All Novel Xo
88
Morgan pov.
In most cases regret is something that comes too late. In this case, I should probably be lucky that I'm surrounded by people who care for more in more ways than I can ever comprehend. I'd felt the shift long before I opened my eyes. Something like coming home or being welcomed back in your own skin. There was no unsteadiness, no off feeling, only peace and the knowledge that Casey was there. Not just hovering beneath my skin, she was a part of me. My every breath was hers, our thoughts one thing, hers feeding into mine and vice versa. She's not some thought in my mind I talk to, she is me and it's the way it's supposed to be.
"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" I can hear River's impatience. "It's been two days now." I expect to be annoyed at the time lost but the rage that was inside of me before is a lot less than it is now, so nothing feeds into unnecessary drama. "She's been through more than you can imagine, RIv. Give her some time." Goosebumps crawl all over my skin at the sound of my mate's voice. I force my eyes open, surprised to find the room dim. Looking around I spot Rain and River sitting by the glass wall with a platter of food between them.
"I've probably not made things easier on her, huh?" Frown lines settle between her eyebrows and Rain reaches over to ruffle her hair.
"She doesn't mind. She knows you're technically just a snot nosed kid." River huffs and slaps his hand away.
"I should apologize when she wakes up." She nods to herself and a proud smile form on Rain's face.
"When did you have the change of heart?" They grow silent as River thinks about it.
“I think just after we came here, when her father first showed up. I could tell she didn't like him, but I thought maybe he made her uncomfortable? That she was faced with something she wasn't ready for, and she had to become someone she didn't want to be? It just seemed like no one was cutting her any slack, so I didn't need to add to that. Besides, she was nice to me after that. The times I got to see her anyway. I feel like she's always working. Always programming things, in a prism, fighting to keep us all alive. You're right, she can sleep as long as she wants to. She needs the break." River's voice tappers off into a hush and I reach up to wipe the tears that damn up in my eyes.
"I think your sappiness woke her." Rain mutters, pointing to me and River look over at me. Her shock quickly morphs into pure joy and I can barely mange to sit up before she's wrapping her arms around me.
"I promise I won't ever be a difficult child again." She mumbles into my chest, and I can't help the laughter that breaks out of me. Scratching behind her ears I give Rain a smile as he walks over, much slower than his sister did. When he reaches me, he leans down and kisses my forehead.
"Eavesdropping is rude." He winks and I chuckle.
"Then next time don't talk to loud." River releases me and playfully glares at her brother.
"Yeah, no one can sleep with your loud voice thundering around." Rain pinches her ear causing her glare to turn real.
"Get going, pebble. You can tell them she woke up." He doesn't have to ask her twice as she gives me another hug and then sprints away, the door slamming behind her. "Are you okay?" Rain asks as he takes a seat next to me, cupping my face in his hands.
"I'm fine." I wrap my fingers around his wrist, but I don't remove his hands, enjoying his touch on me too much.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
"You were so quiet. Even now." He rubs his chest, like his heart is hurting and I can feel his uncertainty through the bond. "I didn't want to lie but... I couldn't lose you." I shake my head, reaching up to smooth away the frown between his eyes.
"I'm fine. I know what happened. We weren't fully bonded, and it caused some unbalances in my magic. I don't think either of us knew we needed more time and the mating kind of got in the way of that. So, we were compensating the best we could but... how did you know what to do?" He sighs and I have the answer before he can say it out loud.
"I didn't want to trust him, but Benjamin did. He was doing research all this time, trying to find a reason behind your behaviour around your magic." I grunt at the explanation, knowing that no matter how much he did for me, I still don't like him. "You don't have to like him." Rain chuckles. "I still can't stand being around my parents and they were there for the most part of my life." There's a tinge of sadness when he talks about them, and he kisses the inside of my wrist when I give him a sad smile.
"Do you want to talk to them?" He shakes his head so hard I'm afraid he'll break his neck.
"No, I used to want to. Thought about what it would be like to find them. I thought they were taken; you know? That someone was so cruel to take them away from us. It just never occurred to me that they could be the cruel ones. That they would hide away and leave us behind. There is nothing that can justify that and I won't pretend that anything they're going to tell me is going to change my mind on that. There's no point." His feelings is solid, resolute on the subject and I know pushing him won't do any good.
"We have work to do." I mutter, leaning into him as he wraps his arms around me.
"There is so much to fill you in on." He sighs, sounding tired and when I take a closer look at his face I notice the bags under his eyes.
"Tomorrow. You can fill me in tomorrow." I scoot to the side and open the blankets for him. He doesn't waste time to take off his clothes and slide into bed with me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I run my fingers through his curls. Seconds later he's asleep and as I watch him sleep, I can't help but think that this is what the calm before the storm feels like. When it feels like everything has been mostly settled and you can finally take a breath, things are going to go to shit and all you can do is brace yourself. Looking down at my sleeping Imprint I know one thing, I would do anything in my power to keep him from harms way, even if it means I have to give my own life to save his.