Chapter 5 : The Early Call

When Faith stepped on the cold layer of Ice, her skate clad feet slid over it gracefully on it's own. Having practiced those moved more times than she could count, it was as she she was walking on solid ground instead of thick Ice slab. The way she glided across and above on the rink often attracted spectators to watch her. 

When she taught the children, others stopped to see her darnce over the Ice as if she were a goddess. Frost covered her fingertips, her pink hair flew with every stroke of her legs. 

Sh did another spin and reached the middle of the rink. The small rink out of the three was reserved for lessons, so it was easy for them to move around freely without being interrupted by another custom who also wanted to enjoy their experience. 

The helmet was heavy on her head, but she managed not to loose her balance as she already had lots of practice. The more she move, the heavier her heart felt, the more if pumped. She felt more alive on the cool, fragile Ice than she did on the sold, unwavering earth. 

All the kids who were here to learn ice skating were bunched in a corner while their parents stood at the outer edge of the rink to watch their children.

Faith smiled at them and nodded in acknowledgement of their presence. She was happy that the children's parents took some time out of their busy schedule to bring them here. It was an a loving gesture. 

Since Faith never had someone care for her this way, she knew how much a small effort meant. 

"Alright, kids!" She called cheerfully. All of their undivided attention was on her immediately. The kids stopped rustling around and listened to what their instructor had to say.

"It's a free pass day!" She announced and watched in glee as all dozen little eyes went round and their cheeks puffed up with a smile. Faith continued, "Come here and do whatever you like! You remember what we have learnt so far, don't you?" 

Heads bobbed and the kids left their corner and scattered around the Ice like beans. 

Free pass day came and went as Faith wished. It was a day when she did not teach anything but let the children go about however they wanted. Free. She thought it was important for them to have that day when she could see how much they have learnt. 

"Don't worry about falling! Faith will catch you!" She called out so everyone could hear her over the gleeful laughs and childish screams. 

Faith circled around them, alert and ready if anyone needed her. Around the borders, along with the kids a few others had joined to watch them play mindlessly. 

By the time the lesson was over the kids were tired and ready to go home after a day of playing and screeching around with Faith. 

"Bye Faith!" 

"See you tomorrow Faith!" 

They screamed back at her as they left with their parents, all happy and satisfied. Faith grinned broadly and waved at them. She looked forward to these few hours of the day when she could skate and teach them, and as they left she could bid them goodbye with a satisfied glow. 

Sighing, she exited the rink and stomped away to the nearest bench on her skates. As much as she loved the blades, it gave her a hard time when she had to leave the rink. She managed to plomp on the bench and was slowly untied the laces when a shadow fell on her. A pair of brown boots stepped in front of her. 

Blinking hard she looked up at the person who was staring down at her with a grim face. She looked worried. 

"Ruth, you are not supposed to leave the front desk." Faith kindly reminded her. She finished untying her skates and placed then next to her with the utmost respect. 

"Your mom called." Ruth said glumly, "She wants you to go back home right away. Said it was important."

Faith straighten up her back and stood up. Her frown matched Ruth's. At once she started worring. Did Dea say something that she shouldn't have? Faith's mother had no control over her words when it came to Faith. And looking at Ruth's concerned and pitiful eyes, she wondered what she had heard from her mother. 

"Oh. Okay, let me just grab my things." She turned around to leave, not wanting to face Ruth anymore or she would drwn in embarrassment. 

"I already packed your things. It's at the front. Let's go." Ruth said and without warning took hold of her wrist and started dragging her to the reception area. As soon as they left through the door of the rink, the cool air changed and became warmer. Faith shivered from the sudden change in temperature. 

"Here." 

Ruth placed the bag in her arms and tried to smile, but the hint of a frown and a sliver of worry in her eyes were not unnoticed by Faith. Faith had not mastered the art of hiding her feelings before others, but she was making great progress in it and had high hopes of succeeding before the extreme time came where she would have to endure more and show her emotions less. 

So Ruth's attempt were in vain. Faith could see right through it and know that she was troubled after the phone call. 

"What did she say?" Faith hugged her bag and asked casually. Ruth blinked and scoffed. 

"It's hard to believe that she's your mother." Ruth commented based on one phone call. Faith pursed her lips and shook her head. 

"But she is." She said softly, "I can take a guess about what she said. I am sorry if her words might have offended you in any way. Please forget what she said. " 

Ruth shook her head vigorously and held Faith's hand. "Why are you saying sorry? It's not your fault that you have such a dysfunctional family. In my opinion, they don't deserve you." 

Faith chose not to reply. She simply gave her a smile. It was easier not to say anything. How could she argue? Faith never saw herself better than anyone, everyone in her family was doing better than her. They were known, outgoing, working hard and had a bond with each other. All of them which Faith lacked. 

It was truly saddening that Faith had nothing to live for. What was she doing? Nothing. She had yet not found her mate, who could have been one of the reasons why she was still here, living and dying everyday. 

But what was going change once she finds him?

Faith was a problematic she wolf. She could rarely shift, her wolf was dormant and aloof, she rarely showed up to the surface. Would her mate want someone like this to spend their life with? 

Shaking off those thoughts she asked Ruth, "Just out of curiosity, Can I ask what she said on the phone?" 

Ruth was taken by surprise. She avoided Faith's eyes for an instance and then mimicked faith's reassuring smile. 

"You told me to forget it, didn't you? I already don't remember what she said. And it's better if you don't know. You are already living with them, that's hard enough." 

Faith wanted to say something else, insist that she wanted to know, but Ruth was already on her way behind the desk. Faith stood there for a few seconds and then decided to let it go. If Ruth did not want her to know then there was not way she could know. 

"I will see you tomorrow, Ruth." She said and signed her name on the register. 

"See you tomorrow!" Ruth said back cheerfully. Faith stopped for a second and then turned to leave. It was as if the last ten minutes did not happen at all. 

Faith did not want to take any chances so she took a cab to the edge of the woods. Waiting for a bus would mean wasting a lot of time. The sun was still up when she left the Ice rink, which was an extremely rare occasion for her. She never left before sundown. After teaching the kids, she had to stay and work with the other staff on the desk or the storage room sorting out skates and gear. 

She plugged in her headphones and played her music playlist on shuffle. Soft instrumental tunes reached her ears and calmed her mind. The open window of the cab let the late afternoon sunlight flow in abundance. Sighing in content, Faith rested her arm on the open window. She couldn't help but look at the things passing by. The street shops which seemed endless slowly became sparse as the cab rolled ahead and exited the city. 

The foot of the woods was lonely and abandoned. The cab driver asked her twice if she wanted to get down at that spot. She reassured him that she had gone through this place a million times and it was extremely safe.

The drvier shrugged and took the money before leaving. Faith looked at the trees surrounding the path that she took this morning and started climbing up. 

There was another way of entering the pack. A better and bustling entrance which did not look as haunted as this gravel path. But Faith always preferred to walk up rather than be the center of everyone's attention as she passed. 

As mentioned earlier, her house was among the few in the upper part of the woods. The rest of the pack settlement was at the bottom or going up. So as to avoid going through the whole pack and being stared at, she walked up for long minutes. 

She had experienced enough of these and bad learnt form it. 

As Faith reached the top, her forehead was beaded with sweat and her breathing was short. She walked over to her house and sighed. Only to see Dea already pacing at the front porch. 

Faith froze in her place and mumbled. "Mom." 

"Come in." Dea snapped, "You are late enough. Don't delay it any further!" 

Faith tried to surpress her curiousity but the question that was bubbling inside her popped out of her mouth as soon as Dea turned away. 

"Delay what?" 

Dea looked over her shoulder at Faith. Her petite body shrunk under her gaze and she lowered her eyes to the ground. 

"You are already lagging behind. Use some of your brains, do you have anything to wear at such a prestigious place, how are you going to stand out among the powerful Alpha's and Luna's?!" Dea shouted in her face, "Get changed and come down immediately! You and your sisters are going out to buy you a few dresses!"

Faith's breath stuck in her throat. Shopping? What her sisters? Sighing in her head she thought, it was definitely going to be a disaster!