This is a continuation of chapter 6, it was just too big for one chapter, and was originally written by JadeDragon24 , enjoy!!! Above is Juniper 😊
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Eva
As much as I want to spend time with the girls - looking through racks and racks of over-priced, not-my-taste clothes, is not how I want to spend my afternoon - and by the looks of it, Mariah shares this sentiment.
"Hey, Sienna, I do like this skirt, so I'm going to buy it, however this really isn't my type of store. How about we all grab lunch and go boot shopping instead." I suggest cheerily. Sienna should know better than to try to drag me out clothes shopping, unless they have camo. Boot shopping is another story - I could spend all day looking at boots and sandals.
"Now that is the type of shopping I can handle, especially if they also have some cross training shoes - Reebok or Nike preferably - mine are wearing out." Mariah chimes in, and I can see some frustration from shopping at a clothes store ease away - a little.
"Fine! I guess you did better than most other times that I try to get you to go shopping with me. Maybe Juniper and I should have gone by ourselves." Sienna pouts, but Mariah growls slightly. Luckily I catch Sienna's attention and shake my head.
"Well of course, Juniper and I wouldn't be the only ones going. I'm sure there are others that would like to go." She starts but glances over at Mariah. "Oh, nevermind. We can decide about another shopping day later. Lets go get lunch and invade the shoe stores."
After a quick lunch at Chick-Fil-A, with me ordering my favorite Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich, Waffle Potato Fries and a Dr. Pepper, and everyone else getting chicken nuggets or a grilled chicken sandwich - we are fueled for the next segment of our shopping trip - boots, sandals and athletic shoes! Trudging through racks and racks of clothes can be murderous, but looking through aisles and aisles of shoes is heaven.
After a little bit of shopping, I see Juniper walking down an aisle by herself and decide to approach her.
"So how long have you been in the pack?" I ask, and she looks up from the shoes in front of her.
"Mom and I have been with Blackrose from the beginning. Mom and I became homeless after my father found out my mother was a witch, of course this was after I was conceived. My father's father was strict and a purist, so my mom being a witch was not accepted. My mom's human foster parents kicked her out after they found out that not only was she a witch but also pregnant. Bastards." she mumbles out the very last word.
"You're not alone, Juniper. Blackrose is a great place for you and your mom to be."
"I know. Even from the beginning, the rogue pack was my home. Alpha Scarlett brought us all into Blackrose, and this has become my permanent home."
"And you certainly a lot of good friends, especially Mariah..." I imply, noticing how her cheeks tinge pink at the red heads name.
"Yeah, she is..." She murmurs, and I shake my head with an amused chuckle.
"Come on now Juniper, I know you like her more than as a friend."
"That obvious, huh?"
"Definitely, and since it's pretty obvious that Mariah likes you too, I was wondering what was holding you two back. There certainly wouldn't be any issue with you two being together."
She bites her lip nervously as she turns her attention back to the shoes, and just as I think she isn't going to answer, she turns back to me with a conflicted expression.
"Because...I don't know if we're mates..." She admits.
"Don't you feel a mate bond? What has your wolf said about this?"
"Outside attraction, no...and my wolf hasn't said anything at all..." She hedges.
"That's odd..."
"Not really...considering I don't have one." She murmurs, and I pause for a moment.
"Wait...you mean, you haven't shifted yet?" I ask. This answers some of my questions, but not all of them. Even if she hasn't shifted yet she should still feel the sparks when Mariah touches her, so there must be something else at play.
"No...and I don't know why."
"That's okay, my mom didn't shift until she was eighteen, so it's not unheard of to be a late shifter. But I can try and help you figure out why, would that be okay?"
"I'm willing to try...just don't tell anybody, okay? No one else knows about this except my mom." She pleas, and I nod.
"Of course, but I think you should talk to Mariah about this...trust me." I imply, knowing that the longer they keep each other unaware, the harder it will be. I smile in relief when she nods in agreement.
"So...what are you suggesting first?"
"Well one thing we could try is for me to do an extensive session of my energy medicine. I'm not sure if it would be considered as something similar to anything that has been used before, but this is what it is basically. It is sometimes believed that imbalances in energy fields can result in "illness" or "conditions" and practitioners can hopefully re-balance these energy fields in a person.."
"Do you really think that will work?" She asks skeptically.
"I don't believe it would hurt to try. I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone being hurt by having this performed on them. I will have to be careful not to use too much power, but the effects are not life-threatening."
"Ok I'm willing to try it. But what if that doesn't work?"
"Have you considered finding your biological father?" I nudge softly.
"No..." She starts, but I see her eyes watering.
"I know it's a difficult thing to ask, but it might be a good idea to at least consider it. You not shifting may have something to do with him, and possibly why you can't feel a mate bond...you could be subconsciously suppressing your wolf with your magic..." I trail off, and noticing that she's still upset, I decide to back off.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have approached the topic - Let's just look for more shoes - I'm dying to buy more."
Sensing her continued discomfort, I hold up a pair of cute brown lace up combat style boots with a rounded toe and a side zipper.
"What do you think of these?" As ask as I hold them up high for her to see since she's down the aisle just a little.
"They're cute but maybe the others could help decide also." She suggests - I think she's missing Marz - truthfully.
"Ok that sounds like a great plan. I have a few more I could bring over and I could do a mini fashion show in the boots I'm interested in."
Quickly I pull out a black bootie with faux-leather upper with rounded toe and side zipper, a tan ankle bootie with communal cut, black ankle sweater boots, faux suede peep toe booties, black gladiator sandals, faced up combat style sweater boots, low cut cutie sweater boots, The North Face hiking boots and a pair of Ariat Fatbaby boots.
So after our little shoe fashion shoe starts and I end up buying five pairs of shoes, and that was refraining myself from buying them all. Gotta love my boots - well and camo. Now where to find that?
~~~~~
Sienna and Juniper want to stop to get manicures, which I'm not all that hyped about. However, to make Sienna happy I will stop - IF we make it back to the pack house for dinner. Julian is cooking pot roast with vegetables today, and I do not want to miss out on that.
Of course, we can't just go in and get the manicures done. They have to hear about all of the options, look at all of the designs and browse through all of the available colors. What's the big deal? There's no special event planned, no one has a date, and Mariah and I mostly train. Shesh!!
So after a few hours the four of us are finally walking out of the nail salon and on our way to dinner. Me anxious for getting back.
OF COURSE, we don't make it back in time, and I'm fuming mad.
"What's wrong? You look like a she-devil this evening." Julian teases.
"The girls didn't get me back here in time for your pot roast." I whine.
"How much do you love me?"
"Why?"
"What if I put a plate away just for you?"
"I love you Julian!" I scream as I jump into his arms. He stands there rigid and all of a sudden I realized what I said.
"OH JD...you know...you know what I meant -- right?" I mumble.
"Yes, Eva I know, but it is nice to hear I'm appreciated."
"You are very much appreciated. Now where's my dinner?" I half-joke.
He comes back with a full plate of pot roast and vegetables, which I enjoy while we talk about nothing in particular enjoying each other's company.
At the end of the day, this has been a great day - for once I took pleasure in shopping. Included as added bonuses, I got to know more about Mariah and Juniper, hopefully helped Juniper discover more about herself, and got those two closer to admitting their feelings for one another.
~~~~~
Morning training is nothing different this morning, but it is nice to keep in the habit of training - both in human and wolf forms.What keeps me going some days are the pranks Julian and I pull on each other. And the prank for Julian today is very special.
Knowing Julian's routine of eating Frosted Flakes at lunchtime, I find Julian's favorite green bowl he uses for cereal in the kitchen and put a few drops of green food coloring in the bottom. I make sure everyone knows not to touch that particular bowl, even if they aren't supposed to to begin with.
Like clockwork Julian comes rushing in to get his bowl of cereal. Julian pours the milk in, and it automatically starts turning green...the look on his face is priceless, and I am already chuckling a tiny bit.
"What the hell?" He mutters in utter confusion, sniffing the milk hesitantly.
"Seriously? Food coloring? Baise toi!"
I don't bother hiding my laughter, especially as he looks from the empty milk carton to the green milk in his bowl. I especially chose this prank because of the shortage of milk until today's grocery run.
"Oh, fuck it." He sighs in exasperation as he pours in his Frosted Flakes, and I internally cringe.
"They're GRRRR-EAT!" I smirk.
"Careful Eva...you should know by now I don't like it when people mess with my food!"
Game On
Taking his warning seriously, I leave the kitchen to go find solitude out in the pack gardens. There is a small pond there and this is where I have started doing my daily meditations at. Not long after I finish I notice a presence behind me.
"Are you needing something Romain?" I ask serenely - still basking in the peace I have achieved.
"I just wanted to talk for a little bit."
"Let's talk a walk then." I reply while extracting myself from the lotus position I am currently in.
We walk quite a ways before Romain stops me.
"Eva, I really like you." Romain confesses.
"Romain, I like you too, but you have a mate out there." I plead.
"Is this wrong?" He whispers before he leans in and kisses me - softly at first.
Our kisses become passionate and heated with time. He backs me against the tree and starts trailing kisses down my neck and further as his hands started roaming. I couldn't say I'm not enjoying it, but a thought came to mind, and I pushed him away.
"We can't do this." I mumble breathlessly, as he put his forehead to mine.
"Why not?" He questions almost angrily.
"You don't know my oldest brother, Asher's story or you'd understand!" I whisper/yell returning his frustration.
"Then explain to me, please." He pleads.
"My mom got in a relationship with a guy before she met my dad. Her and Lucas got into an intimate relationship rather quickly, and even though she is on the pill, she became pregnant with my brother, Asher. My dad isn't sure he is going to accept my mom or not because of Asher, but the Moon Goddess intervened and showed him the error of his thinking. Unfortunately, a few days after my mom and dad met, Lucas is killed in a rogue attack on my mom and Lucas' home pack. At times it has been difficult on my mom and Asher living with this fact and the memories. I don't want you and I to have the potential for having the same fate." I explain.
"But that might not happen." He continues to plead.
"Might not, isn't convincing enough. I'm sorry." I whisper and run from him.
What am I supposed to do about this situation now?
~~~~~~
Once today's morning training is done, I really want my cold Dr. Pepper from the fridge.
"Hey Sienna get me my Dr. Pepper bottle, please." I ask nicely.
"Sure."
I open the bottle and should have known something is wrong from the start. I take a big swig and end up spitting in all over the kitchen.
"Julian Le Tourneau! What the fuck did you do to my Dr. Pepper?" I shriek.
"Nothing." He snickers.
"Bullshit asshole. Really soy sauce. Seriously??!!!"
Grabbing a water to try and get the soy sauce out of my mouth. Hell I actually like soy sauce, but not for it to be diluted with my Dr. Pepper. At least it wouldn't turn my mouth green.
"That's what you get for messing with my cereal." Julian taunts.
Romain just sits back and chuckles knowing good and well how important my Dr. Pepper is to me. Tyson and Grant just stand there with amusement in their eyes. Assholes.
Game On.