And Then She Was Gone

Time For A Lesson

After fifteen minutes into the car ride, with it being spent in silence and her eyes watching for the most part the changing landscape throughout the windows, her mind began to wonder. She noticed the greenery that had large gray rocks dispersed throughout it and tall looming trees littered about sometimes in clusters, but every now and then she would turn her attention towards him to gage where he was at. He never once returned the gesture, his eyes fixed on the winding road before them with one hand gripping on the wheel and the other casually leaning on the windows edge.

The quiet was unnerving to her, not that she wanted to go back to bickering or arguing like they so frequently did in their short time together, but she felt a very real discomfort with his clear choice to ignore her. It almost ate at her, and in the long moments her eyes went back out to the shifting scenery, she thought about ways to break the silence. Ultimately, finding nothing worthwhile that would entice him to reciprocate talking back. A deep voice in the back of her head prodding her to apologize, almost willing her to do so, the words almost mumbling out of her mouth before she was brought back to reality at the car parking at the head of a large mansion like building with grand stone steps leading to its entry.

"We're here." he said abruptly, not looking at her as he turned the car off and dismounted, walking around to her side before she even had a chance to react and opening the door with his hand extended for her to take hold.

She unbuckled the belt and took his hand, while staring at the grand building in front of her that seemed to live and breathe with vitality within its huge rock block walls. So enamored with the view, she stumbled out of the car and almost fell but was steadied by his free hand gripping at her hip to stabilize her feet. A blush creeping on her face at his touch and the warmth it spread combined at embarrassment from her clumsiness.

He pulled her away from the door and shut it behind them, as he then lead her up the steps and into the large mahogany doors with the gold handles that concealed the inside. She was met with a massive entry way into a foyer packed with pillars and shuffling people throughout chattering around with paperwork or utility bags and engaging in playful camaraderie. The dim lighting of the place would have made it majestic, but she felt her nose being overpowered with so many scents it was trying to discern that she felt a light headache form almost instantly as if she had just walked into a fragrance emporium assaulting her senses.

All the men and women seemed to stop in their steps one by one as Jason pulled Elizabeth down the long hall, nods being given in his direction with the mumbled word Alpha echoing about from each sex. However, each of their eyes honing in on her as he led her along by hand. The curious stares and gazes causing her to shift slightly closer to his body, her free hand grabbing at his forearm as she tried to nestle in obscurity from the peering eyes while utilizing her hair to shade her face.

As soon as they passed each individual, the murmur of chatter would resume in a more hushed tone, too many voices for Elizabeth to determine the topic of each conversation. Whether or not they had returned to their previous subjects or chose to speak with their voices on the area where their eyes had just studiously lingered.

He quickly turned her to the left, taking her down the west wing which was lined with a deep red carpet and had large painted portraits on the wall of attractive middle aged men with hard stares that seemed to glare at the people passing by them. Their final stop being the last door on the right, where he brought her into a room decorated in royal blue and tones of gold, a large wood table surrounded with dusty looking books wrapped in slightly damaged binding. Elizabeth had been so overwhelmed by her senses and the stares of others that she barely noticed two men standing in front of the last bay window out of three at the end of the room, one being familiar to her, the other not.

"I'm sorry were late." Jason said, removing his hand from her grasp and walking towards Joseph and an older man with grayed hair wearing oval gold rimmed spectacles with a cane in his hand, Elizabeth assuming this was Geoffrey.

"Not at all Alpha." Geoffrey said with a warm smile and a twinkle in his green eyes as he tapped his cane in a way of acknowledging his presence. "I assumed when you said you would be depositing her here in place of your home, that something must have come up that needed your attention."

"Rightly so." he quickly looked back at the small blonde standing by the door still. "Joseph, she doesn't go anywhere without you. Anywhere."

"Of course Alpha." Joseph nodded, already being briefed on how to handle his responsibilities with the young woman.

"I will be down the hall in a meeting with the Beta's, you come get me if there are any problems Geoffrey. I highly doubt there will be. Am I correct, Elizabeth?" his last words came out sternly, and he turned his head to stare directly at her, a slight venom still brewing in his eyes.

"Y-yes..." she mumbled back quietly.

"I can't hear you." he stated back even sharper, even though he could no doubt hear her, he wanted to make it very clear his firmness on the matter.

"I said yes." she said, her volume rising but her voice still weak.

"Good." his head swivelled back to the men in front of him, Geoffreys eyes had flickered almost knowingly over to the young woman with a bit of sympathy before once again looking at the Alpha. "Make sure she takes home assignments over the course of your lessons. She needs more to do." he said giving directive.

"Well there is much to learn, I'm sure it will be needed." the old man nodded maintaining his same friendly warm smile.

"Alright, I'll be back around 4pm to pick her up. Make sure she remains on task." he said with a nod to the two men before turning around and walking back towards the exit, stopping in his steps only momentarily to press a light kiss on her forehead and harshly whisper "Be good", before he left.

"Well Miss. Elizabeth.. Or should I say Luna?" he chuckled at his own joke as he stepped forward, knowing she would be lost in the context. "We have much to do, please take a seat." he opened a welcoming hand to a chair that had an elementary style school book in front of it, slow ginger steps in her direction guided by the tapping of his cane showing just how old he must have been.

She slowly walked to the heavy chair and pulled it back and took a seat in front of a book with children friendly cartoons on the front of the cover, and big bold red letters saying "So you're a werewolf! : A pups guide to understanding."

"I figured we will start off small, and gradually get to the meat of it, it may be easier for you in the long run." another chuckle emitted from him with a warm smile showing that he was being genuine and not wanting to shock her reality.

Joseph hid his smile as he made his way to sit across from her and watched the beauty of understanding unfold as Geoffrey took a child's approach to explaining to a twenty-two year old the world she was born into but was now just shoved in.

"Lets begin." Geoffrey said seating himself slowly next to her, with minor cracks erupting from his old bones, the smell of sawdust and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filling her nostrils.