Nature's Destiny (9 page)
I placed my toothbrush into the little wall-mounted holder after checking my teeth were sparkly clean. I hated the feeling of bread stuck in my teeth, and I could just imagine what I’d looked like. There was nothing good about that.
I sat on my bed and pulled on my shoes, before leaving the room. Riley had promised to spend the afternoon with me, and I couldn’t wait.
The sun had been shining from the moment I woke, and I was looking forward to spending time outside. The green in the garden glowed, it was completely inviting. Riley had been right, it was a beautifully warm day.
As I waited for him I wandered around the back of the house. There was a wonderful patio marked out with several tables and chairs, and I could see a handmade BBQ area. I’d never seen a built-in BBQ before, but then that wasn’t much of a surprise when I lived in Wales.
“Do you like it?” Riley asked as he stood beside me.
I jumped out of my skin. I hadn’t heard him move.
“Sorry,” he said.
I waited for the beating of my heart to calm before I answered, catching my breath first. “It’s impressive.”
“We built it last year.”
“Have you used it much?”
“We try to make the most of it. As wolves we love to be outside anyway, and because the cold doesn’t affect us the same it does a human, the rain doesn’t discourage us much.”
“We can’t get cold?” I asked, confused.
“It’s complicated. We can, but it doesn’t happen as soon as it does with a human because our bodies run at a higher temperature.”
“That makes sense.”
I stared out at the vast expanse of green as I basked in the beautiful May sun, letting it soak into my skin. Summer was definitely on its way. I breathed in deeply, as the scents surrounded and filled my nose.
“Let’s take a walk, there’s something I want to show you.”
I followed Riley as we walked towards the woods. I was intrigued as to where we were going.
Fields were all I could see ahead, and they went on for miles. I looked around to take in my surroundings. There was a lot of buildings in the distance. Riley saw me looking and began to explain their purpose.
“The tall one is a hospital. We have a resident doctor and nurse, and they both have living accommodations upstairs.”
“They live in the hospital?”
“Just in case we need them urgently. I’m nothing but practical.” I agreed, what I’d seen of Riley definitely fit that theory. “We steer clear of human hospitals unless we’re absolutely desperate. Mostly for two reasons. The first I’ve mentioned before, their medications cannot work on us, and the second reason is because of the speed of our healing rate. If humans noticed that we could heal a wound within seconds they’d think we were mutants. Secrecy is of utmost importance to the supernatural.”
I inclined my head in understanding.
“Most of the time the hospital is used for births. It’s not uncommon to find a new-born baby nearly every week here.” He chuckled as I gasped, that was a lot of babies being popped out.
“Minor injuries happen all the time, especially with the children running around, though most of the time they’ve healed before the kid’s stopped crying. Broken bones and dislocations heal within a day or two, so long as they’ve been checked to make sure they’re setting right. There’s not much else Aled or Annabelle can do for them. And then there’s the major injuries, which thankfully…” He tapped his head, “Rarely occur.”
“That’s good.”
“You see those two log-cabin-style buildings over there?” He pointed towards the hospital and angled right.
Jutting out from the woodland sat two cabins, one larger than the other, though they were both big. I couldn’t see them much more beyond their shape, they were quite far away.
“The biggest is the one we use for large-scale pack meetings, celebrations and ceremonies. From mating rituals to birthday parties -”
“Mating rituals?” I interrupted, unsure as to what he meant. It sounded a little explicit for an audience.
“Weddings.”
My mouth formed the shape of an ‘O’ as I realised what he’d meant. That sounded much better.
“We still have the cake, dance, food and vows, but with a slight variation to a traditional human wedding.”
My curiosity peaked as I thought about what was different. Mating suggested something carnal and primal, and if I knew anything about rituals from watching TV they always involved blood. That didn’t sound like the lovey-dovey day a wedding proposed.
“And the other cabin?” I asked.
“Learning institution.”
I shook my head, unsure if I’d heard right. I didn’t know why it had surprised me so much after learning they had their own hospital. Why should a school be any different?
“Young pups struggle to control their emotions, but it’s important that they learn how to interact with people. We teach them English, maths, science and history - both human and Lycan.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Lycan history is quite similar, except we focus on what Werewolves have done for us over the past. We have wars, ancestors, and inventions just like humans do. We also teach the basics of welsh.”
“You do?”
“Yes. It isn’t a secret that we’ve lived here for years, and if we hadn’t adapted to the language the townspeople would have gotten suspicious. We know you learn it in schools growing up.”
“I learnt it in primary school, but I’m sure you would have been fine without it,” I said.
“Maybe, but at least we’ll know if something untoward is being said.”
I couldn’t disagree with that. I knew that everyone learnt the swear words first, whether intentionally or not. No matter what language you spoke, swear words would always remain the funniest and most interesting. And definitely the most used.
We entered the woods and the light flickered through the trees.
“Quite a lot to take in isn’t it?”
“Mmhmm. I feel like I’m a child again, and learning the way of the world.”
“We’ll just focus on what you need to know for now and work on the rest at a later date. OK?” he said.
I hadn’t noticed before Riley had mentioned it, but my body temperature was still as toasty warm as when I’d been in the direct sun. It was weirdly awesome.
The woods began to thin out, as the sound of water caught my attention. We entered a clearing and I gasped, again.
Nature’s Destiny
had turned me into a gasping parrot.
I was staring at a beautiful waterfall that fell into a lake surrounded by rocks. A handcrafted bridge bowed over the lake, it was the perfect walkway from one side to the other. The grass was adorned with bright pink and purple flowers that seemed to flourish out of the ground. I was astonished, this place was magical.
“Riley, this is…WOW! I don’t know what to say.”
“I’ll take that as a sign you like it here,” he said, grinning.
“Oh my goodness, I love it! Thank you for showing me.” I squeezed his arm as I wrapped mine around his, forgetting any boundaries that should have been between us. I was too excited to care.
“It isn’t Italy or Hawaii, but it’s your own piece of heaven in the garden. I hope you find the time to write here.”
“That would be perfect,” I said. “I don’t need to travel the world anymore, Riley.” I looked into his eyes. “I have everything I need here,” I answered honestly.
My skin tingled with awareness, I was
extremely
close to Riley. His eyes swept across my face and focused on my lips. I subconsciously licked them, and he watched my every move. My breathing turned shallow as I tried to remember our conversation.
“So…Um…Does the pack come here often?”
“Sometimes,” he cleared his throat. “We like to swim in the lake. But there are several places within our boundaries for the pack to run and play. There’s a treehouse too, but we’ll save that for another day,” he winked.
My belly flipped at the insinuation.
“Let’s go sit over there,” he pointed at the rocks closer to the waterfall.
As I sat on the rock the constant gush of the water falling behind me engulfed us, and though it was noisy it was completely calming too.
Riley had obviously chosen the particular area for a reason. The waterfall dampened any noise from travelling too far. It was perfect, our own private bubble.
“Will you tell me about the night you were bit?”
I took a deep breath and began to tell Riley how I’d been attacked. I left nothing out because I didn’t know what it was Riley was looking for. I shivered as I remembered the moment my attacker’s teeth had sunk into my skin, which at the time I hadn’t even realised
was
his teeth. Adrenaline had been coursing through my body.
“When I think about the whole situation I’m confused. Was I mugged because he needed money, or was it a cover up to bite me? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Trust me, I’m going to find the answer.”
“Kind of ironic though. The first night I met you , you offered to walk me back to my car because of ‘monsters’ lurking outside.”
“I should have been a little more tasteful. You were funny though, falling over,” he laughed at the memory.
“Please stop. I’m so clumsy and that was
really
embarrassing. If I’m staying here, you’ll soon see how clumsy I am.”
“Can’t wait,” he beamed. “I’m quite concerned though. I’ve never had a hybrid join my pack, and it worries me. It’s not common to find bitten Weres. We’re not like Vampires that need to feed off humans to live, we’re supposed to be the protectors.”
“Vampires are real?” I asked, side-tracked.
“Yes. There are a lot of supernatural beings out there Luna, and now you’re one of them. We stick to our kind, but that doesn’t mean you won’t come across one every now and again.”
“I can’t believe I’ve been walking around as a human for twenty-one years without knowing all this fairytale stuff is real!” I fanned out my arms, exasperated. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
The rock I’d been sitting on had become uncomfortable and my arse grew numb. I stood for a moment as pins and needles settled in.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but I promised we’d take it slow and I meant it. I’m much more concerned that you were bit. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a motive behind it. There has to be a reason.”
I stopped pacing, and ignored the prickling in my buttocks. I squinted down at Riley. Something was up.
“Is that why you’ve been looking so tense since last night?” I asked.
“You noticed that did you?”
“I did. In the study and today at lunch. You and Nick both have the face of worry.”
I couldn’t say the same for Shane as he’d been too wrapped up in his world with Roxy, but I didn’t blame him for it.
“I want to keep this as quiet as I can. My sisters don’t know, but I imagine Roxy does.”
“Why?”
“Because of the bond she has with Shane.”
I creased my brows together, I had no idea what Riley was talking about.
“Their minds are linked, so they hear each other’s thoughts,” he explained.
“Is that a wolf thing? Can everyone do it?” I supposed that explained why he wasn’t as worried.
“Only those that have been through the mating ritual.” We were back to that again. “To get back on topic, I don’t want to worry everyone yet, not until I have something a little more concrete.”
I sat down on the rock again, and concentrated hard on what Riley was about to say. He trusted me enough to tell me, and that was more than I could have asked for.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of phone calls from packs in England. They’ve been having some trouble too, finding newly turned humans. It doesn’t make much sense and we’re trying to work out why. Nick thinks it’s a rogue causing chaos but I’m not so sure, something doesn’t add up.”
I thought it over for a little while, and tried to connect any dots, but I couldn’t.
“You think there’s a bigger picture?”
“It all seems too coincidental. Until I work it out, we have to continue like there isn’t anything wrong. And if you think of something different, let me know.”
I was beginning to taste the responsibility and the kind of pressures Riley had to face on a daily basis. He had to decide what should or shouldn’t be shared? There was no way it was easy being the Alpha.