a Primal Pursuit

twenty two

"Where have you been?"

I spun around on my heel, startled by the voice of my sister.

It had been four days since we brought her back here, and she had settled surprisingly well. She had not tried to run away like I did, and found herself comfortable in the walls of the grand library.

"I went to pick up something from town." I cocked my head, flickering my eyes down at her clothes. "What have you been up to?"

She blushed, adjusting the elastic hem of her sports top. "I was in the gym."

My eyebrows rose. "The gym? Working out?"

"Not working out, no."

"So... sunbathing?" I drawled.

She laughed, but I could sense the awkwardness in her tone. "I was learning."

"Arabella, just spit it out." I huffed, adjusting the dress bag on my shoulder.

"Mya was teaching me self-defence." She shrugged.

I groaned. "Out of all wolves you could have chosen, you chose the most inappropriate?"

"She isn't inappropriate."

"Oh yeah? How many times has she tackled your ass?" I mused.

"This is day three." She blushed, dropping her head with a faint smile. "She offered to train me; said I was an immature mind and body waiting for muscles."

I had only introduced the two of them on the evening she arrived and already she was training with Mya.

I laughed. "Mya would say that because she loves to win."

"I enjoy it." She mumbled.

My gaze softened, and I rubbed the back of my fingers down her cheek. "Just be careful. They are wolves and we are human. We have to fight differently."

"We? I have never seen you fight a day in your life." She snorted.

I smiled sadly. "How do you think I survived nearly three years with Darius?"

Her humour vanished, and she winced. "Maybe you could teach me then?"

"I know someone who is good, who will bring out your potential." I began, and she raised her eyebrows expectantly. "Unfortunately, she is already training you."

Arabella laughed, nudging me softly. She had become a lot more vocal in the past few days than she had her entire life. It was rather refreshing to see, and she never shut up about the book she found in the library. Apparently, she had already read four, and she had only been here four days! It would take me twice as long as her to read books; I struggled with the longer paragraphs.

It made me question how much time she had to sleep.

"What did you get from town, anyway? I have never been to town. What's it like?"

"First, it's great. There's a bakery, butchers, a dress shop, a trinket shop..." I rattled off. "Second, I picked up my dress for the ball. Rebecca, the seamstress, had to alter it for me a few times. This time it definitely fit me."

"She cannot be that good if it didn't fit after the first time." Arabella tutted.

I rolled my eyes. My sister's other hobby was making clothes. I should've known she would've been envious that I got to go to a boutique and try on fabrics. Little did she know, I hated being primed. They had primed me most of my life, and the past two years especially. I would rather live in basic clothes for my entire life, and as much as I tried to here, I was struggling with the concept. There were always eyes on me, much like in Evermore, and it made me on edge.