Chapter 32
Zayden
Her expression sent instant worry flow through me. “Did I hurt you?”
I looked down at her arm but the wound had already healed after being out of my mouth for only seconds. A small amount of blood was all that remained.
“No.” She said as she turned to the sink and rinsed the blood off. “It felt—” She seemed hesitant at first like the awkwardness of it all found her but came out with it despite. “Good like—sexually.”
I was a little surprised and it showed on my face. “Sexually? For you?”
She smiled almost shamefully and looked away just to add to her nervousness. “Wow. Was that just me? How embarrassing.”
I laughed. “No. I mean, I didn’t think it would have been anything like that for you. I know it felt great for me. It’s better coming out of someone else.”
“Is this going to make things more difficult? I don’t think either of us thought it would have exactly been like that.”
“Well, we’ll have to see. I don’t mean to sound like I’m coming on to you but I would surely like to do that again. I’ve never felt this good after that’s happened before. It’s like the aftermath of great sex—only without the sex and the orgasm came from my mouth.”
“Okay, you lost me.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I could really explain it either.”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to but maybe we should discuss it with Adele before it happens again. Something might change if she knows. Troy wouldn’t like it to begin with but knowing this would really just make it worse for him like we were actually testing what it would be like if we ended up together. I don’t want him to think that.”
“You don’t like the thought of keeping this from him, do you?”
She paused but the answer was still clear before she said it. “No. It feels almost like cheating, though I haven’t really done that to know what it feels like but I’m sure it’s close.”
“If this is something we decide to keep up until I can get the control then let me talk to him. He would be more considerate to agree if I ask him, knowing my true intentions. Not that you’re not pretty or totally doable but—”
“I know.” She thankfully cut me off before I embarrassed myself. Of course she was attractive but it was hard to actually explain. “You love Adele and you wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that. I’m sure he knows that.”
“Exactly. So, we’ll wait. First, we’ll talk to Adele and if she’s still okay with it then I’ll find the time to talk to Troy.”
“Okay. That seems fair. Think you’re ready to go back out? Everyone might be thinking about going to bed by now.”
“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”
We turned from the sinks and walked out of the bathhouse to the others.
“There you are.” Troy said. “Shit, we almost forgot you two were here.”
“We weren’t in there that long.”
Troy kept his smile as he leaned in and kissed her. “Joke. We know what you were doing.”
Jaylyn glanced over at me for just an instant and tried to keep from widening her eyes. “Really? You know?”
“Yeah.” Darius laughed while holding up his hand like a gabbing mouth. “Talking. We’ve come to know that you’re quite good at it and more so the advice giver.”
“Oh! Well, sorry if it felt long.”
“Not horribly bad.” Troy replied.
“They not come in yet?” I asked, looking outside.
“No.” Ruby said. “They’re still out there but we all should really—” She got up with Darius and started heading to the stairs.
“Good idea.” Jaylyn got up too, pulling Troy up with her. “I haven’t slept well since we left. So, I’m kind of hoping tonight changes that.”
“Of course it will, provided you have the proper remedy to get you there.” Ruby looked at Darius and took his hand. “I know I do.” He smiled back and started going with her up the stairs.
“You go ahead.” I said. “We’ll be just a minute.”
“We will?” Darius wondered.
“Yes, we will.”
“Okay.” Ruby smiled. “But you know I’ll only wait for so long.”
Darius smiled back as she turned from him and walked up the stairs the rest of the way with Jaylyn.
“Why exactly will we be just a minute? This is cutting into quality time with my woman.”
I glanced out the window at Trever now sitting on the ground by a fire, smoking a cigar with Aleksander still standing and I knew what the right thing to do was. “I think we should say something to him.”
Darius raised his voice, almost shaking the glass of the house. “Are you crazy?!”
“Think about it. He just lost his friends.”
“Not my problem. If I have anything to say to him it’s going to be, I hope you’re next.” He left it at that and made his way up the stairs.
“What about you?” I asked Troy. “Are you coming?”
He sighed. “I don’t want to be rude like Darius, Zayden but what could we really say? Nothing will change any of it. We should just go to bed.”
“Fine. Then you go but I’m going out there.”
“Okay. You’re choice.”
I nodded and watched him head upstairs.
“What about you?” I looked down and Rift looking up at me, tilting his head. “Nothing to say either? You should come anyway. I’m sure you have your own business to take care of. Darius wouldn’t like to see that in his house.”
He tilted his head to the other side and it gave me a little cute stare while we headed outside. I let him go off towards the trees and I approached the two still out here.
Aleksander looked back to my footsteps and started backing away. “I’ll leave you alone and turn in.”
I nodded and took up his place behind Trever while he went inside.
“I don’t want your pity.” Trever said. “So if you’re here to give it you can just turn around and go back inside.”
“I don’t pity you.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Did you really bring Ryon back to save Adele from something?”
“You should know that already.”
“I guess I just don’t understand it.” I said, sitting myself down next to him. “Why do it at all?”
“To help, I guess. I had to do something. I led him to this. It was my fault. I should have seen it a lot sooner, knowing what I was putting him through by having him stay with her until she met you.”
“You mean until she met Troy.”
“It doesn’t matter now. It was one of you and he had to lose her just the same.”
“I am sorry about them. I know they were your family.”
“I thought you didn’t pity me?”
“I don’t but I can still be sorry. One of them was my family too.”
“I’m surprised you feel that way.”
“Why? It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t be in my life. He told me what happened.”
“Then I’m glad it ended peacefully between you.”
There was a pause and I thought of something else. “I just have to ask. If everything worked out the way you originally intended and I was with Jaylyn, would you be King?”
Trever sat still for a long time but never looked over once while answering. “I guess that’s why I wasn’t so disappointed when Troy found her first. I wasn’t ready but peace will be easier achieved this way. Izin never had to make up with me. It’s better that it’s two Kings that will make true peace.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Rift came up next to me and looked me right in the face since I was sitting on the ground. “And what do you want?”
Trever laughed quietly. “He doesn’t want you to regret.”
“You can hear his thoughts?”
“Humans are animals just as wolves are. He misses Ryon but he wants to appease you now. He knows a thing or two about
loss and he’s already so young.”
“Yeah. I heard what happened.”
“He’ll be fine. Something tells me he’s going to have an abnormally long life for a wolf.”
I smiled because he remembered the vision too when we saw my son with a white wolf whom he called Rift.
“Well, everyone’s getting to bed so maybe you should—” I started to stand and Trever laughed.
“It’s okay, Zayden. I know I’m not welcome in Darius’s house.”
“I was inviting you to be. The nights are still cold and unsafe.”
“And I’ll survive. Just go tend to Adele. She should be waking up soon and you might want to be there to explain where she is.”
“If you insist.”
“I do very much so. You don’t have to worry about me. Being alone comes easy when you do it so much over the years.”
“Okay. Just—”
“I know. Quit stalling. She could be awake already.”
I quickly turned and headed inside, anxious to know if he was right. I was the last up the stairs with Rift at my side and we went in the room I laid Adele in. She was still where I left her and I took a breath to relax. My eyes were on her and I walked over to the bed, sitting next to her while Rift got himself a comfortable spot on a chair. I started taking off my boots and Adele began to move from the sound of them dropping on the floor.
I leaned towards her and rubbed my hand on the side of her face. “Love?”
She took a heavy breath like she was waking up and started to open her eyes just a little bit. “Zayden?”
“There you are. How are you feeling?”
Adele started to sit up and looked around the room, confused. “Where are we?”
“Don’t worry. We haven’t made it there yet. This is Darius’s manor. It sits outside of the city.”
“Oh, no. How many days was I out this time?”
I laughed. “None. It’s only been a couple of hours. We needed a place to get back on our feet.” She sat silent and just stared off into nothing, acting like she was still tired but I knew she was thinking about something. “What’s on your mind?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. It’s just—weird. I feel—I don’t know—fine. It’s like nothing ever happened.”
“That’s how you’re supposed to feel.”
“Zayden, that’s not nice.”
“No, Love. I mean, that’s why he did it.”
“Who did what?”
I looked at her oddly and was a little confused myself. “What, you don’t remember what happened? One of the black lions took away your pain so you wouldn’t be sad anymore.”
She paused like she was trying to think back on it. “I remember. Those eyes. They were so calming and gentle. It was peaceful. Is that what he was doing to me?”
“I hope you’re not upset.”
“No. I’m not. It’s just—it’s kind of making me feel like I never cared.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“Did you ever find out what happened? Like how he—”
She trailed off and I was hesitant to answer. “Your father said it was a self-choice.”
“It’s because of us, you know?”
“I don’t think anyone’s to blame.” She turned away and started getting out of bed. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s like I want to cry about it but I’m just—not.”
“Your pain was taken from you. You cried too much already. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t like seeing it. It’s like you couldn’t stop.”
“I’m sorry, Zayden. I—”
“No, you don’t need to be. I understand that you cared about him.”
“I know.” She stepped in closer, putting her hands around my neck. “But that’s over so it can be just us now.”
“Are you really fine with this?”
“Isn’t that what you want me to be?”
“Of course not. We can do things however you need to. If it didn’t really work like we were told then we can hold off on our future plans until you’re ready. You can go away for time to yourself for as long as you need and then if you decide—”
“What are you saying? You want me to go away so I can think about if I want to be with you?”
“No. I just want to know that you’re going to be okay with the changes. I know you loved him and I don’t want you to be thinking about him if we’re going to build a life together.”
“Zayden, I love you. I’m not going to need time. I feel fine.”
“I just want you to be sure.”
She smiled and moved herself so she was sitting close in my lap. “I couldn’t be more sure about this.” She brought her lips into mine and the passion from the kiss caused me to temporarily forget about my worries. I just wanted to focus on her. I brought my arms around her so she wouldn’t fall and she was acting desperate to keep her lips touching mine.
“Are you really sure about this, Love?”
“I always am. I know I need to get over this. I need you to love me.”
“I do love you.”
“Then show me. It’s been days. I want you to.”
I was looking in her eyes and couldn’t refuse her. She seemed truly sincere and no matter how tired I was, I couldn’t let her down. I agreed and let her know just by bringing my lips back into hers.
Chapter 33
Zayden
I woke from the shining sun but had no intentions on getting up yet. Rift was still fast asleep in the chair and I laid with Adele under my right arm, watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful that I barely wanted to move so I wouldn’t wake her. The night we shared helped greatly give her the rest she needed and all the while watching her, I couldn’t help but wonder what she was dreaming about. If it was peaceful or if she was lost somewhere in the past with Ryon.
It seemed almost as if hours went by that was really only minutes when she moved herself closer to me and opened her eyes only for a brief moment. “Why are you watching me?”
“You’re beautiful when you sleep.”
“Oh, is that the only time?”
I laughed, barely letting out a sound. “No. You know better than that. You’re always beautiful to me.”
“Mmm.” She was still obviously tired and had her head on me with her eyes still closed. “How long have you been up?”
“Not too long, I guess. I was hoping to sleep more but I don’t feel that tired after our night.”
“Oh, goodie for you.” She joked. “It’s already too late for me. I’ve seen the light. I won’t be able to get back to sleep now.”
I kissed her head while we laid together through a pause. I was thinking about maybe why I was so completely awake and relaxed and it wasn’t just my night with her. I thought about what I shared with Jaylyn and knew we still had to talk to Adele about it. “Hey, Love?”
“Hmm?”
“Jaylyn and I wanted to talk to you about something now that you’re awake.”
Her eyes opened and she backed away. “About what?”
“The trying to control this gift thing.”
“Oh, okay. What?”
“Don’t you think Jaylyn should be here for this?”
“Then go get her if you want her to be. If we’re up, I’m sure she is.”
“All right. I’ll get dressed first and find her.” I got out of bed and simply put on my pants before walking to the door. Of course, Rift perked his head right up and was more alert than ever to follow me. We went to the room Troy was staying in with Jaylyn and I knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
I quietly opened it and looked inside. Jaylyn and Troy weren’t there. The room was empty.
I closed the door and decided to check elsewhere. I walked downstairs with Rift loyally at my side and the place was completely quiet. I didn’t see anyone around. I poked my head into the kitchen and the dining room but they were empty as well. I walked by the fireplace and made my way to the bathhouse.
&nb
sp; Jaylyn and Troy were both in there by the sinks. Jaylyn was putting up her hair and Troy was shaving his face.
“Hey, Zayden.” Jaylyn smiled, seeing me through the mirror. “And Rift.”
He let out a small kind of bark like he actually liked her. I didn’t think he liked any other humans.
“Hey.” I said. “Why is it that you two always get up first?”
“I don’t know.”
“At least we both do it.” Troy said. “I’d hate to be with someone who wanted to sleep till noon.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I guess that would be bad.”
“How’s Adele?” Jaylyn asked. “Has she woken up yet?”
“She woke up last night.”
“Good.”
“Has anything changed?” Troy asked. “Is she okay about everything now?”
“I guess so. She says she’s completely fine with it.”
“Really?” Jaylyn wondered. “Then it worked?”
“It seems so. You can check on her if you’d like. She’s awake now too. You should.”
We looked at each other through the mirror and Jaylyn knew what I was hinting at and made it casual with Troy standing right there by just nodding her head. “Okay. I will. I’ll be back down, Troy.”
“Okay. I’ll just meet you back out there. I’m almost done.”
Jaylyn smiled and quickly kissed his head before turning and skipping out of the bathhouse.
I stepped up next to Troy and splashed water on my face. I didn’t want it to seem like I was following her so I hung back with Rift still at my feet.
“How are you doing with this?” Troy asked.
“I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. How was your talk with Trever last night? You did go out there, right?”
“Yeah. It went pretty normal but he wouldn’t come in.”
“He slept outside?”
“He knew Darius wouldn’t want him in here. I said it was okay but still. We’ll get him to come in today.”
“Maybe.”
“Well, I guess I should finish getting dressed. Know what’s going on today?”
Troy laughed. “Well, you’re the one in charge, right? I guess that’s up to you.”
“A day of nothing it is. I’ll see you out there.”
Raining Light (Fate's Intent Book 5) Page 19