Page 22 of Wolf's Redemption

I blushed red like a tomato and nodded so as not to look suspicious.

"You have a lovely family," I told her cordially.

"They're my entire life," she continued. "Are you married?"

"No, but I'm seeing someone," I replied.

"It was to be expected that such a talented and beautiful woman would not be alone," Lydia commented and sighed.

"Thank you very much. You are very kind."

I checked my phone, hoping Larry had answered my message, but there were only notifications from my store's Instagram page.

"Go ahead," she led the way to a room at the end of the long hallway.

Before entering, I couldn't help but remember my room in Pennsylvania, where I felt like a prisoner in my own home. But as I set foot inside, everything was suddenly erased from my mind, and I was amazed at the chemistry utensils and sophisticated machines kept in this small laboratory, with shelves full of flower extracts, mushrooms, and essential oils.

"Wow, it's amazing, even better than my lab," I said out loud.

"I had my... employees bring everything needed. If anything is missing, just ask, and I'll see to it that it's delivered."

Lydia was talking, and I went into the small lab. I walked down its narrow corridors, looking at each of its components and all the chemicals that were stacked on shelves.

"I don't think anything will be needed." I smiled.

"Are you comfortable... is the temperature of the place okay?" The Luna of the Night Pack was attentive like no one else and tried at all times to make me feel at ease. "If you need anything, anything at all, just ask."

"Understood," I said, "Before we start, we need to protect our skin and clothes."

"Yeah, over here," she pulled out a pair of lab coats, gloves, and protective eyewear from one of the drawers. "The best of the best."

She had everything planned, the instruments, the lab, even the security items as if she knew that I’d agree to teach her.

"How would you know I'd accept?" I asked.

"Let's just say it was a hunch, plus I don't give up that quickly," she added as she buttoned her lab coat wrong. "And I would have kept insisting until you put a restraining order on me."

We both laughed, and I helped her put on her lab coat and gloves. And when we were both ready, she looked very excited.

"Before I show you, I'd like to try all of this and make sure everything is right. Plus, this way, you can see everything I do, and when it's your turn to do it, you'll already have an idea. Still, I know this is a lot of information in just one night, so I need to just make sure to get the basics right."

"You're the boss here," she said, stepping to the side.

I was in my element and I knew this wouldn’t take me so long, but I wanted to test the lab instruments. I went to the shelf and grabbed a package of fresh orchids that were preserved at a low temperature, and walked over to the work counter. I separated the flowers and put them into the extraction chamber, added water, and turned on the flame to start the process.

"Could you explain to me how that equipment works?"

"Of course, come a little closer," I said.

Lydia walked over to me and looked at all the machinery.

"This is the extraction chamber," I said, pointing to the cylinder-shaped glass container where the water with the flowers began its boiling process. "Here, the liquid components are separated from the solids by the heat generated by the water, and then it passes through this valve where the water with the essence is heated and evaporates to be purified, and then through this nozzle, we extract the essential oil from the flowers, which is where the aroma is."

Luna watched the process with amazement. Her eyes were always fixed on the equipment, and even though she knew she hadn't understood everything the first time, at least she was enjoying it.

"What motivated you to become a fragrance designer?" Lydia raised her voice a little so that with the bubbling of the water and the steam escaping from the pipettes, I could make out what she was saying.

"It was always my dream," I shared. "I never knew my mother. And my father never talked about her. So, one day I snuck into his room to find something that would lead me to my mother, but the only thing I found in his trunk was the blanket they used to cover me with the day of my birth. So, I took it to my room, and when I hugged it, I smelt the scent of her perfume. I was so obsessed with recreating it and learning by myself how to create fragrances that I started to try out my own formulas to come up with a scent that would make me always remember my mother’s. "