Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ALINA
When we finally left the room, after hours in bed, it was already past mid day. Entering the dining hall, I spotted Frid, Victor, and Sol occupying one of the tables and pushed Tynan to join them.
“Finally. Getting tired of having sex?” Victor smirked.
“I doubt it.” Sol chimed in.
“Don’t be jealous.” Frid picked up a piece of buttered bread and shoved it in her mouth.
“I’m not.”
“Oh, come on,” she said with her mouth full.
“Here we go again.” Sol sighed and dug into his food.
“I haven’t seen you for so long. Where have you been?” I asked Sol, taking a seat beside Tynan.
“My aunt . . .”
“Mirtha? How’s she doing?” I asked.
“What? Why are you staring at me?” Frid shot at Victor.
“You know what? I’m fucking done. This is enough.
Whatever had happened or didn't happen, I don’t fucking care.
Yes, fuck yeah! I have feelings for you.
Like all this fucking time. Forever. It was you all this fucking time.
Always you! And I don’t care what you think.
I don’t even fucking care if you like it or not.
I’m telling you now, and I don’t want it to be just my problem.
‘Get over it’, Sol told me. ‘Tell her,’ Tynan said. So, here we are!”
“What?” Frid’s eyes were huge.
“Don’t tell me you have nothing to say. Come on, I want to hear your come back. Maybe make fun of me, like you always do? Don’t fucking stop yourself on my account.”
“Victor, people are listening.”
“Do I look like I fucking care?”
“But —”
“There are things you still don’t understand, sweetheart. And you’d know it if you ever thought of anyone but yourself.”
With those words, he stood up, scraping the wooden chair against the stone floor, and walked out of the hall, ignoring the curious stares from the other clan members.
“What just happened?” Frid mumbled.
“He snapped.” Sol kept chewing as if nothing unusual had occurred.
Tynan did not look at all concerned as he piled food onto his plate, and picked up a fork.
“He seemed very upset,” I said.
“He’ll be alright,” Tynan responded.
“Maybe you should talk to him? He was not in a good state,” I offered.
“No,” Tynan said.
“Why not?” I asked, eyeing him with surprise.
“I guess, it depends on what your decision is.” Tynan added, looking at Frid.
“What decision?” Frid looked puzzled.
“Are you willing to give it a go?” Tynan picked up a thick piece of bread, and broke it into two pieces with his long fingers.
Frid remained silent.
I switched my gaze from Tynan to Frid, not sure what to say.
We continued eating in an awkward silence, not daring to bring the subject up.
Suddenly, I spotted the familiar figure of an older woman who was walking with the help of a cane.
“Grace,” I whispered and Tynan turned his head watching his grandmother approach our table.
Her light hair was carefully knotted into a twist on top of her head, her dress was as impeccable as I remembered; but the lightness, the spark that she used to have, was gone.
Tynan immediately stood up and both of them shared the longest embrace.
“I came as soon as I could. How are you, my boy?” she asked.
“Good,” Tynan said.
“That’s good.” Grace repeated and her eyes shifted to our table. “Frid. Sol. And who are you?” she asked, looking straight at me.
“My name is Aly. Nice to meet you,” I said, getting up and extending my hand to her.
She shook my hand reluctantly and turned back to Tynan, evidently not caring enough to speak to me.
“She’s too beautiful. That’s a bad sign,” she said in a loud whisper.
My face burned with heat, and I gripped the edge of the table, trying to steady myself.
“You’re speaking to my mate.”
“Is that so?” She turned back, her gaze locking onto me with a look of assessment.
While Tynan and Grace stood together talking, Frid looked like she was not even there, lost in her thoughts.
I sat and leaned back in my chair, hunger having completely left me.
When Tynan finally returned to our table, all of us sat together in silence for some time.
“We have to figure out how to use the water we brought.” Tynan observed.
“I was thinking about the same thing.” Sol nodded.
“Probably something that’s easy to break would work best,” I suggested.
“Something small enough, convenient to carry.” Tynan picked up his bread.
“I can speak to Hanoch and ask if we can use something from storage or maybe make some small vessels,” I added.
“We may not have enough water,” Sol observed.
“What do you think?” I asked Frid.
“What?”
“Do you think it would work?” I watched her shifting eyes and the faint blush colored her cheeks.
“Just talk to him already.” Sol chuckled.
“It’s none of your business.” She stood up.
“Frid, please stay,” I called, but she was already walking toward the exit.
Later that day, Tynan took me to the top of the mountain to practice shapeshifting. I shook my head watching him preparing everything and repeating the instructions over and over.
“Just remember, I need to see what you’re doing,” he said solemnly. I nodded, hiding my smile. “I’m serious. Try not to die.”
I bit my lip, captivated by the golden lines the sun painted across his face, highlighting the deep, impossible color of his umber eyes. In the next moment, my arms found their way around his neck, my fingers gently pulling his smooth, silky hair.
“Please concentrate.”
“I am concentrating.” I leaned closer and bit his lower lip.
Tynan exhaled and responded to my kiss. His soft lips caressed my skin, trailing down to my neck, while his hands slid down my back, pressing my body closer to his.
It only took a couple of touches, but fire already licked my insides making me desperate for more.The need for him, and my inability to think straight when he was around, was all I knew.
Everyone else saw him as brooding and distant, but to me, he was the reason the seasons changed and the sun rose each day.
As long as we were together, there was nothing we could not face.
I understood now that our lives would not be simple, but no matter what lay ahead, the delicate thread that once connected us had transformed into an unbreakable bond.
“Alina,” Tynan whispered and his voice pushed me further over the edge, making me hungry, desperate, and wild.
A sudden eruption in the distance broke the spell between us. Tynan straightened and approached the edge. What I saw below in the valley made my heart drop, a silent scream died down in my throat.