And there was that voice again. I really believed I was going mad.
Wait a minute. Mate. Natasha told me about those. But does that mean...But I didn't have a wolf. It wasn't not possible, was it?
" Holy shit,"
It was meant to be said in my head. But the words came out aloud. If they were normal human beings they wouldn't have heard it. It was barley a whisper as I let all the air out that I was holding in.
However them being werewolves and all, I'm pretty sure they heard.
James looked at me with a searching gaze. His arms fell to his sides.
" What? What happened?" He looked so, I don't know, hopeful? This was all too much right now. I couldn't do this. Not when I wasn't certain. The way Natasha describe mates it seemed like they were sacred and I couldn't fool around with the word.
I needed to keep this closed down for now.
" Nothing. I think I just need some food." His eyes fell and the hopefulness fell with it.
Don't worry, James. I'll figure out what's going on and then I'll let you know.
" Let's go eat then." James reached out his hand for me to grab. I looked into his eyes and whatever emotions he had in them before had vanished.
I grabbed his hand and we all started walking to the dining hall.
The marble floors made clicking sounds as we stepped in.
There weren't a lot of people there. I assumed that they had all eaten already.
We removed the lids of of the heating containers and started piling on the food.
There were mashed potatoes, steak, sausage, gravy and a whole salad buffet.
To my left, Alex was piling on food on his plate. I gently nudged him with my elbow to get his attention.
" Thank you. For what you did."
" Any time, sis." He gave me another wink. Sis? That's cute. Kind of awkward, but cute none the less.
As we walked to the table I noticed how only James, his siblings and some other people who also had a superior personalty to them were sitting there. I assumed this table wasn't for just anybody.
James was sitting at the head of the table. He pulled out a chair next to him for me to sit on.
"Avery, you haven't been properly introduced to the other ranked members." Alex began
" Ranked?" I asked sounding just as befuddled as I was while scratching the bridge of my nose.
" Yes. Ranked members are those who hold superiority to the other pack members. For example, I'm Beta. My job is to assist the Alpha in all aspects of pack business. If the Alpha has to go away somewhere I will go with him. In any situation that I can't, it is my job to make sure that the pack is being taken care of in his absence. It is the second highest rank." He stopped and looked at me as if to say ' You with me?'
I nodded indicating I was understating what he was saying, mostly anyways.
" This here is Jackson, he is the gamma and his mate Lisa."
" Nice to meet you," I smiled at them, and they smiled right back. I liked them better when they smiled. It somewhat took away the fear that they might eat me.
" This is Jackson's sister Trisha and her mate Alvin."
" Like the chipmunks!" I said with a big smile before realizing exactly what I had said. My hand slammed to my mouth as quickly as the words came out.
Why could I never think before I speak. I melted into the seat hoping to disappear.
" Exactly, I do actually sing but I have been prohibited from doing so in the pack house out of fear that the windows will shatter." Alvin said and glared mockingly at James who was sitting with a smirk.
He took it as a joke. Thank god.
I removed my hands and released a breath I didn't know I was holding.
" I'm sorry for that." Damn the shame i felt right now.
" Don't worry about it, sweetheart. It's not the first time and surely not the last. Don't even think about it."
The gamma if I rememberws it correctly, Trisha, answered.
I chuckled and a sense of relief washed over me. This was actually really nice.
We all continued talking for about an hour. I learned how Trisha met Alvin and that he was actually apart of James uncle Carlos pack before. They met while James was having a meeting at their pack and all ranked members were to attend.
James also told me about Damon who was in the room with us earlier. He was their cousin, and whenever everyone else had to leave, which was rare, Damon was in charge.
When we had all eaten, Elizabeth that I had met earlier, along with another omega named David came and gathered everyone's plates.
We were walking out of the dining hall when a big hand grabbed my arm and spun me around. I flew straight into a hard, muscular chest and knew exactly whose chest it was.
I didn't know how but whenever James was near I could just tell. Maybe also because if another guy had done this there would be hell to pay.
" Are you tired?" He looked at me with such tenderness as he took a strip of my hair and placed it behind my ear. His baby blue eyes were sparkling. I could stare into them for eternity, get lost in them. For some reason whenever I looked into James' eyes, I felt safe. I felt as if every problem I had vanished. I wanted to hold on to that for a little longer tonight.
" Actually." I wiggled out of his grip and turned my heal heading for the door. I picked up my jacket that I had laid on the table for earlier when we were supposed to go for a walk.
I put it on and took all my hair and placed it on one side as I buttoned my jacket. It was November and the air out here was quite chilly.
" I believe you owe me a walk." I stretched out my hand for him to grab.
Like a child at Christmas his entire face lit up, and I believe this was the first time I had actually seen him smile. His smile reached all the way up to his eyes and his perfect white teeth were on full display.
He grabbed a hoodie that was hanging on a chair and zipped it up before grabbing my hand and leading me out.
Outside the sun had set so the only light was form the lanterns and the moon.
It was perfect. The November cold air was dancing in front of as we walked through the garden and down the gravel path. Solar panel lamps were installed in the ground to illuminate the path.
We were walking in silence at the beggining. In a comfortable, cozy silence.
As we turned down the path James started pointing in different directions and telling me where everything was. He said he would take me on a real tour tomorrow when the sun was up.
We continued walking on the gravel path for another fifteen minutes before I saw something light up at the end of the path.
I looked up at James only to see that he was already looking at me, smiling.
As we reached the end we walked over a small bridge that led to a beautiful gazebo. It was white and big and had twinkle lights set up all around the staircase and on the roof. Behind the gazebo was a beautiful lake.
The moonlight hitting the water made it look as if the light was surfing the waves.
James took my hand and led me to a bench overlooking the lake.
We sat down and just enjoyed the spectacular view. He never let go of my hand. Not once.
They sky was black and lit up with hundreds of stars. I had never seen a starlight sky like this before. The entire scenery was mesmerizing.
As I kept my gaze on the wonders in front of me, a thought popped up in my head. Every time I sat in nature, I had time to think clearly. And all my problems seemed not so bad.
" What's wrong with me, James?" I kept my eyes on the lake. Taking a deep breath as I asked my question.
I tore my eyes away from the beauty of the lake and focused them on the beauty of the man sitting beside me. Somehow this view made me even calmer than the one of the lake.
James was looking at me. Not just looking, but it felt as though he saw my soul.
" There is absolutely nothing wrong with you." He replied as his hand tightened around mine.
" Then why is this happening?" The air clouds leaving my mouth as I spoke evaporated quickly.
James sighed heavily before looking back at the lake.
" There is nothing wrong with you, Avery. But there is something we need to talk about. I spoke to Natasha after everyone had left earlier..."