CHAPTER 37: EVELYN: NOT TONIGHT, ALPHA

Evelyn~

Dr. Caelis glanced around the room, his eyes landing on a pile of dirty clothes shoved into the corner and a stack of used dishes left out on the table.

"I guess it’s better to move somewhere cleaner," Caelis muttered, clicking his tongue. "These people ... I’ve told them over and over to keep this place clean."

He grumbled under his breath, sounding like he was ready to knock some sense into the couple who had run out earlier half-naked.

He didn’t even bother acknowledging Rael’s presence anymore and stormed straight toward the door, clearly on a mission to find those messy people.

"Don’t mind him," Rael said with a small smile. "He’s a total clean freak. The moment he sees a mess, it’s like he turns into a wild wolf."

"This room ... it’s not even that bad," I said, glancing around. "It’s still comfortable enough to sleep in."

Sure, the room wasn’t as big or fancy as the one Theron gave me in his palace, but it was far better than sleeping on the streets or lying on a hard wooden floor.

Compared to the places I’d slept in before arriving in the Valedorn Kingdom, this so-called filthy room was ten times better.

"No, it’s not good enough for you," Rael said firmly. "You deserve something better."

Before I had a chance to respond, Rael had already lifted me from the bed.

"Let’s get out of here. You can sleep in my bedroom tonight."

"Can I ... sleep somewhere else?" I asked hesitantly, looking straight at him so he knew I was serious.

The last time I stayed in Theron’s room after almost dying, we ended up mating for an entire day.

Rael might also have the right to mark me, but this time ... I wanted to do things the right way.

I wanted to understand him and his pack better before I let him mark me.

Suddenly, my wolf laughed inside my head. "But he’s going to mark you eventually anyway, right? So what’s the difference between now and later?"

’Well,’ I answered inwardly, ’at least when he does, it won’t be because we’re both influenced by heat or something like that.’

I held my breath for a second, then added, ’Also, don’t you dare trigger my heat on purpose.’

My wolf gave a dramatic sigh. "Why do you always think the worst of me?" she whined. "Besides, no matter how much I’d love to see you squirm a little, your hormones are still balanced after what happened with Theron. So ... no. Probably not today."

I wasn’t sure about tomorrow, but for now, at least tonight, I could hope for a calm, quiet sleep.

I stopped talking to my wolf the moment Rael responded to my earlier question.

"You’re right. I’m sorry," he said.

Oh. I didn’t expect him to apologize.

"I really didn’t mean anything inappropriate," he said gently. "But yeah ... you’re right. It’s better not to cross any lines right now. Don’t worry, I still have a spare bedroom at my house that you can use."

Even if Rael had let me sleep in his room while he stayed somewhere else, I knew his scent would already be all over it. His pheromones would be on the bed, in the air, probably everywhere.

Therefore, sleeping there would just feel awkward.

"But the room’s not very big," he added, sounding a little unsure.

"That’s not a problem," I said with a faint smile. "I’ve slept in a coffin before. So honestly, any room feels the same to me."

Rael widened his eyes and gave me a strange look. "C-coffin? Why would you ever sleep in a coffin?"

Well ... maybe calling it sleeping was too generous.

The truth was, I’d been forced into coffins, then being buried alive or sometimes even thrown into lakes.

"It just happened," I said with a shrug, trying to sound casual. "It’s not a big deal."

It was actually a really big deal.

I would much rather sleep in a dirty horse stall than ever go back into one of those boxes.

It wasn’t just small or dark, but it was the silence.

The kind of silence that presses on your chest and makes your thoughts spiral until they don’t feel like your own anymore.

Sometimes I’d start hallucinating, or shaking so badly I couldn’t breathe.

Sometimes, if I was lucky, I could force the coffin open myself.

But other times, I had to wait for the wood to rot after it was tossed to the bottom of a lake.

Sometimes that wait took days. Other times ... months.

"Evelyn ...," Rael looked at me seriously, his expression unreadable. He still hadn’t stepped out of the room, maybe because my words had stunned him too much. "Did you ... did you have a pack before?"

I turned my gaze to the side, then answered softly, "I used to live in a pack once. But it doesn’t exist anymore ... so it doesn’t really matter now."

Rael was quiet for a moment. Every now and then, he looked like he wanted to say something, but the words never came.

They hovered at the edge of his lips before he swallowed them back down.

In the end, he just let out a soft sigh and said, "Let’s talk about everything else later. You really need to rest now ... and maybe some new clothes."

I looked down and only then noticed the state I was in.

My clothes were soaked, torn in several places, and still stained with dried blood. Some patches had stiffened, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.

Since I had been preparing for the full-moon ceremony earlier, I wasn’t wearing any underwear, which made it easy for Rael to see everything clearly.

No wonder his Adam’s apple kept bobbing up and down.

I quickly turned away, crossing my arms over my chest, hoping it would hide at least something. My face burned with embarrassment, and I could feel the heat crawling all the way up to my ears.

"Yeah ...," I said softly. "I need some new clothes."