“You’re… Sending us away?” The tone of her voice said it all as she didn’t hide anything. She didn’t hide the disappointment she felt, and Walden didn’t miss it at all.
“No. Of course not. I’d never do that. You and Emily are always welcome at the night shadow packhouse at any time. I only did this because I thought you probably needed your privacy. I thought that’s why you left the first time…”
She didn’t answer, only kept staring down at the keys in her hand.
“Tell me, is there something wrong?” He asked. “You know, you don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”
“No.” She suddenly looked up, smiling as she hid her previous expression. “I’m sorry. I love it. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Walden didn’t seem to be fooled by that answer, “are you sure? You don’t have to pretend. I won’t take offence if you choose to remain in the packhouse instead.”
She shook her head, “no. Of course, we need our privacy like you said. Thank you so much for everything, alpha Walden. We’ll be moving in right away.”
“So soon? I thought you might have wanted to stay back for a while? I mean…”
“No. We won’t. Emily would prefer it here. She’s always loved a nice house like this for her and mommy.”
“And what about you? What would you prefer?”
“My preferences don’t matter as I always put my child first. It’s been a pleasure knowing you, alpha Walden. I’ll accompany you back to pick up my daughter and my things.”
Walden didn’t like her behavior at all. He never meant for things to go this way, maybe he should have sought her consent first before getting her this gift, he couldn’t change things now, and now that she concluded things for herself and made the decision to leave quickly, he couldn’t change her mind either. Way to go, Walden. Way to go.
**********
For the first time in a long time, Walden would be getting some good, uninterrupted sleep. His mind won’t stop thanking Maggie in a long time, and he knows he’ll still try to make it up to her in some way, especially after what happened today, he couldn’t just leave her like that, but then, he’ll worry about that later. For now, his mind needed to rest. It needed to clear away loads of discomfort he’d been stacking up ever since the first night his sleep was taken away from him.
By morning, he would have some space to think clearly. His mind would have been refreshed to try to understand what had happened with Maggie today. As she walked away from him, the kind of sharp pain he felt in his heart, almost like a force being ripped apart. Why should he be feeling that way? He’d tried to ignore it, but kept on feeling it so strongly, even up till now, his mind was unsettled.
But he’s trying not to think about that now, for now, he’s trying to enjoy his first night of undisturbed sleep. A night no longer filled with terrible nightmares. He’ll think about these feelings for Maggie later, but for now, he wants to sleep.
“Alpha Walden.”
That voice again! He jolted up suddenly. It can’t be. He must be hearing voices in his head. He must be hallucinating; he prays he is. The ritual worked. He saw that ghost disappear. Conor’s ghost is no more. There’s no way it could have made it back to the physical. There is no possible way….
“Alpha Walden?”
“Arrrrghhhhh!!!!!” Walden yelled at the top of his voice, screaming, feeling as if he was losing his strength. What more was there to do if all of his efforts ended up in vain?
Footsteps heading towards his bed, 1, 2, 3….
“I will not rest, alpha Walden. I will not rest until you join me.” He heard the ghost’s voice clear enough, like it had never been gone.
**********
That same night, hours after tucking Emily into her new bed, Maggie found it hard to sleep. She just sat at the kitchen counter in her night dress, recalling everything that had happened between her and Walden in the day.
He’d bought her a house. This is by far the best gift anyone has ever given her in her life. She should be happy, celebrating that she and Emily are not just safe from danger, but they now have a place to call home. A big, beautiful house, better than anyone she’s ever stayed in, so why was her current expression far from happy?
Was it because she desired something else? Something more affectionate? Why are you thinking like this, Maggie? And why did you have to put up such an attitude with him? You know you cares so much for you and Emily; you know he only wants the best for you. He would never try to send you both away from his side by giving you this house to live in, so why did you make it seem like so?
She doesn’t know the answer to those questions. In fact, she’s lost right now as her mind can’t think of anything. She only wants to sleep, but whenever she goes to her big bedroom, she finds it hard to do so. Her mind won’t stop thinking of the way she behaved to Walden even after seeing his sincerity. He’d shown her his heart, his intentions for her and her daughter, and what did she do instead? Push him away, push him far away so she’d never have to bear the risk of getting hurt by him.
She feels like such a coward right now. Her visions have already told her what was coming, and yet she’s trying to avoid it, she’s trying so hard to avoid it but she knows she can’t for long.
Knock-knock-knock!!!
Maggie suddenly heard loud bangs on her door which startled the life of her. This was a secure area, and night shadow guards were always on patrol by this time, so how could they have missed sight of someone trying to break into this house?
Her heart dropped. She wasn’t much of a fighter, neither did she know how to defend herself much, but she would try her best. She took slow steps to retrieve a baseball bat she’d spotted in the corner earlier, before walking towards the door, careful not to wake her daughter.
Knock-knock-knock!!!
She heard the noise again, angry that this burglar couldn’t even try to knock decently.
“Who is there?” She asked from inside, patiently holding the bat against the door.
“It’s Walden. Alpha Walden.”
“Alpha Walden?” What in the goddess’s name is he doing here? Maggie recognized the voice immediately, calming her heart down as she dropped the bat on the ground to open the door.
There he was, looking terrible. His eyes were reddened and swollen, and he only wore a cloak to cover the pajamas he was wearing. Had it been that Maggie were just meeting him for the first time, she would have thought him to be a mad person.
“Alpha Walden,” she gasped as she welcomed him inside, away from the chilly night breeze. “What are you doing here? Why did you come out here so late?”
“I should be the one asking you questions, Maggie. I thought you said the ritual was successful.”
“It was. We all saw the ghost disappear. Didn’t we?”
“Then why am I still having these nightmares?” He growled.