Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
After leaving the hospital, we headed to Torin’s apartment in the pack manor. Along the way, we passed Alexander without a word.
Torin wasn’t himself, and I’ve never seen him so despondent and distraught. He needed time to grieve in his own way. After refusing to have dinner with me in the kitchen, he retreated to his bedroom, the click of his lock echoing through the quiet rooms.
It was easy to recognize his need for solitude matching my own on many days growing up in the werewolf kingdom.
Instead of causing him further pain by attempting to open my magic book behind his back, I vowed to help him heal.
He’d shown me a new side of him that I’d like to explore, even if he was dangerous to be around.
At least, I planned to learn more about what had deeply hurt him.
My heart ached, wishing I could take his pain away, but I didn’t know how. As I drifted to sleep, an idea sparked. I wondered if I could access Torin’s dream realm, where I could reach out and comfort him.
Resting on my bed, I shut my eyes. But instead of accessing Torin’s dream realm, I tumbled into the dark tunnel of my own dream realm. I shouldn’t have been surprised given that I had no idea what Torin’s point of entry to his dream realm was.
I landed in the familiar magical forest with the carved trees. The symbols were still dug into the bark, and Torin sat against the tree with the pentagram symbol.
My pulse accelerated as I realized that Torin had sought me out first.
I dashed toward him. “You came to my dream realm?”
His hands rested on his bent knees, his head bowed, gazing at the damp ground.
“I needed to be with you,” he said.
Torin had earned his reputation as a ruthless killer for the King.
I’d seen him tear apart those men in my office without any remorse.
Torin hated the vampires as much as everyone else in the kingdom.
It was his duty to kill. But today, he’d killed a pack member, a friend, not because he had to, but because he chose to.
I dropped to my knees next to him.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his painful expression.
Hundreds of butterflies took flight behind my chest at the thought that he’d come to me first, and it meant a lot to me since Torin wasn’t a person to open up to just anyone.
A tiny spark of hope that I could heal his heart, or at least help him share more of himself, ignited in me.
He was here with me now, and although I still feared the unpredictable nature of his vampire, I wanted Torin to feel my acceptance of him. Healing whatever wound still gaped open in his heart would perhaps calm his vampire’s bloodthirst toward me and would bring us closer.
He hadn’t allowed himself to be close to me for so many years that he now seemed on the verge of exploding.
He thought he protected me by drawing a line between us.
He was waiting for me to forgive him for the pain he caused, another burden he’d carried with him for years, leaving that crack in his heart wider.
“Next time, I can access your dream realm. You have to tell me how,” I said and pressed my side to his arm.
His eyes snapped to mine, flashing between amber and crimson.
Whoa. That wasn’t the reaction I expected.
“You will not attempt to enter my dream realm, Anna,” he said through a clenched jaw. “It’s not safe. Don’t search for me there. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t,” I deadpanned in my usual high-pitched voice but thought better of it.
Torin didn’t need my snarky attitude now.
I cleared my throat. “I understand,” was all I said, but I didn’t promise him anything. “What are you going to do about the vampire Queen?”
He leaned his head back on the tree. “Nothing, except protect what belongs to me.”
“Why don’t you attack her? With Dad’s help, you can coordinate a strong attack.”
“That’s what she hopes for.”
I furrowed my eyebrows.
“The vampire Queen could use any opportunity to capture me and use me as the weapon to turn the war,” he said, shaking his head. “Everyone in the werewolf kingdom knows that.”
His jaw clenched and his neck corded as he fought with some internal thought for a moment.
I waited, but the grimace on his face didn’t disappear.
“Because I could be a pawn in her hands, your father or the other wolves in the kingdom don’t trust me. At least not fully.” His strained voice made my chest tighten.
With a hitching chest, this man looked broken and sounded broken, too.
“But you’ve avoided the vampire Queen for a long time. You’re trustworthy. I wish the other Alphas and the King accepted you more.”
He dropped his arm, and his hand grasped mine. “You can’t change people, Anna.”
The usual sparks and warmth traveled to my shoulder and my chest. Torin’s lips lifted in a small smile as if he knew what his touch did to me.
“I feel it too, Princess,” he said in the softest voice.
I turned my body, still on my knees, and leaned forward to kiss his rough cheek. His eyes widened, but then his smile broadened, too.
“Then did you feel that?” I asked and observed him for signs of vamping out on me.
He abruptly yanked my arm, and my body swirled into him. Steadying myself, my hand landed on his chest at the spot over his heart, and I could feel its wild rhythm. My breasts pressed against his hard body, and the heat of his torso seeped into me.
Leaning in, I summoned my courage and brushed my lips over his.
Torin’s mouth was immediately on mine, tasting me, teasing me, ravishing me.
His tongue traced the contours of my lips as if they were the tastiest treat he’d ever had.
His talented mouth sent hot waves of pleasure down my spine.
Our kiss was a blissful collision where Torin was in control.
When he finally released me, I drew in a long, shuddering breath, filling my lungs with the essence of Torin—the scent of fresh air mixed with pine trees. He smelled like home—just like how calligraphy transported me to a peaceful state of mind.
But as I came to my senses, a disturbing thought crossed my mind. A cold chill went through my body, and I stilled.
“What is it?” Torin asked.
I darted my gaze around the forest and listened intently for any signs of intrusion, but no one else was here.
Thank goodness. The idea of Hayden interrupting us was enough to cause my stomach to churn.
The two men meeting and finding out they were both my mates was a recipe for disaster and destruction.
“Nothing. I was thinking that I’m still not very good at controlling my dream realm,” I said.
That wasn’t something Dad could teach me.
“I’ll wake up first and will wake you up, Anna.”
The following day, my heart raced as I thought about how to help out in the pack. Although I hadn’t officially become the Luna yet, I could start learning the pack’s traditions and find ways to make a difference.
In the kingdom, I spent my days assisting Mom at the orphanage, hospital, and daycare, filling in for people, reading books to the kids, or hauling supplies. The only thing I wasn’t allowed to do was cook—a rule that made perfect sense.
I strolled toward Torin’s boardroom. I spotted him sitting at his usual seat around the conference table, and Alexander, standing next to him, focused on the laptop screen in front of them. As I marched in, Torin lowered the screen and closed the computer completely.
Alexander gave a nervous bow and excused himself, walking away at the speed of light. Torin’s handsome face scrunched in a frown, and his mood didn’t lift when he saw me. His thick eyebrows furrowed in a line, and the muscles of his square jaw twitched.
I stopped at his side. “So what’s on that screen that’s got you in a foul mood, Torin?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Can we drop this and not fight today?”
“What were you hiding?” I reached for the top part of the computer and opened it.
Torin grasped my forearm, and when I thought he was going to swat it or push me away, he leaned his head and kissed the inside of my elbow. Pleasurable sensations of tiny electric jolts exploded at the spot.
“I’m not hiding anything, Princess. I didn’t want you to get involved.”
“With what?”
The screen flicked on, and a live video of a security camera appeared.
It had the date and time in one corner and a few other numbers and letters I didn’t understand.
The back of a familiar man surrounded by two of Torin’s warriors filled the screen.
The image was zoomed in, and it finally made sense.
The camera was mounted at the top of the checkpoint kiosk at the front gate entrance of Torin’s pack. The main entrance. His territory wasn’t all fenced, but Torin had a central post for guests to check in.
The man turned, and Hayden appeared on the screen. He took a wide stance, arms crossed, and his angelic face had a deep frown on it.
“Let him in,” I said, and Torin’s body tensed next to mine.
“No.”
I straightened up and sighed. “Torin.”
“Anna.”
“Be civilized. Hayden is not here to kidnap me, and he’s not a stranger.” I took a step back and crossed my arms. “Hayden is my bodyguard, and you can’t keep me from seeing him.”
Hayden hadn’t listened to me, showing up at Torin’s pack despite what I’d told him. I had to talk to him again.
Abruptly, Torin stood, rattling the chair.
“I can’t stomach seeing the man who I pushed you toward. I can’t think about it, Anna. I don’t think I can stay sane around him and you.”
Then what would happen if Torin found out Hayden was my other mate? More blood rushed to my head, my body temperature rising.
“You didn’t push me toward him. I chose to do…whatever I did because I wanted to.”
The words slipped from my lips, carried by a surge of my anger, though their impact on Torin was far from what I had intended. The Alpha’s eyes flashed and glowed, which sent my heart racing.
Oh no.