Chapter 72

I don’t see anyone else for the rest of the night. Not the witch, an Omega, or my mate. The grounds are dark and quiet. I miss the sound of children playing, and mates laughing at their partners' secret jokes. I miss the smell of barbecue fires and the fresh mountain air.

On the rare occasion that the world went silent at Mountain Fire, I found it peaceful, here I find it threatening, and nothing can ease my frazzled nerves.

Eventually, I take a long, too hot bath and go to bed where I toss and turn half the night away, feeling lost and lonely in the strange big bed without Edric by my side. I fall asleep sometime during the early morning hours, woken at dawn by my mate getting into bed next to me. “What’s wrong?” I ask sleepily.

“Nothing,” he whispers and puts his hand on my hip. “Go back to sleep.”

“It’s daytime.”

“Hm-hm,” he mumbles, half-asleep already. “I told Alexander we’re resting today. We need it.”

I want to snuggle into him