Little Red

Chapter 28

The door of the small hospital room slams against the wall, waking me.

"Rise and shine!"  Samuel shouts,  "Let's get training!"

"What?" I ask, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"I said it's time to train!"  He shouts happily.

It's been 4 days since I've woken up after the bite.

Everyday, I either talked to Samuel or sat alone with my thoughts.  In the evenings, Demitri would come, and we would have awkward little "get to know you" conversations.  We stuck to light topics, such as favorite foods and colors.  We avoided any mention of our pasts like the plague.  It was nice, talking to him one on one as though we were new acquaintances.  Our late nights in the hospital took on new meaning for me.  In some senses, it was as though we were meeting for the first time.  A clean slate for us both.

Today apparently, I was to be discharged.  I was both happy, and sad.  Happy to be able to move around again and get back to my training; yet, sad because I didn't know if Demitri would still seek me out.  I hoped he would, and we could continue making progress.  I believed in my heart that he would, and that things were different now between us.  Yet, I couldn't say I totally trusted him. 

Samuel left the room after giving me a change of clothes.  

It felt good to be suited up once again, the black fabric molding to my body perfectly.  My boots were laced, and hair tamed.  Samuel said for the first day or two, we would only stick with basic sparring, as Demitri thought weapons work would be too overwhelming on my first day back.  Instead of arguing like I wanted to, I simply nodded in agreement.  I knew Demitri and I would have to compromise sometimes.  More than anything, I was just happy to be able to do something now.

I head for the door, more than ready to leave this place, but I pause when I catch my reflection in the glass.

The mark.

Do I pretend it's been there all along? 

People will surely stare and ask about it, how do I respond? 

"Your Alpha is my mate, making me your Luna, but the reason you haven't seen us together is because he was ashamed of me and pretended I didn't exist - but here I am now!"

Yeah, right.

Conflicted, I zip up the small zipper on my suit until the mark is covered.  It's a little uncomfortable now, but at least I won't have to answer questions I myself don't even know the answers to.  After, I pull on my signature cloak that I've missed so much.  

I got it as a joke for my birthday one year.  Myles thought it would be funny to turn me into the girl everyone teased me about, Little Red Riding Hood.  I was less than amused.  However, it's a really nice cloak and keeps me warm in the Oregon winters.

Satisfied and ready to kick butt, I head out to find Samuel.

Once I'm discharged officially, I breathe a little easier.  

But looking back on it, maybe I should have been more apprehensive about leaving the hospital.

..........

This time, the stares I get when I enter the clearing are not what I expected.

Now, their eyes hold admiration and respect, rather than the suspicion they once held.  I keep my head up high as I pass by, and my eyes trained on the group at the far end of the field.

"Well well well, look who's back!"  Theo greets with a wide smile.

Shauna quietly follows him as he walks over to me.