14 Chapter 14

Gerard scowled the longer Shera made him walk through the woods. She was following deer paths as if she was one and while he enjoyed watching how dainty her steps were, he was frustrated. Shera had fallen deep into her thoughts and he could see that even as she moved so smoothly. This was supposed to be a time where she had her attention on him and her father calling had ruined that for him. "Where are we going, foxy," he called. She stopped and stared at him with wide eyes, as if she forgot he had been following her on this small hike.

"Oh, right," she nodded. "My mom used to take me to this one spot. It's perfect to camp in." The mention of her mother had Gerard thinking once again. She rarely spoke of the woman, always rearranging her words to avoid her mention.

To actually have her bring him to a spot her mother took her? Gerard began smiling widely as he kept up, imagining the progress this meant he made. Something else clicked then that made the smile vanish. She cried when he had pulled her to the roof the first time. All those nights she looked ready to cry, even when she'd laugh and tease his questioning.

He knew her mother had died but nothing else was said about the woman. He assumed she had died when Shera was young and couldn't remember her. A story told to her about how the woman that birthed her reached the stars would bring any girl to tears wouldn't it? This seemed to open the door for the possibility that Shera knew her mother and loved her well enough that she couldn't think of her without a deep sadness. He rubbed the strap to the bag on his shoulders when Shera stopped, his eyes glancing about the spot.

Tall grass, nearly a perfect circle of trees lining the ends of the glade, and what looked to be a missing patch of the grass right in the center; Gerard was looking at a fairy tail. Shera walking through as if she owned this particular spot, a smile evident on her face as she faced Gerard. "This is it," she sang a little loudly. He could hear that her voice was ready to cracks but he didn't want to leave just yet, she still looked even the smallest bit happy they were there.

"What is this place," Gerard walked after her, pulling the back pack off as they approached the smaller grass. He blinked at the moss replacing the grass when Shera put her things down.

"Mother's special treat," her reply was so quiet, Gerard nearly missed it. He pretended not to hear, starting to set everything up as she helped. "You'll really like it I think," she said after a while.

"Like what," Gerard raised an eyebrow as she smiled at him.

"You're so much of a geek, I think you'll try to explain the stars when you see them," she chuckled. He bit back the embarrassment as she giggled. He never really meant to break off into any of his rants with her; he just felt comfortable enough to explain every little detail when he got excited around her. Maybe it was a good step? The last time he was like that was with Allissia.

"Ha ha," he sighed. "I'm just explaining to you how it works."

"Right," she nodded and laughed. Another small step for her to get closer. Gerard set the chairs up around the stack of wood Shera had made, sitting down in front of it. Shera pulled out the snack foods he had brought, sitting and looking up at the sky. The sun had just begun to set as the two sat in silence. "What made you want to be a doctor?"

Gerard blinked and looked at her, putting his chin in his palm, "Why do you ask?"

"I mean, you probably could have done something else," she shrugged. "You seem to have a passion for anything in science so I was just wondering why a doctor."

"Well, it has to do with the variables involved," he nodded.

"What variables," she frowned.

"The illness, the treatment, the people, their environment," he shrugged. "The wildest variable is the people; I can't tell you how many parents said they wouldn't do vaccines for their kids because of lies they've read. Or how many old folk said their god was calling for them on their death bed when they could be healed. They keep it interesting while other sciences tend to have the same variables and the same consistency." Shera nodded to him, putting her head back a bit as her thoughts showed themselves in her eyes and how her fingers tapped.

"Is it worth it," she asked. Gerard frowned and put his ankle over his knee. Why was she asking him questions? He was supposed to be asking her, so he could show an interest in what she found interesting.

"It is," he wouldn't lie for this answer, it was his piece of relief. "Seeing people relieved, seeing them feeling safe; it puts a little light in my chest knowing I did that for someone else."

Shera nodded, her gaze moving to the pile of wood, "My mom didn't want to be cured. She told us it would benefit us but it didn't do anything." Gerard frowned at that, his gaze studying the woman next to him. She was really opening up to him but that sentence made him uneasy. Unless her mother had life insurance, there didn't seem any benefit to her dying.

His eyes widened a bit and he turned his head quickly. Of course her mother had life insurance. It was mandatory to have it no matter what kind. So if she was dead, where did the money go and who did it go to? It was a risky question and it would shed more bad lighting on Scott; he had to ask if he wanted to do that to her.

"How old were you when she died, if you don't mind," he asked quietly. Shera went quiet and he regretted pushing any buttons the question pressed against.

"I was nine," she replied. "It was around that time I shifted for the first time too. So hey, more proof for your condition study right?" Her laugh was painfully fake but she was trying. He only hoped she game to the same conclusion he just did in that her father took her inheritance and used it for his own selfish gain.

"I shifted at eleven," Gerard said after a while, trying to subtly avert the conversation. He didn't want to push too far for fear she'd break down. He didn't want to deal with more tears from her, the last time her violence spiking with it. Was that how she dealt with the mourning? All the different questions that arose were interrupted when Shera gasped softly.

"They started," she hummed. Gerard stared at her as she curled up in the seat, her eyes looking up. It was barely through the sunset, how was that possible? His thoughts were silenced when he looked up, the darker parts of the sky dotted with the lights they had taken to looking at before bed every night. He sat back, his mouth open slightly as the sky grew darker and darker.

Shera scoot her chair closer to his, pointing up at certain constellations he knew. She'd start telling stories, her voice steady and soft as it caressed his ears. He couldn't say anything as his gaze locked on the skies above. There were far more than he had ever seen in the city and she had made him look closer, the different shades of purple and blue finally visible to him. Was this what she saw every night before? He looked at her slowly, her stories and explanations continuing to flow from her lips.

Her eyes practically sparkled with excitement and the reflection of the universe out of her reach. The sight of a dreamer, the desire for more; she encompassed it all in the soft smile that adorned her face. He slowly started laughing, his chest squeezing. That sad Look was still there and he understood why she was so taken with the stars. She called it mother's special treat and he could see what star gazing meant to her.

"Major in astronomy," he stated. She looked to him finally, her eyes a bit wide. "Get paid to do something you enjoy doing, expand on what really interests you."

"But that's not useful," Shera's voice trailed off as she looked back up and it brought even more questions. Was that all she thought about? Being useful? Why was it that now she was opening up without him trying to tear apart the little cage she set up? There were too many questions and too few answers for him to grasp at.

"It's okay if you do something that isn't useful," he said quietly. "You never know. You could get really good at it and it'll become useful to you."

"Mom used to say that there were as many opportunities as there are stars and as many types of people as there were galaxies," Shera nodded. "It takes work but eventually you'll reach one and then all other doors open up." There was a long silence, Gerard turning his attention to the pile of wood they had forgotten about in watching the sky. It almost seemed pointless that they gathered the wood without lighting it.

"Shera," he muttered. "I get why you're so insistent on us not mating most of the time, but you need to actually consider it." His heart hammered in his chest and he could tell she had become nervous as the pretty thing's fur started sprouting. This was risky and he could tell it made her uneasy. She had been the only one vehemently stalling the inevitable and Gerard was losing patience as he saw one thing in her now.

There was no denying that he wanted her, that was for sure, and there was no way he'd let her get away. He got what he wanted just not fully. She needed to give him everything so he could do the same.

"Then I'm stuck," she finally admitted. The statement made him frown as he put both feet flat on the ground. "I can't do anything I want to do. I won't be allowed-"

"Hold on," Gerard grabbed her chair and made it face him, his scowl deep. "You're still the alpha with me," he stated. "You still have more freedom to do-"

"I want to travel the world," she cut in. Gerard's eyes widened as Shera's face turned a bright red. "I want to find all the different spots where I can see the stars in different positions. I want to meet people and make friends far away."

"Why didn't you," he asked. She looked down at her hands, unfurling herself from the seat that made her seem petite.

"I won't be let back in," she stated. "You'll think I ran away. My father already told me he'd consider me a lone wolf and have the pack attack on-"

"Your father isn't alpha over you anymore, and neither is he alpha over your pack," Gerard cut in. This gurl was an idiot, a fool dressed as some pretty lycan girl. "Yes, I probably would think you were trying to run but that would just mean I would go with you to wherever." He watched her eyes tear up, something about it making his chest squeeze once more. He tightened his grip on her chair in reaction.

Catherine was right. This was turning into something like it had been with Allissia. He could start to see himself giving her almost anything she wanted. He grabbed her and pulled her into his lap, rubbing her back. "You really are brainwashed, foxy," Gerard snickered and kissed her temple. "You're going to be the death of me."

She snorted and shoved at him half-heartedly, "Shut up. Your flirting is a bunch of lies and we know-"

"I'm being serious," he muttered. She stared at him and her face turned a bright red. "I haven't lied to you, ever."

"That makes one person," she joked. Gerard pulled her against him and looked back up to the sky.

"That's sort of pathetic," he sniffed. "But I'm glad it's me." He felt her relax against him and he smiled softly, inwardly cheering. He got her reeled in. He had her in his grasp and he wasn't letting her slip away.