68 - Almost Peaceful

68 - Almost Peaceful
Slowly opening her heavy lidded eyes, Clare found herself blinded by how bright everything was. She quickly snapped her eyes close but a buzzing started in her head and her nose was consumed by countless different smells.
She wasn’t exactly in pain but felt like her senses were going on overdrive.
Clare wanted nothing more for it to stop, trying to recall what happened last night. It was hazy with her brain going crazy at what was happening around her. She had gone to Frey’s office after consuming her flower and needed….
“Calm down, darling.” A soft voice whispered into her ear as she felt someone lift her up. “Lif explained everything to me. We’re going to the hot springs so you can rest.”
Clare couldn’t help but feel a little calmer at the words. “Xavier…”
“I’m right here.” Xavier murmured as he pulled her closer. “Just relax okay… Sleep if you need to.”
Clare didn’t feel like sleeping but snuggled closer into Xavier’s warmth, allowing it to comfort her. She wished they could stay like this with Xavier holding her close.
Despite his chest being a little hard from all the muscles, Clare felt it was the best cushion in the world. His thick arms around her made her feel safe and for a moment she forgot about everything.
Clare let her mind drift…
Few minutes later, Clare found herself being caressed by water. Her senses began to go back to normal as Xavier sat in the water with her in his lap, arms still tightly wrapped around her.
She was soon able to open her eyes once more without it hurting so much. However, with her senses calmed down, an itching under her skin began as if something was crawling under it.
Clare guessed it was the magic and now having remembered what happened last night, closed her eyes once more and began circulating her magic.
It was quite difficult at first, almost as if she was starting her training once more. But Clare kept pushing, knowing it was important that she did what Lif had instructed her to do.
She didn’t want to know what the backlash would feel like.
After some time, Clare began to tire from circulating her magic and she felt her eyelids grow heavy, a part of her wanting to fall asleep. She resisted it at first but soon gave into the temptation allowing her eyes to close as she drifted off to sleep.



Xavier silently watched as Clare drifted off to sleep, a small sigh of relief escaping him. As he was returning from his training with Bia last night, Lav was carrying an unconscious Clare in her arms.
A sense of dread filled him at the sight and for a moment he almost lost control of his wolf and attacked Lav. Thankfully, the Fae quickly explained the situation and had Lif come over to give him details of how he could help his mate.
He hated seeing her in a state of pain and misery but there wasn’t much he could do to help except support her. Xavier knew that despite all the trouble this was causing now, it would make Clare stronger.
And he would be crazy not to want that for his mate.
He just wished it wouldn’t be so hard on her. That Clare wouldn’t push herself so hard to become a stronger magic user. A small part of him wanted to have Clare rely on him more but it was a dark side of him that Xavier wished would never show itself.
Xavier didn’t want her to think of him as some possessive alpha…
Shaking his head, Xavier pulled the sleeping Clare closer. He hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her, wanting to make the dark thoughts go away.
The sight of her snuggling closer made him melt, shining brightly over the dark cloud in his head. He would do anything to protect, his wolf howling in agreement.
The two sat like this for a while until Xavier’s fingers started to wrinkle. Lif had told him it was a good idea to stay in the water as long as possible however staying in too long would be bad.
He didn’t want either of them getting sick even if the water constantly stayed hot.
Careful not to wake Clare, Xavier slowly got up and headed out the hot springs. He walked back to the bedroom, grabbing a towel as he walked.
When he got to the bed, he threw the towel over the bed sheets before gently placing Clare on the towel, making sure not to get the sheets wet as he moved.
He then quickly made a grab for more towels and clothes, changing out of his and putting some new ones on. Once he got the clothes, Xavier went back over to Clare, drying her off before changing her clothes.
As he did so, Xavier kept his eyes on her face despite seeing he beautiful body countless times now. He felt it was wrong of him to gaze at her like that without her knowing. Disrespectful even if they were mates.
Besides, looking at her peaceful face was mesmerizing enough.
Once he was done changing her clothes, Xavier put the wet clothes away before heading back to Clare’s side. He then wrapped her up in a blanket to make sure she stayed warm before climbing into the bed and pulling her into his arms.
Clare turned in his arms, snuggling her head on his chest and Xavier felt a bubble of happiness burst within him. He lived for peaceful moments like this and wished it would never end.
But as if reality was trying to tell him moments like these didn’t last, Xavier heard a knock on the door. His wolf growled, wanting to know who was disturbing them.
Another knock and Xavier sighed, pulling away from Clare to get the door. He hoped that whoever was knocking at the door had an important message for them. Otherwise, he was going to punch them in annoyance.
“Yes…” Xavier muttered as he opened the door to find Lav standing there looking battered.
The sight made him tense up, eyes roaming around for enemies as he wondered who was crazy enough to attack the Fae palace.
He didn’t have to wait long for his answer as Lav exclaimed, “The Unseelie King’s soldiers are attacking the palace. You and her highness need to escape.”