CHAPTER 39: LATE NIGHT TALKS

"I heard you talking in your sleep," he said quietly, awkward even for him. "I came to check if you were having a nightmare."

My heart tightened. The last few days had been overwhelming... the funeral, the lies, the truth clawing its way back into the open.

I guess it made sense that my wolf dreams were leaking out those vivid memories that felt too real, too sharp, like old wounds reopening every night.

Slowly, I sat up. My voice felt small.

"What... what did I say?"

Please let it not be anything that gives away who I really am.

Lewis’s tone was calm but serious. "You were begging someone not to step closer. You were asking them... not to kill you."

My whole body went still.

There it was again that nightmare.

The cold river.

The flash of steel.

The helplessness as my wolf faded out of my body.

A memory I could never outrun. Not even now.

Lewis watched me closely, his wolf gaze focused on every tiny change in my scent, breathing, heartbeat.

"What kind of life have you lived," he murmured, "to dream like that?"

His words hit me harder than I expected.

Lewis always noticed things.

Too quickly.

Too deeply.

It was why he scared me in the past.

And why I was always afraid I’d slip now.

I forced myself to smile lightly. "I just read too many crime stories and play too many horror games."

He raised a brow but didn’t push further.

Thank the Moon Goddess.

"Sorry if I woke you," I said softly. "I hope I wasn’t snoring or doing anything embarrassing."

He shook his head. "No. Not at all."

Then he turned his chair slightly toward the door.

"Try to sleep."

But something caught my eye.

He was still in the same clothes from earlier.

He hadn’t changed.

He hadn’t slept.

His scent was layered with stress, exhaustion, and something deeper... something hurting.

When he started to move away, my instincts reacted before my mind did.

My hand reached out and caught his wrist.

He stopped instantly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Realizing what I’d done, I let go fast, flustered. "Sorry... I just thought... you looked like you couldn’t sleep."

He hesitated, then gave a small nod.

"Yeah. I have insomnia."

I wanted to ask him so much. Why he was alone on the mountain that night. Why he lit a vigil for a girl who wasn’t really dead. But I swallowed those questions.

Instead, I watched him in quiet. Lewis and Theo, always together.

Lewis with that calm Alpha energy but a loneliness that felt too heavy for one.

He carried the kind of burdens that leave scars on the soul.

The silence between us stretched... but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

It felt warm.

Safe.

"I know how to do head massages," I said gently. "They help relax. Want me to try?"

I had learned all sorts of healing skills in my past life pressure points, meridian paths, simple energy work.

Back then, I did it to help Julian with his stress.

I wanted to be a good Luna.

Lewis shook his head politely. "Thank you, but no."

I nudged him lightly. "Mr. Hale, we’ll be working together for a long time. You don’t need to treat me like a formal guest or a fake mate. Think of me like... a friend. Or maybe your little sister."

He looked down at my wrist, eyes narrowing. "Your wound isn’t healed."

Right.

The injury.

I’d forgotten.

"I’ll manage," I said with a shrug. "Sometimes wolves can’t sleep because their energy pathways get blocked. Maybe your meridian is stuck."

He gave a tiny huff the closest thing to a laugh I’d ever heard from him.

My persistence finally wore him down.

"Alright," he said quietly.

Victory.

"I’ll go get the tools," I said, grinning before I could stop myself.

It was already past 1 a.m.

The first night of our strange marriage.

And here I was, tiptoeing downstairs with fluffy white slippers, wrapped in a warm shawl, searching for a massage kit.

But the moment I reached the bottom step

I stopped cold.

Because there, standing near the front door of the Hale pack house...

Were Julian and Camilla.

Fresh from the police station.

Scented with cold night air and fear.

And the sight of them together made something deep inside my wolf stir

a low, dangerous growl that only I could hear.

Camilla had her hand wrapped tight around Julian’s wrist. Her wolf scent was sharp and anxious. She was whispering something I couldn’t hear, but Julian’s posture told the whole story. His shoulders were stiff. His jaw clenched. His wolf wanted space.

Hers... wanted control.

A late-night pack drama. Perfect.

I took my time coming down the stairs, making sure the soft scuff of my slippers echoed just enough for them to hear.

"Well now," I said lightly, "what’s going on in the middle of the night?"

Camilla’s hand flew off Julian like she’d touched fire.

"I almost slipped," she said quickly. "Julian was helping me. Aunt Riley... what are you doing awake?"

Julian didn’t say a word.

His eyes were stuck on me my hair down around my shoulders, my shawl wrapped the way Elena used to wear hers. His wolf scent shifted sharply shock, confusion, something like longing.

He looked at me like he was staring at a ghost.

I offered a gentle smile. "Lewis has a headache. I came down to get a few things to help him sleep... a balm, some needles."

Julian blinked hard. "You... know acupuncture?"

His voice wavered.

He remembered Elena knew those things.

And now Riley did too.

I nodded casually. "Yeah. Picked it up during my free time."

I moved toward the cabinet, then paused, glancing back at how close they were standing.

"You two seem close," I said lightly.

Camilla’s expression darkened for a brief second her wolf bristling but then she forced a soft smile back onto her face.

"Not as close as you and Lewis," she replied sweetly. "You even came downstairs for him this late."

"Yes," I answered, letting a slow smile curl on my lips. "Lewis is the kindest wolf I’ve ever known. He deserves someone who treats him the same."

Then I turned my eyes directly on Julian.

"Do you resent your mate that much?" I asked suddenly.

Camilla stiffened. Her wolf scent spiked with warning. "Riley, please... Elena is gone. Let her spirit rest. Don’t drag her up like this."

I covered my mouth in fake surprise. "Sorry. I speak before I think."

I collected the small box of tools I needed. It was heavier than I expected, and Julian stepped forward immediately.

"Let me carry that for you," he said quietly.

"Thanks," I replied.

As we walked up the stairs together, I glanced back.

Camilla was still standing at the bottom, watching us.

Her eyes...

cold, venomous, full of a wolf’s hidden rage.

She didn’t expect me to look back so fast, catching her true expression before she could mask it.

I gave her my brightest smile and kept climbing.

If she wanted Julian, seeing him walk away beside another woman another wolf must have stung her pride badly.

I doubted she’d sleep today.

Upstairs, Lewis didn’t expect Julian to be with me. His whole aura changed his wolf rising immediately, dominance filling the room like frost.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice cold enough to freeze bones.

Julian, startled by the Alpha aura, answered fast. "I was just helping Aunt Riley carry this."

I crouched beside Lewis and rested my head gently against his leg. His whole body tensed instantly. I ignored it and looked up at him with a soft, almost teasing smile.

"Are you mad at me?" I whispered. "I only went downstairs for a moment."

Lewis’s throat bobbed. His voice was low. "No."

I wrapped my arms lightly around his waist. "Good."

When I turned slightly toward Julian, I saw everything he tried to hide

the sadness,

the confusion,

and the flash of jealousy burning bright in his eyes.