The Taming

Chapter 4 (part1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4 (part1)

The next two days passed by seemingly fast, Gabriel kept his word and ran the path for at least five hours every day. I stayed with him every hour, all day, for those two days. I kept my I stayed with him at his house all day one night and the day before The Gathering I spent with my family. I wanted to spend more time with Emilee, but Ryder insisted on dragging away all of her attention. He dragged her away in a multitude of ways; He stole her attention away from us, her time, and most importantly, her body. I kept my distance from Ryder for the last two days. I wanted to at least try to control myself.

I woke up surprisingly late. The alarm clock next to my bed read 12:15, which was new for me, seeing how every year on the day of The Gathering I have woken up at seven in the morning. This was unusual, especially when today was my Gathering. Sun streaked through my window and my entire room was lit up. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and staggered out of bed, wrapping a robe around my body.

I felt completely wrong. I was supposed to be dreading this day; I expected my demeanor to be off the charts. I was expecting to roll out of bed in tears and a sullen expression covering my face; but, it wasn't like that at all. I could smell bacon, and the smell was absolutely mouth watering, the idea of the taste tingled on my taste buds. I took my time walking downstairs, admiring each part of my house. I have complete faith in Gabriel, but there was that internal but.

I wondered at times about the idea of being claimed by another, and this may be my last day in the house I grew up in. The situation was similar for Emilee, I mean, she didn't have a boyfriend when she was going into the ceremony, and she could only hope she was claimed by a sweet guy, and even though she wasn't, she didn't know that it would be her last night in this household.

I walked into the kitchen to find the entire family awake. My mother and Emilee were rushing around the kitchen, preparing breakfast, I assumed, and Ryder sat at the table with my father. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at me. Emilee smiled over at me.

"You're awake!" She hustled over to me and gave me a big hug, and a kiss on the cheek. "We have some breakfast left over for you." She told me happily. I'll admit I was fairly surprised, out of all of the people in the world, besides me, I'd expect Emilee to be the most upset about this day. Instead, she was happy-go-lucky Emilee who paraded over to me with high skips, angelically motioning towards a plate of crisp bacon. I was expecting a detached beauty who sat sulking in a chair. I expected my entire family to sit, heartbroken, except Ryder, of course. He doesn't count as family.

I walked over to the kitchen table, taking three pieces of bacon off of the plate and took and seat next to my father, and across from Ryder, who was surely grinning at me. I took a bite out of a piece of bacon and sat in the indian-style.

"Morning, sweet pea." My father greeted me normally, kissing my cheek. "Did you sleep well?" He asked me while examining the contents in the newspaper.

I swallowed my bacon and cleared my throat.

"Surprising, I did. To be completely honest, I was expecting some crazy, extreme nightmares about today...about being claimed." I murmured that last part as I went to take another bite of my bacon.