I was running late. I jumped out of bed and dashed to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. I really wanted to tie my hair up in a ponytail but clipped the top half back instead. I rarely ever wore a ponytail because I didn’t want anyone to see the crescent moon mark on the nape of my neck. I might be able to pass it off as a pack tattoo since I was from Crescent Moon Pack, but I wasn’t sure if someone might actually recognize it as the mark of a gifted wolf.
I slipped on my two–piece turquoise bikini, then a yellow sundress and sandals. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed my towel, sunscreen, magazine, lip balm, cell phone, sunglasses, lighter and money in it. I knocked on Rocky’s door and she opened it ready to go. Leo also stepped out of his dorm and we took the elevator to the
Lobby.
It’s Sunday morning and Karla was probably still at mass, so we didn’t see her on the way out. We took a taxi to the Port of Piraeus on the Athens coast; it was a thirty minute ride. We made our way to the high speed ferry ticket booth and purchased three round trip tickets on the flying dolphin ferry. The high speed ferry was
nearly twice as fast as the regular ferry and a little more expensive.
We zipped across the beautiful crystal blue waters of the Aegean Sea, the smell of the sea breeze and the
mist of the water excited my senses and elemental gift. In the distance I could see our destination come into view, Agistri Island seemed to be covered in pine trees.
“A forest! Think maybe I could stretch my legs out?” Rae asked.
“Leo, what’s the island population like? Do you think we might be able to go out for a run in the forest?”
“This is one of our favorite islands to run at.” He smiled back. “The island has less than twelve hundred
inhabitants in three main areas. The forest has a steep trek, so the tourists tend to stay away and prefer the
beaches.”
“I could use a run too.” Rocky said.
“We’ll take the last ferry back at 5:00pm so that we could run later in the afternoon when most tourists are either eating or going back to the mainland.” Leo explained the plan and we nodded our head in agreement.
The ferry reached the port of Myloi and we disembarked. We walked through the village of Megalochori, it looked like something from a postcard with its beautiful scenery and architecture. “I need something to eat.” I
said as my stomach growled at me.
“There’s a place up ahead, we can grab something there. We usually have a late lunch at Raina’s Taverna, they have the freshest seafood on the island.” Rocky told me.
“Sounds great” I said. Ten minutes later, we walked out of the small cafe and I was enjoying delicious spanakopita with a coke. We strolled through the village, towards the beach.
The village has a quaint little charm to it, and everyone seems so happy. The roads and walkways are paved with brick, some are more artistically designed than others. The buildings are mostly whitewashed in that typical Greek island fashion and everything seems so clean.
This island had a nice laid back contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city. The beach was beautiful, and
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the water was a gorgeous clear blue. We walked to the far end of the beach for more privacy to claim our
spot. Leo set up a pop up shade canopy in case the sun got too hot. We set our bags down, stripped off our top layer of clothing and made a run for the water.
“This feels amazing.” I called out.
The water was the perfect temperature and I couldn’t get over how clean and clear it was. I could see my own shadow beneath me as I swam around. Leo and Rocky had grown up together and were very competitive, they had a swim race out to a floating navigation buoy and back. I was the referee and watched as Rocky, who is smaller and more agile then Leo, swam back faster, beating him to the finish line. Once we cooled down, we headed back to the shore.
“Leo, could we bury you in the sand?” Rocky asked.
“Oh wow, I haven’t done that to anyone since my brothers and I buried my dad when we vacationed in Jamaica.” I said excitedly.
“No way! I’m here to work on my tan, have to get ready for next weekend.” He smiled.
“What’s next weekend?” I asked.
“The Dionysus festival! Lots of parades, floats, costumes, wine, plays, festivities and debauchery for three days!” Leo’s face glowed with excitement.
“Sounds like the Greek version of Mardi Gras.” I said.
“Actually, we celebrate carnival here in Greece too, we call it Apokries. It’s one of the largest celebrations of the year in this country.” Rocky told me.
“I can hardly wait.” I smiled.
We pulled our towels out of our backpacks and dried off, then we rolled the towels up to serve as pillows. We laid on the sand soaking up the sun and flipping through magazines. Rocky and Leo argued over several celebrities featured in the magazine trying to determine who was a werewolf and who wasn’t.
A few hours later, we were seated at Raina’s Taverna in the outdoor dining area overlooking the beautiful sea. Our table was under the shade of a really tall tree and the location was picturesque. A pitcher of ice water was placed in the middle of the table, it was beautiful and made from Greek blown glass. We sat quiet and studied the menu for a few minutes.
“Kalispera.” The waitress greeted us.
“Hello.” I responded.
“Ah! English, no problem.” She seemed to recognize that I didn’t speak Greek, even though Rocky and Leo could’ve easily translated for me she switched to English.
“Good afternoon, welcome to Raina’s, I’m Nathalie and I’ll be taking your order today. Do you have any menu questions I can assist you with?”
“Hello Nathalie.” Leo gave a flirty smile.
“What are the specials today?” Rocky asked.
“Today’s special is a whole grilled seabass with a shrimp skewer, lemon rice and spinach.” She said.
“That sounds great, I’ll have that.” I said.
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“Me too.” Rocky nodded her head.
“Make that three specials and also bring us two orders of the Greek muscles and a large order of the fried squid.” Leo smiled handing Nathalle back his menu.
“Excellent! I’ll be back with that soon. Would you like anything else besides water to drink?” She asked.
“I think we’re okay with just the ice water thank you.” Rocky told her.
“Excuse me, where’s the restroom?” I asked.
“You can go through the restaurant and down the stairs, or you can go down the patio stairs over there and enter the first floor on the side door to the restrooms.” She said.
“Thank you,” I told her and excused myself from the table.
I took the scenic route down the stone steps of the outside patio to the first level. The restroom was just inside the side door to the restaurant. A few minutes later, I existed the restroom and stepped outside. A meowing black cat caught my attention, cats usually run off when they sense a predator, or in this case a wolf. I was looking down at the cat when I walked right into a brick wall.
I realized the wall had moved and took a step back. It wasn’t a wall; it was a hard muscled chest. I looked up and my breath hitched in my throat. The side of my face and hand that touch him was tingling. My knees
even felt weak.
Rae was anxiously stirring inside of me. I could sense a strong Alpha aura pulsing from him even though he had no scent. He was wearing relaxed jeans and a white linen shirt. His thick hair is dark brown, cut short and modern. His beard is also short and well groomed, I fought the urge to reach out and touch his face. He wore dark tinted aviator sunglasses and something inside of me desperately wanted to look into his eyes. I had to tilt my head back to look up at him, he must have been at least six foot, six inches tall and built huge. I actually felt small standing so close to him and my heart was racing. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me.
འགན་འགལ་ ཚགན་ ད་
“Excuse me.” I apologized, hoping he would say something nice to me. Maybe even take off those sunglasses so I could look into his eyes. He didn’t make a sound, he didn’t speak to me, he just side stepped me and kept
walking.
I felt Rae whimper inside, I assume it’s because we were just snubbed by another Alpha. Surely he had to have scented me and felt my Alpha aura. I wondered why he didn’t speak to me and why it bothered me so much. He seemed annoyed that I had walked into him, it was a genuine accident, besides it’s not like I hurt him. Maybe he was a rogue or lone wolf since he was masking his scent? No, he was too well dressed and groomed to be a rogue.
I turned to look at him, maybe call for him, but he was gone. I felt flush and my palms were sweaty. I wanted to run after him but instead, I went back up the stairs to the patio and my eyes wouldn’t stop searching for
him.
“Ahh just in time.” Leo said as the fried squid and Greek muscles were delivered to our table. We devoured them and our sea bass was served next.
“Earth to Raven, Hello? Come in Raven?” Rocky’s voice broke me from my deep thought.
“I’m sorry, I was just thinking about someone.” I smiled.
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“I had just asked if you were still up for taking a run and you were in a trance” Rocky said.
“Heck yes we’re still up for taking a run.” Rae practically jumped for joy.
“It’s been a while since Rae has been out, a run would be great.” I told them.
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