I was nervous the whole time. Every thought I had felt wrong. Everything I felt was against human nature. A werewolf ceremony. I must be in a nightmare. This couldn't be reality, right? It sounded like the books I used to read as a teenager. The ones my mom used to say would ruin my brain before I was 18. Yet here I was being trained and worked to death. It took hours of non-stop running and doing every ab and leg workout humanly possible. Jonah said I would need it for my first shift.
Liv would give me a worried gaze, but Jonah would meet her with a stern one. They were clearly hiding something, and Jonah wasn't letting it slip. But even as she cleaned off the table I could tell she wanted to burst it out. Whatever it was, it was so important that she was scared to speak. That whole time it made my stomach twist into knots. The anger was boiling me on the inside.
"Hey I'm gonna take a shower." I left before either could stop me. My muscles were killing me. That had been the most I've worked out in my life. So, if it didn't make shifting easier, I was not going to be a happy camper. I hopped in and turned the water to almost scolding hot and signed. The water falling down my body made my muscles ease slowly. It was the most relieved I'd felt since I came to be here.
I stepped out of the shower and went to look in the bag liv had gathered from our old place. When I opened the bedroom door there was already a set of clothes folded on the bed. It was a casual one. Black cloth leggings and one of his oversized shirts. The minute I picked it up I could smell his scent and cologne on it. I couldn't help but sniff it. I inhaled the scent for a minute before his voice popped into my head. "I can't wait to see you in my shirt." It nearly jumped me out of my skin. I hated it when he did that unannounced. It made my heart race. Was I ever going to get used to this? Probably not.
"Stop doing that. It scares the crap out of me." He didn't respond after that. But I did hear an evil chuckle outside the door. Such an asshole. I headed back downstairs and started eating the sandwich liv made me. "Figured you might be hungry after that shower." She gave me a soft smile and rubbed my head. "Thank you but stop that I'm not 4 anymore." We chuckled together for a minute before strong arms came up around my waist. They were strong and his scent surrounded me instantly. I leaned my head back onto his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief.
"How was training?" I scoffed at the thought. My muscles still have a slight ache. I had to bend my back like a gymnast so many times that I thought I might have cracked my spine. "Like crap. Jonah didn't go easy at all. He treated me inhumanly." Jonahs eyes went wide at that. Liv smiled and put one arm around his waist. "I did not. If I don't train you as hard as I did, then tonight when you shift more than your bones would break." Simon just smiled like this was the funniest thing in the world. I think he was even laughing. "He did it on my orders. I'm sorry. But I promise I wouldn't have asked him to be so hard on you if it wasn't important. I want you to be fully prepared. This will be painful." I frowned at that. Ive never been very good at pain. But why were they on Simons orders? Maybe he was just a normal rank, and Simon was higher on the list to the alpha? Yeah, that was probably it. I shook the bad thoughts away.
When I turned around to see Simon fully, he was gorgeous. Dark jeans and a black henley that looked so skintight the shirt was almost useless. His hair was wet and dripping water on his shoulders so he must have taken a shower in the lower part of the pack house at the same time as I did. When his gaze met mine, I froze in time. Did this happen to all werewolf couples, Or was I just very bad at this. A certain heat settled in the lower of my belly. I was conflicted. One half of me wanted to get up and step closer. But the other half wanted to keep distance between us. It made my head spin.
I whispered to him so liv and Jonah wouldn't hear me. "Hey can I talk to you upstairs for a minute?" he didn't say anything, but he took my hand and led me to his room. Although it was more like mine. I'm the only one who's used it since I arrived. He sat down on the bed and let me stand in between his legs. He was still respectful to keep distance between us. "You still didn't sleep in the bed last night. You don't have to sleep on the floor. I'm not…fragile you know?" the smile he had vanished. What remained was a tense look and a tight jaw. He dropped my hands and clasped his own together. He took a big breath before finishing. Clearly what he was feeling wasn't comfortable.
"Meg…you're a pure wolf. Theres very few pure omegas left in this world." He took my hands and kissed my knuckles before continuing. I can't control myself around you. I haven't been able to since last night. I can't trust myself not to hurt you." He started to tense again and let my hands go. "I want you safe. If that means I have to sleep on the floor, then so be it." That thought frightened me. How much was he struggling? I was worrying about my problems, I never considered what he was feeling to. This was all happening so fast for both of us.
My body was changing, my wolf now talking in my head, and this man who called me his mate. We didn't even know each other that well. But we both had this same urge toward each other. He must have felt my guilt and hesitation. He took my hands once more and gave them a soft, reassuring squeeze. "Come on. It's only 7 pm. The ceremony doesn't start until midnight. Let's take a walk. I can show you the clearing where it'll be held. It might relieve some of the tension to get some air."
I nodded and let him lead me back downstairs. Once outside we walked down this little dirt road that was surrounded by forest everywhere. The trees were so tall and fluffy.it looked like the trees I used to climb when I was 9. Simon kept close but made sure there was always enough space between us. As we walked, I started to wonder closer to him anyway. When we landed at a little spot with a big teepee of wood, he started pointing out some of the landmarks and occasionally answered some questions that I had about wolves. It felt…refreshing. He would touch my hand every now and then and it sent a shiver down my spine every time.
Then we found the oak tree. It was big lively and beautiful. It even felt slightly…alive and very powerful. "So, this is where it happens? How many ceremonies have you had?" he smilled and took in the scents. It looked like he was at his second home. His voice was a lot softer now. "a lot even before I was born. My mother and father always said never forget your origins but never judge anyone else for theirs. I miss them so much." I could hear the sorrow in that. Clearly this place was more than just a second home. This was a place he could breathe. It was where his heart lay. Finally, he spoke one final time.
"this will not be easy. You will be in pain until your final form is complete. But I can tell you the alpha will be right beside you." That was relieving. But then it made her worry. "who is the alpha?" he never said a word. He squeezed my hand like he knew but he didn't tell me directly. What are you all hiding from me.