Chapter 204

Alaric’s POV

Embarrassed by my own hesitation, I immediately put aside my own guilt and inched closer to Cara. When she whimpered again, my heart lurched. Unable to hold myself back even a moment longer, I leaned down and scooped her into my arms.

Gently, I turned her toward me, cradling her head and shoulders against my chest. She leaned into me at once. Her hands uncurled from fists and clawed at my shirt instead, as if trying to tug me closer.

She could do what she wanted. I would be as close as she needed me to be. So long as she didn’t suffer alone anymore.

Quickly, in my embrace, her whimpering ceased and her crumpled up brow loosened. She seemed peaceful now, her face and body relaxing, though she continued to cling to my shirt with a tight grip.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised, to soothe her.

It seemed to work, as she gently started to snore.

Holding Cara in my arms seemed to unwind some knots that had been developing inside of my own chest as well.

Having her this close… With her rest safe and warm against me…

This must be what heaven feels like.

Slowly, my own eyelids began to drop. Finally, after a night of restless sleep, I fell into my own peaceful slumber.

I didn’t even dream.

Cara’s POV

When I first started to rouse from my sleep, I felt warm and more relaxed than I had been in some time.

Is this a dream? I wondered. I had no idea what I had done to deserve such lovely dreams, but I was grateful for it all the same.

Without moving, without wanting to shift anything from my perfect sleeping position, I blinked my eyes opened.

I didn’t know what I expected exactly – maybe to wake up in a sea of comfortable pillows, or to be draped in a heated blanket.

Instead, my cheek was pressed to a very sturdy, well-muscled chest, that gently rose and fell with the owner’s calm breathing. A pair of strong arms were wrapped protectively around me, and our legs were tangled under the blankets.

I knew without looking at his face, who was holding me. This very embrace was the main reason I had asked Alaric to join me in my bed to start with. His closeness always seemed to chase the nightmares away.

Yet, after the last night we had been together, with him laying so distantly from me, I hadn’t thought to expect much from this new situation.

Perhaps I had been too quick to judge. I didn’t know what held him back before, but last night, that seemed to have changed.

Or maybe he only wanted to hold me in secret.

That thought struck me, making me feel cold. It also was the reason I quickly closed my eyes when I felt him begin to stir.

He took a deep breath as he started to move. His head turned likely looking around. He stilled then, perhaps seeing me and realizing where I was.

Ever-so-gently, he started to untangle us, moving his legs away first, before he rolled me off of his chest and onto the bed.

The sheets were cold on this side of the bed and I immediately mourned the loss of him and his stove-like warmth.

With us detached, his slowly pulled his arm out from under me, until he was finally free of me. Then, I felt the bed dip as he stood up from it.

My heart ached, expecting him to just leave. But he didn’t go straight to the door. Instead, he came closer to me. Reaching down, he grabbed the blankets near my waist and lifted them, more fully covering me.

His hands lingered at my shoulders.

I continued to pretend I was asleep, but my heart cried out, wishing he would crawl back into bed with me and we could lazily sleep away the morning. What need did we have to be awake right now anyway?

As much as I loved my work, everything else could wait for a day. I just wanted to feel close to Alaric again.

He mustn’t have been able to hear my heart’s wish, because he pulled his hands away and moved to the door.

I opened my eyes again, just to see the door closed, leaving me alone in the bedroom with the quickly-cooling sheets.

At work, I found some relief from the dark feelings I’d been suffering from for the past day by burying myself fully into my work. It was nearing lunchtime when Eamon knocked on the door to my office and then entered.

“Hello, Cara,” he said.

“Hi, Eamon,” I replied.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” Eamon asked.

Sensing there was something specific he wanted to talk about, I glanced up.

Even with my attention, he seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I wanted to know how the princess competition was going.”

Eamon and my other brothers were worried about me, this I knew. My condition, my dwindling health, all of it gave them cause for concern. That I had entered this competition regardless seemed to only heighten that worry of theirs.

I understood why. By entering the competition, I was throwing caution to the wind, hoping to prove myself. Though we’d had some arguments, I was grateful to ultimately have their support, even if it came with a truckload of worry as well.

His interest here I knew was multifaceted. Yes, he was likely curious about the competition itself, but he was also asking me if I still believed I was able to handle it.

The thing was, if I told him about the bullying I was experiencing, he would undoubtedly step in and stop it. As the competition was in our pack lands, he had the authority to stand up and squash this anti-wolfless talk. He’d even speak with the commission on my behalf and ensure that they accepted me.

But, if he did that, everyone would believe that I needed my brother to succeed at anything. I might also start to believe that.

To be capable, to be true to myself, I had to face this problem on my own.

“The competition is interesting,” I told him. “I’m learning a lot.” About myself. About others. About the mob mentality that seemed to rally everyone against me, except a special few.

The Claw Sisters and Georgie weren’t my friends, but I could see them allies now. For this, I couldn’t be more grateful. Perhaps friendship would eventually follow.

“But I’m enjoying myself,” I said, a little white lie. “And I’m looking forward to proving myself during the events.”

“Good,” Eamon said with a tight-lipped smile. I couldn’t tell if he meant it or not. Maybe he himself didn’t know either. “That’s good. I’m glad.”

We talked a bit more, and then he saw himself out, gone nearly as quickly as he arrived.

In his absence, I looked at my phone.

If I wanted to stand on my own two feet, then I needed to make strides forward.

Rather than waiting for the commission to reach out to me, I should take the initiative.

So I lifted the phone.