Dedicated to @ItsLillieBro for correcting all the grammar in chapter 1! (I haven't put the new version on wattpad yet, it will be soon)

*****

She pushed him into the sea anyway, and he found that he actually liked this thing, this feeling. Now he just needed her to show him how to swim, so that he wouldn't drown in his emotions.

I recovered relatively quickly from my trip through the woods during the snowstorm. Talking with Aericon and just having him as company helped a lot, though.
He really seemed to be trying to open up to me. Sure, he hadn't told me anything about himself that mattered, but we did get to know each other on a superficial level. I guess you could almost say we had become friends.
And this was enough, for now. We both needed all the time we could get, and this friendliness kept the mateloss-syndrome at bay. Also for now. Soon it would start to demand more, but it hopefully would stay away long enough for us to start trusting each other.
He didn't think I was truly changing, yet.
I didn't think he was really letting himself feel, yet.
That would take time. But it would happen eventually.

I raced through the hallways of the castles, excited. I kept letting out little squeals of delight, not actually believing what I had just heard on the phone. Francis had called me to tell that he was coming to the Castle of Sensus today. He was to have dinner and a polite discussion with the Alpha and the Luna. Which was Aericon and me, so I was super excited to see him again. We had stayed in contact throughout the weeks, and he was happy for me that we were finally getting along. Besides that, he was remarkably happy with the fact that Aericon thought the way of thinking of all the Pack Quarters was wrong. He seemed hopeful after that, but I didn't know why.
And now, after eight weeks of not seeing him besides Skype, I would see him again. Of course I missed my parents and brother way more than I missed Francis, but even now that Aericon payed more attention to me, I was bored out of my mind most of the time. So therefore I really was looking forward to the dinner tonight, even though I wanted to confirm with Aericon first. Which was where I was heading. Now I finally kind of knew my way around the castle - it had taken me roughly a month before I knew the way to the kitchen alone - I was quickly making may way to Aericon's office.
Knocking three times, I waited politely for permission before entering.
Aericon looked up in surprise when he noticed it was me. "Cara? Why are you here?"
"Is it true?" I asked, barely able to contain my excitement.
"Is what true?" He retorted the question with a monotone voice. I almost sighed in disappointment, until I saw the amusement twirling in his gorgeous eyes.
"So it is?"
"It is." He smiled at me almost adoringly as I squealed in happiness.
"When will they arrive?"
"In a few hours I presume, at around three we will meet them for tea and a conversation about the "ophef" in the Ratio quarters. Then you can catch up with your friend, after which we will have dinner together. Is that alright with you?"
I "cocked" my head in concern. "Ophef" in the Ratio quarters?"
Aericon sighed softly. "Unfortunately yes. In the Ratio quarters are many intelligent people who do not agree with the Sensus way of ruling. As they are considered wise and powerful, they manage to influence the opinion of many. It has grown too big for my bèta to handle, so we asked for a group of Ratio inhabitants to share their opinion and find an agreement in hope to settle the unrest."
I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. When he didn't make a move to shove it off, I tried to sound reassuring. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure."
Aericon smiled, but his eyes didn't laugh with him. "Yhea," he mumbled as he put one of his hands on mine. "We probably will."
For some reason, that unsettled me more.

"Francis!" Without thinking and acting as a proper Luna should, I just ran over to the boy as soon as I saw him. I wanted to hug him, but felt the burning stare of my Alpha mate in my back, and decided against it. Instead I smiled apologetically at my friend before shaking his hand enthusiastically. "It's so good to see you again, I missed you!"
Even though I acted - and honestly was - cheerful, I wasn't stupid not to notice his change in demeanour. When we met, he had looked slightly arrogant already, but now it was as if he thought he owned the place. He stood straight with his chin held up high, and even though he smiled at me, his eyes seemed cool and calculating.
"I missed you too, Cara. I can't wait to catch up with you this afternoon."
That made me feel a lot better, so I smiled warmly at him as all other members of the group from the Ratio pack entered the room.
"Cara, could you please inform the kitchenmaids that our guests have arrived? And could you bring some Cantuccino to go with the tea?" I heard Aericon ask of me.
Disappointed I nodded. "Sure," I said before walking to the door in an elegant manner. "Ladies, gentleman," I nodded at everyone in the room. "I will be back in a few minutes. Enjoy your conversation."
I don't know why I acted so extremely polite. I shook my head, laughing at myself, while I ran in a slow jog to the kitchen. I silently cursed Aericon for asking me to go the freaking other side of the castle. But, he had said please, so in my mind I was obliged to go. Even when we had become very friendly with each other, I hadn't forgotten his words about me having to respect him in public as my Alpha. So I did, not wanting to upset him after we had made such good progress.
Apparantly going to the kitchen and back took longer than I had expected, because when I came back from my short trip, their conversation had already ended.
"Cara, thank you," Aericon said. "You can catch up with Francis now, but don't be late for dinner, I want to see you sometime before." He winked at me, I presume more for our small audience than for me. "Can't miss you for too long."
I blushed slightly at his innuendo in front of my friend. "S-sure," I stuttered, my face representing a cherry more and more each second. "I'll come find you."
He then walked out the door, and once more I realised how handsome he actually was. Broad shoulders, rippling muscles, steady walk, and if I must admit, a really nice butt.
"Damn you really are smitten by him, aren't you?" Grinned Francis as soon as my mate left.
I slapped his arm playfully. "I am not!"
"Yes you are"
Okay, maybe I was. Maybe I already had more feelings for him than I dared to admit.