As we stepped outside the infirmary Mel asked "Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go? I'd love to show you around. The gardens and hiking trails are beautiful this time of year."
"Maybe we could go sit in the garden?"
"Sure."
As Mel lead the way to the garden, I followed her. I stopped at the edge, as I looked over the landscaped area. It was huge. Mel grabbed my hand and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
Thankfully, she didn't see me blush as she was too busy pulling me along behind her, into the garden.
We reached a circular area, with an elaborate fountain in the middle and four equally spaced benches around the fountain.
I took my hand back from Mel and walked up to the fountain. It was beautiful even up close. Unable to resist, I ran both my hands through the cool water for a moment.
I heard Mel giggle and I removed my hands from the water and shook the water from them. I turned to face her and saw she was seated on one of the benches. She motioned for me to come join her.
I carefully sat on the opposite side of the bench. I felt awkward, I wanted to talk to her; there was so much to talk about, but I didn't know where to begin.
Mel slid closer to me on the bench and put her arm around me.
"Mel, don't." I asked of her as I pushed her arm away.
I glanced at her face and saw how hurt she looked.
I sighed. This was so difficult.
"I'm sorry, Mel. I don't mean to hurt your feelings." I said honestly. "It's just that I don't feel the same way as you. You and I are in two different places…"
"No." She interrupted me, sounding heart broken. "Don't tell me that you are rejecting me as your mate!"
I didn't say anything for a moment feeling confused, then I realized how I might have sounded to her. "No." I said carefully. "I know how much that can hurt a werewolf. That is not what I am saying…"
"Then you do accept me as your mate?" She asked excitedly.
"No." I said in a level tone. "Not that either."
It was Mel's turn to look confused.
"Listen Mel. I can neither reject nor accept you. It's too soon for either. And we are in different places; you clearly feel some mate-bond thing, and I have only known you for less than a day. Everything is just too quick and sudden for me. I need time to process and sort through things. With werewolves, things in life happen in the blink of an eye. With Shifters, things progress much more slowly. Our normal lifespan is hundreds of years, and we are not considered officially adult until 25."
"Oh. I see." Mel looked thoughtful for a moment. "So do shifters find their mates much later than werewolves would?"
I smiled at her. "Shifters don't have mates. I figure we have much the sort of relationships humans would have with each other."
She looked at me sadly, after that.
"Hey." I said, eager to change the subject, "Didn't you want to give me a tour of the place?"
"Are you sure you feel well enough?"
"As long as we walk slowly, I will be fine." I reassured her.
As we walked up to the pack house, we caught the attention of two guards. They were tall and looked strong. As my steps faltered, Mel took my hand again and whispered, "It's okay."
We walked up to them and Mel chatted with them for a few minutes before we went inside.
She didn't show me the whole place, of course, just the kitchen, a living room, the dining hall, and a library.
During the tour, I noticed the place was emptier than I thought it would be.
The library was the size of a small public library. There were two floors to it.
"This place is amazing!" I exclaimed to Mel.
"Do you really like it that much, Liz?"
"Yes. I love to read." I admitted.
"Liz?"
"Hmm?"
"I hope you are okay with meeting my parents. Mom just told me that they, as well as Alpha Tim are on their way here."
"I'm ready." I said quietly.
Five minutes later, the double doors to the library opened. In walked Alpha Tim and three other wolves.
"Hello." I greeted politely. "Alpha Tim." I nodded to him.
"Hello, Liz. Mel" Alpha Tim said. "Let me introduce you to my mate, Luna Claire, my beta Will and his mate Betty."
"These are my parents." Mel gestured to Will and Betty.
I shook both of their hands. "Nice to meet you." I told them.
"It's nice to meet you, dear." Betty told me.
"You'll love it here," Will assured me. "It's a nice place to live."
"Well, about that…" I began, but Mel interrupted me. "Dad, we will discuss that later. Liz and I were thinking about getting some lunch. We're both quite hungry."
"Don't worry, Dear," Betty spoke, "We didn't mean to keep you long anyways."
"Thanks, Mom, Dad," Mel said as she grabbed my arm and steered me towards the doors.
I smiled thankfully at Mel. "Thanks." I said. "I wasn't really ready for the 'living here' conversation."
"It's ok. You said you needed time."
After we sat in the kitchen and had a nice lunch, I felt tired. My body was still healing and the full stomach didn't help my sleepiness. Mel and I went to watch some TV and I don't think I sat there for more than fifteen minutes before I started to fall asleep sitting up.
"Hey." Mel said, poking my shoulder. I turned my head to look at her. She grabbed a pillow off the couch and sat in on her lap. She patted the pillow and said, "Lay down and put your head here, before you fall over."
I looked at her and then the pillow and then back again. "Okay." I said at last. I leaned my body to the left, letting my head fall on the pillow and tucking my knees into my chest.
For the next five minutes, as I watched the TV, my eyelids got heavier and heavier until at last, I was asleep.