Chapter 198
Tristan’s POV
I was dreaming about the cave. About Athena’s silver eyes looking at me like I was nothing.
About the way my life force had been pulled from my body like water going down a drain.
But then something soft brushed against my cheek and the dream started to fade.
Something was touching my face. Light fingers moving across my skin in a way that felt familiar and warm. My body was still exhausted from what had
happened.
Every muscle ached and my bones felt hollow, like they were still trying to rebuild themselves from the inside out.
But the thought of Athena made my eyes snap open.
What I saw made my heart stop.
Athena was looking down at me with a smile. She was human again, not the wolf form I’d left her in. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders and her brown eyes were clear and focused. She was real and awake and here.
My arms were wrapped around her waist. When had she woken up? How had she gotten here without me knowing?
I sat up so fast it made my head spin. I stared at her in complete shock while she smiled back at me. Her smile was bright and beautiful, but I could see
something else underneath it. Pain. Fear. Hurt that went deeper than anything physical.
I could feel it through our bond. The way she was trying to hold herself together when everything inside her was breaking apart.
“When… when did you wake up?” I stammered. “What time is it? How long did I sleep? I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you…”
I didn’t know what I was trying to say. My thoughts were all jumbled up and my words came out wrong.
She pressed her finger against my lips to quiet me. That’s when I noticed she was wearing black leather gloves that went up to her wrists.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at her hands.
‘Sarah said it would protect anyone from me,” she said quietly. “In case it started again and I was holding you or anyone else. So I wouldn t… Her voice
trailed off and she looked down at her covered hands.
I couldn’t stand the way she was talking about herself like she was dangerous. Like, she was something to be afraid of. I pulled her into a hug and held
her tight against my chest.
‘I missed you, Ath,” I whispered into her hair. ‘I missed you so much.”
I felt her body shake against mine as she tried to hold back her sobs. ‘I missed you too, T. You were on my mind the whole time.”
She pulled away from the hug after a moment and looked at me like she wanted to say something. I could see the words building up behind her eyes. Words about what had happened in the cave. About what she had done to Daxon and Seraphine. About what she had almost done to me.
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Chapter 198
But I didn’t want to hear those words. Not yet. I couldn’t watch her break apart in front of me when I still felt so helpless to put her back together.
“Have you eaten?” I asked quickly. “When did you wake up? Why didn’t you wake me up immediately?”
She looked at me like she knew exactly what I was doing, but she still smiled and answered my questions.
‘You looked so tired when I came in here,” she said. There was a lump in her throat that she had to clear before she could keep talking. I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, I loved watching you sleep.”
We both laughed at that, but it sounded forced and hollow in the quiet room.
I moved closer to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders in another hug. She felt smaller than she used to. Thinner. Like some part of her had been carved away and hadn’t grown back yet.
She pulled away after about a minute. I could tell she was doing it on purpose. She was scared of being too close to me for too long, scared of what might happen if that thing inside her decided to wake up.
“Go freshen up so we can eat,” she said with a fake smile. “You stink.”
“But you’ve loved this stinking body for years,” I shot back.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
