âI am losing it, arenât I?â
Dr. Brown sits down and shakes his head.
âI am here to listen to you and help you come to solutions and clarity. But I will tell you thisâ¦â he leans in and pins me with his eyes. âYou are more accepting of our world than I thought possible. You adapt better than you know. Donât be so hard on yourself.â
I accept his words. âAmanda told me almost the same thing. That I am blessed with my point of view and that I go with the flow.â
âAmanda is special,â he agrees.
âI know.â
âShe told you?â he asks, surprised.
âYes, we are close. Also, it is not like I could tell anyone else.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â He has his iPad in hand and writes while I tell him: âFor starters, if I tell a human about werewolves, the Alpha will take revenge on Joe and Rose. It is not like humans will believe me anyway. Also, is it almost impossible to connect with humans at this point. Igétas wants me close.â
âAh, yes. That can be difficult. If I understand correctly, you are not going to school or seeing human friends at this moment?â
âI only go to school when it is really necessary. It is not like I donât already know what theyâre teaching. I am twenty-four years old. I am just here to learn the language, on an exchange project from my college, so I donât really need to complete my degree. I am the Beta female. I should have some tasks I need to do, right?â
âLetâs go back first. You donât have contact with people at school?â
âEthan and Logan are always around. Taylor and Tiffany are great, but we didnât connect like best friends.â
âAnd you have friends inside the Pack?â
âYes, Ela and Amanda, of course. I consider Oliver a friend too, but spending time with him is a little difficult right now, because Igétas and Vasil are having problems with males being around me.â
âHow does that make you feel?â he asks, and I smile at his cliché line.
âI understand. I donât have a wolf, but I kind of feel jealous when women are touching him. Itâs the mating bond.â I sigh, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. âEla and Amanda are lovely. I canât imagine how it would be without them.â
We talk about my daily routine and how limited my contribution is to the pack. Tharros keeps me away from actually contributing by not making me a pack member. Dr. Brown explains that the Luna and Beta female normally share tasks, encouraging me to try to find my own way to contribute. That will be my homework assignment, besides finding out why I am what I am.
âSo, now that weâve covered your current situation, tell me about your first experience with werewolves.â
âRight, that was horrible.â I know he wants to hear more.
âCan you elaborate?â
âI still see him in my nightmares. The smell of his sweat and the stank of death come back to me in my dreams. The sensation that I was going to die. Knowing youâre going to breathe your last breath.â A single tear slips from my eye before I can catch it. Itâs not the last one.
Dr. Brown leans forward and hands me a tissue. He doesnât say a word.
âI screamed, I cried and I even tried to joke with him. I knew I was going to die a horrible death and I joked!â
Thatâs when he cuts in. âYou were trying to deal with the situation. We all will respond differently.â
âYes, well, I was different. I feel different now.â
âDifferent?â He looks up from his iPad.
âSorry, my words are limited. I am still learning. What I meant was I was a different person in Holland. I changed here, ever since my encounter with the rogue. But I am finally starting to find myself with Igétas.â
âLetâs talk about Igétas another time. I want you to tell me more about the rogue attack.â
And I did. I told him about my fears with the mention of rape he suggested. It pains me to go back to what I was feeling at that moment. I really thought that I was going to die. If I had died, I would have never found Igétas and he never would have met me. Then it hits me.
âIf I was never in danger, Oliver wouldnât have found me. He wouldnât have asked me to go to his birthday and I would have never been on pack grounds the day of the rogue attack. I wouldnât have saved the children and the pack, and I would have never met Igétas.â It was a freeing thought.
âMaybe you can give the events of the past a place of peace in your mind if you see it that way.â It did feel like everything made more sense, even after all the horrible things that happened. I was more calm.
âYou believe in fate?â I ask him and he nods.
âI do, but it is about what you believe, not me.â
âWell, it feels like I need to believe different things all the time.â
âItâs a good thing you go with the flow then.â He smiles and looks at the clock. It is dinnertime. We talked for hours and I realize now it drained me.
At that moment, I can feel Igétas close. âIgétas is coming to get me.â I say, right before the bell rings.
âHow did you know?â he looks up with confusion in his eyes.
âThe mate bond,â I answer and his eyebrows shoot up.
âLetâs talk about that next time.â He sets the iPad down.
âWhich is?â
âHow do you feel about coming in two days?â
I nod, shaking his hand. âThank you, I feel much better.â
âI am glad to be able to help you feel relief so soon.â
We walk to the door and see Igétas standing there, waiting for us. He embraces me, kissing my head.
âHow are you feeling?â He noticed my red splotchy eyes.
âBetter,â I say, âI feel better.â
âThatâs good.â He shakes Dr. Brownâs hand and we leave.
We eat at the canteen and we part ways after dinner. I am going to my room and he is heading to his apartment.
âThis is ridiculous.â I whisper to myself, feeling worse with every step I take away from him. We are made for each other, we are a couple.
Without thinking, I follow him. I pump myself up; this is nothing illegal, only dangerous.