94: Morning, beautiful.
**Aife pov**
Sleeping in the cave wasn’t half as bad as I assumed it might be. Sure, the makeshift nest wasn’t exactly a comfortable bed with a mattress and pillows that felt like clouds under my head, but it was better than nothing.
Also, the blanket truly was a godsend thing, left by the kindest soul there had to be. It was old, yes, a little stinky, but Goddess, did it keep me warm.
As I sat up and stretched, I realized it wasn’t morning yet. Outside it was pitch dark but the fire still crackled in the small campfire so I quickly got up to add more woods to it.
Somehow, I would have to figure out how to bring in more woods and where I could find some dry grass for the next person who needed to hide from the harsh coldness of the mountains.
When I laid down again, I let out a breath of relief and looked at the ceiling of the cave. The fire made the shadows dance in pretty patterns but I still couldn’t fall asleep.
“What’s on your mind?” Clove broke the silence.
I didn’t answer for a good while, honestly wondering how to answer the question.
What was on my mind? Too many messed up thoughts and nothing at the same time.
It was hard to explain and put in perspective, the things I felt and kept pondering.
My life had changed so drastically, I couldn’t remember how it was before everything changed.
The pack I grew up in no longer existed.
The man who took me hostage with the thought of making me a slave turned out to be the kindest man I had ever met and my mate, only to do a complete one eighty and become a monster.
My father was alive, Goddess knew where and so was Milly.
In between, I found out that I had some weird dormant powers even Clove didn’t know existed and I had no idea what was the trigger to make them reappear.
And now, instead of spending time in the cozy cabin with my friends, I was sleeping in a cave, hiding away.
Eventually, I cleared my throat and answered Clove’s question, but the answer shocked even me. “I ran like a coward.”
“What?” She gasped, clearly taken aback by my answer.
“I ran like a coward,” I repeated, a little louder. “I could’ve tried to face him again and fight if necessary, but instead I ran and put so many people in danger.”
Clove tried to speak, but I shook my head and continued. “No, you know I’m right. Logically, I understand I did what had to be done to survive and protect the baby, but from the emotional standpoint, I worry that every person out there - our friends, they’re in danger because of me.”
She hummed as if she understood the dilemma so I took it as the sign that I could keep explaining myself, “Killian brought his men to patrol the mountain to ensure we’re safe. Jonathan, Zion and Kala, all of them just want to protect me from the monster who is taking over Bane. I’m scared that..” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
“Aife,” Clove whispered and reached closer to me. Although she resided in my mind, I could feel her touch - barely there, featherlight and gentle. “You can’t feel guilty for doing what anyone would’ve done. Trust me, if it came to it, all of them would scream at you to run, they wouldn’t let you stay there.”
“I know,” I choked out, feeling how tears were already filling my eyes despite my best effort to fight them off. “Doesn’t mean it makes me feel any better about what is going on. The truth of the matter is that the monster is after me. Me, not them. I don’t even know why he’s trying to find me. I have this thought that keeps haunting me and I can’t explain it.”
“What thought?” She asked. “Go on, you can tell me everything. Remember, we are a team, we are one and I’m not an enemy - no matter what, I’ll always stay in your corner.”
I swallowed around the lump that grew in my neck and nodded again. “I have a feeling that Bane isn’t trying to find me, that this is all the monster’s doing, not his. I don’t know why, but I can’t shake it off.” I admitted and bit the inside of my cheek to stay quiet.
Clove didn’t speak right away and I was truly grateful for that. Both of us needed a moment to think - I had to process my own admission and she had to think if there might be any truth behind my assumption.
After a good while, she finally sighed. “I think it’s best we try to sleep some more. It’s late and once the morning comes, we have some serious decisions to make. Let’s rest first, we can talk later, yes?”
Despite the fact that I knew I would most likely struggle to fall asleep again, eventually, I agreed with Clove. If nothing else, she was right about one thing - I had to rest until the morning. Tomorrow, I could make the decisions and most likely I would return to the cabin.
It was pretty far away from here so I needed to build up some energy for the trip back.
Eventually, I drifted off to sleep. Every now and then, I kept waking up - plagued by dreams that bordered the territory of nightmares and bursts of insomnia. I kept twisting and turning, unable to find a position comfortable enough to ensure I could sleep for more than just mere minutes.
At one point, I gave up and just stared at the ceiling like a lunatic and counted imaginary sheep under my breath until eventually, what felt like hours later, I finally fell asleep.
I had no idea how long I slept, possibly minutes again, when Clove woke me up with her frantic howls. She sounded scared out of her mind and I seriously feared that the monster had found us and was getting closer, but before I could ask her anything or even close my eyes, someone spoke up from next to me.
“Morning, beautiful.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
