Kael’s POV
I put Raven on my bed, exactly in the middle, and placed the pillows as a barrier on the other side in case he moved around and fell off the bed.
Toff the lights, I lay on one side of the bed and covered both of us with the same bed-sized blanket. Somehow I couldn’t stop staring at his small, innocent, beautiful, peaceful face. For how mature he acted, in the end he was still a child—a sweet one.
After so many years, I felt my lips curve into a gentle smile that came from my heart without me even realizing it was there. His presence felt just as soothing and fulfilling as finding water in a vast desert when you thought you were going to die of thirst.
As he was in the middle of the bed, he wasn’t far from me. My hand hovered near his face, which looked so small in front of my large palm. But I couldn’t hold back the urge to touch him, to caress that soft, chubby cheek of his.
I leaned a little closer and pecked his head. His hair smelled just like Eira’s.
The more I looked at him, the more I felt greedy to keep him with me without telling Eira he was her son. What if she wouldn’t allow me to be with him once she knew? She called me a monster, and she tried to keep her son away from a monster so he won’t become like me?
The thought felt overwhelming. Though not by blood, I had already considered him as my son. And I wished to keep things the same way.
I looked at the place behind Raven where I had placed cushions.
Will she ever lay on that side of the bed? I could only wish, knowing it wouldn’t ever happen, at least not anytime soon.
For now, I just wanted to cherish this moment with him and closed my eyes.
When I woke up at dawn, I felt something soft snuggling against my chest. Without opening my eyes, my hands moved—and it was Raven.
I moved my head to look at him, and I couldn’t help but smile. He had moved closer to me, almost sinking, curled against me like a little bunny.
His soft breathing brushed over my t-shirt-covered chest, his mouth slightly open as he drooled. His small hand rested against me as if he were warming it up. His little legs were curled against my stomach.
Is it cold in the room? I wondered.
Being a werewolf, cold didn’t really affect me, so it was hard to consider it for others who felt it. Raven was still a child, his wolf hadn’t awakened yet, so it was normal for him to not be as strong as adults.
I wrapped my hand around him, secured the blanket over him, and held him closer, letting my warmth sip into him.
He grew even more comfortable, his mouth moving in his sleep as if chewing something, humming softly.
At this, I couldn’t help but wonder, Was there anyone who held him like this, or had he always been alone, raised in a strict, independent way?
I slept like that for a while more before finally separating him from me, covering him well, and adjusting the room’s temperature to his needs. A child should sleep longer, so I didn’t disturb his sleep.
I was thirsty, and the water jar in the room was empty. I headed downstairs, gently shutting the door behind me. When I reached the ground floor, I was surprised to see everyone already in the drawing room so early in the morning.
Eira was sitting by the window, all dressed up and ready for the day. When her gaze met mine, all I could feel was an angry glare from her.
I went to the kitchen where the others had already started working. The atmosphere looked a little tense.
"What’s the matter?" I asked my brothers through the mind link, glancing at Eira.
"You are in trouble," Roman answered with a chuckle, as we continued to use the mind link.
"When am I not?" I replied and headed to the refrigerator to get the water bottle.
"She might as well murder you," Lucian said through the mind link.
"The way she was looking at me, I could tell she had already killed me so many times in her mind," I replied coolly.
"She woke up early, got ready, and is already waiting for Raven to come downstairs," Roman said as he handed me the warm water and snatched the chilled water bottle from my hands. "You are here, but he isn’t."
"He is sleeping," I told them. "Let him be."
Just then we watched Eira stand up all of a sudden, and the next moment she was heading upstairs.
"Her patience finally gave up," Roman commented. "You don’t know how excited she was when she woke up." he told us the conversation he had with Eira the previous night. "She is looking forward to be his mother."
No wonder she was glaring at me so hatefully.
Rafe came out of the room, stretching lazily and yawning as usual.
"What’s the chatter about?" he asked through the mind link. "Who is killing whom?"
"Just go back to sleep," Lucian told him with a frown.
"I am done with my beauty sleep, enough for you to find me beautiful," he smirked at Lucian.
"Rather an ugly bloodsucker," Lucian countered, and busied himself in work.
"You need to check your eyes then." Rafe slumped onto the sofa and looked around. "Where’s our bandit queen? Sleeping?"
"She just dropped the plan of killing our Alpha and headed to his room," Jason answered this time.
"Good that she’s acting as she pleases. Soon she will consider it her home, not a cage," Roman commented.
I truly hoped Roman’s words would come true.
I returned to the room to freshen up and get ready for the day. She was there lying in my bed, in my place, staring at Raven, her hand gently caressing his head.
She glanced at me briefly as if saying—I don’t care if it’s your room. I will do what I want.
I didn’t mind it either. Without saying anything, I got my clothes and headed to the bathroom. A thought pleased me—maybe soon, she would choose to sleep here with me and Raven.