[Stephanie's POV]
"Steph, have you started running in the morning yet? When did you start? That's a rare thing." Doctor Dave's eyes widened in surprise as if he had heard some breaking news.
Yes, I was not a morning jogger. If school was not in session, I could even sleep until noon before getting up.
"Yes. Doctor Dave. I started my morning jog today. I think it's good for my health to get up early to exercise and get some fresh air." I smiled at Doctor Dave. After I saw that Doctor agreed with what I said, I turned to Arthur and steered the topic to Demon Forest, "I didn't expect that Arthur was walking around here. He seems to be very interested in the herbs in Demon Forest."
"There are many herbs unique to Mount Leyte in Demon Forest, and there are also many poisonous insects and snakes in it." Doctor Dave took a look at the forest.
"Is there wolfsbane in this forest?" Arthur suddenly asked.
"Wolfsbane? Of course not. That stuff is highly poisonous to us." Doctor Dave shook his head quickly. Like him, we were sick to our bones just hearing the name 'wolfsbane.' I didn't know why Arthur inquired about wolfsbane. Was he planning to kill me with wolfsbane?
Rose suddenly reminded me in my head, "Can you stop guessing for a moment that your mate wants to kill you? If he uses wolfsbane to kill you, is he planning to die with you?"
Oh, Rose was right.
To test whether Doctor Dave was acting suspiciously, I offered another suggestion, "Doctor Dave, I remember you and Doctor Ann's home is in the forest. Perhaps you or Doctor Ann could take Arthur for a walk in the woods."
Doctor Dave smiled at me and said, "Sorry, Steph, but Ann and I are fully booked today. But, you walk through this forest every day to get to Carl. I'm sure you know this forest better than I do. Why don't you and Carl take Arthur into the woods for a stroll?"
"I broke up with him." At the mention of Carl, I put away my smile and informed Doctor Dave with a serious look, "We are done."
Doctor Dave wasn't expecting this response, and his expression revealed his concern for me, "Girl, what's going on with you two? Do you need help from Ann and me?"
I knew that he and Doctor Ann had always cared for me, so I could tell that at least Doctor Dave was friendly to me now. I smiled at him, "Thank you, Doctor Dave. I'm fine now. I just think I need a boyfriend who only thinks about me."
"Are you sure you can let go of Carl? I mean, I heard Eric say that you once told him..."Doctor Dave's expression was so serious that his two eyebrows almost touched. He was about to ask me something else, but then he looked at Arthur and suddenly shook his head, "Forget it, leave my stupid questions alone."
I knew what Doctor Dave wanted to ask, but I was thankful he didn't ask it out loud. After all, Arthur was standing right next to me. If he had heard the stupid things I had said in the past, I would have been ashamed to dig a hole in the ground.
Doctor Dave sighed with relief and patted me on the shoulder again, reassuring me, "It's okay, kid, you deserve better. If you're not happy, you and Patrick are welcome to come over to Ann's and my house anytime soon."
"Thanks. I'll definitely be there. I miss Ann's cranberry cookies so much." I grinned at Doctor Dave with my teeth and winked at him again.
"That sounds like a delicious cookie." After a few minutes of silence, Arthur smiled and dropped his hint to Doctor Dave.
Taken aback by Arthur's hint, Doctor Dave immediately nodded to Arthur with a smile, "How about tomorrow? I'll have some extra cookies and other snacks with Ann."
"That would be great. It's just that, will I be unauthorized to step into Demon Forest Pack's territory as an outsider without Triton's permission?" Arthur's face showed concern.
I quietly rolled my eyes at this liar in my heart. You didn't show such a concern when you hinted that you wanted to try Ann's cookies.
"Don't worry! I'll talk to Ann in advance, and she'll report it to Triton, who also attended the Alpha Conference. Even if you're not friends, at least you're not enemies. I think he will agree."
"You're smart." Arthur nodded and smiled as he praised Doctor Dave.
Doctor Dave stroked his bushy beard and smiled. He looked as if he was shy about Arthur's praise. After making an appointment with us to visit his home tomorrow, Doctor Dave waved to us and left.
Only when he far away did Arthur say to me, "He's clean. At least, he didn't tell a single lie until he said goodbye to us just now."
"How do you know?"
"I can smell a lie when someone is lying. It's my special ability."
"That's an annoying ability!" I made a comment." If you're talking to someone near a garbage dump and you want to know if that person has lied to you. It's hard for me to imagine what kind of smell you'd have to get, you know..."
"Then I bet you're referring to the situation I just faced." Arthur laughed. He very naturally ruffled the hair stuck to my face for me as he turned his head to look at Demon Forest and back to me, " The scent from those two assholes' pack smells worse than a garbage dump."
"Well, I totally understand why you just threw up. Shall we go back?" I glanced at the sunrise piercing the clouds in the sky. It was already sunrise." So, why did you go to Carl's pack?" I asked him on our way back to the packhouse.
"Before I answer that question for you, can I ask you what you ever told Eric? About Carl?" There was a little slyness hidden in his smile. He seemed to have chosen to trade my answer for his.
"Is your good memory one of your special abilities?" I asked jokingly.
If possible, I wanted him to completely forget what Doctor Dave had just mentioned earlier. But apparently, he had a good memory. And, worse, I couldn't lie in front of him because of his super convenient lie detector-like ability.
"Maybe! I'm just trying to understand what kind of Girl you were in the past. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't keep asking. After all, I'm your mate now."
"Thank you for respecting me." Hearing his words, my mood relaxed a lot. I put my hands behind my back. My feet stepped on the soft grass, and I breathed in the fresh air with the smell of fir and grass, "But like you said to me yesterday, I wasn't doing myself before I was reborn. So maybe after you know what I did and said in the past, you'll think that Stephanie, in her last life, was just a stupid and naive girl."
Arthur slowed his pace and shook his head again, "Someone once told me that if one day I meet someone who makes my heart sing, whether I see her smile or I find her weaknesses, I still think she's the best in the world. Then, that one is my fated soul mate."
"Bravo. That's romantic. I must meet the person who told you this sometime in the future." I thought this someone must be vital to Arthur. Because when Arthur conveyed this passage, I saw the light called joy in his eyes. That someone, could it possibly be the she-wolf who called him 'stupid wolf'? Speaking of the she-wolf, I wondered where she was before Arthur, and I returned to the world of a year ago together. Unknowingly, I had stopped.
"Maybe you'll get a chance to meet her. Steph, I'm trying to say that you are my mate. For me, you are the soul mate I just described. So, I'm not going to change or deny my feelings for you because of your past." Arthur turned to look me in the eye, his voice as earnest as the way he was looking at me right now.