Ch. 4

I woke up in the nurse's office. My head felt like it was splitting open. I had the worst migraine of my life. 

'Dear Goddess. I thought I would never get to come out.' A voice in my head echoed. 

'What the fuck?' 

Suddenly an image of a light gray wolf, with a large patch of white over it's right eye came to the front of my mind. The wolf had one blue eye and one gold. 

'That's one way of greeting your wolf.' She laughed. 'It's been so hard not being able to talk to you. I've been with you all this time, Ember. I'm sorry I couldn't come out till you found our mate.' She explained. 

I couldn't believe my mind right now. Was this real? Had my wolf really been lying dormant all this time? I'm not just human? Tears started to pool in my eyes. I was so happy. 

"Ember are you okay?" Toni's voice brought me back to reality. I quickly wiped my tears away. I didn't want him to see that. 

"Yeah I'm fine. What happened?" I asked him. 

"Well Reep came forward and called you our mate and then you just passed out." He gave me a smirk that swirled the butterflies in my stomach. 

I remembered it all now. That horrible ringing in my head. That's what is causing my massive headache. 

'Sorry that was me breaking through the barrier. It weakened when our mate found us, giving me a way to come through. My name's Talia.' She told me. 

'What barrier?' I asked her, confused. 

'The one created for you. To keep you safe from dark magic. I'll explain more later. Breaking free has tired me, so I need to rest.' She disappeared then, before I could say anything else. 

My already sharp senses felt even more enhanced now. The smell of mint and wet earth hit me strongly. It was absolutely intoxicating. I sniffed around the air trying to find where the smell was coming from. I found myself sniffing Toni.

"Why do you smell so nice?" I asked him, stupidly. That's such an embarrassing question. I slapped my forehead. "Ignore me. I'm obviously not in my right mind." I shook my head. 

"I don't think I could ignore you even if I wanted to." Toni chuckled. "I smell nice to you because I'm your mate Ember. You smell so intoxicating to me too." He explained, I looked at him through the cracks of my fingers. 

"I do?" I asked him. 

"Yes, very much so." He smiled at me. 

He grabbed my wrist pulling it down from my face. His touch had me feeling dizzy all over again. I crave his hands on me more than I would like to admit. 

'Ash! I need you. I'm in the nurse's office.' I called him. 

I can't be alone with Toni right now. I don't know him or my wolf that well. I know you're supposed to trust your wolf, but I am not sure I do, at least not yet. 

'What the fuck? What happened?' Ash's voice was full of worry. 

'I'll tell you when you get here.' 

'I'm glad I have a free period this hour.' He mumbled, but I could tell he was making his way here. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Toni's eyes studied me as he asked. 

"Yeah, you should go back to class. Ash is on his way now." I told him. Toni scrunched his eyebrows at me. 

"Are you sure?" He wanted to stay, I could tell. 

"Yeah. I'm good. Ash has got me covered." 

Toni nodded his head. He was still concerned, but he was kind enough to respect my wishes. 

"Just so you know it's 4th period now. Lunch will start in 20 minutes and I'll be waiting for you outside. We need to talk." He told me, standing up. 

"Okay."

My heart raced at his words. No wonder mom can't seem to keep her hands off her mates. It's hard to resist thr urge I have to just jump on him and kiss those pink lips of his. He gave me one last look before leaving the room. I sighed laying back on the bed. I didn't expect my first day to be this eventful. 

"Ember?" Ash's voice called out. 

"I'm here." I yelled back at him. He opened the curtain with a crazed look in his eyes. He was in overprotective mode. 

"So what happened?" 

"Ash!" I sat up excitedly. He was the first person I wanted to tell. "I got my wolf." 

His face went from confused, to disbelief, to shock and then finally happiness. 

"Are you serious?" He squeezed me into one of his big bear hugs, the ones that leave my lungs gasping for air. I tapped his arm, reminding him I need to breathe. "Sorry." He told me as I took a breath. "I'm just so happy for you. It's about damn time!" He yelled. 

"Shh! People will hear you." I couldn't help the smile that stayed on my face though. "She told me something concerning though." I bit my cheek thinking about it. 

Ash took a seat in the chair Toni had been sitting in earlier. He furrowed his brows at me, listening closely. 

"She said she had been behind a barrier. The barrier was created for my safety according to her. She was able to come through because it weakened when I found my mate. I don't get-" I started before Ash interrupted. 

"You found your mate?!" He shot up from his chair excited again. I gave him a look and he sat back done. "Right, sorry. Continue." 

"I don't get how a barrier was created. By who? And why? And does that mean that I have magic too? I'm really confused." I admitted. 

"My turn?" He asked and I nodded my head. "Okay, first let's take a moment to celebrate that you fucking got your wolf." He smiled so big and I smiled back. "Second, you better tell me who your mate is!  Lastly, could you not just ask your wolf these questions?" 

"She is dormant again for a little bit. A different kind of dormant than before. I can feel her still, but she's unreachable. She said she needed to rest after coming out. So I can't ask her anything right now. She said she would tell me everything when she is rested though. I just don't know. I'm not sure I trust her." I admitted picking at the sheets under me. 

"Listen, your wolf is the person you can trust the most. No wolf has ever wished to harm their person. They live in us, if we're hurt they are hurt. You can also tell when your wolf is lying to you. It gives you a stomach ache. The bond between wolf and human is sacred and must be respected by both parties. You need to trust your wolf or you're going to end up with a whole other set of problems." He cautioned me and I was grateful for his wisdom. "Don't think I didn't notice you avoiding the mate question." He arched an eyebrow expectantly. 

"It's Toni." I whispered, my cheeks blushing. Ash laughed, slapping his knee. 

"Well damn, Ember. I always thought I would find my mate first. I gotta catch up." He joked, and I rolled my eyes, smiling at him. 

The bell rang at that moment. 

"You feel up for eating?" Ash asked me.

"You know I always am." I smiled. 

I am always eating. I feel like I can never be full. I'm always down for food.