The Commander of Orion ✔️

Chapter 33

I woke up to an unusually spacious bed. Turning around, I looked for signs that Kaelon had come home last night. Sniffing the air, I tried to locate a fresh trail of his scent, but there was nothing.

He hadn't come to bed.

My stomach twisted as I thought about our fight yesterday. Maybe I overreacted. Either way, I knew I had to apologise to him.

Pushing myself up, I got ready for the day. I walked downstairs, quickly making myself a cup of tea before beelining to Zoron, Edrik and Alina who were sitting in the common room eating breakfast. They all greeted me when I approached the table.

"I've already made you a plate, Commander Edrei..." Alina said, softly pushing a full plate of food in front of me. "...I hope you don't mind."

Taking it from her, I smiled. "Please, call me Edrei. I think you outrank me since your Zoron's mate."

Alina tilted her head. "But aren't you Alpha Kaelon's mate?" She asked softly.

"His mate, not his Luna. There's a small difference. And plus, I'm also the Third Commander, and since your mate is Orion's First Commander, you outrank me in that way."

"But you still outrank me being Alpha Kaelon's mate," she replied, sounding a little confused and worried.

"Let's just say we both outrank each other, so let's just drop the formalities," I replied,  winking at her.

Alina gave me a wary smile before she retreated back in her shell, looking down and playing with the food on her plate. Zoron looked at her, pressing his lips in a tight line before he sighed.

"Where's Kaelon?" He asked, changing the focus from his mate to mine.

"I thought you would know," I replied. "He didn't come to bed last night."

Zoron's brows furrowed in confusion before his eyes flickered behind me. I turned around, expecting to see my mate but instead, my eyes landed on Keyan.

His eyes landed on me, causing me to acknowledge him. I gave him a smile, watching as he quickly walked towards our table.

"Don't look so disappointed to see me," Keyan said, rounding the table and sitting on the end.

"I wasn't," I lied. I was fairly certain I hid the slight disappointment well.

"I can tell," he replied casually. "My brother is in the study. I saw him walking into the pack house when I was coming down. Go to him because I have a feeling he won't come to you yet."

I played with my fingers, trying to take my mind of guilt I felt for lashing out at. "Does he still look angry?"

Keyan shrugged. "I can't tell."

I narrowed my eyes, knowing that he was lying. I stood, pushing my untouched plate towards him before leaving.

Nerves filled my body as my eyes landed on the study's door. Forcing myself to suck it up, I pushed myself to grab the door handle and swing it open.

My eyes landed on Kaelon. His back was turned to me as he rustled with some papers on his desk.

"You didn't come to bed last night," I found myself saying as I walked towards him.

Kaelon turned around, his eyes landing on me for the first time since we fought. "I needed to clear my head."

I stood in front of him, giving him enough space to move away if he wanted to. "I'm sorry about yesterday," I apologised. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"And I shouldn't have pushed it. I know I wasn't there for you when you needed me most, multiple times now, but I promise we'll get through this together."