Chapter 3

I rolled my eyes at her as I turned to grab clothes out of my closet, I thought I was so careful, I hoped she was the only one who seen because if either of my parents caught me I'd get the 'ranking members need to act like such' conversation for about the thousandth time. 

“It wasn’t a walk of shame Farah,” I huffed at her as I sifted through my drawers instead for something to throw on.

“Ok, Ok, you weren’t ashamed, but Rowan… huh…” she was wiggling her eyebrows at me now as a sly grin formed on her face.

“We’re just friends Farah, nothing happened.” My voice came out soft and unsure, I wasn't sure nothing happened, but nothing Farah was thinking, happened. As close as we were I never crossed that line with Rowan, and he's never pressured me to, not that Echo would sit by and let it happen anyways. 

“Sure, sure,” she said pausing, staring at me caught in my own thoughts, “but I expect details later!”

“Farah!” I scolded, taking my clothes behind a room divider to change, not that it did much as her head came popping around the side of it.

“We grew up together Avi, I’m not blind,” she stated firmly as she rolled her eyes at me.

Farah was constantly encouraging me to act on things with Rowan, but he was a perfect gentleman, and as long as there was no pressure I didn't want to ruin anything if he didn't end up being my mate. As I slipped on a pair of jeans with light tears down the front and a dark blue spaghetti strap shirt, my stomach let out a louder growl than in the clearing, now clearly demanding to be fed as soon as possible.

“Oh my god Avi!” Farah laughed as my cheeks turned shades I’m sure.

She cupped a hand against her cheek like she was going to whisper, faking some silly but scared face, as she pointed to my stomach behind her hand and giggled, “Let’s go eat before it gets angrier.” 

I let out a chuckle and grabbed a brush to quickly deal with my hair, it was getting so long but I couldn’t bear to cut it. It was almost past my butt and thick as could be, but I was grateful that it was manageable – mostly. I slipped some mouse through and scrunched my hair a few times with the towel before heading to the door. My stomach felt instantly empty, it had been close to an hour since leaving the clearing – and I was starving then.

As we went to leave my room, it was as if Farah just noticed what I was wearing, “Your mom’s going to throw a fit, shouldn’t you change?”

“No one is here until tomorrow Farah,” I shrugged my shoulders and opened the door. My parents could be strict about my clothing choices when we knew other ranking members would be here, or I was going out of the house, but generally they didn't care what I wore inside. 

As she walked past me, I noticed she had on a nice tan colored summer dress with short sleeves, that came just past her knees, and some black flats. She was always dressed and ready to be seen, especially after her 18th birthday, she wanted to look presentable for when she found her mate. Rejection was something that happened rarely, but she wasn't going to take any chances, as if whoever looked at her wouldn't instantly fall to her feet, she was gorgeous.

Farah cleared her throat at me, drawing my attention downwards as she wiggled her toes. I widened my eyes as I looked towards my own feet that were without shoes. I slinked back into the room and wiggled my feet into the first pair of sandals I could find before dashing back out the door.

‘Seriously you could have put in a little effort’ Echo whined. I did feel slightly underdressed, but it was too late now.

Echo had become increasingly more vocal and somewhat annoying over the past six months. Shortly after I turned 16 she started to appear to me, helping me along with things and learning what we could all do together. She was an extension of me and I adored her, but usually she was fairly laid back, only talking when she really opposed something or knew I needed her. 

My birthday was in two days and I would be 18, old enough to find my mate. This is what she lived for, she would stop at nothing to find our mate, and as much as I could see the benefits, I also has reservations. What if my mate was boring? What if I had to move somewhere cold? Or far away from the only family I have? I was also young; I knew it could happen quickly, but I had hoped for at least a year of freedom, a year to explore and get into some kind of adventure of my own.

That’s when the smell hit me like a brick wall and I couldn't control the way my stomach sounded in anticipation.