Eclipse Child |✔|

|36|

You are afraid,

and I must admit,

I am too.

But love,

do stars not thrive

in the dark?

-AVA.

***

Orion has reverted back to his wolf.

Maybe a part of me knew he would do this. Even with his uplifting words and caring actions, Orion still cannot stop the flow of Uncle Lewis' whispers.

I know I can't.

They cling to me, dragging down my shoulders to cause an additional weight that I didn't need.

"Alpha Clark called."

I lean back in the office chair, closing my eyes as Henry sits across from me.

"And?"

"He's angry that the males we sent are all mated."

I laugh, "I promised him warriors- I didn't promise him unmated ones."

I open my eyes to see Henry smiling, "Yes, I thought that might have been the way you worded it. But he's still angry."

"Does he want the protection or not?"

"He gave in."

It's all he needs to tell me to let me know the bargain is still occurring. The supplies we had agreed for are still on their way.

"Also, we need to set up a time for Alpha Theon to arrive."

"Push that aside. I never agreed to a specific date with him."

Henry nods and scribbles small notes in his charts, continuing down the list of all the other deals and agreements that had been made while Orion and I traveled to the various packs.

I don't even register the passing of the day until I hear Orion's voice whispering to me.

"Soraya."

"Waziburg?" Spit clings to the side of my face as I look up to take in the change of scenery. The dark sky and stars that now dot it.

"You fell asleep at your desk again."

I look at Orion's hand, taking in the skin and sensation of it along with my own. Since our return several days ago, Orion had been hiding away in fur, slinking off to either the nursery or to see Henry's little girl, Reign.

I sit up straighter, trying to hide the thin drool markings on the paper with my arm.

"I'll be up a few more hours. Go to bed without me."
Orion sighs and walks around the desk, sitting in the chair across.

"What's keeping you so busy?"

There is a pause in the air. A silence of nothing before I whisper, "everything."

He tilts his head to the side, curiosity showing clearly in his eyes.

"Mainly the pack agreements that need to be seen through. But other things. Activity within Alba Rosa. What is going on, who is doing what, why they are doing it? The good, the bad. The messy, the ugly. It all goes to someone and that's...me."
I take a deep breath, trying to regain my bearings as I focus on him. It had been a while since I studied his features in skin.