Chapter 14
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” Thank you little one, I will see you tomorrow” For the first time, Diana watched him fade out of her dreams and that puzzled her. He looked so weak and that bothered her a lot. She woke with a pulsating headache and a thousand years’ worth of exhaustion. She was exhausted both mentally and physically, she couldn’t even open her eyes properly without the side of her head pounding. Dried tears decorated her face, she must have been crying physically even though it was in her dream. That explains why every physical touch from him felt so real every time.
Howard was still fast asleep, his hands wrapped tightly around her. He looked so peaceful asleep if it wasn’t for the web of lies and confusion that exists between them. Diana could have maybe loved him or fallen in love with him but she decided to get to know him at least. Maybe he could open up to her and tell her the truth if they become friends.
She opened her tired eyes fully and tried to remove his hands that were tightly wrapped around her. He grumbled out some incorrigible words under his breath as he snuggled up to her tighter. She desperately needed a glass of water, her throat was dry from all that sobbing in her dream, how Howard didn’t wake up from all her crying was a mystery. Or maybe she was just shedding tears and not crying out loud.
” Howard?” She called lightly tapping his arms, he stirred but didn’t wake up. He only buried his face in the crook of her neck, his body warmth stirring something inside her but she ignored it. It was only her body reacting to his proximity. If the man in her dreams was truly a vampire, Howard might lose a limb if he were to find them in this position.
” Howard!” She grunted loudly smacking his arms, his eyes flew open and he sprinted up immediately taking a defensive position thinking there was imminent danger in the room. His eyes still look groggy from his half-asleep state.
” What? What happened?” He shouted and Diana almost lost it, She laughed hard as she held her stomach. He looked so cute she wished she could take a picture of that moment.
” I just want a glass of water that’s it. I’m not in danger or anything” She managed to wheeze in between laughter and he gave her a look that said seriously? He sighed and went out of the room to bring her the glass of water even though she never asked him.
“Here,” He said handing her the glass of water. She almost moaned as she down the water, calming her nerves and also cooling her down. She drank as if she had been trapped in the desert for years and just had water for the first time. Howard stared at her the entire time wondering what was wrong with her. He noticed the dried tears on her face and it broke him to know that she wouldn’t share whatever happened to her with him. He wouldn’t blame her, he had a lot of secrets he was keeping from her too and he could only hope she would forgive him when she finally found out.
” I’m sorry for waking you like that but you wouldn’t budge when I tapped you lightly” She apologized after placing the glass cup on the shelf beside the bed. He moved closer to her and placed a kiss on her forehead but didn’t miss how she flinched under his touch. She knows something and the magnitude of what she knows scares him more than anything. Call him selfish but he wished she wouldn’t remember anything for the sake of his one-sided love.
The Alpha already assured him that Diana wouldn’t remember a thing so far she hadn’t lain her eyes on her original mate and her wolf remained locked in the safe place but it also broke Howard’s heart knowing Diana might never have her wolf again. His wolf howled and stomped inside his head before he pushed him to the back of his mind. He needed to shift but he had been waiting for Diana to recover well before showing her his wolf.
He offered her a calming smile before stroking her hair a little. She hummed before lying down again and nesting herself inside the warm blanket, since she doesn’t have a wolf; she was more susceptible to cold than him. He slipped inside the covers and spooned her to keep her warm. Soon she fell into a dreamless sleep, into a peaceful abyss for the next few hours before morning.
Diana fluttered her eyes open not surprised to see Howard gone but what she wasn’t prepared to see was a very naked Howard just coming out of the bathroom. She couldn’t help but scream, not used to the sight. Howard broke into a fit of amused laughter. He snorted seeing her face turn bright red at the sight of his body.
” Like what you see?” He smirked but Diana didn’t find the situation amusing as she threw a pillow at him yelling at him to cover up his body.
” Awww I didn’t peg you for a shy type, princess,” He said with a cocky smile that infuriated Diana more. Her poor eyes! And she was just just waking up from sleep. Only to be greeted by the impossibly good-looking body of Howard. That man was just trying to give her a cardiac arrest. She glared at him and he raised his hands in mock surrender, turning his back at her before picking a towel he must have dropped earlier and wrapping it around his naked body. But not before giving her a glimpse of his perfectly shaped butt.
She knew werewolves care less about nudity since they are always naked after shifting back to their human form but she wasn’t ready for the sight yet, maybe she was used to it in the past and probably she would get used to it in the future; it doesn’t stop the blush on her face from creeping further.
” I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were awake.” He apologized after a series of teasing her around and after getting dressed in just a pair of t-shirt and trousers, a contrast from the normal suit he wears to his office. She nodded her awkwardly accepting his apology.
” Good morning princess” He greeted her with a cheery smile that she couldn’t help but replicate. She stood up from the bed while stretching her limbs lazily before Howard engulfed her in a warm hug. The Beta gives a great hug but she remembered her vampire mate would like to cut his hands off if he were to learn of this.
” Wear something nice. Breakfast will soon be ready at the pack house. I want to take you somewhere after that” He whispered into her ears and she nodded before sprinting to the bathroom to get herself ready for the day. After taking her bath and making sure she was clean, she wore a short black dress that almost reached her knees and paired it with a black pump before throwing her dark curls into a ponytail. She dabbed a little lip gloss on her lips from the make-up Brittany gave to her the other time. She tidied up the walk-in closet and also the room before meeting Howard in the living room.
He smiled immediately as he laid his eyes on her.
” You look so beautiful,” He said with a foggy expression that oddly looked like lust.
Diana smiled as she muttered her thanks but the statement only triggered another memory as the living room morphed into a dark room, painted in black and bloody red. A dark maroon rug covered the floor and a neatly laid king-sized bed stood proudly in the middle of the room. She saw herself dressed in an insanely sexy black gown that hugged all her curves, and she almost gasped at how beautiful she looked in her memory compared to the plain boring her now. The door opened and her vampire stepped in dressed in a tailored black suit that defined his perfect frame. He was smiling at her, gazing at her with his electric blue eyes and his insanely long lashes with emotions that Howard would never measure up to.
” So beautiful” He murmured against her skin as he brought her closer to him.