Chapter 63. Home

**63. Home**

***Astrid's POV:***

"Little Dove, wake up; we have to leave now." Rafael's urgent voice pulled me from the depths of sleep. He shook me.
"Let me sleep," I said as I put the comforter over my head and went back to sleep. Despite my fatigue from Rafael's voracious lovemaking, all I craved was more rest.
"Little dove, you've been sleeping all day. Our yacht is on its way." Rafael tried pulling my cover and waking me up again, but all I wanted to do was nestle in my comfy bed and sleep.
"Ugh... call them tomorrow; I need to sleep," I grumbled, burying myself deeper into the pillows.
"We should pack everything; come on, Astrid; they might be here any minute, and you were the one who wanted to go tonight," Rafael said.
"Ugh..." I groaned, waking up reluctantly. "You know all of this is your fault," I accused him, pointing a playful finger.
"What have I done?" Rafael blinked his eyes at me.
"You exhausted me," I muttered without thinking, and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I realized what I had just said.
"I'm going to do that for the rest of my life, and I have more ideas for us," he continued, grinning like an idiot.
"Let's go pack our belongings. We have to return home, right?" I tried to change the subject.
"I've done everything, and I guess we can do another round till the yacht arrives," he grinned as he approached me.
I retaliated, smacking a pillow over his face and darting into the restroom.
"You're going to pay for this when we get back," he grumbled from outside.

I changed into clean clothing, feeling a sense of readiness despite our short stay. Though only a week had passed, I already missed our family. "Are you not ready yet?" Rafael received a raised brow from me. He walked into the room wearing nothing but shorts.
"How could I? My mate was inside, taking all the time in this world to get ready and come out," Rafael sighed.
"You are the dramatic king," I said, clicking my tongue. "Come on, hurry inside, and get dressed fast," I said as I stepped back from the door, enabling him to use the restroom.
He began heading inside. "Well, I lied; I was speaking with the shifter king, and he said the cleaners were coming today and that we should instruct them a little bit." Rafael sighed and entered.
"Did you apologize for the bull?" I scowled. It wasn't right to destroy someone else's property, and Rafael needed to make amends.
"He doesn't mind at all," he reassured as the doorbell rang. "Can you speak with them? I'll be there shortly."
"No worries," I said as I walked outside and opened the door.
As we finished loading everything onto the yacht, we turned to look back at the island. The memories we created there would forever hold a special place in our hearts, etched in our thoughts, hearts, and souls.
"We will come here some other time," Rafael whispered in my ear.
I nodded, and we boarded the boat, shortly to be on our way back home. We got our automobile and began driving towards our realm.
My heart felt at rest as soon as the air of our realm touched us; this is our haven, and their absence is keenly felt.
Warm greetings filled the air as everyone welcomed us back. My neck ached from the numerous times I had to bend in acknowledgment of their respect.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy you're back," Eva said as she ran down the stairs and hugged both of us.
"We missed you, Eva," I said, hugging her back.
"Where are Bryan and Cindy?" Rafael asked.
"You selected an idiot as second in command; they both won't leave their rooms at all." Eva rolled her eyes as Cindy and Bryan approached us, and from the looks of them, they weren't anything close to decent, and Eva is right here.
"You're right, Eva, I have appointed an idiot," Rafael joked, gazing at Bryan.
"Hello to you too, bro," Bryan chirped, and he hugged Rafael as I and Cindy began to talk.
"How did it turn out?" Cindy asked, despite the fact that I used to brief her on everything over the phone.
I began telling everything to her, even how Azael appeared. "Wow," Eva remarked when Azael was mentioned.
"Your brother didn't look handsome anymore; you'd have been terrified if you'd seen him in his shape."
I clarified, and I wasn't trying to scare her but rather to warn her not to provoke Azael.
"All right, how are things going with you and Bryan?" I tried to change the subject, but Cindy's eyes seemed drawn to my hand.
"How long have you had this ring?" Cindy asked excitedly, taking my hand in hers and inspecting the ring.
"Rafael proposed to me, and we got married," I said, blushing as the scene on the plane flashed in my head.
"Really!!" Eva and Cindy unison.
"Yeah, he surprised me," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"My brother is so romantic." Eva giggled and said, "Rafael." Rafael, who was talking with Bryan, turned his attention to Eva.
"What?" he asked.
"I love you, bro," she said quietly.
Rafael sneered. I'm sure he's wondering why Eva suddenly said that, and he may have even disputed that he was the major topic of concern in our group conversation.
"For whatever reason you said that, I love you too," he said, returning his focus to the tablet in his palm and resuming his conversation with Bryan.
"Okay fellas, go rest up; I'm sure you're exhausted," Cindy urged, but Rafael protested that he had work to do and that he wouldn't be able to relax until he was through.
I went to our room and waited for Rafael to arrive. He said that he was going to explain something to me regarding office issues.
Yes, tomorrow will be my first day of work, and to say I am excited would be an understatement; it will be a dream come true for me. I've always wanted to be an architect, and I'm very lucky to have Rafael, who shares my passion.
"Little Dove," Rafael called, entering the room and hugging me from behind. "I missed you," he grumbled.
I smiled and gasped when he started kissing my neck. "Stop being extra; you literally saw me in the morning," I said, turning around and yanking him away from me because, as usual, I was becoming turned on.
"Even so, I'm so addicted to your presence that I can't wait to have you at my office tomorrow." A gorgeous smile on his face filled my heart with joy
"Thank you." I cupped his cheeks and kissed him. He was taken aback for a while, but soon began kissing me with similar fervor.
"Guys, at least have the courtesy to lock your room before making out." When I heard Cindy's voice, I pulled Rafael away from me.
I turned around to find her leaning against the door. I lowered my head as heat began to raise my cheeks.
"Oh, Cindy, come in," Rafael said, but I didn't make eye contact with her, embarrassed that we are often caught up in situations, and this isn't even the first time.
"Oh, come on, little dove, she's making you nervous, like she and Bryan are any sane when they're close," Rafael mocked Cindy.
"Oh," Rafael took Cindy's grin away, and sure, he had a point; they can't keep their hands off each other, and to be fair, we're not any better. "Anyways, Bryan said to me that you asked for me, what is it about?" Cindy wondered.
"Oh, yes, we have a few things to talk about with you," Rafael said, offering her a seat on the sofa.
Shit! I forgot Rafael had asked me to ask Cindy to join us in the evening before he left for his office to do some work, and it completely slipped my memory.
"so?" When Cindy was at ease, she lifted her brow.
"Did you see Mom's letter?" Rafael cut right to the chase.
"I don't think I've," Cindy said, shaking her head. "Is it something important that I should know about?"
"Mom mentioned that you can look into the past events if you have something related to them," Rafael explained.
"Yes, I can do it, but what's the point, Rafael? You can do it too," Cindy explained.
"No, Cindy, you're missing my point. Here is the thing: You know about Astrid's second mate, right?  Elliot ruthlessly killed him for no particular reason. Though it may seem inconsequential, I want answers because I think Elliot killed him because he was someone significant, so Astrid and I decided to look into it. I would have read Elliot's mind and knew about the past events, but this power only works when the person is thinking about it, and I have never found Elliot thinking about the incident," Rafael replied.
This is what we agreed, and even though I have no relationship with him, I can't deny that I am connected to this, and it is only fair that I find out what caused the tragedy, and I believe it is my obligation to find his family so that we can aid them and give them justice.
"OK, I get that, but how can I help you? I can only look into prior incidents when I have anything to do with both of them." Cindy granted permission.
"We have it. You have me for Elliot, and Astrid here is linked to that guy; I don't even know his name, so please pardon me if I refer to him in that way, so can you dig into us and find a relationship between Elliot and that guy?" Rafael requested
"That is feasible, but the process will take some time, and I want you both to be cool with that.  You know, it's quite a difficult task to trace down the link between two people who aren't actually around, but I can't promise you that I can go into great detail. You know how this works; I'm going to dive into Astrid's thoughts and find something related to her second mate, and from you, I'm going to extract about Elliot, and from there, I'm going to form a link between these two and see what went around." Cindy explained everything. "But... I can't guarantee that this will work, and we won't obtain much information."
"What's the harm in trying?  At the very least, we won't be sorry afterward that we didn't even try." I made my point.
"You have got a point. Is there anything else you want to ask about?" Cindy inquired. "Perhaps if you need more answers, we can discover them via one," Cindy stated.
"Yes, I've wanted to question you about this since we first met," Rafael stroked the back of his neck, "but I felt it would be too upsetting for you, so..."
Cindy nodded. "I'm listening."
"Do you know anything about Mom's death? Can you figure out who killed her and why?" Rafael asked.
He was holding his cool, but I could see he was upset from within.
Cindy tensed in her seat. "R-Rafael, I have something to confess: I know who killed your mother, and I've known it all along."
"What!!!" Rafael and I were baffled by the revelation.
"Please hear me out. I don't have any proof, so I remained silent," Cindy explained.
"When it comes to you, Cindy, we don't need proof; we believe you," I promised.
"Who exactly is it?" Rafael asked, but Cindy remained mute. "Tell me who it is." When Rafael raised his voice, Cindy flinched. His hand was balled, and his eyes were gradually changing color.
"Rafael, your father, Elliot, killed Fiona!"
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