Fighting her instincts to protect her freedom

Chapter 6

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Fighting her instincts to protect her freedom - Chapter 6

The next few days Ariel divided her time between university classes, homework and searching for an apartment to rent. The latter was the easiest. She knew she wanted to be close to the "golf club" so she asked to be shown apartments in the buildings surrounded it, all owned

by Alpha Rafael.

After a few visits she chose a two bedroom apartment so that she could turn the second bedroom into her Art study. It had a nice big bathroom and even a jacuzzi. The windows showed the golf club's trees and it was close enough to the pubs and trendy bars.

Homework, on the other side, turned out to be very time consuming. Since she wasn't living in the pack house anymore, she only hung out with other Art students, the two only werewolves being Patricia and Claire. Ariel also made some non-werewolves friends: Mateo and Mariana. They were both from Cuzco and told her she had to visit that city during spring break. Ariel was eager to get a chance to visit the capital of the Inca Empire and to visit Machu Picchu. The five of them agreed to go on July, after they finished their exams and before Claire had to return to Belgium.

One day, during lunch, the group started to discuss their plans for Easter holiday. Mariana was the first to propose something.

- I think we should go to the beach. Rent a house and get tanned.

Mateo smiled, but countered that proposal with one of his own.

- Mariana, this is the first Easter in Peru for Claire and Ariel, don't you think we should go to Ayacucho? That's were Easter is celebrated the best according to our traditions.

Ariel felt torn. She wanted to go to the beach and enjoy the see and the sun, but going to Ayacucho had always been part of her plans while staying in Peru.

Patricia was the one to give the best solution.

- Well you guys, no need to fight. My family happens to have a beach house at Totoritas so we could go there and enjoy the beach this weekend. I definitely agree the longer weekend of Easter should be saved for Ayacucho. The celebration there is traditional and fun. It'll give you a nice idea of what this country is all about. But we should start booking our hotel rooms and plane tickets ASAP because it's one of the most popular destinations and soon everything will be full if it isn't already.

So that afternoon they went to Ariel's place and booked their plane tickets and rooms. Mateo said he would go with his cousin Jorge so they booked three double rooms in a nice but not so expensive four stars hotel. They also booked a couple of tours. After that, they discussed their trip to the beach. Patricia's parents had a nice house with three bedrooms. So they invited Jorge to go with them as well. They wanted to get to know him before their Easter holiday trip.

Ariel felt happy. She was making plans with a nice group of people and she was going to visit the places she had seen online before arriving to Lima. Everything seemed to be going according to her plans. Well, almost everything. She still felt the connection to Sebastian even if they didn't see each other at all, and she still had dreams about him. Even her paintings featured his beautiful eyes more than she was willing to admit. The girls often asked about the mystery guy but Ariel dodged their questions and changed the subject as soon as

possible.

On Friday afternoon they all headed to the beach. Mateo was driving one car with Claire and Mariana, while Jorge was driving the other with Patricia and Ariel. Jorge seemed a nice guy. He looked like a surfer boy with golden curly hair and tanned skin. The traffic was awful. Apparently everyone had decided to head South and go to a beach too. It took them forever to leave the city, but once they were 60 km South of Lima, the traffic became lighter and they drove peacefully to Totoritas.

The houses at this beach looked like mini versions of the houses of the city. Except they seemed cuter, as if dolls lived there. They parked the cars and got settled. They had brought a lot of food because they planned to do a barbecue in the evening. When they arrived, it was already Sunset and Ariel would have wanted to ditch everybody and go check the Sunset at the beach, but her more responsible part decided to stay and help. After all, she could always

watch the Sunset the next day.

The barbecue was a success. You could see some of their neighbors had the same idea. They ate, talked and enjoyed of a well-earned dinner. After that, they walked around under the stars. Of course, Ariel's wolf couldn't be quiet then. "Isn't this place romantic? Walking with

Sebastian would have been sooo lovely. I wonder where he is right now." Ariel wondered that too. Maybe he was also walking under the stars on a beach like her. She started thinking about walking hand in hand on the sand with him. She couldn't help herself, no matter where

she went, she always ended up thinking about him. Suddenly she felt sad and lonely. She missed him. Her friends started noticing her silence and asked her if she was ok. She pretended to be tired and went back to the house to rest, trying to forget her unwanted feelings for her mate. However, Sebastian's eyes and soft smile followed her again in her dreams and while sleeping she felt at peace again.

In the morning, while everybody was still sleeping, Ariel got up, took a shower, changed into her bikini and summer dress, and prepared breakfast for the group. Once they smelled the food the rest got up too and one by one they started sitting at the table. The boys volunteered to clear the table and wash the dishes, so the girls took that opportunity to walk around and find a nice spot on the sand. Since it was still relatively early, they found a nice place quickly

enough and started applying the their sunscreens on their skin. Fifteen minutes later the boys arrived and they decided to play beach volleyball and then go to the sea. The water of the sea was freezing cold so Mateo and Jorge had to drag Claire and Ariel in. Once they started swimming, they forgot about the water temperature and just had fun.

At 2pm they all went to get changed and then to the restaurant to eat the typical Ceviche of Lima and they even had a round of Pisco Sour. Then everybody ordered a dish, mostly seafood. After that they went to rest around the pool of the beach club and some even fell asleep. At this point, Ariel decided it was a good time to take pictures. She first took pictures of her friends, and then she focused on the parks, houses and, of course, the beautiful sea. When it was time for sunset, she sat on the sand and lost herself in thoughts about her life in Peru. 

At night, the boys drove them to "Asia", a boulevard further South with clubs and bars. They stayed there until 3am dancing and by the end, Mateo and Mariana were kissing and holding hands. Patricia seemed happy.

- Finally! Those two were like two lovebirds but both afraid to make the first move. Did you know Mariana has had a crush on him for 3 years? Since they met in high school! I'm sure Mateo felt the same too, but obviously they didn't want to take the risk of "ruining" their friendship. What a waste of time! They're the perfect couple! But anyway, they are finally together!

Patricia cooed looking at them. Ariel, on the other hand, just wondered if that's what she was doing, refusing to take the risk of dating Sebastian. However, thinking about the ocean and all the travels she had ahead of her reminded her why she wanted to be free and without any strings attached.