Chapter 163

Dylan POV.

"How do you plan on setting up a cellular connection for Vee and Carlos?" Lewis asked as he followed my movements into our room. I shrugged at his question, plonking myself down onto the bed and beginning to untie the tight laces fastened on my steel-toed boots.

I kicked the first one off with great effort, relishing the instant respite of my suffocating foot. I wiggled my toes and rolled my ankle, feeling the ache of walking so much in my feet, before attempting to fiddle with the other boot. "I actually intend to use your connections to organize it."

"Me?! I'm not as well connected as you, Dyl; I think you'll have a much better outcome if you simply..." I shook my head and looked at the man that I loved.

"... it's your connections that'll help to secure the link, though; your uncle, at least one of them, works in the palace. So we can call him, or even arrange it in the guise of Gilliard's call, then simply pass the phone onto Carlos and Vee." He came up to me quickly and began to loosen my laces before effortlessly sliding it off my foot. I quickly and childishly stuck my tongue out at his smug grin, which was mocking my pathetic previous effort to get the first boot off.

"Do you just want me to organize it then?" I just shrugged at his question as he gently ran his hand through his hair. "I wish you would let me help you more. You really do shoulder far too much when you really don't have to. There are loads of people who would be happy to follow your orders." I raised my eyebrows at him and gently wrapped my arms around the back of his neck as he knelt before me. God, I had missed this man.

"Alright then, if you want to be the one to organize it, then be my guest; I'm more than happy to just put my feet up after the couple of weeks I've had." He frowned at me, obviously sensing the stress that had suddenly disappeared upon finding my way back to this pack.

"I'll sort it in the morning. Right now, I just want to be with you." It was silent for a single moment as the male wolf in front of me just gazed at my own eyes, nothing but affection and longing clouding them. Of course, mine reflected the very same emotions as the ex-beta. "I've really missed you... Dyl. I've been so worried about you." He gently took hold of one of my braids and ran his thumb across the now snowy strands, a small smile playing on his lips as he did so. "You know, you look really well..."

I wasn't exactly used to people expressing themselves in such a heartfelt way, and so my brain decided to let my mouth break the atmosphere, with a joke about my new appearance.

"I look better without the pure white hair, though..." I gave an awkward giggle as he continued to feel my unfamiliar hair. However, I know he didn't feel the same way about it as I did.

"Actually, I think it rather suits you." I wiggled my eyebrows comically, which caused a breathy chuckle to leave his luscious lips. "The moon goddess clearly wanted you to stand out; perhaps it's been changed simply to prove to the lycans that she has, in fact, blessed you. They may be more likely to accept you."

"Maybe, but honestly, I think I have always sort of stood out, for some reason, probably more to do with my word vomit than anything else, though, but now, I feel like I'm waving a giant neon sign above my head. Don't get me wrong, I feel good... I feel strong and healthy, Better than I ever have, actually." I smiled slightly at the energy my body seemed to possess. The feeling was entirely new to me after being starved and abused for so long, and I fully intended to enjoy the lack of fatigue. "But I feel like I'm losing myself. A lot of people keep forgetting that at the end of the day, I am just a human."

"But you aren't just a human, Dyl. The moon goddess has personally chosen you; she has blessed you with a few abilities that can help end the suffering of your kind. That makes you pretty damn special. Not to mention that you've managed to wrap me around your finger." He was right, but what he wasn't aware of was just how much I, in return, would do for him. "Now I have to ask, what in the hell are you wearing?!" He chuckled again, glancing over my makeshift outfit. I'd actually forgotten all about the armor that I originally left in; it was pretty bad, really; it didn't even last three weeks.

"Ahh, yeah, the rogue camp didn't have too many options of clothes. They just walked around naked." Lewis's eyes widened drastically at my sentence; I suppose even I admit it must be a shock to find out that rogue camps still existed, not to mention that I, of all people, had been leading to it.

"I'm sorry... did you say a rogue camp?!" I nodded, sighing at the necessity of explaining myself in more detail.

"Oh yeah, we have some rogues that are willing to fight on our side. Their lives have been impacted just as much as humans, if I'm being honest. Not in the physical sense, but they are just as trapped. They just want the freedom of being a rogue wolf again." He stared at me in complete and utter bewilderment. Was it truly that shocking to find out? I suppose, at the time, even Oliver was surprised to find out that rogues existed in this new world.

"How on earth did you manage to discover a rogue camp, though? As far as I was concerned, they were extinct." I simply smiled; it wasn't as if I actually discovered it; it was more like they had discovered me.

"Well, they actually found me; they saved me and Oliver from being caught by alpha Shawn after he attacked us." Once again, I watched Lewis's eyes widen dramatically, and his gaze darted over every inch of my facial features, almost as if checking for any damage or injury.

"I knew Alpha Shawn was going to be difficult." I simply nodded; however, I couldn't help but scoff at my boyfriend's understatement. "Were you injured?"

I contemplated the truth, whether or not it was actually worth telling him about my head injury and a broken ankle; at the end of the day, I was ok now, so was it even really relevant? Still, I didn't want to lie to Lewis. If things were going to work between us, then I had to be honest.

"I hit my head again and smashed my ankle in. The moon goddess sorted me out, though..." I barely had time to finish my sentence before Lewis crashed his lips on mine. It was a lot needier than I was expecting, but I wasn't at all complaining about it. I needed him just as much. The ex-beta pulled away from me far too soon for my liking, and I couldn't help but allow a look of disappointment to cloud my features.

"Will you ever not make me worry?" he asked while gently leaning his forehead against mine. His breath hit my face, causing a tingle of butterflies to shoot through my stomach and my heart to skip a beat.

"That's kind of my job now, isn't it?" I chuckled when he raised his eyebrow in a smirk.

"It will be officially your job if you marry me!" He already knew my answer would be no again, but still, he asked me anyway, probably just testing the waters.

"Ask me again after the king is gone, and I will give you an answer." This time, it was my turn to smile smugly at his shocked expression. I hadn't flat-out refused him, and honestly, I wasn't sure I was going to.

Sure, marriage is a huge step, and I was only just Thurber 18, but Lewis was right. For a wolf, marriage was just the human equivalent of marking and mating, so it made sense to do it early on in life, especially if your partner was, in fact, goddess-gifted. If I refused to accept a marking, then I suppose I had to meet him somewhere in the middle.

"I'll plan my proposal spectacularly!" I didn't doubt his words at all. After all, wolves very often showed behavior that was so extra and over the top. "Until then, though, tell me everything the moon goddess said to you?"

I really did tell him everything, and he, too, explained his own journey. It was much quieter and straightforward than mine, however.

"So let me get this straight..." Lewis was reeling from the information I had dumped on him regarding my interaction with the goddess Luna. During my explanations, he didn't utter a single word; it's only now that he decided to ask the questions that were so obviously on the tip of his tongue. "We will only succeed if you face your biggest fear?!" I looked up at him from under my eyelashes and nodded ever so slightly. I had no idea what that fear was, but I had to figure it out quickly if I wanted us to win. "So you have to take the throne then?"

What? What did he mean by that?

"Take the throne? What are you talking about?" My frown portrayed my confusion even more so than my words did.

"You're scared to sit on the throne after the king is gone, aren't you? So you take the throne, we win, and everyone is happy." That was not my biggest fear, not by a long shot.

"Except, sitting on the throne isn't my biggest fear!" I shrugged and sighed as I tried to conjure up a hidden fear that maybe even I wasn't aware of. However, I was coming up blank every single time. "I don't want to be queen, and I certainly don't want to take over from King Josh, but I'm not scared to do it; I just don't want that burden."

"Well, what are you scared of then?" I just shrugged. I was terrified of a number of things; I just didn't know which one I was most fearful of.

"Becoming a wolf, getting caught by King Joshua again, losing you in the battle, receiving news about my brother... honestly, Lewis, the list is pretty much endless." I sighed, feeling a slight tremble in my hands at all the thoughts of what could happen.

"Your brother is safe, Dyl; I promise you, I'm not going anywhere; there is no way in hell anyone is going to let Josh get his hands on you, and I don't think you have to worry about being turned, the moon goddess has gifted you abilities without actually giving you the skill to shift." He had a point, it was rather unlikely that the moon goddess would curse me with shifting now. Even still, that didn't exactly ease all my worries, though.

"You're probably right…" Physically, I felt stronger than I ever had, and I was actually feeling pretty confident in my newfound energy, but the mental toll was becoming too much for me to handle. "I'm going to go have a quick shower."

"I'll run you a bath. You said you find them more comfortable." I just smiled at how he remembered that; he was really thoughtful. I never thought I'd find anyone who would understand my needs the way he did.

"Hey, Lewis?" He paused in his movements. "You can join me if you want?"