Souls Entwined

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One
Elle's POV

The next day was almost identical to the one before it. Slight differences distinguished the days, but it was like I was slipping into the familiarity of my new role, whatever that currently was.

I started with breakfast, still groggy from spending the night staring at applications and then went to training. Jacobi didn't talk to me once, resorting to grunts and jerks of his chin to communicate. It was a nice reprieve, and I spent the hour reflecting on my behaviour these past few months, slowly coming to terms with the new kernels of truth I'd received.

After walking away from my training, feeling heavier, I sat at Iris' side for a couple of hours. She had several meetings which sent us around the countryside. Fallyn followed us, a cautious look on her expression as she was relegated to the car behind us.

If I said I was uncomfortable being separated from her, Fallyn would have said something to Jacobi, who would have brought it up with Kaden. Kaden didn't need the added stress, so I sat stiffly as Iris ignored me. At least watching her converse with various people allowed me to see what was expected, and when she glared at me for listening a little too intently, I tried to tell myself it didn't matter.

Fallyn and I went on another walk so I could burn off my energy after sitting silently for so long. I thought aloud, and Fallyn offered her thoughts as we followed the same invisible path as yesterday.

Then Kaden and I settled back into the growingly familiar routine of staring at applications and judging people based on a few set factors. He made me laugh a couple of times, breaking up the monotony of the task, and when dinner rolled around, we were still in his office. He had Conner bring us food, and after eating, we spent a few more hours reading over applications.

After we finished going through one more box, we called it quits, and I studied him as he moved around his office. He looked even more tired than I did, and I remembered the sound I'd heard in the hallway last night.

As I lay down to sleep this time, I set my alarm for just after midnight. Three hours later, I slipped through the door, finding Ashen with the same book folded over his knee. He was looking at me, his head tilted and a question in his eyes. He'd heard my alarm, but I didn't feel like explaining myself as he followed me down the hallway.

The light was on again, and Kaden was waiting for me with the heater turned on in his office. The skin beneath his eyes was dark, and he barely looked up as I settled into the chair.

***

Two weeks later, I knew something was wrong when Kaden was still working late. We finished going through the applications nearly a week ago. We had even written the acceptance letters and the letters stating the priority date for the remaining members who had not been accepted during the first round.

I thought at first it was because of the work we'd needed to do for the Umbra pack, but that pressure had eased as we counted down the days until the first members started to arrive. Then I'd thought he was catching up on the work he had missed, but Iris had moaned all day about nothing to do. I think she'd complained more so to get me to go away than actually being upset that she was caught up on work, but it told me there wasn't anything urgent for Kaden to be so worried about.

I settled into our new routine, dropping into the chair across from him as he studied a file on his desk with droopy eyes. 'Can I ask you something?' I whispered into the quiet room.

Kaden's office was soundproofed, so I knew Ashen wouldn't hear me, but I was nervous Kaden wouldn't want to listen to what I would say.

Kaden, sensing the stillness of my tone, moved a sticky note to the document to bookmark where he was up to and looked up. His soft, brown eyes were hazy with little sleep, and his mouth was pulled into a taut line. He slid his hand across the table, taking my clenched one and soothing his fingers over mine. 'Are you okay?'