Chapter twelve.
"What are you thinking about?" Sabrina's voice causes me to shudder in surprise.
I turned back, regaining my consciousness to find her standing at the door, her arms folded as she watched me.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked her, looking back to push the water away.
"A couple of minutes," she replied "apparently you were too zoned off to hear me come"
"Yeah...."I walked away to put the bowl away before walking back to her.
"What were you thinking about?" She asked.
Smiling brightly, I replied "just Asla's baby. He's a cutie"
"I know right?! Now I've got a reason to come to the clinic more often"
Scoffing, I replied "at least you get to come here willy-nilly, you're not stuck here like me"
"Stuck? Don't say that, Rose. Look at you, you get to witness babies get born! That's the most amazing thing there is!"
"Then why don't you come work here? "
"Ah, no thank you" she laughs and I joined in.
"Tell you what? Let's get to the water fall earlier tonight, need to tell you something"
"Really? You found your mate or something?"
She laughs before replying "yeah, you wish. I'd probably die before I find that bastard"
"I'm gonna tell him you called him a bastard when you finally find him"
"Go ahead, he probably calls me worse" she laughs heartily.
"You seem to be In a pretty good mood today, Sab, I wonder what this talk is about"
"I guess you'll find out later. Then we can go watch this merchants market at this Waterville pack, just down the ocean."
"If there's one thing that surprises me, it's how you know all these packs and their locations"
"My dad's work?" She winks at me and I nodded.
Her father was a wonderer who went from pack to pack. He's the books writer and so has a lot of experience amongst packs. Lucky for her, she has a father who isn't the Alpha's second hand man, who doesn't stay up in meetings all day long, but a father who actually leaves the pack to other places and doesn't tell her what to do or what to become. That's the life.
"I better go see what my brother's up to," she said "we're supposed to help my grandma wash her clothes and he's probably planning to bail"
I laughed before replying "okay, I'll see you later then"
"Bye!" She dashes out, screaming a "good morning" to my mom as she went.
I quickly finished what I had to do before walking back out to Asla who's now slowly dozing away, her baby still in Audrey's arms, sleeping quietly now.
Later on, I helped my mom finish up the stitches on her other patients. I was getting one cleaned up when my father came inside. I turned to look at him, smiled at him and he returned it. Somehow, I was quick to notice the worry in his face before he even said it.
"Walk with me, Rose" he said before slowly walking out.
I walked out to find him standing at the front, looking at the night sky that has suddenly formed, turning the once bright evening into a dark realm.
"What's up dad?" I asked him. He doesn't reply and instead starts walking. I followed, falling shoulder to shoulder with him. We walked a few steps, towards the stony edge of the village where I could see Carl throwing a ball to Jeffery. Scumbags!
"How are you holding it in, Rose?" My dad speaks, bringing my focus from Carl to him.
"About what, Dad?"
"Your....love life, pardon me"
I stiffed a chuckle and replied "I don't know what you want me to say, Dad"
He turns around to face me now, his tall height blocking me completely.
"I can see things, Rose, even if you don't tell me. You're still my daughter"
"That's how you can tell?"
"We share the same blood, Rose," he rose his muscular arm up to my face so I could see the blood veins running through them "so I should know. I've been so busy, Rose, didn't give you much attention. "
"I understand, Dad. There's a war coming and this is the time the pack needs you most"
He beams a smile at me before continuing "I just want you to know that we're always here for you, Rose. Your mother and I and you don't have to worry about finding your mate. He will come. And he will sweep you off your feet. You will shape shift and have every single thing you've always wanted. All it takes is a little time."
I nodded with a small smile.
"I may have been a harsh father for a couple of years now but.....I'm just trying to protect you, Rose. I do want you to be a strong woman who can fight," he looks towards Carl and I did too "and I want you to put some scumbags In their places sometimes" I chuckled lightly at his remark "but everything happens at a time. I do not want you going off to fight like the men because I wanna protect you Rose but when it is time, you will do whatever you want and nothing's gonna go wrong. Nothing's gonna stop you"
He places a hand over my chest and said "just remember, Rose. You've got a big heart and it beats inside that skin and you can do whatever you want, love whoever you want and be whoever you want"
I blinked back a tear, trying hard to smile but I feared I'd break into a cry instead.
"And don't ever forget, Rose.....I love you" he added.
Giving in to the smile that kept pushing through my face, I leaped up and hugged him tight. "I love you too dad! So much more"
I felt his arm circle around me and it warmed me up. It was a touch that said so many things. I loved him and there was no word to qualify that.
After a while, he puts me down on my feet and gave me a smile.
"I know what you and Sabrina been doing in the late nights, Rose,"he said with a sly smile "just be careful, okay?"
I nodded, relieved that he wasn't mad. Soon after, he walked away, leaving me standing there.
Just then, I saw Sabrina walking up, a smile on her lips.
"You ready?" She asks and I nodded.