Book 1 Chapter5
8.09%
seen him cry. My throat squeezes shut, burning tight with how utterly weak my father looks at this moment. My strong father that used to carry me around on his shoulders now looks like a broken old male. I feel as if it’s my turn to carry him on my strong shoulders. Not only did this rejection affect me, it has affected my whole family. We have all been poisoned.
“Dad.” My hand goes to his back, rubbing softly.
“I’m okay, Dad,” I lie. It’s the best lie I have ever told…ever.
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Book 1 Chapter5
8.09%%
Book1 Chapter6
Valentine
The lake is like glass: tranquil, motionless, with steam rising up like fingered tendrils. Mother Nature gives me a picture of her stunning grace. Lazy clouds hang suspended in the sky, big and puffy, the early day hints at the warmth the sun will bring. Fish splashing above the water trying to catch the buzzing insects that hover just above the surface cause tiny ripples in the water. I need to get a hammock out front underneath the porch. I can picture it already: book in hand, one leg out swinging slowly while nature sings her song around me.
I will never get enough of this view. I try to make myself a promise to never let this be something I take for granted. I’m lucky; all Ihave to do is open the door and look outside…nature’s healing sight.
A prickle of nerve endings, so powerfully pleasing, makes me still instantly. He is not an imposter; he is my moon’s gift. I know exactly where to look.
Standing solitary on the opposite side of the lake, his wolf’s eyes absorb me solely…entranced. It’s hauntingly beautiful, his Wild surrounded by vapor, an apparition that appeals to my senses. With one blink of my eyes, he retreats back into the trees, into the shadows, until I’m alone again.
My heartbeat sounds like a drum, pounding against the inside of my chest. I can’t do anything but stand and stare at the spot where he’d stood. Maybe I just imagined this, the steam causing a mirage.
If I don’t move now, I’ll be late for my first day at the clinic, and I don’t think old Doc Peters would be thrilled with that. He’s
a stickler, very old school
It’s about a fifteen-minute walk to the clinic. I don’t mind walking; it calms my nerves for the big day, my skills on display for the doc to see. I have faith in everything I have learned. I’m clinically competent. With that thought,I stand a little taller.
I’m confident in that, at least.
1 knock on the door, and the healer greets me with a hug of welcome.
“Rya.” A giant smile spreads on Aurora’s face. The sixty-plus-year-old wolf’s face dances in happiness. Her eyes are the color of sugar snap peas that reminds me of spring-fresh, new, alive.
“Look at you. Look how absolutely beautiful you turned out to be! I knew you would grow out of that gangly, all knees and elbows body.” That is something I have never heard before. I’m not sure whether to be offended on how I used to look as a young juvenile or proud that I have finally grown into my mature form.
“Thank you.” I’m unsure of how to respond to that.
“You smell very…healthy, Rya.” Her hands squeeze my shoulders, and a sad smile turns down her face as her eyes reach mine, searching me.
“How are you?” She’s not looking away after she says it. She really wants to know.
“I’m good.” I give her the voice I have practiced for hours with.
The palm of her hand goes to my cheek, cupping it. Eyes that can see things others can’t look softly into mine. All I can think is: don’t cry, don’t cry. Not on my first day, not within the first few minutes of my first real job. Don’t cry, I can do this,l
