Kael’s POV
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I didn’t leave the bed before she woke, unlike that night when she had slept in my room. Instead, I lay still, watching her. Her frail face had lost everything it once carried—her innocence, her charm—yet to me she was still beautiful.
Lying on my side, I studied her as if I could memorize every detail, not even wanting to blink. Her small body was curled toward me, close enough that I could almost feel her warmth. I wondered what she would do if she woke now and saw me like this. How would she react?
Would she react like before, as though I were a monster she needed to escape?
And, I didn’t know I was going to get the answer just in a few moments.
She stirred, her brows knitting faintly before her eyes fluttered open. I didn’t move. I wanted her to see me here, to face the reality that I wasn’t leaving. Running was no longer an option for her. She was mine, whether she liked it or not.
Her gaze cleared, settling on me. And what I expected never came. There was no fear.
Instead, she stared back at me with an expression flat and cold, her voice hoarse and unfeeling as she said, "If you’re waiting to fuck me, do it already and get lost."
Damn! This hurt more than if she had reacted the other way. Scared of me, angry at me, or anything but this...
My expression hardened, my voice cold. "If I truly wanted to fuck you, I wouldn’t wait for you to wake up, nor would I bother asking for your permission. So don’t give me that shit you give to others." I rose from the bed, my patience fraying.
I didn’t want to say it this way, but she was checking my patience. And what infuriated me most was how she was so good with Roman, while I was the one looking after her here and didn’t hurt her even once like Lucian and Jason, who tortured her a few days back.
Couldn’t she see I meant her no harm? That I wasn’t the monster she painted me to be? Was being a black wolf truly such a sin?
Instead, being a black wolf was what made me the strongest, and I could protect her from the council and other treacherous Alphas who might hurt her in ways she wouldn’t begin to imagine. I wanted to protect her even when I didn’t know she was innocent, but all she saw was a monster in me.
I called for the nurse to take care of her and went to the bathroom. I didn’t want to hear anything more from her that might anger me more.
Getting ready, leaving her to the nurse, I busied myself in my work in the side room, while keeping watch on her through the glass partition.
After an hour, Liam came to see her for a routine check-up. I went there as well.
She didn’t look at Liam either. Since the day she blamed Liam for telling us about her child, she seemed to have hated him more.
"You are recovering really well," Liam said to her, "Seems like your wolf got the comforting sleep throughout the night."
She didn’t respond or react as if Liam was talking to the wall.
But I knew why her wolf was comforted. I was the reason. And I am glad it helped her just the way I thought.
Liam didn’t mind her and turned to me, "You can take her home in the noon."
I hummed, and Liam added, "The doctor I was talking about, we can take her to now."
We had decided to show Eira to the psychiatrist to treat her mental condition.
After half an hour, the nurse took her in the wheelchair to Liam’s office. The lady doctor, Isla, was sitting in Liam’s chair as she welcomed Eira with a smile.
"Good to see you, Eira," Isla said as the nurse stopped the wheelchair in front of the desk and left.
Liam and I watched her from the other room, beyond the glass window.
Eira didn’t respond to the doctor. She would let us move her around anywhere without any protest, but her mind was hers to control.
The doctor kept her calm and pleasant composure as she flipped through the pages of Eira’s file. "Hmm... You had a procedure yesterday. Looking at you, I can tell you are doing good. That’s in fact a good sign for your physical state."
Eira didn’t respond and, as usual, looked beyond the window. Her usual way of ignoring others.
The doctor directed all her attention to her and said, "Outside, the weather is indeed beautiful today. What do you think?"
Silence.
"You can tell me what’s going on in your mind at this moment, so maybe we can have a nice conversation," the doctor continued, not giving up.
"I was wondering if that window is locked and if I can manage to jump down it" Eira finally spoke, her gaze on the window. "I can tell the floor is high enough to kill someone with a single jump."
She was suicidal as if it was the only goal of her life.
I could see the doctor’s expression change for a moment, but she collected herself and smiled. "I am afraid that you won’t succeed, as the window is securely locked."
"Bastards!" Eira cursed.
We had made sure to lock windows of any room she was taken to.
"Hmm, whoever locked the window, indeed deserve cursing," the doctor said, "They should have thought about not locking windows when the weather is so beautiful outside. That would call for a perfect jump and pleasant death as well. Tsk! Such a bummer."
Eira finally looked at the doctor, a middle-aged woman, an experienced psychologist.
She offered Eira a smile and said, "So, how about we talk about something else as the plan of jumping the window is not for today? Maybe you can tell me more about yourself."
Eira frowned at her friendliness and once more looked toward the window.
The doctor didn’t give up. She stood up from the chair, went to stand by the window, and looked outside just like Eira.
She then turned to look at her, facing her back to the window, and said, "Eira, I know you have gone through so much pain in past years, and I am sorry for that. But how about you give yourself another chance? I want to help you. For that, we can start with something good that you treasure and try to recall any of your precious memories?"
Eira didn’t respond.
The doctor turned to face the window again and continued, "Alright! Let’s start with the precious memory I have in my life. Maybe later you can think of yours."
It felt more like a friendly chat than a doctor-and-patient routine.
Not waiting for Eira, the doctor went on, "I have many bad and good memories like anyone, but if I have to choose the most precious one, then it’s when I gave birth to my daughter, my first child."
At this, there was finally a reaction from Eira. She looked at her doctor, her hands gripping the chair’s handrest. The doctor had finally caught her attention.
Isla continued, still looking outside, her tone calm, "It’s been fifteen years, and she will be an adult in the coming months, but even now that moment is still fresh to me, as if it happened just yesterday. It was a painful delivery, but all was worth it the moment I saw her. I held her tiny body in my hands, her sweet smell still fresh in my mind. I held her close to my chest and felt like I had everything in life I could ever want. She was so beautiful that I named her right there, with the first name that came to my mind..."
"Ray," Eira spoke up.
She was looking at her hands as if she were holding her child, tears rolling down her eyes as she mumbled again, "Ray..."
It was as if the doctor’s words had reminded her of her own moments when she gave birth to her son. The doctor finally turned to look at her.
Liam and I looked at each other. She had finally reacted to something.
And most importantly, I understood— Ray is her son’s name.
In her sleep, she was missing and longing for her son, not for some bastard the way I had thought.