Chapter 60: Violet

I woke but didn’t open my eyes. I was breathing in the smell of forest and bonfire. Simon’s warm arms surrounded me. Being close to him made me feel like everything was going to be alright. But, as soon as I was feeling ok, the words that I spoke to him haunted me. Now he knew my fucked-up life and how tragic it was. He was just being nice, but once I leave here, I will never hear from him again.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at the man who held me all night. He looked so serious in sleep. His eyebrows knitted together; his dreams made his face stern. Now, his hair was in a disheveled bun. Even unkept he looked handsome. I took one hand and smoothed it across his face, it softened into a smile. I wanted to lay there like that, making the bad dreams go away, but I had to use the bathroom. I pulled away from him slowly, trying not to wake him up. With my absence his face went back to a stern look. He pulled his knees up and reached his arms out for something to hold. I put my pillow next to him and he grabbed it and pulled it close.

I backed into the bathroom, being as silent as I could, even though I knew he was a werewolf and could hear everything. I relieved myself and washed my hands looking into the mirror. The makeup I wore last night had faded and the slight yellow tinge to my face was present from the final blow that Eli gave me before I left.

“Violet.” I heard Simon say. Then louder. “Violet!”

“In here.” I shouted back.

He busted through the door making it swing hard into the stop. Relief covered his face. “Oh good. I thought you left.”

“Nope, just needed to use the bathroom.” I dried off my hands on the towel next to the sink. The look of concern was still on his face. He stepped forward and hugged me. “Are you ok?”

He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I just thought you left without saying goodbye.”

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good.” He held me in his arms for a moment. Almost as if he wasn’t going to let me go. “Are you hungry?” He pulled away.

My stomach lurched at the mention of breakfast.

He smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll have Stella whip something up for us. Breakfast in bed?”

“Um, I can go down there and eat, that’s fine.”

“Nah, I’ll bring something up. Just hang tight and get comfortable. I’ll be right back.” As soon as he busted through the door he was back out. I could hear him hurrying through the room and out the door, in nothing but his boxers.

I went back to look at myself in the mirror. My eyes were glowing still from the turning. I wonder if they will ever go back to their pale violet.

I cannot believe I spewed my entire life to him. This man I only officially met yesterday and now he knew my full background and my fucked-up future. Normal people had terrible exes as baggage, I have a coven taken over by a maniac that I have to rescue. And there was a ninety-nine percent chance that I was going to get killed in the process. Quality partner right here.

Not that I would be a good partner anyway. I don’t know the first thing about sex. I know from what I have read but never did the act myself. I didn’t have any prime options to pick from in the Coven after the takeover. In all honesty, it was the furthest thing from my mind. I had more important things to worry about, like surviving until the next day.

I felt bad that I didn’t tell Simon everything. I didn’t get it as bad as the other coven members. I sometimes heard their screams coming from somewhere in the manor, they begged for the sweet relief of death. I laid in my bed countless nights covering my ears as I tried to drown out the noise. I didn’t want him to think less of me for not rescuing those captured then and there. I was a coward. I still am a coward, for running away. I couldn’t look at myself any longer. Until I could get my coven back to its former glory, every time I looked in the mirror, I only saw a coward.

I walked back into the room and pulled the curtains. His room had the best view. I could see my cabin on the far side of the lake. It sat there quietly waiting for my return. I could look at this view forever. Everything about it screamed life, and it was a relief after I was surrounded by death and destruction for so long.

I heard thudding down the hall and clinking of silverware. The door pushed open, and Simon came in with a tray overflowing with baked goods, a plate covered with a dome, a bowl of fruit, two cups of coffee, a small container of what looked to be sugar and next to it a tiny pitcher of creamer.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like, I just grabbed a bunch of different things.” He sat the tray down on the bed.

“It looks like you grabbed enough for twenty-five families.” I laughed as I pulled the dome off of the plate. Under the dome the plate was piled with sausage links, hashbrowns and scrambled eggs. My mouth started to water. “This looks really good.” I grabbed a fork, pierced a link, and took a bite.

“Oh good!” Simon smiled, relaxing a little. He sat on the other side of the tray and grabbed a fork and also grabbed a link and took a bite.

We ate in silence. After my confession yesterday and Simon being weird today, I couldn’t think of anything to say. He was probably just waiting for me to leave so he could move on to someone else who wasn’t in the middle of chaos. He was just being polite.

A soft knock came at the door. Simon exhaled loudly, looking irritated. “Come in.” He shouted in between chews.

Greta walked in, still in her pajamas. “Hi you two! I hope you kept it PG in here while we had it rated X in our room.” She threw her arms above her head and stretched. I grabbed a grape and chucked it at her head. “Hey! I’m only kidding.”

“How did you sleep?” I said after swallowing.

“Like the dead.” She sat on the floor in front of the breakfast tray and grabbed a scone. “Wine makes me sleep great but in the morning it’s always hard to get moving.” She took a big bite from it.

Another soft knock came from the open door. “Can I come in?” Jared asked peeking around the door ever so slightly.

“Why don’t you invite the whole pack?”

Jared ignored Simon’s comment and sat next to his mate. They were really cute together. Greta leaned against him automatically, like they had been doing it for years. But from what I understand they just met only a few weeks ago. This mate thing really made you have a strong connection. I’m so glad she found someone who makes her happy.

“What’s the plan for today?” Greta said with her mouth full of scone.

“There’s a pile of paperwork that Simon and I have to get through for the new workers, ensure training is done, and distributions are set. A lot to do.” Jared said.

“Boring!” Greta exclaimed. “What about you Vi?”

“Probably go back to my cabin and start cracking down on the studying.” I looked over at Simon, his face dropped when I said that.

The room fell silent, all I could hear was Greta chewing her scone.

I broke the silence. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no, no.” Greta said. “It just weird that you’re leaving. It already feels like you live here or should live here.”

Simon gave Great a death stare. I looked from Simon to Greta. Her eyes were glued to the floor near his feet. Jared looked around the room, avoiding any sort of eye contact with anyone.

“What happened?” Something was going on and Simon was trying to protect his secret. “Seriously, what’s going on? It’s like last night.”

Simon cleared his throat. “Nothing is going on.”

“If I overstayed my welcome, I’m happy to get out of your hair.”

“NO!” Simon shouted but then took a breath. “No, you can stay as long as you want, really.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. Greta just likes to be pushy as I’m sure you remember from childhood.” Jared chimed in from his silence.