Jason the pack doctor starts checking my eyes and blood pressure.
“I don’t know. Maybe indigestion from eating lunch then hiking? I should have let my food go down a bit more.” I force a laugh that I hope is convincing.
“You were in agony.” He says. “You were inconsolable.”
“And she’s always had a terrible pain threshold.” My mum pipes up with a tut.
It’s a total lie but I’d believe it if I didn’t know better.
“I have some tablets that’ll help.” Jason offers.
“Thanks but I actually have some in my room.” I say sweetly. “It’s not my first time!”
“If you're sure?” Jason smiles and heads into his cabin.
Mum, Dad, Lukas and I head to the house. I grab a glass of water and take a seat at the breakfast bar. Lukas hasn’t said a thing. He just subtly watches me, his eyes filled with concern. Then again he was there when it happened last night. Albite not to this extent, but still.
I’m not over it myself I’ll be honest. Alistair is enduring that pain right now and has been since I tortured and mutilated him. Even through that blinding pain he saw me and was able to push me out of it and close off the bond. To stop me from drowning in it. He should have forced me to endure what Ireaped upon him. I’m a monster for the atrocities I enacted on him.
I shake the thought from my mind lest I risk reopening the bond. I glance at my mum and I can see she wants to reassure me but with the hyper sensitive ears everywhere we can’t risk it.
*
Several weeks pass and we are all hard at work, gardening and tidying. We’ve started on turning the third floor of the house into a cosy library come home cinema. It’s becoming my new favourite place with a mini fridge, bean bags and mood lighting.
Each day has its own easy familiar flow and there is always something to do but I can’t help but miss my old life. Izzy has been amazing there though. We spend most of our time together doing chores or exploring the woodland. She is the most beautiful wolf with a light grey coat and white mask over her face and streaks of reddish brown through her hide. She still has her bright blue eyes as well. She’s impossible to keep up with but I’m learning how to use the trees to traverse the forest. By using the branches to run or swing from and moving them to give me more momentum. I’m becoming a female Tarzan! I hardly get tired as the earth’s energy rejuvenates me constantly. I know where every branch is well in advance to plan my course. I still fall regularly but I’m getting better each day.
Today Izzy is showing me a lake that is fed by a waterfall. She powers ahead through the trees on four legs whilst I try to keep up. By the time I catch up to her she has already changed back and is fastening her bikini top around her neck.
“You’re getting quicker!” She praises.
I jump down from the final branch and land next to her. “Well I didn’t fall this time so I’ve got that going for me!”
I look up at the waterfall in awe and take in the sapphire blue lake surrounded by snow covered banks glinting in the sun. It’s stunning. Everywhere we go it’s awe-inspiring.
Izzy breaks the calm stillness with a splash as she launches herself into the water. Pushing her wet hair from her face as she surfaces.
“That’s refreshing!” She shouts.
“I’m not surprised! Half of it is still frozen!” I laugh.
“It’s good for you! Come on!”
I strip down to my bikini and with a deep breath I dive in. I was expecting a deep chill that takes my breath away but thanks to my nymph magic it feels perfectly refreshing. I let the calm, rejuvenating energy envelope me as I tread water. Fish of all kinds big and small swim around us as we do gentle laps around the lake. I dive down to the bottom and placing my feet flat on the river bed I gather the water around me and push off. The force of the water that I generate propels me up and into the air and I laugh as I dive back down.
“Now you’re the one showing off!” Izzy yells as she splashes water in my face as I resurface.
“You wanna try it? I’ll use the water to launch you up. Just shove off from the bottom.”
“Challenge accepted!”
She dives down and I focus the water around her. I feel her feet push off the bottom and I force the water up behind her. She explodes from the surface and into a backflip before diving back into the water.
“That was nuts Kris! Throw me up again!”
We mess around trying to get higher and higher and doing different spins and flips in the air. Then I use the same technique to propel us stupidly fast horizontally through the water. Twisting and turning beneath the surface. After a coupleof hours we sit on a big rock by the bank feeling like mermaids. Saying that...
“Are mermaids real? I mean we have werewolves and Vampires now so what else is about?” I ask.
