Chapter 5 - "You smell like coffee."

HAVING DINNER WITH ANN by his side felt really great. Collin had to keep reminding himself not to stare, but she was just so damn gorgeous! His mom, of course, was incredible, and she had made sure that everyone knew the situation and behaved around Ann. He could see she was looking around a little frazzled in the beginning, but it didn’t take long for her to relax.

Since everyone had heard that their Luna was going to eat with them, the dining room was pack to the brim for once. He had to admit that it did look really weird to have so many people together like this and for Ann to think they were some kind of cult was natural. He could just hope that it wouldn’t scare her off if she saw all of them together like this, but she seemed okay.

“So how has your stay been so far?” His father smiled and Ann burst out laughing.

“From what I’ve been told, it’s been good.” She laughed, making everyone around her laugh. “But since I’ve been awake everyone has been so good to me. I don’t know if I will ever be able to thank you.” Her eyes turned a little sad as she looked at Collin. “Has there been any news about my family?”

***

ANN DIDN’T KNOW if she really wanted to know about her family. These people had been so good to her and taking into account the condition they found her in … She just didn’t know. She couldn’t help but feel relieved when Collin shook his head. According to him, nobody in the city or surrounding areas had reported someone missing. She wondered if her family were the people who attacked her and now wanted nothing to do with her.

There were just so many possibilities! She could have been trafficked and attacked when she escaped. She could have been someone’s captive … She shook her head to clear the horrific thoughts from her mind. Until they found out where she came from, she had to focus on getting better. She couldn’t make herself insane with what might have happened.

After dinner, she was very tired and Collin took her to her room. His sister helped her into the bath and afterward to get dressed. Collin was waiting in her room, dressed in his shorts and he had no shirt on. Ann had to bite her tongue when she felt something deep inside her stir. She couldn’t start something now, could she? She didn’t even know who she was?!!! She crawled into bed as he put on the music she liked and breathed in his coffee smell when he climbed onto the bed behind her.

“Why do you always smell like coffee?” She frowned and he burst out laughing.

“Maybe because I drink so much of it. It’s pouring through my skin.” He nuzzled her neck, giving her goosebumps, but she didn’t stop him. It felt so natural to be together like this that she didn’t want to burst the bubble they were in.

“But you don’t drink coffee.” She frowned, turning around so she could look at him. “I’ve watched you. You drink juice or water, but I haven’t seen you drinking coffee.” A spark of something flashed in his eyes and for a moment she wondered what it was that he was hiding from her as he sighed.

“I wish I could tell you.” He rolled onto his back and pulled his fingers through his hair, sighing yet again. “Okay, let me say this.” He turned to look at her and she could see the seriousness radiating from his eyes. “When your memory returns, you will understand all of it, but I don’t want you to force any of it. The doctor said that if you do, you could burn out and possibly never remember.” Now he looked worried, which made her worried.

“Okay,” She sighed as she turned her back to him again. She could understand that they all wanted her to get her memory back. That was when it hit her right in the gut. Were they her family?! They all cared for her as if she was one of them. Wait … Did they do this to her?! She gasped as she jumped out of bed. Collin sat up asking her what was going on and she squinted her eyes as she looked at him. Would he even tell her if they were the ones that harmed her?

She needed time … She needed time to herself … She needed to think.

“Ann, are you okay?” Collin’s voice pierced through her thoughts as she tried to figure out what to say and where to go. She was just about to run out of the door when something really weird happened.

“He is our mate.” A female voice echoed through her mind and Ann stopped in her tracks. She whipped around and looked at Collin, who was looking very confused.

“Did you hear that?” She glared at him. She wondered for a split second if he had said it, but that voice was way too feminine! His eyes grew wide.

“Anna, I am Clair. I am your wolf.” The voice echoed again and Ann felt the world around her start to spin before everything blacked out.

***

COLLIN CAUGHT ANN just as her head was about to hit the floor. He picked her up and carried her back to the bed while his wolf excitedly explained that he was finally able to make contact with her wolf! He explained that her wolf had revealed herself to Ann right before she fainted, and it all made sense.

Collin called the doctor to come and check her out and when she hadn’t woken up by the time the doctor arrived, they were all worried that she might have slipped back into a coma, but there were no signs of it. She was breathing on her own and her heart seemed to be fine. The doctor was on the verge of suggesting she be moved back to the hospital when they all heard her groan. All eyes turned to the pale girl on the bed.

***

A RUSH OF MEMORIES FLOODED Anna’s mind as she looked at all the strangers in front of her. It took a moment for her to process everything, but she could remember who she was! Then she realized that she could remember what happened to her and tears started to run down her cheeks. Collin rushed to her side and this time she was filled with such love that there was no denying it.

“Mate.” Was the first word out of her mouth after she woke up and she felt a little overwhelmed when Collin pulled her into his arms and onto his lap. It felt as if there were a couple of minutes of chaos as the people around her excitedly chatted way before she cleared her throat.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Anna and my wolf who just brought my memories back is called Clair.” She smiled as her eyes scanned over all of them, finally coming to rest on Collin’s. “I guess, I wanted to call myself Ann because somewhere deep down, I knew my name had to be something close to it.” She smiled. They all wanted to know if she could remember what happened to her and flashes of that dreadful night came to mind. She remembered the beta killing her parents and she remembered the knock on her head.

The doctor told her that it was a good thing that she had finally remembered, but that it was very possible that some of the details were still a bit foggy. Her wolf was probably still healing her brain, so things would come back in time. After everyone was caught up in who she was and how she came to be with them, they gave her and Collin some time alone.

The two of them had a lot to talk about, and Leah knew that Sebastian had some calls he wanted to make. One of the pack Beta's had overthrown the alpha and it seemed that nobody knew about it. How could it have happened without anyone knowing? There was still a lot for all of them to talk about, but it was dark outside and nobody could really do much at night. Collin pulled Anna into his arms and he smiled as she breathed in his scent deeply.

“You know, you smell like coffee to me as well?” He grinned and she burst out laughing. It was very strange to realize that just a couple of moments ago she had no idea what that meant, but now she knew! She knew who she was and where she came from. Her eyes grew wide. She also knew what she was!

“Now I get what you were trying to explain when we went for our walk!” She giggled. “This is your pack territory, and here I thought you guys were some kind of cult!” She squealed with laughter.