Chapter 413 My Dreams Weren't Mine

Chapter 413 My Dreams Weren't Mine
Hope Elara's Point of View

I couldn't remember the last time I was this nervous about my work.

Probably when I applied to be Zenna's intern.

Valduz sat across from me, quietly looking through my designs.

Every page had fabric samples pinned beside the sketches.

Felicity had sent everyone's measurements.

Now...

Everything depended on what he thought.

After a long silence, he finally looked up.

"How did you come up with these?"

His voice made me jump.

"Uh..."

I blinked.

"How the hell should I know?"

He laughed.

"Whoa."

"Why are you getting defensive?"

I folded my arms.

"Where do your songs come from?"

I shot back.

He paused.

Then smiled.

"Angel..."

"I wasn't trying to upset you."

He looked down at the drawings again.

"It just feels like you reached inside my head."

"They're incredible."

He stood and held out his hand.

"Come here."

"I want to show you something."

I hesitated.

Maybe I had overreacted.

I'd been so sure he wouldn't like them.

How was I supposed to answer a question like that?

I didn't know where my designs came from.

I just picked up a pencil...

And my hands knew what to do.

It had always been that way.

Studying laws was different.

Learning traditions was different.

Becoming a werewolf was different.

Designing...

That was simply part of me.

It had grown during the years when I had nothing else.

We walked into our room.

Valduz disappeared into the closet.

A moment later, he returned with a worn leather notebook.

He sat beside me on the bed and opened it.

Then handed it to me.

"Is this where you write your lyrics?"

"And ideas."

He smiled.

"And random doodles."

I took the notebook.

The moment I looked down...

Goosebumps covered my arms.

"What the..."

I stared at the pages.

Tiny chibi-style drawings filled the margins.

They looked almost identical to the little sketches in my own portfolio.

I slowly turned another page.

His handwriting was beautiful.

Some pages looked soft.

Peaceful.

Others had deep marks where his pen had pressed hard enough to scar the paper.

I could almost feel what he had been feeling while he wrote.

Happy.

Sad.

Angry.

Without saying a single word.

My thoughts drifted to Zoreen.

He loved writing too.

He always tried to make every letter perfect.

Especially when Zenep was in the hospital.

He sat beside her bed for hours.

Writing her name again...

And again...

And again.

As if beautiful handwriting could somehow help her heal.

Zenep always smiled when she saw it.

After she recovered...

She folded every page into tiny origami hearts.

I still had every single one.

"This is weird."

I closed the notebook slowly.

"I mean..."

"Really weird."

"Do you think it's because we're connected?"

Valduz nodded.

"It's the only explanation that makes sense."

He placed the notebook beside him.

I laughed softly.

"So the song we bonded over..."

"Is Flames of Desire."

"Out of every song..."

He laughed too.

"And it's about..."

"Domination."

We answered together.

Our laughter filled the room.

"It might be because we're both..."

He started.

"Assholes?"

I offered.

He shook his head, laughing even harder.

"Alphas."

I smiled.

"I love these."

"They're so much better than my little sketches."

He looked at me in surprise.

"I actually like your doodles."

He picked up one of my pages.

"Where did you learn this style?"

I blinked.

"What style?"

"The chibi anime style."

He pointed at the tiny drawings.

"The kids watch cartoons with characters like these all the time."

"I only started drawing like this recently."

I looked down at the notebook again.

"It matches the way my dreams have been lately."

"I didn't realize that until now."

I paused.

"Actually..."

"I wanted to talk to you about Zenep."

His smile disappeared.

"Is she okay?"

The worry in his voice made my stomach tighten.

"She's fine."

He smiled again.

"She's perfect."

"It's the connection she has with me."

"With you?"

He nodded.

"Well..."

"I am her father."

I laughed.

"So I talked to my dad about our shared affinities."

"I think I've been dreaming in this style because Zenep is completely obsessed with it."

"When we first met..."

"My dreams were different."

"I kept seeing giant museums."

"There were hundreds of paintings covering every wall."

"They all moved."

"They all made noise."

"It felt like everything was happening at once."

"Sleeping wasn't easy."

"I thought it was because I spent so much time with the twins."

"I thought I was just learning what they loved."

"But now..."

"I know it's much more than that."

"I'm seeing things that don't belong to me."

I stayed quiet.

Listening.

"Zenep's nightmares are violent."

"They're always the same."

"There are three of them."

"The first one..."

"Is about the day she was poisoned."

My chest tightened.

"She didn't want to eat."

"But Zoreen walked in."

"He convinced her to."

"The wolfsbane buried those memories."

"But whenever she's frightened..."

"They come back."

"They become nightmares."

I swallowed hard.

"That's what calls her wolf."

"That's what causes the sleep paralysis."

"And the night terrors."

"Because she's completely connected to Zoreen..."

"He feels every bit of that fear too."

He looked at me.

"If he officially becomes part of the pack with her..."

"It'll help."

"He'll become stronger."

"And instead of carrying only her fear..."

"He'll focus more on protecting both of them."

"What about Zenep?"

"She'll become stronger too."

"A lot stronger than we are."

"Her affinities are already guiding her."

He smiled.

"When I was her age..."

"I was already helping my dad treat wounded warriors."

"It never hurt."

"It actually helped."

"It was the best way to release stress."

"Especially after long nights."

He nodded toward me.

"That's why she's been sleeping so well after the attack."

I frowned.

"Has Arvin been tracking all of this?"

"Yeah."

"He wanted me to tell you."

"He said he already meddles too much."

"And he wanted to respect our privacy when it comes to the kids."

"That's complete bullshit."

He laughed.

"I agree."

"But everything he's recorded has been incredibly helpful."

"A lot of what Zenep is experiencing..."

"We've already been through."

"So we already know how to help her."

I laughed softly.

"He's been keeping track of everything."

"What I eat."

"How often I use the bathroom."

"When I sleep."

"He thinks I don't notice."

"But his presence is almost as loud as yours."

"His wolf is unbelievably strong."

Valduz blinked.

"You can tell?"

"Of course."

I looked at him.

"Can't you?"

He lay down beside me.

"No."

Then he smiled.

"Zenep always says I'm the strongest wolf whenever we meet someone new."

"That's usually true."

"Even compared to your father."

I nodded.

"I think the only ones who match us are Derek..."

"And Lilithian's mate."

"I still have no idea what she actually is."

Valduz chuckled.

"It's because of her venom."

"It's in her vampire saliva."

"It makes Derek stronger instead of poisoning him."

"He's part vampire through his mother."

"And through his brother."

"But he inherited the alpha gene from his father."

"So when Lilly feeds from him..."

"She makes him even stronger."

I stared at him.

"That explains a lot."

He nodded.

"I used to sneak into packs all the time."

"I gathered information for my old boss."

Then he smiled.

"You're the only person I've never been able to sneak up on."

"No one has."

"Not since I was thirteen."

"That makes sense."

"Most alphas with strength like ours shift around that age."

"I shifted when I was eight."

"My affinities awakened early."

"And my dad had me doing things most kids never would."

My hand rested on my stomach.

"Do you think Arvin already knows what our baby will be?"

Valduz smiled thoughtfully.

"He probably has a good idea."

"He's been studying things like this since my mother was pregnant."

"And knowing him..."

"He's probably done the same with every one of his children."