Chapter 78

Celia

I drop Soren’s hand while my eyes adjust to the darkness of the bedroom. From behind me, I can hear the click of the door locking. My heart flutters in my chest and Soren flicks on the lights. They are a nice and warm hue, easy on the eyes, and I turn to look at Soren.

From the corner of my eye, I can see the neatly made bed. Its white sheets and gray pillows lure me in, my body already slowly feeling the effects of sleep take over my body. The sleepiness fights the adrenaline that begins to course throughout my veins.

I bite my lip and glance over my shoulder at the rest of the room. It is bare, yes, but it has all of the necessities that we’ll need. There’s even an extra pile of blankets that sits at the foot of the bed. It looks—

“Celia,” Soren’s voice rings out, interrupting my thoughts.

My head snaps back into his direction. There is a small smile on his face, one that only I can see through the twitching of his lips. He removes his hands from his pockets and shifts his weight onto his back foot.

“Stop thinking. Relax, okay?” Soren says. I nod, still feeling a bit nervous at the sudden intimacy that has formed between the two of us.

He watches me from afar. I scratch the back of my neck and kick my shoes off, my eyes never leaving his. I shrug off my sweater next, puling it over my head, and letting it fall to the floor beside my feet.

“Celia,” Soren breathes my name out. It sends chills down my spine, making my hands go clammy.

He takes a step forward and I shake my head. I scratch the inside of my arm and turn away from him, feeling his gaze burn into the back of my head. I move towards the bed and let out a quiet sigh, peeling back the layers upon layers of sheets. I slowly crawl inside and allow myself to melt into the mattress, closing my eyes.

There is another flick and the room grows darker. I open up my eyes and stare at the white sheets, suddenly feeling nervous at the fact that Soren and I will be sharing a bed with one another.

It has been so long since we have slept in the same bed. The last time was the night before our contract came to an end; it was the beginning of the end of our story, one that has led us on a wild goose chase across his pack. After that night, we haven’t shared the same bed or have laid in each other’s embrace throughout the night.

Well…at least until Soren decided he wanted me to leave. But that is neither here nor there.

The mattress dips beside me. I let out a quiet gasp, feeling my body move closer and closer towards the dip. Soren slowly moves back the sheets and reveals my face to him. He tilts his head to the side and brushes some of my loose strands of hair out of my face.

“Are you okay?” Soren quietly asks.

I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. I weakly nod, trying to smile the best I can, but I just feel so tired and awkward and nervous to be so close to him. I know that we agreed that we wanted to pursue our relationship further, but now I can’t help but feel awkward.

“No, you aren’t,” Soren whispers. “You are stuck in your head again. Are you sure there isn’t anything that you wish to talk about?”

His voice sends chills down my spine. I close my eyes and shake my head, burying my face into the pillow beside me. I hold back all of my fears. I don’t want to unload all of my worries onto him, to weigh him down more than he already must be feeling.

A sigh leaves my lips. I pull my face away from the pillow and look up at him. His hand rests on my shoulder, the tips of his fingers grazing up and down my arm as I take my time to formulate my thoughts.

“Bianca,” I choke the word out, “I’m worried about her and what the future holds for us.”

Soren nods while I speak. He leans in and makes himself comfortable beside me. Unable to look at him, I turn in his arms, my back now pressed against his chest. Soren leans in and rests his chin on my shoulders, tilting his head to the side, his breath hot against the side of my face.

“She’s been on my mind,” I admit, unsure of where the courage to speak about my fears has come from, “and I’m scared that she is going to do much worse than stabbing when I see her again.”

“Celia,” Soren sighs, “she is not going to hurt you.”

“But you don’t know that, Soren,” I close my eyes and shake my head. “She is unpredictable. She is erratic and we do not know what she has planned for us next.”

“I know her, Celia, and trust me when I say that she is not going to do a single god damn thing to hurt us. She has no idea where we are and she will remain in hiding until we reveal ourselves. We just have to wait it out,” Soren murmurs into my ear.

“How can you be so sure of that, Soren? Hm? You could barely see that she was out for blood during your wedding night to her,” my voice cracks from underneath the pressure I have put onto myself. “She humiliated me. She humiliated us. How can you be so sure that she isn’t planning something?”

“Because you with by my side, Celia, everything is possible. If she has something planned, we will fight back against it. If she does nothing, then we can rest easy knowing that she is nowhere near us,” my fated mate continues to speak.

His words give me some ease. They bring me some relaxation in the dark night from deep inside of the forest. I close my eyes, not wanting to deal with any more worries or troubles that may come my way.

Soren wraps his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer into his embrace, his face buried inside the crook of my neck. It makes me feel safe knowing that I have the Alpha King so attached to my side.

I know that it is a little cruel to subject Soren to just being an Alpha King, but I kind of have to during times like these. An Alpha King outranks a princess and he holds all of the power over his pack. He is the safest person in the world to be with right now.

I yawn and can feel my body start to give away to sleep. With one more glance at Soren from over my shoulder, we both share a sleepy and tired smile.

“Go to sleep, Celia,” Soren says, “do not worry about Bianca or what is to come. Let’s take this one day at a time, okay?”

I sleepily nod. Soren presses a gentle kiss to my forehead, lulling me into a deep sleep that sweeps over my body.