Chapter Thirty-Two
Freya slept the entire night, a deep and dreamless sleep. When she woke the next morning, she was still feeling tired, but at least her head didn’t seem as full of cotton as it had been the night before.
She was also very hot because she was surrounded by two very large men who were practically on top of her. She tried to move silently, but then their eyes suddenly opened and stared at her, wide awake and alert. She had the feeling that they were studying her.
“Good morning, angel. How are you feeling?”
“I’m ... I’m hot.”
“Are you running a fever, angel?”
“No, but I have two furnaces between me and the bathroom. Move, I need to pee.”
With a cheeky grin, Ciaran asked, “Need help, my angel?”
“No, but you’ll have to change the sheets if you don’t move faster,” she grumbled, and this sound was music to their ears. She was reacting. She was coming out of her torpor.
But when Freya entered the bathroom and saw her reflection in the mirror, she nearly jumped in fright. Besides being pale, the dark circles under her eyes were still pronounced. Her hair hung greasy, and she shuddered. How could they bear to look at her? She smelled of illness everywhere.
A gentle knock on the door brought her out of her head.
“Angel? Breakfast is ready. Come and eat.”
Bath later, she thought to herself. If they had managed to sleep by her side during the entire night without complaining, they could tolerate breakfast.
Ciaran was still waiting for her outside the bathroom. He smiled when he saw her, but worry was evident in his features. He didn’t try to touch her, and for that she was thankful. It was all still too raw and she needed space.
Declan was in the kitchen, whisking eggs she didn’t know she had.
She let her gaze wander across the table.
Now that she was thinking about it, there were many things she didn't remember buying.
Muffins, jam, chocolate milk ... and eggs, apparently.
Declan was whisking a sizeable number of eggs that would last her for more than a week, unless they offered to help eat.
“Toast?” offered Ciaran. Declan, on the other hand, didn’t wait for her acceptance and started pilling up food on her plate. She nibbled on a toast and looked around, searching for tea.
“Drink milk, angel. It’s better for you.”
They sat, one on each side of her, but her appetite was gone.
“What now?” she asked in a whispered tone. They exchanged a glance.
“You tell us,” answered Declan, after a while. “We’ll go at your pace.”
She hesitated, before gathering her courage and asking, “Can I ... can I see your wolves?”
Without hesitation, the twins leapt from the table, and the sound of breaking bones filled the air.
Freya blinked, and where moments before two powerful men had stood, now were two large wolves, looking her straight in the eye ...
and wagging their tails like domesticated puppies.
Freya was astonished. Lewis had been a large, black wolf with eyes brimming with malice.
The twins were gray wolves with white paws, as if they were wearing socks.
The right side of Declan's snout had a white patch that extended to his ear.
Ciaran had an identical white patch on the left side of his snout.
They both whined, as if asking permission.
Startled, Freya raised her hand hesitantly.
Should she touch them? Pet them? Was that even allowed?
The wolves took another hesitant step forward, and she blinked, unsure.
Her hand trembled as it landed on the wolf’s rough fur, and something resembling a smile appeared on the wolf’s snout.
She did the same to the other wolf, astonished by the idea that she was caressing wild animals ...
who happened to share their bodies with the men she was falling in love with.
She stopped. Falling in love? Was she even thinking about falling in love? No, she concluded. She wasn't thinking about it. She had already reached that point, a long time ago. So why was she hesitating?
The wolves whined and she whispered, “Do you think you can bring them back? I really need to see them. We’ll play later, I promise.”
The wolves didn't seem that convinced, but after another cracking of bones, the twins reappeared, in all their glorious nudity. Blushing violently, she hid her face in her hands.
“Oh my God, could you please cover up yourselves?”
“Shifting is not very clothes friendly...” grumbled Ciaran. “Now you can look.” They had towels around their waists, which was better than nothing.
Still red, Freya muttered, “You really need to have clothes everywhere...”
“We’re comfortable both ways. Nudity is natural to us.”
“Good for you.”
“Angel ... you’ve seen our wolves. Now we have no more secrets. Will you accept us?” pressed Ciaran. Freya bit her lip before looking them in the eyes.
“I’m still ... I’m still uncomfortable with lots of things. I need to ... I need to come to terms with a lot of things.”
“We can wait,” said Declan, speaking calmly. “Just don’t push us aside.”
“I won’t. But you need to know that I still ... have issues and ... you may never have kids with me.”
The way they looked at her was disconcerting. It seemed like they only blinked one eye at a time ... and in turn.
“Angel...”
“Let me speak, while I still have the courage. Lewis wanted to have...” Her face contorted as she recalled, and her voice came out in a whisper.
“He called them pups. He wanted to breed me, said I needed to be useful for something. When I failed, he became furious and hurt me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to bear children. ”
Her voice was lifeless, devoid of emotion. The twins did not hesitate. They knelt, one on each side of her, and spoke slowly, “That does not matter to us.”
“You’re more important to us than everything else.”
“We’d love to have pups...”
“But it’s okay if we don’t.”
“You want you, our mate, with us, safe and sound.”
“If it happens, it happens.”
“If it doesn’t, then it’s great all the same.”
“We just want you by our side.”
Finally, she gave in to tears. But for once, these weren’t tears of sadness or pain. An immense weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and knowing that there were no more secrets between them ... it was a great relief.
“Now ... bath time. Want me to scrub your back for you, baby?”
But at that moment, the twins flinched and Declan sighed.
“What is it?”
“Uncle Connor just mind-linked us. I think our staying here was discovered.”