Chapter 8: Waking Nightmare
1096 Words
POV: Asha
The image of the rogue I had seen appeared in my mind. My insides shook badly as I fully turned to check out the sound.
But there was nothing.
Morning light spilled weakly through the curtains as I lay in the warm bed, blinking at the ceiling.
For a moment, I only lay there, staring at the ceiling and replaying the click I had heard the night before. I had checked under the bed, behind the curtains, and inside the wardrobe, but still came up with nothing.
Convincing myself that I was just hearing things, I allowed exhaustion to finally drag me under.
Now, in the pale grey light of the morning, I wondered if the drug, the fall, or everything that had happened in just one night had broken something in my head.
Maybe I truly had been hearing things that weren’t there.
A soft knock came on the door.
“Asha? Are you awake? Hera’s voice floated in from the other side of the door. “I have your breakfast.”
The thought of food made my stomach turn. So did the idea of accepting anything from people who still hadn’t told me if I was still here as a prisoner or not.
I glanced at the door briefly before looking away.
“No, thank you,” I called out softly.
The knock came again.
“But you have to,” her voice reached my ears again.
I ignored her this time and refocused on the ceiling.
Asha?
I froze.
The voice hadn’t come from outside this time. It had come from somewhere deep in my own mind. Though faint, I recognized it immediately.
Rylie.
I inhaled softly, tears burning at the back of my eyes before I could stop them.
You’re here.
I’m trying, she answered, her voice so faint it was in and out. It’s hard; everything is so far.
That drug must have been wolfsbane. I thought you were gone, Ry.
Silence.
Ry? Ry!
I sat up fast, my head spinning as panic hit me.
Hush, darling, she groaned in my head. I’m recuperating.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Don’t do that to me.
I heard a firmer knock, one I couldn’t ignore.
“Come in,” I responded.
The door opened, but it wasn’t Hera.
Zade stood in the doorway, a tray balanced in one hand, and his broad body nearly filling the frame. The memory of him saving me hours ago flashed in my head.
He didn’t step inside. He just stood there.
“The healer said you needed to eat,” he said, his voice rougher than I remembered it being yesterday. “You’ve gone almost a full day without food.”
I blinked at him, then at the tray, before shifting my gaze to the sun setting on the horizon.
“Oh… I guess I did do that,” I mumbled. “But then, it’s not like I’m hungry.”
My stomach growled loudly, determined to betray me.
“Right,” he answered calmly, devoid of emotions.
“Well, someone else could have brought… I thought…”
“Someone else did bring it, and from what I heard, you seemed determined to starve to death,” he said as he walked in. “You seem to like picking the side of death.”
He didn’t explain any further. Instead, he walked in and set the tray down on the small table near the bed.
I frowned. “No, I don’t.”
He turned to look at me, still slightly bent over from placing the tray. With only a few movements, he was standing next to the bed with his face a few inches from mine.
The morning light highlighted all of the features I hadn’t seen previously. His hair was actually midnight black, and his eyes were actually dark brown, not fully black.
Mate. The word he’d voiced out in the dungeon came back to me.
It didn’t make sense, but for some reason, I didn’t want to think otherwise.
“Jumping off the ledge last night and refusing to eat this morning says otherwise,” his voice dropped several degrees, and a shiver ran down my spine.
A shaky breath escaped my lips.
“I didn’t jump, I fell.” I defended as I turned away, my heart beating faster from fear.
“If you hadn’t been there in the first place, none of that would have happened.”
I turned back to him. He had straightened himself and was now looking down at me.
“If you hadn’t—”
Hadn’t what? Put me in a room and told me not to step out? Saved me from Marrok, which led to the room scenario?
“Never mind.” I shook my head.
“Eat,” he grunted.
His crimson eyes flashed in my head. The urge to ask about the rogue was strong, but I held back.
“I will,” I replied and looked away.
He didn’t move.
“Aren’t you leaving…?” My brows furrowed slightly.
His gaze had dropped.
I followed it to the skin on my wrists that had bruised purple sometime after the fall.
He moved closer. “Let me see.”
I hesitated for a few seconds before holding them out.
His fingers wrapped gently around both of my wrists, and instantly, the sparks hit me. Sharper and hotter than anything I’d ever known, it raced up my arm straight into my chest.
Mate!
The word exploded through my head with enough force that I gasped it aloud.
“Mate!”
Zade’s hand went still and so did I.
He is mate, Rylie whispered, and I felt her pressing closer to the surface of my mind than before the wolfsbane took her.
Zade’s dark eyes lifted to mine sharply as I stared at him in shock.
He hadn’t made it up back in the dungeon.
I pulled my hands back too quickly, ignoring the way his eyes studied me for a moment too long.
“Eat, I’ll have you checked on later.”
He left without waiting for a response, the door clicking shut behind him.
I sat there, staring at the space where he’d been. My wrists still felt warm from his touch.
Mate. Rylie’s voice returned.
My heart stopped at how certain she sounded. She had never called Cole mate with that kind of certainty, and for the first time since his reaction, a different question hurt worse than why he’d rejected me.
What if Cole had never been my mate at all?
- Writer
