Author's note: The image on the side is a picture of L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph in Montreal (source for the image: http://lesauroresboreales.blogspot.com/2009/05/oratoire-st-joseph.html ).
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Fighting her instincts to protect her freedom - chapter 13
Ariel couldn't move, her entire body was filled with too many emotions. She could feel her wolf jumping with joy inside of her and she was afraid her voice would betray her, but finally, she managed to speak.
- What are you doing here?
- Uh, I'm waiting for my flight. What are you doing here?
He looked up to the gate's destination and continued.
- You are going to Canada? You are leaving? I thought you would stay more time in Peru...
He was feeling nervous and sad. Ariel could feel it. He thought she was leaving for good, that she wasn't coming back. It was only natural considering that they hadn't spoken since the incident in Cuzco.
- No, I mean yes. I'm going to Canada but only for a few days. My paintings are going to be in an exposition there... I won a contest so...
She felt like an idiot who couldn't even talk properly, but Sebastian's face had changed and he was no longer feeling sad. She could see joy and pride in his eyes and instantly she blushed. His eyes were too dangerous for her to stare, they had a big impact on her emotions.
- What about you? Why are you going to Canada?
- Oh, I'm not. My gate is the next one, I was just going to sit when I saw you.
He blushed when he said that last part. "How cute", she thought. She then looked up at the screen featuring the destination of that gate and saw it was headed to Brazil.
- Why are you going to Brazil?
- Oh, there's a one week congress of Science there and Rafael signed me up. It actually only starts in three days, but Tom insisted I take an early flight so I can do some tourism before the congress.
He booked my plane flight and everything.
So that explained the coincidence in departure times. Tom was trying to play match maker. "You're dead meat, Tom", she thought.
- I see.
- So, hmm, congratulations for winning the contest. You must be very happy and proud, specially considering how young you are.
- Yeah, I'm very happy... But it feels wrong leaving the country when... You know. I just hope nothing happens while I'm away. I felt so guilty when I was in Cuzco and...
She was babbling, not knowing how to explain herself without saying words that humans would find strange. However, Sebastian seemed to understand anyway, so he sat down next to her and took her right hand on his own making her feel little shocks of electricity.
- It's OK to go and be happy. There's nothing you can do by just staying here anyway, and what happened that day, it wasn't your fault. I felt bad too, so I understand. My trip was already ending so I got to go the funerals, but Ariel, nobody blames you for not being there. Many were absent on trips, just like you. And changing departure dates in the middle of July is practically impossible. Everything is booked. So they understood.
He was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, and that little gesture gave her a feeling of peace. He smiled at her, and she felt like melting. Her wolf was purring with delight but Ariel tried to
block her. She needed to stay strong. She had been lost in her thoughts, telling her wolf to shut up, and she hadn't noticed when he had started talking again. She started to pay attention when Sebastian was already in the middle of a sentence.
- ... Miranda told me. I'm sorry about that. She had no right to go and yell at you. We're very close so she feels protective of me, but that's not a good enough excuse. I hope you are not too mad.
- Hmm. No. It's in the past. Don't worry about it. Besides, it's true I acted like a child in Cuzco, I'm sorry about that. You were right, I was such a hypocrite.
- I exaggerated. My reaction was over the top. I'm sorry too.
They smiled at each other feeling lost in each others' eyes. They snapped out of their trance when a voice asked passengers leaving to Rio de Janeiro from gate 4 to board their plane.
- That's me. Got to go. It was nice seeing you Ariel, I'm glad we could talk and congratulations again.
He gave her a small kiss on the cheek and left quickly.
Ariel was filled with strong emotions inside of her. She was sad to see him go, in fact she already missed him. At the same time she couldn't stop thinking about that little kiss. It had been innocent
and yet it had sent an electric shock into her body filling her with joy and even lust. It was too much. She was glad she still had some minutes before boarding her plane because she felt her knees wouldn't be able to support her weight if she tried to stand up. So she sat there, wondering why Alpha Rafael would send Sebastian to that scientific congress, she thought he was busy looking into all the attacks, and yet he had taken enough interest to sign up Sebastian. Maybe it was a big deal. How important was it? Then she remembered she wouldn't have known Sebastian was flying to Brazil if Tom hadn't told him to leave early and matched his departure time with hers. If he thought he could get away with this without anybody noticing his interference, he was wrong, so she called him.
- Playing Cupid, are we?
- Hey Ace! What are you talking about?
He was feigning innocence but she could hear the amusement in his voice.
- You know perfectly well Tom! You booked his flight so we would meet at the airport? Really?!
- Oh, Sebastian! That's right he was leaving today too huh, I had totally forgotten.
- Tom!!
He laughed then answered.
- C'mon Ace, you two needed to talk and as Beta...
- Don't give me that excuse again, you were playing match maker!
- Did it work?
- Tom!
- Alright, alright. Are you still mad at him?
- No, we apologized.
- OK then, so it wasn't a complete failure.
- You do realized his eyes are going to haunt me during my trip to Canada, right?
- Don't they always? I saw one of the paintings that got you the prize... That wolf seemed oddly familiar.
Her professor had submitted her paintings of Sebastian's wolf?!
- Please tell me you're joking.
- Nope.
- Has he seen it?
- I don't think so...
- You're oh so helpful Tom!
Tom laughed and wished her "bon voyage". Ariel rolled her eyes as she hung up.
Minutes later it was time for Ariel to board the plane taking her to Montreal. She felt excited, but part of her wished that Sebastian could go the exposition with her. "No, bad Ariel, stop it!", she thought to herself.
....
When she landed, she took a cab to her hotel and fell on her bed tired from the long trip. She dreamed about a black wolf with green eyes and her own white wolf running together through the forrest. She woke up with a smile on her face and went to check her e-mail.
There wasn't any e-mails from Sebastian. She felt a little disappointed although she knew it was only normal. They were still giving themselves time and space after all. However there were other
messages waiting to be opened. The schedule for the day had been sent and she noticed that she was going to get a tour of Montreal after meeting with the owner of the gallery. There was another e-mail that got her attention, it was from Patricia saying that she missed her already and that their professor had been bragging about one of her students winning that contest. Ariel blushed thinking about that. She answered the mail quickly and got ready for her day.
The gallery owner, Gabrielle, was very nice and complimented Ariel on her good work. Then she introduced her to other contest winners and she showed them where their paintings would be located. She also told them that she had included on the web page of the contest one painting from each, but that the rest was only going to be shown after the exposition. She explained how everything would happen and that they should return the next day early enough to make sure all their paintings were placed properly before the exposition opened to the public.
As Gabrielle spoke, Ariel felt the excitement turning into fear. What if the critics didn't like her work? What if the other contest winners were much better than her and laughed at her paintings? What if she said the wrong thing or wore the wrong dress? She thought about everything that could possibly go wrong.
- Are you OK? You look a little pale...
Ariel turned around and saw a thin guy with red hair talking to her. He seemed young but unlike her, he didn't seem nervous at all, as if having your art work presented in a gallery wasn't a big deal.
- Mmm yeah, just a bit nervous. You are Neal, right?
She remembered Neal from the introduction. He came from England and his paintings were abstract.
- Yes. I was nervous too, until I saw everyone and realized I wasn't the only one going through this experience. Anyway, you shouldn't be that nervous, I saw the painting they posted on the web page and I have to say you did a wonderful job.
- Thank you Neal. I wish I had checked the web page before coming here, but I got so busy with other stuff it slipped my mind. I'm sure your work is great though.
- I sure hope it's good enough. Anyway, this is exciting isn't it?
Ariel nodded, feeling more at ease. The rest of the day flew by. The contest winners were taken to a quick tour of the city. They saw the Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, called in French l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph, the lovely Saint Helen's Island and other interesting places. Ariel liked Montréal very much. They spoke French, which she knew, but with a strong accent, so at first she had to pay close attention in order to understand. However, she soon became used to they accent and could relax and just enjoy her conversations with the locals. They were all friendly and very polite, so she felt at ease.
Her favorite spot had been L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph. They were there in time to see the sunset from the top of the stairs, and it was beautiful. The inside of the basilica was also wonderful. She said a few prayers inside, thinking about her pack members at home, praying for a solution to be found soon, praying for this war to end soon, praying for those who died, so that they souls could find peace and praying for those who were left behind, so that they could be able to overcome the tragedy.
.....
The next day they went back to the gallery five hours before the opening. Ariel saw the paintings they had selected and smiled with pride. They were not too bad after all. There were two of Sebastian's
wolf: in one he was alone surrounded by trees, but in the other he was standing near a hill with a white wolf looked at him from afar. The others were landscapes from Lima and Cuzco. She liked the one that portrayed her arrival to Machu Picchu, it brought nice memories to her.
While she was busy overlooking the placement of her paintings, Neal approached her.
- Wow. Your work is awesome!
- Thank you Neal! I'm glad you liked it. Why don't you show me yours?
They walked to Neal's area and talked about his paintings. They were really good and the two artists were glad to talk about their favorite painters and their influence.
An hour before the opening, Ariel changed her clothes to a beautiful dress she had brought for the occasion and re touched her make-up. When the doors opened, she took a glass of water and waited for people to enter.
She didn't have to wait long. The gallery filled with people soon enough and some asked her questions about her paintings. She answered them with a smile on her face and talked about how much she liked nature. They nodded, complimented her job and moved along. Only critics and journalists stayed for longer. They asked her about the black wolf and what it meant to her. The first time, she froze for a second but then she replied that it was meant to represent her view of nature. She talked about how his eyes were piercing and haunting. She tried to make it sound as if it was how she saw Nature: fierce, always present and dangerous. Apparently they bought it because they smiled and continued interviewing other artists.
However not everyone believed her little story. After she had finished one of her interviews, a couple of werewolves approached her with a grin on their faces. The woman whispered for her ears only: "he's your mate, isn't he?". Ariel blushed. The man, sensing her discomfort, complimented her work and told her they had already bought the one with the two wolves. It was true enough, Ariel saw a little red sticker indicating that that particular piece had already been acquired. Before the couple left, the woman gave Ariel her card "just in case you wish to see this wonderful painting again" and then she winked at her. Ariel watched them go, still completely surprised by what had happened. When she took a look at the card, she was even more shocked: the woman was the Luna of the pack of Montréal! "The first time I meet Canadian werewolves, the Alpha couple of Montréal no less,
and I don't even say a word. I'm such an idiot!", she thought to herself. However, she also felt proud that such an important couple had taken interest in her work.
The evening was exciting, and when she returned to her hotel she felt proud of herself. The next day she searched for reviews and was glad to see they were all mostly positive. To her dismay, most of the critics had written a lot about the mysterious black wolf. She could only hope that Sebastian wouldn't google about her and find those reviews. She was relieved that some chose to focus on her landscapes instead, but it was still the minority of them.
During the next three days, she did the same thing, although she chose less elegant dresses. She was also more relaxed and chatted with Neal and other artists. When the day of her departure arrived, she learned that all of her paintings had been bought and she felt proud. She felt like a true artist now that she had been able to sell them. Neal had also been successful and the two of them went to the airport feeling extremely happy. When it was time to go to their separate ways, they
exchanged e-mails and added each others as friends in their facebook accounts so they could keep in touch. Ariel left Canada satisfied but wishing she had been able to stay a little longer. "Maybe I'll come back some day", she thought.
...
When she returned to Lima, she got back to her normal routine and caught up with the classes that she had missed during her trip. She was busy with her class work and werewolf trainings, but she liked that. She was enjoying her life and had almost forgotten her fears, when another cruel attack happened. Three pack members and a human had been attacked in a park at the East of Lima. Tom had called her almost immediately to tell her about it. She was still processing the news when she heard words that made her blood freeze "Patricia was one of those attacked, she was hurt badly so now she's in the ICU being treated by our doctors, but I'm afraid your friend Jorge died at the scene".