I had waited patiently to see if she would say anything else, but she didn't and after telling me the dumb nickname I had heard before she rolled over to her side and pretended to be asleep. I could tell by her breathing and heart rhythm that she was still awake even though she had her eyes squeezed shut.
I wanted to push her further to tell me something that was actually useful, but I knew she was afraid of Scout and the collar and she probably still didn't fully trust me. I had a small since of pride in myself for getting this far with her though and tried to think of a way to break down her walls further.
"Do you want to go walk again? We can go further today if you feel up to it" I said to her back that she had faced towards me.
She didn't move or look up and stayed still trying to pretend that she was asleep. I don't know why, but I leaned in my seat towards her and quickly scratched the bottom of her foot that had been sticking out. She sprang up in bed and shot me a deathly look, but then she looked at the bottom of her foot to examine it.
"Come on, you need to get used to walking" I said sounding like a parent trying to coax their child from bed.
She let go of her foot and let out an annoyed breath through her nose before looking back at me. Her blonde curls were a frizzy bird's nest that made her look more like a wild lion cub then a puppy or little girl. Her mismatched eyes stayed trained on mine and after I stood up from my chair I held my hand out for her to take it.
Surprisingly she did almost like a reflex and gripped her small fingers around my thumb and used me to pull herself up and out of the bed. When her small bare feet hit the tile floor she steadied herself and not long after we were making steps towards the door and into the hallway.
I stayed to the side of her this time and had my hand held out as she stayed gripping my one thumb with her small fingers. She was looking down at her feet and was focusing hard to keep her balance and not lean on me as much. Every once in a while I'd look down to hear her soft growls of frustration, but when we finally made it outside she started to look around and sniff the air.
Her bare feet started to get dirty as we walked along the dirt path, so I started to guid her into the grass, but stopped at the edge of the path. She looked down at her bare feet and then looked at the green grass as if she wasn't sure. She slowly inched her small toes towards the greenery and when she felt comfortable enough she walked with me into the grass.
I could see the small smile on her face as she squeezed her toes around the blades of grass and started to walk a little faster. I chuckled watching her and she cut her eyes at me and unraveled the small fingers from around my thumb. I took a step back to watch her shaky legs move as she kept her arms out trying to balance without me.
She took two steps, but I watched her knee bend back and knew she was fixing to fall. I leaned my hand out and caught her arm to steady her and she growled lowly at me before grabbing my thumb again and using me to keep her balance as she slowed her pace.
She was tiny next to my 6'1 frame and barley came up to my waist. Her fingers were soft like an infants and she just seemed so fragile to me. Suddenly she stopped walking and sniffed the air again and shot her head to look at me with panic in her eyes.
I lifted my head into the air and started sniffing. I scoffed when I realized it was just Johnson and looked down the dirt path we had walked away from to see him heading our way. I could hear her heartbeat start racing and the grip she had on my thumb tightened.
"Don't worry pup, he's on our side" I said looking down at her.
She didn't respond and it didn't look like she believed me as she made small steps behind me still holding my thumb. I had one hand almost completely behind my back as I looked up to my older friend who was coming to check on things.
"Well I don't think I've ever seen you so.. nurturing Alpha" he said to me in a teasing matter.
I let out an annoyed sigh and shot him a warning look. He crouched down low to the ground and tried to peak behind my legs to see the girl.
"It's okay sweetie, I'm much nicer then he is and I bet I smell better then him too".
I did stink from not having a shower in a couple days, but I ignored his comment as the small girl poked her head around from behind me and let out a low growl towards Johnson and then hid behind me again.
He looked up at me and seeing the stupid grin on his face made me roll my eyes. He was enjoying the fact that I was being nice and gentle with her, but I had to admit that it was working. I turned around and looked down at the small girl as she was still holding onto my thumb.
"Johnson is safe and has looked out for me since I was a baby. You can trust him Emerald".
She looked up at me and her frizzy curls fell down her shoulders and back when she did. Those crazy looking eyes stared into mine for a second and she snuck another peak at Johnson who was still crouched to the ground.
He put his hand out for her to shake and she took a step closer to him while still holding on to me. She kept her eyes on him and leaned down quickly and sniffed his hand before jerking back away in the same way when she refused to eat eggs.
"Emerald is a pretty name, did your mother call you that?" He asked her.
His voice came off calm and friendly much easier than mine. His comment though made the girl furrow her brows in confusion and she quickly looked back up at me for answers.
"Uh, actually I gave her that name for now since she doesn't have one or at least doesn't know what it is".
I scratched the back of my head and looked back to Johnson in embarrassment. He chuckled at me, but kept a friendly smile on his face as he looked at the girl. She looked away from me and then took a step closer to Johnson and pointed her small finger to her chest like I had done.
"Mutt" she said sounding proud that she knew it.
Johnson raised an eyebrow at her in shock and then looked back up to me as if I were guilty. I quickly shook my head and crouched down in the same manner to put myself at her level.
"That is a bad word and you shouldn't call yourself that".
I tried softening my face for her like Johnson did, but my voice still came out demanding and gruff.
She looked back into my eyes and then looked down at her feet and nodded to me in understanding. I stood back up and Johnson did the same and gave me another look of dissatisfaction.
"I need a break and a minute to myself would be greatly appreciated" I mind linked to Johnson to keep her from over hearing.
He looked back down at the girl and then me.
"If you think she won't freak out I will stay with her for a little while" he linked back to me.
I look back down at the girl who was still holding my thumb. She seemed to be watching us intently and I wondered if she knew we were talking about her. I tried to think of something that would get her to stay calm when being left alone with Johnson.
I really didn't want to risk her running off, but I was confident that she was still too weak to go too far. I leaned back down and gave her a serious voice and this time I didn't try and hide the authority in my stance.
"You can shift out here, but do not run away. You stay where Johnson can see you and I will be back soon".
I made sure to make it clear that I wasn't going to just abandon her with a stranger and when I went to pull my hand away from her she held tightly to my thumb, refusing to let go.
I wrapped my free hand around hers that held on to my thumb and slowly pried her fingers from it and took a step back so she would stand on her own.
Her eyes widened as she watched me take a few steps to put some distance between us and she looked to Johnson and when realization went to her eyes she moved her shaky legs towards me and awkwardly stumbled until she was sitting in the grass. I felt guilty because I knew she wasn't going to like being left with him, but I had to just rip it off like a bandaid.
I nodded to Johnson trusting that he'd make sure she was okay and I turned around without looking back at her and began walking down the trail that led to the pack houses. When I was a little ways down the road I could hear her shrieking yelps and calls demanding me to come back.
I don't know why, but hearing it made my chest hurt and I forced my hands into my pockets and kept looking forward. If she was ever going to really trust me then I needed to show her no matter what happens she will never be hurt here.