Lay me Down to Sleep

Chapter 5

  By the time we have finished, it's already dusk and the clinic is closing. Yanis stretches her arms above her head with a big yawn and I can't help my eyes from falling to the thin stripe of skin that displays itself with her action.
  "Hey so, I don't know if you know but, I'm new", she says, "so I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out tonight?". My eyes bulge at the thought.
  "What do you mean", I ask stupidly. She giggles a bit at my question. Her laugh is the most wonderful thing I have ever heard, it sounds like chimes twinkling in the breeze.
  "Do you want to come over? I make a mean blueberry tea", she says. I should say no to her. I should not go to my mate's home a drink blueberry tea. Though, I guess it couldn't hurt to be friends. Lots of people are friends and don't love each other.
  "Yeah sounds good", her face lights up at my answer and she gives a little hop and hand clap. She's so cute.
  "Great!", she says before grabbing hand and pulling me behind her. She runs both of us through the hallway giggling as she goes. While I'd normally be able to stop a human from dragging me along the sharks feel too good to stop.
  "Good night Dr. Azur", she calls as we fun through the lobby. The doctor shakes her head and chuckles at the two of us as we go.
  She finally slows to skip once we get we get outside and allows me to grab my bike.
  "So are you a, ya know?", she asks me with two of the most forced winks I've ever seen in my life. I raise my eyebrows at the girl.
  "A what exactly?", I ask. She gives a loud exasperated sigh.
  "One of those bark bark shifty changes", I stare at her wondering if she's gone insane for a few good minutes before realization sets in. I can't even keep walking with the laughter wracking my body. When I'm done my stomach aches and tears streak down my face, I haven't laughed like that in a long time if ever. She still stares at me seriously when I finally compose myself.
  "Yes, I'm a wolf", I say. Her eyes widen and she places a hand over my mouth.
  "Shh!", she exclaims, "I was told I have to keep it secret. What if you were overheard?". She looks around panicked as though searching for spies. I reluctantly take her hand from my mouth but, still don't let go and hold it a bit lower.
  "Yanis you're in a pack town almost everyone here but you is a wolf. Those who aren't are mates of wolves. It isn't a secret", I explain. She looks at me dumbfounded
  "Really?", she asks, "even the kids running around and Dr. Azur?". I nod my head at her.
  "Wow I'd never guess there were so many of you with it being such a well-kept secret", she says.
  I shrug at her, "the Alphas just disguise us as cults". Her eyes get even wider at this.
  "Are all cults wolf packs?", she asks.
  "Well most of them are", I tell her, "there are still a lot of weird humans out there". She nods her head at my explanation and we continue walking.
  We reach her house shortly. It's a decently sized red brick building with a chain-link fence and blue shutters. She lets me put my bike in her backyard before leading me in.
  Her living room is still littered with moving boxes with only the couch, coffee table, and a few paintings in place.
  She leads me to her kitchen which is in much the same state. I sit down at a light-toned oak dining table while she sets to work on the tea. She sets her kettle on the lit stovetop before pulling the one thing in her cabinet down. It's a tin canister with paint so faded I can't tell what the design once was. She opens it and the scent of blueberry fills the air. She then pulls a strange object from a drawer. It's a mesh metal ball on a chain. She undoes the ball and puts some of the sweet-smelling contents into the ball before dunking it into her kettle. She turns back and sits with me while the water heats.
  "So are you a tea fan", she asks.
  "No", I tell her, "I never really saw the point". She gasps and makes a face as if I just slapped her.
  "The point is that it's delicious and relaxing", she skews up her face, "I will convert you to the ways of tea". I chuckle at the lively girl.
  Then her face takes on a curious look, "so I've been meaning to ask about the whole mates thing". I feel myself blanch.
  "What about it?", I ask.
  "Well my sister has one and I was wondering what they were exactly", she says. I clear my throat and try not to panic.
  "Well everyone in the world gets a soul mate", I start, "however, we wolves can sense ours out due to our heightened senses". I hope she doesn't ask any more questions that could lead her to discovering what she is to me. She seems to think this over for a moment.
  "Do you have a mate", she asks. I choke on the air for a moment.
  "Are you okay?", she asks once I calm my coughing.
  "Yeah I'm fine", I say, "and no I haven't found him yet". She nods at this.
  Then the kettles shrieks on the stove. She gets up and pours two steaming mugs of tea before returning. I take a sip and nod my approval at her, it's way better than I had expected. She smiles at me before taking a sip from her own.