33

"Miss Nine, her sudden change in mood is admirable."

I lightly pinch his cheek and he winces under my touch," Don't get any ideas Peta. Come on, let's go."

I grab his hand and together we walk into the store Luna had disappeared into seconds ago.

"This will look good on you no wait! This will look even cooler..."

I rest my head on the palm of my hand watching as Luna goes about picking outfits for Peta.

"Hmm... do you think I should have gotten that dress?" Luna asks once we stop by an ice cream parlour.

"Hey Peta, which flavour do you want? I'll get it for you," I ask intentionally trying to dodge Luna's questions.

"Anything you choose for me Miss Nine," he says and I nod and walk to place the order.

Minutes later, I hand everyone their refreshment and we sit by the bench.

"Say Nine, you bought a lot of clothes, are you sure you still have any money left?"

I look at her and pull out the card from my pocket," Of course I have money."

Luna's mouth drops in surprise and I chuckle.

"That's... where did you get that?"

"Should we go over to that restaurant over there?" I ask already on my feet.

"Nine! Watch..."

I bump into the guy and all my bags scatter on the ground.

"Sorry, I..."

(Wait a minute, this perfume scent. I recognize it all too well.)

Slowly, I look up and my eyes lock with Kahiki's and a smile spreads across his lips illuminating his beautiful features.

His eyes soften as he stretches out his hand to me," Are you okay Nine?"

I nod subconsciously and stand up dusting my clothes.

"What brings you here," I ask ignoring Peta's low growls behind me.

"A fortune teller read my fortune and told me that I'd run into the love of my life if I came to this mall," he replies and I feel my gut tighten.

"And... did you find the love of your life?"

His gaze lowers and I regret asking that question.

"Don't worry about it, if you don't want to tell me then it's okay," I reply giving him a light pat on the shoulder," we were just on our way to have lunch, do you want to join us?"

His eyes immediately light up at this and he grabs my hands in his.

"Great! I know a great French Cuisine that offers the best food for your stomachs. Come with me."

Without waiting for a reply from everyone, he pulls me down the opposite path leaving behind a surprised wolf cub and Luna.

"Miss Nine?"

"Come on let's follow them," Luna says and walks down the path Peta an inch away from her.

"What took you guys so long?" Kahiki asks a breathless Luna and Peta.

"Oh? Sorry for being late but we got a little lost," Luna replies and I notice a glimpse of an undescribed emotion in her eyes.

"Well now that you're both here, let's go in shall we?"

I snake my and around Luna's and pull her with me," Come on."

I ignore Kahiki's intense gaze on me and walk into the restaurant. A tall elegant waiter guides us to our table and offers us the menu. Kahiki straightens his palm out and I hand him the silicon covered book. He calls the waiter over to his side, whispers something in his ear and turns to us.

"Miss Nine?"

Peta tugs on the sleeve of my blouse sheepishly and I look at him," What's wrong?"

" Can I talk to you in private?" he asks and I slowly nod my head.

" We'll be back in a minute."

Once we are a safe distance from all the people in the place, I turn and look at Peta.

"I don't like your friend," he states bluntly and I laugh.

I look around us before turning to him, "What do you mean? Is it because he's a vampire?"

"Well yes but also who does he think he is casually flirting with you."

He pouts his lips and I fight the urge to pinch his soft cheeks. I clear my throat and roughly pet his head.

"Let's go eat."

He nods and we make our way back to the table.

"So how was your visit?" I ask Peta on our way home.

"Excluding the part where we ran into that blood lust vampire, it was fun."

"Glad you think so but Peta, can I ask you a question?"

He cocks his brow at me and I sigh.

"Never mind, let's go."

I walk briskly ahead of him keeping some distance between us.

"So, how was your day?"

"Oh it was wonderful," I reply kicking my shoes off my feet in an instant," I'll go freshen up."

"What's with her?" Black asks confusedly rubbing the back of his head.

Peta shrugs his shoulders and walks past him.

"What's his problem?"

Early afternoon, I decide to drop by Honey's room for a quick farewell. I knock on the door and slide it open.

"Hey Honey, how are you?"

"Nine!"

She excitedly jumps into my arms in a hug.

"Whoa! Why are you so lively today?"

I place her down and she turns to me with an innocent expression," I don't know what you're talking about."

"Honey..."

"Ah Dr Nine, just the doctor I wanted to see."

"Why? Is something wrong with Honey?"

The doctor chuckles and places a hand on my shoulder," Nothing of the sort but I do have some news concerning Honey."

"What news."

"Well, the orphanage just called to talk with Honey giving her two options. One, she would go to the orphanage as planned..."

"And two?"

"She would stay with her previous tending doctor permanently."

"Is this some sort of prank?"

"Yay! I get to stay with you forever now."

I clap my hands getting the attention of the two.

"Let's welcome the new member of the family."

Honey nervously tugs at my pants and I pull her to my side.