Chapter Twenty-Seven – The communication problem

Talia woke from the sun shining in her eyes, unable to determine if it was night or day. They had crossed into the late part of May, and with that came the midnight sun. The sun was always up, the night as light as day. It was confusing for those who weren’t used to it. And it confused her enough to check the watch on her nightstand – 2 am was the answer.

Sighing she sat up in her bed, Adam was nowhere to be seen. “Damn wolf” Talia muttered under her breath before crawling out of her bed, her stomach growling a reminder that she hadn’t eaten anything for hours.

Hungry and annoyed she found tiptoed out of the bedroom, moving carefully to make sure she didn’t wake any of the sleeping wolves Talia crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was deserted this time of day, leaving her to rummage through everything until she found something she really wanted. Chicken and roasted vegetables wasn’t any good reheated, but she found a container with pasta and meatballs in the fridge, smiling happily to herself. Monica made the best food, but nothing could compare to her meatballs.

Reheating it took a couple of minutes, giving her time to find something to drink and find a tray so she could carry everything out into the common room. Once everything was settled, she balanced the tray as she pushed the door open, tip-toing into the common room to get settled in front of the TV. It was a rarity that she would be able to watch it. And now that she remembered everything she had once watched she just wanted to dive back in.

But something stopped her before she could get to the couch, surprised to see someone already seated at the couch. The light was off, but the midnight sun covered the room in daylight, the figure easy to spot.

“Adam, why are you down here?” Talia asked curious.

Much to her surprise Adam actually jumped, he had been so lost in thoughts he hadn’t even heard her come in. That was a first.

“I could ask you the same” Adam answered back.

“I got hungry” Talia responded, taking her tray over and placing it on the table, getting seated on the couch next to him. She wanted to crawl up next to him, feel his arms wrap around her once again. But it didn’t feel like the right time.

“Me to” Adam said absentmindedly. Resting his head on the back of the couch as Talia started to eat, stilling the nagging feeling in her stomach. She let out a small moan of pleasure as the tomato sauce made her tastebuds sing in pleasure. “Remind me to compliment Monica on her food next time I see her” Talia smiled, trying to stere the conversation over on a lighter topic.

But Adam stayed quiet, his head resting on the back on the couch and eyes focused on the ceiling. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she could’ve seen that his eyes were open, she’d think he’d fallen asleep.

Talia let him have his peace, eating silently beside him, only allowing the escape of a soft moan or sigh of pleasure as she kept eating the food. She had to ask Monica to teach her some time, if there was one thing past and present Talia had no clue about it was how to cook a decent meal.

“Talia – can I ask you something?” Adam suddenly said, turning his head to look at her. “Of course” Talia put her fork down, scooting further into the couch to sit closer to him. She missed his touch already.

“When you were traveling – where did you go? And did you meet anyone in particular?” Adam asked. Now that everything was calm and quiet he had time to think, to try and put the pieces of this big mess of a jigsaw puzzle together.

Everything was linked together one way or another, and how everything talked about her, he believed she was the center of attention. He’d witnessed what she was capable of doing, and a small portion of him worried. About her, but also for the others. If she got out of control people he cared about could get hurt.

“Umh – just about anywhere? I went to France, Spain, Egypt, Japan, Australia, did some island jumping in and around Australia and New Zealand, Canada, I avoided the states like the plague. And just Europe in general, popping over to wherever I felt like going” Talia explained.

“Where did you stay?” Adam continued. “Anywhere and everywhere? I tried to book a room in a hotel or hostel, or even just camped in a tent. I didn’t really plan anything in advance, just going with the flow of life I guess” Talia eyed him curious, he’d never taken any interest in her traveling before. Let alone, who she had met.

“Did you meet or stay with any other supernatural species?”

“Not that I know off – why so many questions?” Talia folded her legs as she turned to face Adam. “It’s like you’re interrogating me, but at the same time just asking innocent questions. What’s going on? What have I missed?”

“When you called me, you were running. From whom, or what?” Adam sat back up, turning his body towards her.

“I don’t know what it was – but once I got to the airport in Tromsø I had this odd feeling, like someone was watching me. So instead of waiting on the next flight here I decided to take a detour. Yes – I walked. It’s not something I would recommend by the way, horrible idea. But at least that feeling was shaken away. Until I got about ten miles south of here, I could feel it again. That feeling of someone watching. So I did what any sensible person would do, started to run, called you – and lucky for me Devan came to my rescue” Talia explained. She had honestly forgotten all about it, overwhelmed by every memory triggered by just being in and around this area once again.

“And you’re sure you didn’t meet anyone who seemed suspicious on your travels?” Adam eyed her worried. If someone had followed her there was a high chance that person was still in the area or keeping watch in other ways.

“I met loads of people. But I didn’t get close to anyone, talk about my past, about my species, nothing like that. I was just a random girl traveling around the world, experiencing life before settling down with a nice little picket fence house, a husband and three kids. And a job I’d hate – of course” Talia added the last part with a little smile.
“Hmmm…” Adam fell silent, his eyes once again getting that hazed look, he and Damir was obviously discussing something about what she had told them, and she would be lucky if she ever learned what the two of them was debating.

“Would you care to include me in the discussion you’re having with your wolf?” Talia asked after a few moments of silence. But Adam didn’t respond, it was like he was deaf to the world and only existed in the confinement of his own head.

“Very well then” Talia huffed as she stood, making as much noise as she could when gathering the empty plate and utensils on the tray. It had the effect she wanted; Adam finally looked at her. His expression going from puzzled to apologetic when he met her annoyed face.

“I’m sorry – did you say anything?” Adam said, but Talia didn’t respond him. He’d shut her out of his train of thoughts, and she was intent on giving him the same treatment. “Good night” She simply said as she picked up the tray, marching with determination to the kitchen to put the dishes in the washer before retreating to her bed.

“Talia, wait!” Adam got up in a hurry and followed her into the kitchen, watching her put the dishes in the dishwasher and close it with more force than needed. She was frustrated with him; he didn’t need enhanced senses to see that.

“I said good night” She repeated before exiting the kitchen from the other end, the door nearly smacking into Adam’s nose as he tried to follow her. Why had he insisted on a door that swung both ways?

“Talia, don’t be…” He stopped himself as she saw the daggers she was glaring at him. He knew what he was going to say before the word even escaped his lips. “Unreasonable?” Talia finished for him; her voice cold as she took one step closer to Adam.

The look on her face – it was something he’d never seen before. Her eyes hard and cold, mouth a thin line. Little sparks of lightning were crackling at her fingertips. She looked absolutely terrifying.

“No – I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry – please just…” Adam was at a loss of words. The Talia standing in front of him made him feel small and mortal, if she wanted to, he had no doubt she could end his life in a heartbeat.

“I’m trying to not be mad Adam. I’m trying to be this loving, understanding, compassionate person who just gets it. But I don’t. I don’t get why you interrogate me, then shut me out of the conversation because it’s happening in your own head. I don’t get why people keep the truth from me. And I don’t get why I should be understanding of everything, and so accepting”

Talia looked down at her hands, watching as the sparks turned into balls before fading to nothing.

“I expect you to be mad at me. To be angry and fight with me. To want to throw me across the room or out a window for that sake” Not that he felt like repeating the incident from earlier that day, patching up holes and replacing windows wasn’t cheap.

“I just want you to include me. I’m not wolf – we all know that. I can’t communicate with my mind, I can’t read your thoughts, or hear what your wolf wants to chip in. I can’t do anything a wolf can do, and I will never be able to share my pain, my love and my thoughts with you the way other mated wolves do. I have to use my words – and I would very much appreciate it if you both did the same”

Talia sat down on the bottom step of the staircase, and Adam wasn’t slow to follow her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. He had been a fool, never taken into consideration how different their bond was compared to the bond between mated wolves.

“I’ve been ignorant of a very important detail” Adam admitted with a sigh, earning himself a nod from Talia. “You have. And I get it, you’re so used to this, to be able to discuss with your wolf, to get a second opinion from just being in your own head. And you can discuss with any of the other wolves in the pack about who knows what. It’s you’re way of communicating. And I can’t do that. I’d love to, but I can’t” Talia rested her head on his shoulder, relishing in the calming sensation his present gave her.

“I promise I’ll try to be better” Adam said sincerely. He’d always known that being mated to someone not wolf would bring on challenges, but he hadn’t even given that a second thought.

“You better – otherwise I’m moving out” Talia said, her voice half playful, half serious as she gave him a little nudge with her shoulder.

“Like you’d ever want to leave us” Adam teased back with a smile on his face.

“You. The pack, eh. You – never” She looked up into Adams eyes, bathing in the love and affection he had for her. “Never again” She added with a whisper before leaning forward, pressing her lips against his in an emotional kiss.