mate would feel so wonderful. I just met him but I have this feeling that tells me we’re going to live a fantastic life together.

I throw on the white underwear but frown at the sight of the pair of blue jeans. The shirt that goes with it is quite long so I decide to just wear that like I usually do. I toss the jeans to the side with a snort. It’s not my problem if anyone has trouble seeing my legs bare. I comb my hair quickly and pull it up into a ponytail.

The woman takes me down to the dining hall when I’m finished and Mrs Denwood, the doctor and Adam is sitting by one of the tables. A lot of people are eating and everyone’s too busy to notice me. Well everyone besides Adam. He waves to me from across the room.

I feel the panic rise in my chest again. I felt so good I forgot about the fact that I need to eat. I don’t want Adam to see me like this! I go over to the buffet and just pour me some orange juice, knowing I can’t eat anything at the moment.

“Good morning,” I greet them when I join them at the table. There’s a free chair next to Adam so I decide to take it.

“Did you sleep well?” the doctor wonders with a wide smile.

“Yes thank you,” I tell her and drink some of the juice. 

We didn’t have oranges on Rosalea very often so the sweet taste explodes inside my mouth and it tastes so wonderful. It doesn’t make me feel sick at all to my delight and I thank the Wolf Spirits for my surprisingly good appetite. I study the buffet again and see that there are whole oranges in a fruit basket.

“Are you ready to go home today?” she keeps asking and I just nod back. “We have your test results, but you Pack doctor will have to help you with the rest.”

“Maybe Adam can take you out to buy some clothes before you go back?” Mrs Denwood suggests and that’s enough for me to know she doesn’t approve my look at the moment.

“Yes I will appreciate that,” I say and put my hand on Adam’s arm so the humming inside my veins starts again. “If you don’t mind, Adam?”

“I need to buy a few things myself,” he answers me with a small charming smile.

“Thanks. I’m going to get an orange, do you want one too?” 

“Hold on, I’ll get it for you,” he says and gets up from his chair and hurries over to pick out the perfect orange for me. I sigh at his sweetness.

“Adam is a very sweet guy,” Mrs Denwood suddenly says. “He grew up not far from me. You are lucky to have him as your mate.”

“Do you think I will be good for him?” I dare to ask her, knowing I will hate the answer if she says no.

“He’s been waiting for you a really long time now. All his friends are mated. Trust Adam with your secrets, Kate.”

“What secrets?” I ask surprised at the mention.

“All secrets you didn’t tell me during the hearing yesterday.”

I wonder how much she senses from me. The Ninjans will figure it out quite quickly. I remember that they are very close to all the spirits. They are going to notice my spirit after a while. I think I shouldn’t tell them to begin with. 

Adam comes back to the table and peels my orange for me. He hands me the orange wedges and I put one into my mouth and suck on it slowly. A motion that fascinates my mate to my pleasant surprise.

“What is your favourite food?” I ask him because I want to get to know him better. The other two women decide to leave the table to let us talk alone.

“I love the Ninjan barbeque. I love the huge gatherings,” he tells me genuinely.

“Mrs Denwood told me you are from the Sunshiny Pack.”

“I am but my home is with the Ninjans now. Are you nervous about going back home?”

I nod and look down on the orange he peeled for me. He’s a caring person. I like that. He won’t pity me but he will help me when I fall.

“Rosalea made me different. I just hope they will like me for who I have become. I hope Mary will be happy to see me.”

“Happy will be an understatement,” he says sadly. “She took your disappearance so hard. You’re even healthier than she is.”

I feel the fear grab me again and I think of all the seashells Jupiter made me pick.

“Is Mary sick?”

“She is depressed and antisocial. She mostly hides in her room if she’s not working in the gardens.”

I put the rest of the orange on the table and sigh deeply. “I think I’m ready to go shopping now. We don’t want to be late for my party, right?”

I’m almost there, almost home. The Wolf Spirits are sure about their facts. They wouldn’t force me to bring herbs so far without a reason. It feels like Mary is in danger but it doesn’t seem like anyone noticed it yet. That’s what scares me the most. How long is a heart sick person able to live without medicine?