Chapter 80

Celia

Soren and I have stayed inside the Duke’s wooden mansion for a week now. The once unfamiliar hallways are now recognizable and I am able to navigate my way through the home without having to ask for help. I have fallen into a rhythm with the home, knowing exactly where to step to avoid the creaks in the floor and which doors open the quietest.

I have also fallen into a rhythm with Soren. I never thought it would be possible for us to act like a relatively normal relationship. We have resumed the same routine we had in the beach home he first moved us to. I have taught him more dinners to make as well as a few easy snacks here and there.

Soren has never looked happier, though. The stress has left his shoulders and body, leaving him more energetic and spry. He has yet to complain of a headache or migraine like he usually does but I still offer him the chance to get a scalp massage for old times sake.

It finally feels like our relationship is beginning to strengthen. The nights we spend together are nothing short of sweet and simple, leaving me wanting more by the time the sun rises. We stay in bed together, claiming that we want an extra five minutes before we get ready for the day.

I like to think that it is because we feel comfortable with one another, that we feel safe with the heavy military presence that stays outside of all of the doors and exits. Maybe he feels safe with me, that he knows that he dies not have to keep up his persona of the big, bad Alpha King around me. That he knows that with me, he can simply be Soren.

Not the Alpha King. Not the leader of the Werewolf pack. Not the man who people look to for advice or the security of the pack.

Just…Soren.

Between us, there are little to no expectations that the world is holding against us. We do not feel the pressure from the outside world that we have to do things to appease them, to make sure that his image stays sparkling clean under the sunlight. We do not feel the pressure of being forced into a marriage, that we need to marry one another for the sake of peace between the Werewolves and Lycans.

We can be who we wish to be without the roles that have been attached to us and quite frankly…we have never been happier.

Soren is showering right now. The sun is beginning its departure into the horizon, to be hidden behind the earth as nighttime takes over the world. His happy and content hums float through the open bathroom door.

To the side of me sits a window. Outside, the sun turns a deep orange color, the sky following in its direction. To the side of the mansion sits a vibrant garden filled with multiple kinds of flowers, the colorful petals catching my attention.

A small grin spreads across my face. I begin to formulate a plan, one that involves picking flowers and surprising the man that I have grown to love this past week.

Is it too soon to love him? Is it too soon to say that all of the fears and red flags that have held me back from placing my trust in him have vanished?

Soren has shown me his true colors. He has proven to me that he is willing to keep me safe when times are tough. He has shown me that he is someone that I can rely upon during my times of need.

All I can do is hope that he feels the same with me, that he can lean on me when he needs to take a break from life.

I slip off of the bed and quietly sneak across the floor, not wanting to catch his attention and spoil my plan before it even begins. I hurry down the steps and pass by the soldiers who sit inside of the home, their presence feeling as natural as it can be.

I reach the door and grab a nearby sweater, placing it over my shoulders. All that I wear is a light shirt and pajama shorts. Even the sweater is big and loose on my body.

The summer breeze is warm against my skin, kissing me and greeting me like a gentle hug. A mixture of green and yellow fireflies flicker in the distance. They hover over the bed of flowers.

I reach my hand out, the palms of my hands grazing over the tops of the buds, the warm petals gentle against my skin. I begin to pluck a few of them, cutting their stems to release them from their confines of the earth.

Soren deserves to have a dinner decorated with flowers. I want to show him that a life outside of our roles as Alpha King and the Lycan Princess are worthwhile, that once we return back to reality instead of hiding away in a state of limbo.

I wonder what our lives would have looked like if we met under different circumstances. Would we have naturally gravitated towards one another? I sure hope so. I hope in this life and the next that fate decides to keep us together instead of throwing us into more and more suffering of being apart.

A sigh leaves my mouth. I look down at the flower petals. I roll the stems between the pads of my fingers, twirling the flowers around with ease. The petals move with the wind. They sway back and forth, providing me with comfort I never knew existed.

I look up and my eyes attach to the bedroom window. I wonder if Soren is out from his shower yet. Maybe I will surprise him with a bouquet of freshly cut flowers instead of a centerpiece.

My vision suddenly turns into darkness. I gasp and drop the flowers, feeling the thorns from the roses graze against my exposed legs. My hands fly back to try and loosen the black hood that has been draped over my head, my fingers scratching at skin, drawing blood.

A female hisses into my ear. She kicks out my feet from under me and I am left scrambling in the garden. My legs and ankles become cut up from the flowers, destroying everything in my path as I try to kick myself free, to get my feet back down onto the ground.

Something sharp is pressed into my neck. My body goes still at the touch, the blade pushing into my flesh as my body is being dragged away.

“You put up one hell of a fight, Celia,” Bianca’s voice is low in my ear, her words sending chills down my spine. “But I found you. I finally found you.”

“Bianca, please—” I gasp.

My words are interrupted by the feeling of something being driven into my neck. My body begins to feel heavy, my eyes struggling to stay open. Even my hands grow weak against her grasp.

Bianca’s maniacal cackles echo inside of my ears. Tears roll down my cheeks as darkness overtakes my body, unable to fight back against the woman who has haunted my dreams for the past month of my life.