It was already late in the afternoon when Walden woke up the next day. He feels different this time around, and this is because he slept like a baby the previous night. Surprisingly, he had slept all through the night, and through the morning, after having passionate sex with this woman he seemed to want so much of.
His eyes were still closed when his hand searched, reaching through the sheets surrounding him, and then he noticed she wasn’t there. He opened his eyes then to the sound of her voice coming from the door.
“Good afternoon, sire.”
“Maggie?”
He saw that she was fully dressed and holding a tray of food in her hands. She’d let him sleep as she went to the kitchen to prepare some food for him, thinking he’d need it after draining so much energy last night, but that seemed to be the least of his problems.
“Come.” He reached out his arms to her as he sat up on the queen size bed. After dropping the tray on the table, she went into his embrace. Not a word was said as they both remained there for a long time, until he finally broke the silence.
“Where is Emily?”
“I didn’t want her to bother you while you were sleeping, so I took her to a public nursery nearby.”
He then sighed before changing the topic. “Do you know why I am holding you like this, Maggie?”
“No, sire. I don’t.”
“My name is Walden. I’ll prefer it if you just address me by my name like you did last night. There’s no need for any formalities especially after all that’s happened between us.”
“Okay, um… Walden.”
He then continued, repeating his question, “do you know why I am holding you like this, Maggie?”
“No, Walden. I don’t.”
“For the first time in almost a year. For the first time ever, I’ve never had a good sleep that isn’t free of horrible nightmares, but last night… Last night changed all of that for me. I don’t know how it happened, Maggie. I’m still trying to figure it all out, how one woman could have made such a difference in my life in such a short time.”
She sighed, burying her head into his chest, knowing that there’s still something she’s keeping from him. If there were ever a time to let it out, it would be now.
“Do you have anything to say regarding this, Maggie? Do you know the reason why the only night I ever seemed to have a good rest turned out to be the night I slept in your embrace? It seems as if you were not surprised about what I just told you.”
She then rose her head to face him, “I do have something to say, sire… um… sorry, Walden.”
“I’m listening.”
“There’s something I’ve been keeping from you, something I was scared to let out at first, because I didn’t think I was worthy of such a thing.”
“What is it?”
“It’s the last part of my vision about you.”
Walden might have anticipated it, because he’s always known that there’s something in that vision that Maggie was scared to share, and now he’s sure that it’s because she’s involved in it.
“Tell it to me, now. Every last bit of it.”
She took his hand in hers, staring at it as she made her confession, telling him the whole truth this time, and leaving nothing out of it.
“The vision I saw that day was different from the rest, I’ve never ever been a conscious state during divination, but then it only happened when I took your hand. I saw everything, your future…”
“My future?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t just your future,” she sighed. “It was also mine as well.”
From her words, he tried to put two and two together.
“Are you trying to say…? That somehow the two of us are connected in a way?”
“Not just connected. We are destined to be lovers, I am your other half, Walden. The one whom the goddess chose to give you a second chance. In my vision, I saw our paths, separate at first, but then they joined together, never to be separated, meaning forever. I was the one destined to lift you out of darkness, Walden.”
It makes sense now. It all makes sense, the reason he still saw that ghost last night, the reason he was still in darkness even after the ritual, was because he and Maggie were far from each other. It made sense now that the nightmares disappeared as soon as he walked back into her arms.
“Maggie? Why did you have to keep this to yourself for so long? Didn’t you think I at least deserved to know?”
“You did. I’m sorry I kept it to myself but I was scared of rejection… I was scared you’d kick us out if you found out.”
He was taken aback by her words. “Why would you assume I would do such a thing?”
“I don’t know… Maybe it’s because everyone would think it absurd for an alpha to mate with someone who’s already had a mate before, not just a previous mate, but a daughter. Everyone would…”
“I do not care what everyone thinks, Maggie! My people know me and respect whatever decisions I make, no matter how absurd they think it is. The words of an alpha always remain final, do not blame my people for what you chose to do.”
A teardrop fell from her face then, “I’m sorry. I was scared, I wanted to tell you… But I was scared.”
“Scared of what, rejection?”
“Not just rejection, I was scared of getting my hopes high. I want a good father for my daughter, and I didn’t want for things to go wrong. I didn’t want to get hurt, not just me, but my baby as well.”
“Stop giving excuses, Maggie. I beg of you, please… Just stop.”
He didn’t know when he left her and got up, searching round the room for his clothes. He spotted them on the floor not far from where he was. He didn’t waste time in getting dressed, ignoring the wonderful scent that came from the food on the table. Maggie remained on the bed, crying silently.
After he was done, he opened the door to head out, but heard her words before he did, her words that held nothing but sincerity and remorse.
“I’m sorry for what I did, Walden. I love you.”
She was hoping those words would at least make him stay. They might not mean much, but they came from her heart. She meant every bit of it, especially the last part.
Instead of a response from him, all she heard was the sound of the door closing, the sound which caused her heart to ache so much.