Chapter 4

Sabine woke about an hour before the sun, though she never technically fell asleep. Her thoughts were all muddy, but she quickly recovered and couldn't help but stare at Ethan, who was still sound asleep, for several long moments. She thought about waking him, so that he could hold her and comfort her like he had done for so long last night, but she quickly cast that thought away. He looked so peaceful that she hated the thought of having to disturb him.

Silently and carefully, as to not wake him, she slipped out from under the covers and tip-toed across the room, picking up her clothes that were strewn all across the floor. She couldn't help but giggle at the thought—that they were very messy people, but she could care less. As long as she was with Ethan that was what mattered.

She made her way, sneakily, to the bathroom which she shared with Adne, and prayed to God that she wasn't there. No doubt that she would jump on her case about what happened the night before. Sabine was, by no means, ready to talk about it. She crossed her fingers and sighed a sigh of relief when she realized that the bathroom was Adne free.

After stripping all her clothes off and putting them in a heap on the floor, she turned and looked at herself in the mirror, and couldn't help but shudder slightly, as she stared at the image that reflected back at her. Who was this girl? Sabine thought, bitterly. She hardly even recognized herself. She definitely wasn't the same person she was, six months ago. She was actually quite pale and thin, very thin. It was true that she hadn't been eating much.

She stared at her naked-self for several more moments and began to wonder, was getting her wolf-essence back, that important? Would it kill her to actually live a nice human life with Ethan? She had to think about it. No, it probably wouldn't kill her, but her wolf-essence was a part of her that she couldn't give up so easily. It was a hard thing to explain. Shrugging it off, Sabine turned the shower on and stepped inside, trying to wash away all hints of last night's embarrassing episode. Today was a new day and she was determined to not let anything get to her. It was all she could do.

The warm shower was just what she needed to clear her head. She walked to the kitchen in a better mood that she had been in a long time. It was nice to feel happy again, or mostly happy, and she hoped that no one would put a damper on her spirits today. No doubt though, Connor would try to upset her. He always found a way to set her teeth on edge.

Unfortunately, when she got to the kitchen for breakfast, she wasn't alone. Anika had herself propped on a stool at the counter, eating her own breakfast. Sabine couldn't help but think how much Anika looked like a small child right then, sitting with her feet dangling to the floor, chattering away with one of the chefs. It was the chef who spotted her standing a few feet away.

"Ah, Miss Sabine. What a pleasure seeing you this morning." Anika whipped her head around to face her, as he said that. "Can I fix you anything for breakfast?"

Sabine smiled at him. She liked Jean-Paul. He had always been so nice to her and would always make anything she asked for, no matter how late it was, whenever she did decide to eat. "Thank you kindly," she thanked him, as she walked up to the counter and pulled herself up onto the stool, sitting next to Anika. "If you don't mind, I'd like two eggs, sunny side up, and some toast."

"Two eggs, sunny side up with toast, coming right up, Miss Sabine," he chuckled, heading over to the stove."

She rested her elbow on the counter and pressed her cheek to her hand, trying to ignore the fact that Anika was still sitting next to her. "And how are you this morning, my dear?" Anika chirped.

A sigh escaped her mouth; she couldn't help but feel annoyed at Anika for interrupting her happiness. "I'm fine, Anika. I promise."

"You didn't look fine last night," she noted, biting on a bagel with cream cheese.

Ugh…please drop this, Sabine thought dryly. She had a weak moment last night. She slipped up. It was something that she promised herself that she'd never do again, that was for certain. People were now probably calling her crazy—just what she needed. "I wasn't feeling very well yesterday, but Ethan helped me to get through it. I'm sorry that I ruined the party."

Anika eyed her up and down, making Sabine ever more uncomfortable. She couldn't help but squirm in her seat, sure that Anika was no doubt going to pry it out of her. Thankfully, Anika did no such thing. She simply scooted herself closer to Sabine and wrapped her arms around Sabine, in a comforting way. "As long as you're telling me the truth. I hate to think that you're not happy here. Sometimes, I see the way you act and it makes me question myself. Like, is it something I have said or done to make you so upset? You are like family to us all here and I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything."

That was pretty much the exact same thing that Adne had told her. Except, it wasn't true. Sabine could not talk to them about everything, no matter how much they tried to pry it out of her. Some things were better off just left on the shelf, where only she would be able to get them, if needed be. "You all have been so kind to me and I appreciate it more than you can ever imagine, but some things I just need to deal with myself." Like, how to get those darn swords off its mantle.

Jean-Paul had returned with her food just then, and she was too distracted by eating the extremely yummy food. Jean-Paul was an incredible cook. She was going to miss him, when she leaves this place—if she ever does. She then thought about that for a moment, she might have to kidnap Jean-Paul and take him home with her so that he could cook for her. Though, hopefully, she would be able to convince him enough so that she wouldn't be pressed with kidnapping charges.

Either Anika had gotten annoyed by her not saying anything else, or she forgot what they were talking about, Anika got up from her stool and left the room. Sabine couldn't have been any happier, though she was pretty sure that this conversation wasn't over. Anika wasn't one to let things just hang in the air. She would no doubt find her later and corner Sabine, so that she couldn't escape and make her talk about it.

Anyways, after breakfast, Sabine made her way to the third floor balcony, where she was sure she'd be alone. She was pretty sure that she was the only one to go up there, she never saw anyone. She liked to go up to the balcony to either paint or write. It was so peaceful. She never used to paint, before she came here, nothing ever seemed to inspire her, but here, there was the ocean and all the trees surrounding them and then there were the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. What better scenery than that? She loved to write too, mostly poetry, depressing poetry by that, but nonetheless, it was writing and she was happy to be doing it.

Finding a nice corner that over looked the ocean, Sabine leaned against the side of the building and tilted her face upward, letting the morning sun soak into her pores. The perfect morning. "Are you meditating?" A voice rang, interrupting her peacefulness. Ugh…when was she ever going to be left alone?

Not having any other choice, she opened her eyes, expecting it to be Ethan. It wasn't. It was a young boy, about eleven or twelve. Sabine had only seen him a few times about the Academy. She thought his name was Jonas or Jonathan or something like that. She did know it started with a J. "No," she murmured. "Just soaking in the sun."

He smiled, as he came up and sat down next to Sabine. Well, it looked like she wasn't going to get any writing done here, unless the boy got up and left right then, but the way that the boy was positioned, made it seem like he was here to stay. "I see you've found my hiding spot," he chuckled, his dimples showing, lighting up his freckled face.

What did he mean by his hiding spot? This was hers and no one else's! Okay, so maybe she was being a bit selfish, but like she mentioned earlier, it was a place where she could be alone, well, most of the time. "This is my hiding spot, boy," she grumbled, as she placed her notebook on the ground beside her.

The boy shook his head, his red hair blowing in the slight breeze. "That's where you're wrong, Miss Sabine." Okay, that was surprising to her. How did he know her name, when she couldn't even remember his name? "I've been coming up here long before you arrived here. So, technically, it's my hiding place. But because I think you're nice, I'll share it with you, but only you."

Sabine couldn't help but smile at the boy after he said that. She couldn't believe that she'd never actually met him before. And one thing was for certain, she was going to have to find out what his name was. She couldn't very well just keep calling him, "the boy," that was just silly. "Why thank you for the generosity kind sir," she grinned back at him, as she cleared her throat. She was really embarrassed about having to ask him this. "You're probably going to think I'm crazy," well, along with everyone else, he probably already thought that. "It's just, I can't seem to remember your name." Sabine felt so bad.

The boy was a champ, though, and simply shrugged it off with a wave of his hand. "Well, that's understandable, seeing as we've never actually met." Sabine let out a sigh of relief, thankful that he wasn't mad at her. "I'm Jordan," he smiled, producing his hand out, presumingly, so that Sabine could shake it.

Sabine happily took his hand and shook it enthusiastically. Jordan! How could she have not remembered that? Her next door neighbor—back home—had a son named Jordan. In fact, he was around the same age. What a coincidence. "So, Jordan, it's nice to officially make your acquaintance

Ann: Hey guys, so I was kind of wondering what you all thought of this. Is this even worth continuing to put up on ? Let me know. Reviews would be nice, thanks.