Chapter 15

                                    

                                          
"You'll test into calculus at the college level. If we offered AP classes, you wouldn't have to bother with it. But this is fine, and I have you on my schedule once a week to stop by and help." Ms. Jacobson, or Pam, as Sophia is now allowed to call her, sat across the table for her class of one in the still-being constructed library.
Creating the space for this new room required the relocation of storage spaces and some living quarters. The result was an impressive area reaching up two stories that let in direct morning sunlight and a soothing afternoon glow. Shelves eagerly awaited their occupants, and furniture had yet to be delivered. But if there was ever an actual real-life Beauty and the Beast scene in her life, Sophia walking into this half-finished space with Dominic was absolutely it.
"Are you still interested in accounting?" A set of relaxed eyes rested on her solo pupil.
"Forensic accounting, specifically. I think it'll balance my interest and my expected lifestyle well." The ruffling of plastic drapes blocking an area with holes in the wall grabbed both of their attention.
"I believe my sister is helping curate the materials for the medical collection. Have you met Doc Amy?"
"I have. She is a fantastic doctor." Didn't know that connection, but it makes sense that if education was important in their family, they would end up with two career-successful kids.
Pencil down and leaning back into the leather-covered seat, the she-wolf with black coifed hair not unlike those of the bathers relaxed into a warm smile, remembering something. "I don't think I've met a stronger advocate for others than my sister. It's something I'm learning to be better at myself."
"It would be easier for her, though, right? Maybe not everyone wants to be educated, but they all want to be healthy."
Keeping with the King Louis XIV theme from Alpha Dominic's bedroom, a chinoiserie panel hung behind the tutor. Faded shades of silver background pushed forward snow white flowers and shimmering blue birds with long curled feathers. All avians delightfully playing across an expanse of winding and knotted tree limbs, save one. Her talons secured her to a perch that was provided, not grown. Her beak takes in the same air, her feathers feel the same sun, her grip just as firm as the others. The still image doesn't show the storm that the tamed one in the wild rides. If this were an action scene, the swing that resembled what one would find in a cage would jump and sway with every breeze and disturbance.
What looks like an obvious comfortable roost is actually the most tumultuous seat in the forest in anything other than entirely peaceful conditions. The first to be disturbed and the last to settle, destined to be rocked whenever there is a disturbance.
"The temptation to choose unhealthy situations is just as great as the want to encourage others to do the same. We all have ways of justifying our actions, and the decisions that lead to harm are easier to believe in than the ones that would cut an education short."
The relationship between the she-wolves shifted after the elder tutored Sophia one-on-one instead of one-of-thirty in the classroom. The formalities were pulled down, and a motherly embrace reached out to her. This felt like a lesson in life that she would have already known if she had a consistent parental influence.
The door flew open at the far end, echoing a thud through the space filled with hard surfaces. At just shy of seven feet, a familiar male stormed in and stopped a few steps inside.
"You're back!" Green eyes softened from the hard squint of frustration with math and planning a future to the warmth of adoration.
Both stood from the table and bowed their heads. The breach of protocol quickly reigned in. That is a comment allowed in the suites, not out here.