Drowning In Shallow Water

~4~

KADEN

"When are we going to tell her?" I asked my parents over lunch.

My mother stopped buttering her bread to look at me. "When she is ready, which isn't now. It is a lot of information and we don't want to scare or burden her."

I poked the meatballs on my plate as I recalled what happened earlier that morning. "She had a nightmare this morning. I heard her screaming. She said it seemed so real."

My parents exchanged a weary glance. I was worried about Nicola. We had been close friends when we were younger, though I doubter if she still remembered that. She stopped coming over to the pack house and eventually, her parents died so I didn't hear about her again, until now. I even knew her brother as we were best friends. His death troubled me, even though it had been over a decade. I couldn't even make it to his funeral.

When Nicola arrived, I hadn't been at home. I was training with the pack, something I had to do to get ready to take over the alpha position from my father. I had recognised her unique cherry blossom and vanilla ice cream scent right away as it had been stored in my mind. I was surprised since I hadn't known she was coming back. I contemplated going into her room to see her but she was already asleep.

Bumping into her the next morning, I felt giddy and excited like my siblings almost always are. Her beauty knocked air out of my lungs and sent butterflies in my stomach.

"Hi," I had said to her, unable to stop the goofy smile on my face.

"Hi," she said in an angelic, wispy voice that had it not been for my sensitive hearing, I might have missed it. "Um, I'm Nicola. I'll be staying here for a while."

"Oh yeah, Mum told me about you. I'm Kaden," I said, unsure if I should shake her hand or anything else, only to step out of the doorway. "You can have the bathroom. I guess I'll see you downstairs."

I knew I should have said something else but maybe not by the bathroom. I would find some other time to properly introduce myself. I never got the chance, however. After leaving the breakfast table, Nicola locked herself in her room, only opening up when I brought her food that she barely touched. Seeing her tear stained and pale face saddened my wolf but I didn't want to intrude. She was still grieving her brother and we had to give her some space. It had been a week ago, and I was getting more worried.

"We need to make sure that she is safe. She shouldn't stay out of our sights," Father said, a grave look on his face.

"Do you think she is in danger?" I asked, hoping it wouldn't be so.

"She was never safe, ever since she was born. Not with her gift," Mom replied. "We don't want her to be taken advantage of. She isn't aware so anyone can manipulate her."

"Isn't that an even better reason to tell her the truth?" I argued.

"She's still a bit fresh. We should wait it out. In the meantime, let her heal and meet the pack, let her see our world before we bring her into it," Father said. "We might need to make a few changes to allow her to adapt. Inform the pack about her. No one is to reveal our identity."

I frowned but agreed to do as told. I trusted my parents to make the right decision. I just hoped she wouldn't find out from another source.

"I'm going to try to convince her to get some air," I said, standing up and leaving the table.

"Good luck," mom said with a gentle smile. "If you get to the pack house, please bring Luther and Anna back. They shouldn't extend their stay."

I took a deep breath before I went up the stairs. I stopped by Nicola's door, thinking of what I should say to her. Then I knocked the door and waited patiently. The door creaked open and Nicola leaned against the doorway. She looked pale and her eyes were dim as she looked at me. Her hair was unbrushed and fell about her face.