Chapter 64: Chapter 64

LENORE

Wind rushed past me as I ran after Wayne and Virginia, trying to catch up with them. Trying to remember why we were running or where we were headed only pulled up a blank in my mind—all I knew was that we’d  been running through the woods for a while now—and that was quite odd, but I still focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

“Guys, wait up,” I called out, pushing a low-hanging branch out of the way, but they either didn’t hear me or were ignoring me. Frowning, I ran faster, but that wasn’t enough. It was never going to be enough.

They were werewolves after all.

I managed to burst into a clearing just before my body decided it couldn’t continue at this pace, and I staggered to a stop. Hunching over, I braced my hands on my knees as I sucked in much needed air and when I finally looked up, Virginia and Wayne were no longer in sight.

Ugh. I remained hunched over for a minute or more before straightening once more, but instead of running, I slowly walked in the direction they’d disappeared in. The last thing I wanted was to collapse in the middle of… Where am I?

I stopped again, glancing around before a gust of wind blew into the clearing, carrying voices.

“Are you okay, Theodore?” a woman asked and I frowned. I didn’t recognize her voice, but that was my father’s name.

“Don’t patronize me.” That was my father’s voice and I kept glancing around, trying to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. But it seemed to be all around me.

“Dad?” I called out, my frown deepening, before snapping my mouth shut. He’d told me to leave him alone when I tried to talk to him last night, and I didn’t want him to yell at me again.

Why couldn’t I see him though? He sounded like he was right next to me.

I shifted my gaze back to the direction Wayne and Virginia had disappeared in and resumed walking. “Wayne!” I called as I stepped out of the clearing and though he didn’t respond, the wind brought the voices back.

“What? You wanna fight?” the woman asked, sounding amused.

“Stop it,” my father bit out.

What is—

“She’s my daughter.” His voice sounded harsher and closer now and I drew my brows together, wildly glancing around. He hadn’t mentioned a name, but the way he said it made me feel like he was talking about me. I also felt like I was going crazy.

“I don’t believe she likes you very much.”

“I don’t care.”

“She takes after her mother in that aspect, don’t you think?” another woman laughed.

“Fuck you!”

The sound of glass shattering filled the air the next moment and I jolted before realizing it didn’t come from everywhere and nowhere like the voices. It came from my right.

I jerked my head in that direction, expecting to find my father and the women there even though they hadn’t been there a moment ago. They still weren’t there. Blinking rapidly, I rubbed the back of my neck while my heart rate picked up, and I took a step back.

On my next inhale, the world violently pitched to the side, sending me hurtling towards the ground and I yelped, instinctively squeezing my eyes shut as I waited for impact. But none came

My heart was racing now and after counting to five in my mind, I slowly opened one eye to see I wasn’t in the woods anymore. I was in my father’s study, and my father was standing across from one woman a couple of feet away from me, anger etched on his face, while another woman was sitting on his desk.

“You’ll never see her again,” he said while I blinked, disoriented, before realizing I was horizontal—lying on a couch next to the wall. The next thing I realized was my father looked younger—at least a decade younger—and I glanced down at myself. I was smaller.

How is— What is…

“What an asinine thing to say.” That was the voice that had asked if he was okay earlier, and I lifted my gaze to see it came from the woman standing in front of him. “You’re getting a bit too big for your boots, and I am the last person you want to cross.”

“She’s awake,” the other woman said in a sing-song voice and the woman that had been talking to my father jerked her head in my direction so fast that I gasped.

Her lips curved into a frown and she blew out a harsh breath before she began to walk over to me while I tried to push myself up. She got to me before I could and flashed me a sweet smile, placing her hand on the side of my face. “It’s okay, baby,” she said just as a cool sensation washed over me, like a blast of air-conditioning on a hot day, and my eyes slowly drifted shut. “Go back to sleep.”

Huh… No…

My eyes felt like they’d been glued together, and my heart fluttered wildly like a caged bird as all my attempts to open them failed. I could hear myself breathing hard, but everything was dark, so I didn’t know if my eyes were still closed or I was just in a pitch-black place now—

Wait… Am I dreaming?

My eyes snapped open the next moment while I gasped, and I almost shot upright but an arm wrapped around my waist and a leg pressing my hips down into a soft mattress prevented me from moving too far. The panic that had spread through my mind was instantly replaced by confusion, and I blinked at the arm before glancing over my shoulder.

Killian was fast asleep next to me. The fine strands of his hair were partly matted on one side, partly strewn across the pillow like he’d just been blasted by a gust of wind, and I couldn’t help but smile as I stared at him.

He was still in his dinner outfit, minus the jacket, and for a moment, I wondered when he got back. The next, my eyes widened.

What the hell?!

I’d fallen asleep. He’d told me he would only be gone for about thirty minutes and I’d fallen asleep instead of waiting for him. I had been waiting for him though. What in the world?

After getting back to the palace, I’d immediately changed out of my dress and into a nightgown that was incredibly easy to take off because well… Then I’d texted Cameron and Virginia—to let them know I was back and I would talk to them in the morning. Virginia had told me not to do anything she wouldn’t do with several winking emojis and I’d considered blocking her for a moment. That was it—that was all I remembered—and the fact that the window shutters were down told me I’d slept through the entire fucking night.

I bit back a groan and couldn’t help but wonder what went through Killian’s mind when he came back and found me asleep. You suck, Lenore… Should I wake him? It was morning after all.

After contemplating for a little while, I maneuvered in his hold, turning to face him. “Killian,” I said, my voice just above a whisper, and when I got no reaction, I gently poked his cheek.

Still no reaction.

I smiled, trailing my finger down his face, and when I opened my mouth to call his name again, a knock came on the door.

“It’s Fabien.”

Oh. Uh… I glanced at Killian then back at the door and after a moment, I proceeded to gently extricate myself from him. The robe of my nightgown was draped over the back of one of the couches and I put it on before crossing over to the door and opening it.

“Good morning, Fabien,” I said, giving him a small smile, before realizing he looked uncomfortable and I tipped my head to the side. “Killian’s asleep.”

“I know. Uh…” He glanced to the left, his frown deepening, and I had the urge to lean forward to see if someone was there.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” he blurted out, and it was my turn to frown but before I could say anything else, he added, “The King has summoned you.”