Patience and Virtue

Chapter 13 

Kimberly's POV: 

I drag my left foot behind when he suddenly halts his feet and turns back. My eyes spy around the place and I don't find anything strange approaching us. I even ask my wolf if she senses something but she says no. 

I don't think her senses are much vivid right now and in response to that she sniffs madly and stays silent. 

"W-What's wro…?" I want to ask him but he isn't standing in front of me. He gets me completely off guard for a moment. My eyes fall on him crouching on the ground in front of me with his back facing to me. 

"Come on! Get on! It's too much for you to walk. You have been walking for hours with that leg of yours. Come on get on," he says.

Seeing him like that makes me frozen in that spot. This man! Aww… 

"If he was considerate then, he should have carried you from the start," my wolf blurts again. I don't know why she speaks …awfully…truth. It sounds rude but it's true. 

"It's fine. You don't have to do it." I insist him to get up but he doesn't. He insists more than me making me get on his back. 

"Enjoy your ride girl." My wolf teases me. I shut her down with a tsk. I have never been on anyone's back before, never in my life except for my father and mother, and that too when I was little. 

As a young girl, I feel so much embarrassed to get on his back and when I know the fact that my legs did not pain even a little bit, it makes me feel even bad for him. Argh… I feel like cheating in exams right now. 

He keeps on walking ahead and there is only the silence between us. I wish he could speak something. But then, I was scared that he would ask something about the stone and the weird shifting. So, is it better if we don't speak? But this silence between us is strangely making me feel awkward. 

At times, my busts keep on hitting on his back making me feel quite uncomfortable. My wolf keeps on teasing me for that. I wish… I just wish I could tell him that I can walk perfectly and he doesn't need to carry me at all. 

"So, Simon…," I cough a little and try to start the conversation. 

"Yes, tell me what is it?" He makes throws me a little upward on his back. 

"How is it? I mean training the wolves every day. Does that excite you?" I ask random questions. I don't have anything precise to ask him. The only thing that I want to do right now is lessen the silence between us by talking. 

"It does. It's exciting to do the things that you love every day. At times, you feel tired but usually it's alright," he says. 

"But I heard you designed the annex yourself, every nook and corner of it, didn't you?"I ask. I remember Ashlyn telling me that Simon was the original designer of the annex. 

He stops his feet again. I don't know why he keeps on stopping his feet time and again. I guess he has the habit of stopping his feet like my wolf has the habit of being mad frequently. 

"You're thinking about me again. I hate you Kim," she growls a little. I laugh hearing her growling. To be honest, I love her my wolf. She is a bit different than me, much more confident than me, and a bit sassy too. She is a little bit childish but I guess she will be matured in the time. 

He continues to walk and also continues to talk. 

"It was my hobby before. I wanted to be an engineer and design all sorts of buildings but…," he stops speaking and then continues again, "But I had to stop doing that because of something."

"Something? What's that?" I ask. 

"Kimberly, there are things we don't want to talk about. So, let's not talk about it okay? And yes, I designed that annex," he accepts finally. Well! I knew about it beforehand but hearing from his mouth and proudly makes me feel better. 

"Simon! How much more is left?" I ask him. 

"Still a few more hours," he says. I honestly feel bad for him. He has been carrying a girl who can walk on her own but is troubling him with her lies. 

"Don't pity him. He's a well-trained wolf. He doesn't need your sympathy," she says. 

True but still… 

I think that I should tell him a story to pass his time all along. Should I?

"You want him to fall asleep while walking. Don't do that," she speaks again. 

Shit! What's wrong with her? 

"Simon, I think I should walk now. Can you please put me down?" I request. 

"But… You're injured." He stops as I say that. 

"You can trust me. I will. I can walk slowly." I try to convince him. He doesn't let me at first but does at last. Simon is the kind of person whose extreme kindness might kill you. He lets me stand on the ground. I smile to remind him that I am completely fine on the ground. 

Finally, I became free of guilt. I can pretend that I am hurt and can walk slowly in front of him. He was making me feel guilty all this time. 

"You can walk, right?" He towers tall in front of me. I have never seen his demeanor so close like this. 

"Yeah! I can." I dust off my hands and try to stand up and walk but wait… What's wrong with me now? Why am I not able to stand up and why my body is paining like hell? I moan with the excruciating pains in my bones. 

What's going on? It was alright before and the pains were completely gone but what has happened now? 

I call out to my wolf to see if she knows something about this. Her response makes me perplexed as hell. I have already told Simon that I am completely fine and I can walk by myself but the situation seems to reverse now. He would think so silly of me to take back my words. 

"I can. You can start and I will just follow you. You don't have to worry." I answer with a constant smile hiding the pains behind. 

"If you say so." He smiles and walks ahead. 

God! I regret insisting so much now. Why did I even do that? It was easy for me to get on his back and travel but I don't know what should I do now? My wolf is already hurt and I cannot rely on her when she cannot stand properly too. What should I do? 

The snowfall is as dense as he had said and walking with this leg in this heavy snowfall is almost impossible. This all body changes, I am not able to understand. What the hell is this stone trying to do with me? It hasn't helped me anywhere but keeps on bringing problems for me. 

"I don't think this thing is responsible for it. I don't even see it working or so. It's idle like it had been before. There is no way, you felt like that because of this." She gasps. 

Now, this thing is hitting me too. If not because of the stone then how? Ridiculous! 

But that's not what I am to be busy with right now. I have to think about how should I walk all the way to the annex. 

"I made a mistake. I should have just accepted his offer." I sigh as I try to stand up. I ask my wolf to hold herself there. I make an ugly face in pain but who cares after all? 

Finally, after a long try, I stand up and try to lift my leg but my feeble and wobbly legs don't help me and make me shake and sway in the air making me almost fall...

But before I can land my whole body and my cold ass on the snow, someone grabs me by my stomach. 

"I told you, you can't. Just get on my back, Kimberly. Now, we are almost near to the annex." Did he come back? Simon came back for me? 

I can't believe but he doesn't fail to amaze me. He is there for me every time I need him. 

"I am sorry Simon but I think I need to take your help for now," I say hesitantly. There is a tinge of embarrassment mixed in my voice. I shouldn't have been stubborn about it. He carries me on his back one more time. I don't say a word but be in his back brazenly. My wolf keeps on teasing me for being stupid. 

"By the way, I wonder what would have happened if he wasn't there on time. I mean you were going to be hurt again one more time. Does that mean you were going to rot in that dangerous forest?" she quails. Her imagination is scaring me even more. The forest was dangerous indeed and when I think about it, I have learned something important today. 

Well! It's not being scared of that way. I have learned never to set out on a journey without any preparation. I was out in the world, to fight and find out the mystery ruling my pack but I was unprepared for it. I hadn't learned how to fight, I hadn 't even shifted. I know nothing about maps and also have poor knowledge of everything. 

I have to be prepared for everything. I also learned another thing, never to boast on the momental joys.I thought I was alright and stone helped me get away from my pains. But that was wrong. I should have never made such a huge decision based on momental things. 

It's stupid of me to think that I could be fine after such a huge accident. Patience is the key to every step I want to step on now and by the virtue I need to win this game, slow by slow and little by little. 

"Simon!" I call his name. 

"Yes." He answers without a single hesitation in his voice.

"Can you please help me learn the fight? Please!" I request him. I hear him chuckle a little when he hears that. 

"I already offered you to do that. It's my duty to train you and it's my pleasure to have you as my trainee," he says. 

I don't understand why he considers training me as his duty. A day and a half day has already passed. I have five more complete days to prove to Alpha that I am not harmful to his pack. And I have to train my wolf as well before I set up for anything. I need Simon's training. 

Hence, I need a reason to stay in this pack. Not for a week but for a longer time, until I make my wolf and myself ready for all the challenges to face in the world outside. But with Alpha Asher in the pack, it's almost impossible for me to stay here. He will kill me before I even learn anything. How am I going to make him believe that I am not harmful for him?