Athena In Gold

XXIII - Orchids

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We both walked out in silence, giving each other one last look before walking away.

She went to Altheo and I went to Nicholas.

"How it should be."

Right.

"How was it?" Nick asks, raising my chin up to face him as he notices my behavior. His arms placed on both my sides.

"It was..fine. Just fine." I said slowly, unsure what to say.

"Just fine? What did she say?"

"She.." I struggled to find the right words to explain.

"You don't have to talk about it." He decides to leave the topic alone, going beside me and placing his hand on my lower back.

I rested my head on the side of his shoulder. Quietly watching the crowd dance, drowning in my own thoughts. My eyes switch from couple to couple until it locks onto the 'lucky' pair. She leans in to his body, he lowers his head as she whispers something in his ear.

In a crowded room with music, wolf hearing was useless. Maybe Nicholas could've heard what she said. But Goddess knows that I wouldn't ever ask him even if he had heard or not.

It wasn't long before Altheo grabbed her hand and walked out with her.

I try finding different things to look at as I realize James and the others had kept an eye on me. With a whole circle of protection with me, I was closer to being in the verge of breaking down. I didn't know I could feel so vulnerable.

"Come on."

I get caught off guard as Nicholas holds my hand, leading me out the other exit.

"Where are we going?"

"To get some fresh air. Anymore men eyeing you and I'll lose it. Especially Carlos."

"He just thinks you guys are my classmates." I inform him.

"Well if he continues to talk to you, He'll soon just be thinking of his medical bills." He mocks me.

I cringed at him, having a lopsided smile on my face.

Nicholas had drove me to a cleared grape field which Altheo's family owned. It was one large field out of many. We took a car to reach this destination. The fields was just far enough that the palace seemed like a doll house.

There was a near full moon tonight. By the time my birthday arrives, it'll be a full one.

"I'll hold your stuff."

I knew exactly what he was saying. I turned to him with a big smile on my face.

I haven't shifted in so long.

I had told Nicholas to wait a few meters away as I stripped of my clothes behind a large willow tree.

Soon I heard bones cracking, shifting into my animal form. My senses were so clear I could hear a dragonfly landing on top of the water of a nearby stream.