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“It smells wonderful,” she says, licking her lips.
Kerian brings her a plate, sitting it in front of her with a flourish. He made her favorite, nachos and also large steaks and fresh bread. He knew she would be starving, especially after a shift.
“Kerian, thank you,” she says. She squeezes his arm and smiles.
“Anytime, darlin’.” He takes the chair to her right.
I load up two plates and sit on her other side. We all dig in. In between bites, I can’t help sneaking glances at her. Her skin has a new life to it. Shifters are naturally in shape. Ava already had a fit body, but now it’s even more so. Her hair is shinier and healthy. Her eyes glow with knowledge humans can’t grasp.
She’s happy. I feel all the things she feels. A weird twist is I feel Kerian, too. Not in the same way, but he’s there. Without him, I would probably have been curled up in a ball in the corner, terrified.
“How long was I out?” Ava asks.
“Three days,” Kerian says.
“Shit, it didn’t feel like that long,” she says.
“I wanted to ask, who’s Cinnamon?” I ask, putting down my fork and knife.
“My wolf,” she states like it’s normal.
“Your wolf has a name?” Kerian frowns.
“She didn’t, but when I talked to her, I asked if I could name her. It was too weird to talk to her otherwise.”
Kerian and I share a surprised look. “You talked to your wolf?” I ask.
“Yes, she said everyone's journey was different, that born wolves meet their wolf differently,” she shrugs.
“You could say that.” Kerian narrows his eyes. “What else happened?”
“She explained that I had to accept her as me. It was all very confusing at the time. I woke in a white room. She was there watching me and reading my mind.” Ava starts on her steak.
“Why Cinnamon?” I ask, curious.
“That’s what you said I smelled like. French toast,” she says, blushing.
“Ah, cute,” I say, running my finger down her cheek.
She rolls her eyes and goes back to her food. “All of my scars and bruises from the games are gone.”
“I assumed they would be. I noticed that your face was healed.” Kerian takes a drink.
“If we are ever hurt, the best thing to do is shift, if we can,” I explain further.
“I thought I would feel, I don’t know, not like myself, but I do,” she says, scowling.
“Being a wolf doesn’t change you at your core. You are still the same person, just enhanced.” Kerian adds more food to her plate when she finishes everything. She hasn’t commented or noticed how much she ate.
“Can we run again?”
“Soon,” Kerian chuckles. “If you want, we can invite everyone to run with us. Also, we need to introduce you to the pack. They are curious and have been by to check on you.”
“They don’t know me. Why would they check on me?”
“Because you are the mate to their Alpha. That’s a big deal,” I say.
“I never thought about that.”
