Everyone went their separate ways.
In Ashton's enormous home, there were enough bedrooms to house a small village it seemed like. Each of us, and our mates, went into bedrooms that lined the burgundy walls of my brothers mansion.
Fortunately for my sister Destiny's sake, Paxton and I's room had been conjoined with Adira and Klayton's. There was only a foot separating us from them.
I tried not to listen, once I heard the soft whispers between the two lovers. The walls felt so thin between us. However, it truly spiked my interest to see what would happen between Klayton and Adira. How she was handling being brought back to life —how he was handling it.
I'm sure he never thought this day would come.
I sit on a small loveseat in the middle of my designated room, sighing as I slouch into the soft contours and comforts of the seat. Paxton came over, joining me as he sighs heavily as well. They day truly took it all out of us; and now we had other matters to worry about...
Klayton still wanted Destiny dead. However, my sister managed to avoid death once again. I roll my eyes to myself, thinking about the ridiculous deal I'm sure she had to make with the God of Death. Man, he was a tool.
Paxton sat onto the loveseat with me, instead pulling me into his lap so that my legs were draped across him and my head could rest onto his chest. He wrapped his big arms around me; securely, pulling me in tightly to him. It felt so warm —it felt like home.
My eyes start to drop, feeling heavy as I find a serenity in my mates embrace. I could also hear his breathing slightly become more heavy, signaling he had fallen asleep. As I sat there, I tried not to listen to Adira and Klayton on the other side of the wall.
I really tried.
However, my ears betrayed me and I found myself lulling to sleep with their soft whispers and voices in the other room. My eyes were closed, my head resting on Paxton's chest, as I heard the two mates.
~
"Adira..." Klayton starts, and I can hear shuffling on the floor. Like he was walking towards her swiftly. "Talk to me." His voice sounded so earnest; sincere. I could hear the pain and heartache.
"I feel numb," is all Adira said. I could envision her now —sitting by the window in their room, looking outside and dreaming of another place.
Because it's what I did.
"I can't imagine what you've been through baby," he pleads. "But I need you to talk to me. Open up to me. I'm going crazy here... You're so close but you've never been so far."
His voice is a whisper at the end and I hear Adira sigh heavily.
"I missed you as well," she says. I once again can hear the two mates become closer, and I assume Adira has joined Klayton on the bed. I wonder if her head was resting on her mate's heart, as mine was. I wanted them to have that; this.
Klayton gulps so deeply I could hear it through the wall.
"What was it like? Being dead?" His voice is low —hoarse. Broken. It was the question.
The question I've yet to answer, myself. However, I've been asked by my sister many times. I'm not sure if Destiny's truly wants to know — an immortal facing death is something that brings nightmares. I crane my head slightly; interest peaked at Adira's answer. I could feel my heartbeat speed up along my anxiety in this moment. Did Adira and I go through the same thing? We must have.
I could almost hear her eyes slicing into his, like ice. "I fucking dread the day you find out, Klay."
"Please," he begs. We both had the answer, but just wouldn't say it out loud. Couldn't, I think bitterly.
"I'm not ready to discuss that," Adira pleads back. "I don't know when —or if— I even will be."
"Okay, baby, I understand," Klayton murmurs to her. I can hear the mattress of their bed slightly squeak, signaling they had gotten closer on the bed. I wish I could turn my ears off, especially during such an intimate moment. Was it fate that I was the only one awake to hear such a conversation?
"I just don't want you to keep such a traumatic event to yourself. I can't imagine what you've been through..." Klayton says to her. I hear the bed squeak again as they move around.
"I know of at least one another person who can," Adira says pointedly. A soft growl, accompanied by a scoff resonates after. They were talking about me.
"I want them dead, Adira. Losing you was the hardest thing I've ever done and I would soon rather face death than go through something like that again. It's not something I would ever wish upon any mate," Klayton snaps.
"The same thing would happen to Paxton, then. And Embry!" Adira hisses back to her mate. These two were so hot and cold; the perfect match. Klayton responds to her words with a soft snarl, knowing her words are true. "I'm back now, aren't I?"
"But are you?" He demands, a sort of sadness coming from his voice. He's breaking. "Because I'm sitting in this room, holding my beautiful mate and caressing her, and she doesn't seem to be here. Not fully."
"I'm not supposed to be back, Klayton."
"What do you mean? You weren't supposed to be dead, either Adira. You were meant to be my wife for as long as we live — have children, be the great Moon Goddess you've worked so hard for. These past few months have been fucking agony!"
"Agony?" Adira echoes and I hear her slightly trembling voice through the wall. "I love you Klayton, so much. We've both been through hell and back, and I would just not like to discuss it any further. In fact, let's just take our minds off of it."
"I-I can't," Klayton's voice falters. "I don't want to not talk. I don't ever want to be away from you ever again. I want you in my arms forever."
"You may have me in anyway you'd like," Adira's voice rings lowly and a sexual promise is tied to her words.
I slam my eyes shut, praying my ears would stop as well; wishing that the room Paxton and I had been given, was not adjoining Klayton and Adira's. They obviously had things to attend to.
At the sound of a quiet moan, I swiftly rise from Paxton's warm body. I can't be here for this, and I should have left as soon as I heard them speaking. My sudden departure makes Paxton jump from the chair, his eyes alert and his body tense.
"Is everything okay?" Paxton asks, rubbing his hands over his face quickly to wake himself up. In seconds, he was awake. Always ready; like a true warrior.
I didn't know how to explain to him that I had been eavesdropping on Klayton and Adira, so instead I just brought my hand up to my ear to signal 'listen'. Paxton scrunches his nose up in confusion, however his neck slightly cranes as his werewolf hearing specifically tunes in to what is around us. Instantly my mates face heats up and he starts to stalk towards me, a smirk playing on the side of his mouth.
"Well then," he says. He interlocks his fingers with mine, lightly pulling me out of the room with him. I couldn't be more thankful to be out of there right now. "That is most definitely something we don't need to listen to."
"I guess they're just making up for lost time," I shrug. "I get it. Some people express themselves best sexually, some prefer to talk things over. The best is when you have both of those things in a relationship."
This makes Paxton's head turn towards me quizzically, but he nods nonetheless. "You're right."
We walk hand-in-hand through Ashton's home. It felt so big, and empty. It didn't feel like home.
I missed being with the pack.
"What's going to happen now? We brought Adira back, and for now Klayton isn't able to kill my sister or I."
Paxton stops walking, as we reach a familiar destination, and he opens the door for me. We were back in the rose garden, I think with a slight awe. This greenhouse was so beautiful, as roses and vines crawled up and down all the sides of the room. Breathing in, the air felt so fresh and crisp. I loved being in here.
"We will be returning to my pack, where you will be named Luna of the North Redridge Mountains Territory," Paxton says as he gently picks a rose from beside us. He hands it to me, and pulls the few strands of hair around my face behind my ear lovingly. "You're the strongest woman I know. You will be an excellent Luna... and one day, if you would, a phenomenal wife and mother."
"Thank you," I whisper back hoarsely. The pack would have to know who I am, as there was so much drama surrounding it the last time I had been there. But it was my home, where I was meant to be.
Beside my mate.
"You're beautiful Theia. Inside and out," Paxton whispers back to me as his eyes scan my face. "I will want you until my very last breath."
"Then have me," I softly say. The words were like a soft caress as one of his hands go behind my neck and bring my own lips onto his. I close my eyes as his soft lips touch my own, and I feel his tongue against me — almost asking for permission. I eagerly allow it, encircling my arms around his neck as I stand on my tippy toes to match the intensity of our passionate kisses.
One of his hands rests of my hips, pulling my body tightly into his own. The rose was tightly gripped in my hand, and I drop it with a slight gasp as Paxton starts moving his lips against my neck.
My eyes close as I tremor with pleasure, losing myself in the feeling of being with my soulmate. His smell was intoxicating.
And I couldn't get enough.