Clentine:
"Hey, it’s okay. Calm down."
He ran his hand through my hair and gently undid my bun, letting it fall around my shoulders.
"You shouldn’t tie your hair up while sleeping, especially with sothing that tight. It’ll hurt your head," he added, his voice filled with genuine concern.
My fingers twitched, as if part of wanted to respond, to place my hands on his chest, maybe. But the other part, the one that had been betrayed too often, reminded not to trust so easily. So I didn’t move. And eventually, he pulled away.
"Are you okay?" he asked again. "Mind telling what it was?" he asked, and I blinked a few tis before raising my head, "The nightmare?" He paused to examine my face.
"What was it about?" he questioned. He was still in his shirt and shorts, sitting in front of , and I could tell he probably hadn’t even blinked a sleep. That’s when I checked the ti and realized I had barely been asleep for five minutes.
"Nothing in particular," I replied. "Just North and the monsters," I lied. But that was the best way I could explain the feeling.
"Anyways, if you want, I can cuddle with you." The minute he said that, I started laughing.
"Um, no, thank you. I’m not that traumatized by the nightmares," I said, though deep down, I wasn’t sure pushing him away was the right choice. A mate’s embrace was supposed to be the most comforting thing. Maybe it would help. But did I truly believe that? No.
"I’ll be fine," I added.
He nodded and returned to the mattress. I didn’t lie back down right away, just turned on my side to watch him. His arm was folded over his eyes, and soon, he was asleep.
Eventually, I drifted off too, but the night was rough. I had nightmare after nightmare. I’d wake up panting, gasping for air, and most of the ti, it was Haiden who woke . For that, I was oddly grateful. I was used to handling the fear alone, but this ti, he was there, bringing water, calming down. And then he did sothing so unlike him.
"What are you doing?" I asked him as he looked through my closet for so oil. Once he got it, he sat down on the bed next to my feet. I pulled my feet back imdiately.
"Co on, I’m not going to do anything weird. It’s just a foot massage," he said, giving a look that warned not to take his gesture the wrong way.
"No, that is odd," I said, even attempting to kick him, but he grabbed my left foot and forcefully placed it on his thigh.
"Just lie down and try to fall asleep. I know what I’m doing," he stated, and I finally started to lie down. As he began to massage my feet, I honestly felt like all the stress was leaving my body.
"Where did you learn this from?" I asked, half asleep.
"I used to do that to my mother when she was pregnant. Especially then..."
And then I couldn’t hear what he was saying because I had already fallen asleep. The massage was so good that I didn’t wake up for the rest of the night, and I didn’t even have any nightmares. But when I woke up again, I found myself covered in a blanket. He was on the ground, and the oil was back in its place. It was truly shocking, but I was grateful that he had managed to help through the night.
After that, I took a shower and got ready in blue baggy jeans and a black shirt. It wasn’t too baggy because it was from my old collection, so it was still loose but not overly so. Then I left my hair open. By the ti he had showered, I had brought in the food. Nobody was supposed to know he was in the attic with , because rumors spread easily, and once they reached my stepmother’s ears, they would eventually reach the ringleaders. Then we would both get in trouble, at least Haiden would be.
"And why do you care? We could take our revenge for all the bullying he did to us by getting him in trouble with the ringleaders," Mint suggested, and I began to grunt at her inwardly. "Don’t put wrong ideas in my head. I don’t want revenge on anyone. Besides, I kind of understand where he was coming from, although I don’t condone bullying. I’m still open to understanding why he did what he did," I said, hearing her laugh at .
"Or maybe because he is your mate," she comnted, and I gave her the silent treatnt.
After Haiden was done eating, he insisted we go out. We had only been locked in the room for half a day, and Haiden was going crazy.
"Co on, nobody will see us," he insisted, standing next to the window. "And I heard you used to sneak out of your mansion a lot. So why aren’t you doing it now?" he complained like a child, even stomping his feet quite often.
"Because you will get in trouble if anybody catches you," I said to him, and he rolled his eyes.
"Well, then if I do get punished. I will tell them you had no hand in this," he replied, putting in such a tough spot because now I couldn’t even tell him why I was so agitated. If I showed more concern, he would question why I was so worried for him. So with that, I was left with no other option but to follow his lead.
"There you go," he smiled when I reached the window. My eyes barely opened, just enough to show him I was judging him.
"Co on, we will have fun," he said, and then we both jumped out the window. We climbed down all the way to the ground. Then we waited for the warriors to pass. I an, we had been avoiding lurkers, so these warriors were nothing compared to them. We were able to make it to the cornfield.
"Can you feel the fresh breath? Because if you cannot, let tell you, it is amazing," he said, his arms spread. He was so gigantic, so when he acted like this, he looked very cute.
"You are crazy," I said, walking past him so I could lead the way now.
We reached a water stream. It was my go-to area whenever I was upset at ho. There was a treehouse I had built here over the years, and it was still pretty much intact.
"Well, be careful bringing to your favorite places," he comnted. "You will fall in love with ," he added with a smirk.
User Comments
0 comments from readers