The Teacher's Mate

Part 19

She didn't have long with her thoughts as Drake occupied the chair John just vacated and handed her the drink. "Would you like to see the gardens?" He asked and she took his hand for the second time that night, tingles shooting up her arm.

The gardens turned out to be several greenhouses connected by corridors made of glass. The plants inside looked to be from all over the world, but Drake steered her to one that looked more like the Northern American woods she knew.

"Why do you have weeds in here? As soon as spring comes they will be everywhere." She bent to examine the weed that her father had so much trouble getting out of their yard.

Drake chuckled, "Most people consider the dandelion a weed, yes; but it has many healing properties. And our pack is in the healing business as I recall."

"I guess, what does it do?"

"Dandelions can get rid of ulcers, the roots are used to detoxify the liver. The flower is my favorite part though, although maybe the least useful."

"Why? If it's useless, why do you like it?" Audrey asked, standing up.

"I'm afraid I have a little bit of a sweet tooth." Drake admitted, a smile brightening his features. "The flowers are often made into jam."

Audrey wrinkled her nose, "but you said that it was bitter."

"The plant is bitter," Drake corrected, "the flower is sweet and the jam made from it tastes just like honey."

"Do you know about all the plants here?" she stood up the look him in the eye.

He shrugged, "Some of them, I'm not one of the doctors here, they know more about the plants than I do."

"What's this one?"

"That's feverfew, it helps relieve pain."

"And this one?" She pointed to a familiar plant.

"Queen Anne's Lace. They use the sap for congestion issues. Just don't confuse the plant with Hemlock or you'll end up like Socrates."

"What does it do? Expand your brain power." Audrey asked sarcastically.

"No," Drake said, plucking a stalk of Queen Anne's Lace, "Hemlock is an extremely deadly poison. It kills by locking all of the muscles up and eventually you can't breathe." He examined the flower, and then offered it to her.

She took it from him, intentionally bumping his arm in order to feel the tingles his touch brought. "I see. Why does your pack use flowers as medicine? Why not just take a pill?"

"Some chemicals can be harmful to our wolves, it's better to use the Earth's natural remedies." He wrinkled his nose, "Besides, I once had normal human medicine and it made me so sick I swore I would never try it again."

Audrey chuckled at him, being with him was so unlike being with anyone else.  He didn't make fun of her lack of knowledge, but instead tried to teach. People normally made her anxious, especially people she hadn't known for a few years, but he didn't. And there was the issue of the tingles. Her dad had told her about meeting her mother, about how he had been her mate, about how much they treasured that bond. Could he be? No, now was not the time to think about that.

Drake picked a few more of the Queen Anne's Lace, "May I?"

"May you do what?" She blurted.

"May I put them in your hair."

Audrey hesitated, did she want to wear those flowers? They were just like the ones she had made crowns out of with her mother when she was a little girl. Did she want him to touch her again? She didn't normally like to be touched by anyone but his was different. If he was to her what she thought he was, she would have to learn to trust him. It was only flowers after all.

As soon as she nodded, Drake slipped behind her and began expertly weaving the stems around her bun and into her braid. "I used to do this for my sister. She loves Queen Anne's Lace. Her hair is red though, not black."

"My mother liked them too, we used to make crowns out of them. Dad used to come out and call us a bunch of hippies for it."

Drake snorted with a laugh. "Well, I think it looks elegant on you." He wrapped his arms around her from the back and lightly kissed her cheek. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the tingles that came with the touch.

The sound of chimes filled the air. "What was that?" Audrey asked.

"The chimes?" He asked her. Audrey nodded. "They are the packwide clock system. It was Beta Charles' idea. It's one o'clock now."

He stood up and stepped around to face her, offering his hand to help her up. Audrey looked up into his eyes, they flickered gold as she took his hand and stood. He led her back towards the mansion of a pack house where James was waiting for Audrey just inside the door. With a slight bow, Drake quickly said farewell and assimilated into the still-strong throng of people.

"So, did you enjoy your night?" James asked with a slight smirk as they got up to their room.

"Are you going to tell me what you are thinking?" Audrey asked, quirking one eyebrow at her father, walking through as he held open the door.

"I'm thinking that my little girl left the party frowning and anxious then came back with flowers in her hair and a smile on her face." He sighed, "I guess I'm going to have to like him."

Audrey's step faltered, "but the laws! I don't want anyone to get in trouble."

James shut the door behind him and locked it before placing the metal key on one of the bedside tables. "I know," he said turning to face her, a serious look on his face, "I also know that he is a wolf, wolves only get one soulmate you know. Their wolf will love no other after the bond starts to form, and for a wolf, that is as soon as their eyes meet for the first time."

"He talked to you then?" Audrey asked.

James nodded. "I rather like him. He's got a job, he's respectful, and he seems to be a good man."

Audrey disappeared into the en suite bathroom. Their room was one of many small apartments in the main pack house. It had two beds and a TV and a bathroom. It wasn't fancy, but everything in the room was well made and clean. They had even left those small toiletries in the bathrooms which Audrey was incredibly grateful for as she forgot makeup renover and after a quick inspection found a small packet of makeup wipes. After she changed into her pajamas she projected her voice to carry beyond the bathroom door, "clear?"

"Clear." Her father answered. So she walked out and sat on the bed before carefully taking out the flowers and putting them on the nightstand.

"You really think Mr. Newman is my mate?" Audrey asked.

"Don't you?"

Audrey didn't look up at him as she braided her hair for bed. "Yes, I think I do." She admitted to her father and to herself.

"Then you need to say something. That man is trying to do his absolute best not to push you into anything and is probably at the end of his rope. You need to talk to him, really talk to him, he probably can't wait hold out longer." Her father advised.

"As soon as I find the time, I will. I promise." She said as she curled under the blanket and fell fast asleep.

Authors note: I really try not to have these but I will not be posting for a while. My sister decided to throw a surprise wedding next month and we live together so I'm running around trying to get everything together (she pays half the bills so this whole deal is kinda screwing me over). With all that going on plus a new(ish) puppy (I've had him a couple months but a 4 month old husky is a handful and a half) and some work stuff i just don't have the time to sit and write like I want. I'll try to get some stuff out but no promises