After finishing our breakfasts, I and Channing headed to the gym where the pack members had now gathered. "Oh and uh Selene," Channing called as if remembering something and when I turned to him, he said, "After this recording session you have here, head with me to the elders' quarter, let's get your mark today."

"Sure," I almost screamed in excitement. This was the moment when I get to meet the elders and now I can make a concrete plan on how to execute my mission.

Channing waved his hand and went off, "I will be leaving then for the preparations. Just call me when you are done here."

"Okay!" I said in a loud voice as he had walked away from me. I turned around, and the gym was filled today. There were the common populace and all the pack members who were guiding everyone to settle down here. It was yesterday that I had announced that today we will be accessing everyone's special abilities and then from tomorrow on we were about to start practising in groups to improve ourselves.

It was odd how I had come to Winterwells to just end the feud, but ended up doing something for the betterment of the people here. For a moment, it felt like a scary thought that I was involving myself here.

"Selene!" I heard Suzan call me as she sprinted towards me to hug me.

There was a goofy smile on her face and I did not understand what had her so excited when it was just nine in the morning. But then again, Suzan was always overexcited and the time of the day did not matter to her. I hugged her back, not even able to reciprocate half the energy that she brought with her. "Hey, I am sorry about waking you up last night," I said, looking at the prominent dark circles under her eyes.

Suzan hooked her hand around my elbow and pulled me to one corner. I did not understand what had her smiling like that. "Selene, what happened yesterday? Who was it?"

To Suzan's question, my brows creased and my mouth opened to say something, but I only inhaled some air and closed it again. A lot had happened yesterday, and I did not even for a bit understand why Suzan was acting like a teenager.

"What are you talking about?" I was utterly clueless as to what about yesterday was she asking.

Suzan shook my hand, holding my hand in her vigorously, "The phone call Selene. At first, I thought you were talking about bedwetting but then I realised why would a grown-up like you do that. It was when I snapped out of my sleep." Suzan bit into her lower lip raising her eyebrows teasingly, "did you find your soulmate? Who was it that had you make your bed we-"

I cupped her mouth, stopping her from speaking any further. If I explained the situation, she would create a ruckus about it so I chose to lie, "I read it in a book Suzan, nothing else."

Suzan was a bit disappointed to hear that, "Oh, Just a book." I sighed, thankful that she had dropped the topic so fast. It was so rare for her to do that instead of prying into the details. But the very next moment, she held my shoulder and asked, "Which book was it? Even I have some fiction at my place. If you want, I will lend it to you since you like to read them."

I held her wrist and removed her hand from over my shoulder. This was getting me stuck in more mud. It was time to bring out some stupid hometown story again.

My voice came mechanically as I tried to formulate the sentence on the go, "So it was given by... ah... an old friend of mine from my hometown when I came here... and... ah... well I saw it just yesterday and decided to read it."

"Did you like it!" Suzan instantly asked like she was the one who had given the book to me. "Which book was it? Lend it to me if I haven't read it before."

Oh, dear Goddess Luna, where was I stuck. I should have rather called Arina.

"I did not like it," I drawled on my words and then hurried my sentence, "so I burned it." So she won't pester about lending it.

"Why would you burn the book?" Suzan squeaked, and the series of questions were just increasing and increasing with no answer that I had for her, building up hype and curiosity.

I cleared my throat and spoke in a more serious tone this time, "I don't like to read such books. There was nothing that I understand and I anyway don't have any baseline knowledge on it, so it is a kind of confusing and disturbing at the same time." I was convinced with my answer and Goddess help if Suzan wasn't.

Suzan thought for a moment before talking, humming and nodding, "So you need baseline knowledge."

I screamed in my head a big fat NO!

However, Suzan kept her hand on my shoulder and said, "I bet Arina has basic knowledge books for everything. We should ask her." Of course, with Arina's personality, she was bound to have books on all subjects, but I did not need them. I had read it by mistake as a ten-year-old, and the thought had haunted me for months. "Oh, she is here," Suzan said, looking at the door from where Arina and Sam entered together. "Arina! come here fast fast," Suzan waved her hand in come hither motion.

Dear Goddess, save me the embarrassment.

"Hie Suzan, hey Selene," Arina greeted both of us, and I smiled back at her awkwardly.

Suzan did not waste a second before asking directly, "leave the greetings, tell me fast, do you have any books on knowledge about sex." My hand clasped my mouth at the boldness of that question and Sam, who was observing me since the time he had come here, understood I was scapegoat to Suzan's personality.

"Suzan," Sam scolded like the mother he was, "mind the surrounding, there are people here." But I barely thought it was going to affect Suzan. She was sure to continue and embarrass me and Arina both today.