Holly motioned for me to sit on the edge of the bed — which had been made since I'd gone into the bathroom. I briefly wondered who did that, it was very kind of them. I did as Holly said and she placed herself in a kneeling position on the floor in front of me.

"From what I saw last time, you seem to be healing very nicely, and I don't feel it necessary to check you all over." She looked me in the eye to read my expression, "unless there is something bothering you physically that I need to know."

I shook my head as an adamant no, telling her everything was fine. In fact, I had never healed this fast in my entire life! Well each injury isn't being followed up with more beatings, I reminded myself pointedly. You've had much more down time to let your body heal.

Knowing that because everything else was fine, she would want to look over my arm, so I stuck it out for her. Holly gently wrapped her hands around the cast and rotated it back and forth slowly. "It feels okay?" I nodded, I hadn't felt much pain with it recently. Holly lifted her head and looked back at the others. Kota appeared at my side instantly, shocking me both at how fast he got there and how much comfort it brought me.

My foot twitched with uneasiness. It was so strange to me how much my body leaned to him, wanted him near and sought comfort through him. It didn't feel natural; I felt like we didn't know each other well enough for this. The less logical side of me said to ignore that and welcome the feelings starting to rise whenever he was here. Stupid werewolf mating shit I don't understand!

"Alpha," I hadn't even realized Holly had been speaking to us. Or maybe just to him, it was hard to tell. "It may not be as dormant as we thought. Her healing has progressed much more and is much faster than even a couple days ago!"

Kota's hand squeezed my shoulder as gently as possible, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the contact. I had no idea what Holly meant by that, but if my healing was fast, that had to be a good thing, right? She sounded thrilled, and Kota's tone matched when he responded.

"That's wonderful news, Holly. Thank you so much!" I glanced up at him and he gave me a warm smile, making me feel safe. I should have nothing to worry about.

The doctor stood up and then helped me to my feet. "You guys have fun today okay, and come see me later if you need anything." I was starting to really like her.

When she left, we followed at a distance. We headed down the flights of stairs and followed the entryway underneath into the kitchen. I wasn't hungry yet, but that didn't seem to be a problem because we turned to the right instead of stopping. This was a hallway I hadn't explored and we passed many rooms that had French doors instead of the solid wood ones. We were going slow enough I had time to peek in a few.

This seemed to be an entertainment hall, because one room looked to be a theater — though it was dark inside so I wasn't positive. Another was a table games room; I spotted pool, foosball, table tennis, and the room stretched back farther where I couldn't see through the glass. A different one was a lounge area with a tv too small to be a theater set up. Maybe video games? The last two on the other side of the corridor were more spacious, with what appeared to be small, indoor climbing structures and little kid toys. It almost appeared like I was looking through the windows of an early childhood care center.

Kota had been watching me admire the rooms we passed, and spoke up when I looked into the last one. "These two are for young pups, the other side is more for older pups and teenagers, though adults can enjoy them too. For Enforcer training, we have a clearing in the forest with a much bigger climbing structure." I smiled, thankful he was explaining. I appreciated that he understood my unspoken thoughts and questions.

At the end of the hall was a solid door, this one we went through and it opened up into an enormous garage. So many cars were parked here I was baffled in my spot for a moment, making Kota and Jaycee chuckle.

"We'll take the truck," Kota announced, fumbling with keys I hadn't noticed. One of the garage door sections opened up and the cool October breeze escaped inside, swirling around us as we walked towards what I assumed was Kota's truck. I breathed in deeply, happy to smell the sweet scent of autumn.

Cole and Sydney announced they would take their own vehicle so we could all fit and the others started climbing into the truck. Kota offered me his hand as he opened the passenger door. I took it with my right hand and he helped me up and onto the seat. Shutting the door he went around to the other side and started the truck. Jaycee, Dexter, and Eva sat in the back.

"Music?" He asked, his eyes on me. I nodded and he flipped on the radio, reminding me I needed to get my backpack from him soon, my iPod was in there still, probably dead by now. The song that played was one I didn't know, but it was definitely Taylor Swift singing and that alone made me grin excitedly. Kota's eyes lit up at me adoringly before he backed out and started driving down the road. I didn't see Sydney and Cole's car, so they must have already left, or were behind us a little.

"So where do you want to go first?" Kota asked after the song finished and the station started the next one. He turned the volume down a couple notches and I pulled a little at the sweater dress I was wearing. "Clothes shopping? Sounds good to me!"

"Yes!" Jaycee exclaimed from the backseat and I let out the tiniest giggle, ignoring the look I got from Kota. Just because I didn't speak didn't mean I didn't have a voice in there somewhere!

It didn't take too long to get to the mall, just a few songs as this town wasn't exactly huge. The mall wasn't huge either, but it still had some good name brand stores and food options. I was fine with that, as long as I got the clothes I desperately needed!

Kota parked the truck and we all climbed out, of course he ran around to open my door and lend me a hand. I smiled shyly at his chivalry, not used to being treated like this.

When we got inside, we found Sydney and Cole waiting on a bench. They bounced up when they spotted us walking through the entry doors. "Alright, lead the way Birthday Girl!" Cole exclaimed sweeping his arm out grandly. I blushed, feeling weird as the center of attention, but walked in the lead anyway. I headed right to the first clothing store I spotted, skirting around small groups of people. Though it was a Wednesday, so the mall wasn't in any way crowded.

Just as we entered the store, Kota softly grabbed ahold of my shoulder and stopped me, turning me around so I looked him in the eyes and let the others pass. "Hey, money isn't an issue, okay? Pick out what you like, and get what you want and what you need. Don't second guess because of a price tag. We're here for you and you need things of your own at home." It was overly nice of him to be paying for everything, and I didn't know how to thank him, so I grabbed his hand and smiled when the sparks simmered around our fingertips. He seemed shocked at first by my boldness, but after only a second his eyes lit up like stars and he let me pull him through the store to catch up with the others.

Between all three clothing stores we sifted through, I ended up having five or six bags of clothes for myself. Jaycee had two — because she "couldn't help herself" — Eva had one half-full, and Sydney had one. The boys didn't really get anything, they were just here to pay and carry their mates' bags. That made me laugh inside a little.

Feeling a little spent, I pointed up to the food court sign and everyone agreed we needed to eat. "I'll go put these in the truck so we don't have to find somewhere to put them all." Kota offered, taking the bags from the other girls, adding to mine he had already been carrying for me. He disappeared and the rest of us found a table.

"What are you feeling, Eirenae?" Jaycee asked, looking at all our options. I followed her line of sight feeling guilty. I knew I couldn't eat that much and I didn't want them to spend money on me when I was sure I couldn't finish it all.

As if reading my mind, Eva placed her hand on mine, "don't worry about anything, okay? Get what you want and if you don't finish, we can save it or one of the boys will finish it off. They're never full!" She laughed at her own comment and I cracked a smile, feeling better. I subtly pointed to the Asian stand, knowing that would be combinations of rice and meat.

Jaycee handed me a notepad and pen, "here write down it down and we'll go order." I wrote white rice and shrimp. Sydney grabbed the pad when I was done and took it up to the restaurant. Everyone else went to go get different things.

Kota appeared next to me, startling me a little, and he waited with me until at least one other person had come back to the table. When Eva sat down on my right, he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and stood up to go find something for himself. His need to wait with me to protect me and prevent me from sitting here alone was endearing, yet also slightly annoying. I understood though, even if his reasons were slightly different than mine: that we were in public here, and Jack could spot me at any given time or place. The thought sent a shudder down my spine I splayed off to Eva as just being cold.

She gave me a smile, "your food will warm you up." I nodded absentmindedly.

Soon enough, everyone was back at the table and Sydney had placed the tray of my food in front of me. I thanked her using sign language before picking up the fork and taking a few bites. The table was silent as everyone dug into their lunch, and it was Dexter who spoke up next.

"So, what now? More clothes shopping or are we moving on to something different?"

Everyone turned their eyes to me, as apparently I was the deciding factor here. I shrugged and scooped another bite of rice into my mouth; that was the best I could do.

"I think we got a decent amount of clothes," Jaycee answered for me, "but this morning we talked about getting her a haircut. Is that still okay, Eirenae?"

I shook a few locks over my shoulder and examined them again before nodding in answer. I needed the frayed ends to be cleaned up badly!

"There you go, that's what's next!"

By then, most everyone had finished their meals, except me, who was still slowly picking through. I shoveled one more bite of shrimp and rice and then decided my stomach was done.

"That's it?" Sydney asked skeptically. Though to her credit, her voice was laced with concern for me. Jaycee nudged her with a glare. I looked at Sydney and nodded, I had eaten just under half my plate and that filled me up quite enough.

No one else commented on it, but I could see the concern in Kota's eyes too. They all knew I hadn't eaten anything since sometime yesterday, but they also didn't understand that my body hadn't been offered as much food as I've had this week in years. I don't think Kota would like that very much if he knew.

Clearing his throat, Cole started stacking their empty trays to take to the trash bin. After asking, he also took mine. When he came back, Kota pulled something out from his pocket.

"Before we go, I have a birthday present for you, Eirenae." I stilled, looking up at him with wide eyes. He absolutely did not need to get me anything; none of them did! Everything they have done for me in the last week was a birthday present enough. Especially with the clothes and food he just bought me.

In his hands was a small box, and at first glance, my heart skipped a beat and I forgot to breath, thinking it was a ring. Too fast, too fast! But then he lifted the lid and I gasped with happiness. It was not a ring, but actually a bracelet, and it matched the wolf necklace my mom had given me. It was beautiful, and perfect, and so, so sweet of him!

"Oh that's so pretty!" Jaycee gushed and I saw all three girls leaning over to get a better look.

Kota unclasped the latch and hooked it around my right wrist. When he was done I admired it up close, feeling my eyes prick with tears for how sweet this was of him.

"Do you like it?"

My smile was so wide it hurt, and I nodded vigorously. In fact, when we stood up, I threw my arms around his neck and my feet no longer touched the stone floor. I desperately wanted to tell him thank you, with actual words, but when I opened my mouth to try, all that escaped was a squeak. I couldn't do it.

He didn't seem to mind, as he was already swelling with happiness at my embrace, and he wrapped his arms around me and held me to him. My eyes fluttered closed and I breathed deeply into his neck, causing a tiny growl to escape his lips. The electricity that sparkled around where we touched was so evident I forgot we were still in the food court with everyone else.

I let go and he set me gently back on my feet. When I looked up at his eyes, they shone radiantly, but not in a scary way like I used to think. It was actually very pretty how green his eyes could become. He took my hand in his and we started walking with everyone to where Jaycee was taking me for a hair cut. After only a few steps, my feet faltered a little and a sharp needle-like pain hit the base of my spine.

What in the world was that?