"I wish you were here  or I were there or we were together anywhere."

Chapter 72

A Peaceful Awakening

River's POV

The smell of eggs, spices, and fresh vegetables wafted past my nose, waking me from my slumber. After yesterday's conversation with Isaiah, I had finally been able to sleep after days of nervous, anxiety-filled nights. I was always constantly waking up repeatedly in the night, only to find myself in the same dark, dirty cell I had fallen asleep in. I spent most of my nights with enough sleep to wake to feel just as disgusting and dirt-caked as I felt before. The only thing that kept me sane within those dreary walls were the daily visits from both Alastair and Isaiah.

Though with them I had to put on a brave face and pretend I wasn't breaking inside. That I wasn't as afraid as they were.

Someone had to be the calm one and for some reason, I took the plate. The victim. The one who was going to die. Though, that seemed to always be my persona. The man in a constant state of damsel-in-distress.

Now, I could finally relish in my own tranquility. I no longer had to grieve over my own ending, fear what I was soon to lose. I could awake on mornings to the sunshine and smile a real smile. Not one of those fake, tight-knitted ones I spread across my face for the sake of my mate and best friend. A real one. One for myself and not for others.

A light, content breath fell past my lips as I pulled off my blanket and lifted myself from the bed. I relished the feel of hardwood beneath my barefooted feet. My toes lightly brushed the smooth flooring, a smile pulling at my lips. It had been so long since I felt smoothened lumber beneath the pads of my feet. Days locked in a dirty, metallic cell made me far more appreciative of the smaller things in my life. Like the flooring, soft in comparison to the rocky, harsh flooring that I had caused my heels to swell and bleed on days where I moved too often.

Alastair had sent piles of furs and pillows to line the room, but even with that, the harsh flooring still peeked through. The bed still a rock no matter how many pillows he brought to cover it. Though I didn't mention it. I knew it would only anger him if he knew the pain I was in and I only had a limited amount of time to spend with him. I would have rathered spend the time with him holding me rather than screaming at the guards. I was going to die, or at least I thought I was, and no padding nor fur could sugar-coat that. None of the pain truly mattered in the aspect of time. Not if my death was merely around the corner.

Yet, now, as my feet swept past the doorframe of the room I had slept in and into the kitchen, an overwhelming amount of relief washed over me.

I was alive. I was going to live.

The sweet smell of fresh food reminded me of that. My feet touching the ground reminded me of that.

I never been more happy to be alive than I did now and I was relishing in it.

"I see you're up," Alice chirped, eyeing my drowsy form by the doorpost before turning back to the pan to flip his eggs. "Morning, sleepy head."

His hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, resting softly against his shoulder as he sprinkled some spices into the pan. He gazed over his shoulder with a bright smile.

"Sit down," he pointed to the small table in the center of the room, "breakfast should be done soon."

I nodded and dragged myself to the nearest seat, where Matthew sat, eyeing a paper in hand. He acknowledged my presence for a mere moment with a nod before his gaze dropped back down to the paper.

I raised a brow at his silence.

Did I offend him?

"Aaand breakfast is ready," Alice sang, placing platefuls of food before us and two others, beside him and I.

Alice went to hang up his apron and wipe his hands just as Sam stormed in.

"Morning, Matty boy!" He hollered, smacking Matthew hard on the back.

"Umph," Matthew nearly face-planted into his food before quickly steadying himself and sending Sam an irritated glare.

Sam seemed to take no notice of his brother's annoyance as he sat himself beside the shaking man and dived into the food before him.

"Noah was going to sit there," Matthew hissed slowly through his teeth.

Sam raised a brow and swallowed down a mouthful of food, "well, now I am." He shrugged and continued shoveling his food down his throat.

Alice...Noah returned to the table and eyed Sam in his seat with a sigh. Instead of growing angry like his mate, he merely shook his head and took the seat beside me.

"Moron," he muttered under his breath as he began to cut up his food.

Matthew watched Noah, across from him, with a softening gaze. No words fell past his lips. Instead, he reached over and brushed his fingers lightly against Noah's palm. Noah lifted his head and sent his mate a small smile.

"I'm okay, Matthew," Noah said softly, lifting his hand to cup around his mate's.

Matthew's eyes narrowed and Noah's brows knitted in confusion just as Matthew turned his head to the side and eyed Sam. A grunt fell past the man's lips as Sam sent him a boyish smile.

"Really, Sam?" Matthew sighed, letting go of Noah's hand to stand from the chair. Along his pants' leg, small pieces of vegetables lined the dark material. "Are you a toddler?" He eyed the food on his pant-leg with disgust clear on his face. "How did you manage to get your food all over me?"

Noah shot Sam a narrowed glance before getting up from his seat and grabbing a towel.

"Here, let me help," Noah bent down with the towel in hand and began rubbing it against Matthew's pants.

Matthew wrapped his hand around Noah's wrist and gently lifted him up. He shook his head and tugged the towel from Noah's hand.

"Go eat, Noah," he brushed his free hand against Noah's cheek, "I'll do it."

Noah opened his mouth to speak but Matthew's gaze had already fallen to his pants as he began wiping the towel harshly against the stained material. With a light sigh, Noah sat back down beside me and continued eating.

I silently ate my food as Matthew huffed and puffed across the table. Sam seemed to find the whole situation quite comical as he laughed quietly to himself. Noah, however, seemed anything but pleased as he narrowed his eyes at Sam.

"Don't you have a job to get to?" Noah spoke kindly, though his words were clearly not coming from a happy place.

Sam rose a brow, humor painting his lips, "uh oh, did I manage to piss off, the sweet Noah?"

Noah clenched his jaw though sent him a tight smile.

"I don't know, did you?"

To that, Sam jumped in his chair, Noah's tone clearly frightening him. A brief laugh fell past his lips before he lifted himself from his chair.

"I need to head back to the palace now," his eyes fell on me, "is there anything you want me to bring with me?"

Bring with him?

"Oh," I gasped and jumped from the chair, "one second!" I hurried out of the kitchen and to the room I slept in. I opened the drawer by my bed and pulled out the piece of parchment Isaiah had brought me yesterday. I searched for any extra room on the page to write but Alastair's words had filled the entire page.

"Goddess," I clicked my tongue and turned to face the room.

My eyes wandered over the single chair in the corner, the bed, and the small drawers by my bed. Each having not a single piece of parchment. I headed back to the kitchen where Matthew and Sam still sat at the table as Noah sat over a big bucket and began scrubbing the dishes.

Noah lifted his head as I entered the room with a tilted head.

"Umm, Noah?" He seemed briefly stunned by my choice of name but managed to recover rather quickly.

"Yes?" He spoke as his hands continued to work against the plates.

"Do you maybe have a piece of parchment I could use?"

"Yes, of course," Noah turned his head to the table, "Matthew," Matthew's head lifted upon hearing his name, "would you be able to get some parchment for River? There should be some on our desk."

Matthew nodded and lifted himself from his seat, leaving the kitchen.

"He should be back in a few moments," Noah reassured me as he placed the clean plates on a towel to dry.

He stood up, lifting the bucket with a wheeze. I rushed forward to help, grabbing one side from tipping over.

"Thanks, River," Noah shot me a smile as he led me slowly from the kitchen to the front door.

"Sam!" Noah yelled toward the kitchen as we stood, waiting by the door.

Finally, Sam emerged from the kitchen and opened the front door for us, where we dumped out the dirty water and closed the door. We dropped the empty bucket by the stairs and Noah led me into a small room opposite to the kitchen. Cushioned chairs and a single couch leaned against the walls, surrounding a small rounded table. Noah took a seat on the brown couch and patted beside him, waiting as I placed myself beside him.

"So tell me," Noah began, "how did you end up in the palace? And as the king's mate, no less. How did you meet each other?" Noah leaned forward with curiosity painting his face.

"Well," I leaned against a cushion, "Do you remember how we were set free?" Noah nodded, "remember the man who was yelling at our capturer?" Noah's eyes widened. "That was Alastair."

"Alastair?" Noah's brows knitted.

"My mate. The king. Well, he wasn't king at the time we met," I began to ramble. "Not that it mattered. He was very sweet to me. He took me home with him and healed me and took care of me."

"He sounds like a good mate," Noah smiled softly.

"He is," I nodded, smiling to myself.

"An expression like that," Noah laughed lightly, pushing a strand of hair from my face, "you must really love him."

I felt my cheeks heat up as I bowed my head.

"I do," I bit my lip.

Noah eyed something behind me with a smile. My head pivoted, following his eyes to Matthew walking towards us with a piece of paper in his hand. The man eyed us on the couch with curiosity in his eyes but said nothing as he reached his hand out and handed the paper to me.

"Thank you," I smiled up at him.

He nodded and turned back out the door.

My smile fell.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked, eyeing my frown with a frown of his own.

"Did I do something to upset Matthew?" I asked. Noah tilted his head in confusion. "He seems to be mad at me. He won't even speak to me."

Noah's eyes widened before a light laugh brushed past his lips.

My brows knitted.

What did I say that was funny?

"River," Noah placed his hand on my knee, "he isn't mad at you. He's just shy."

"Shy?"

"Yes, shy," Noah explained, "Matthew isn't very good around new people. He gets very nervous. Being silent is just how he deals with his anxiety, but don't worry, he'll get used to you. He was like that with me at first too. I had to practically work for every word I got," Noah laughed with a shake of his head.

"So, he's not mad at me?" I clarified, still clouded with confusion.

"No, not mad," Noah shook his head.

I hummed low in my throat before my eyes dropped to the parchment in my hands.

Goddess, I nearly forgot about it.

Noah reached under the table and pulled out a small veil of ink and a feather, placing it on the table for me to write. I leaned forward, scratching my chin briefly before I started writing.

To my dearest Alastair,

When I read your note, I nearly cried. I know you hate when I cry, but know it was of happiness so don't be too upset. I wish I could see you, to tell you to your face how happy and thankful I am to have you. I miss you. I know it's merely been a day but even a single day feels far too long to be away from you. I know you have much to do, a council to build, and you're not able to see me, but can we write? Sam can bring our letters back and forth to each other and it would only take a few minutes to write out. I really miss you, love. If I can't see your face or hear your voice, at least I can have your words. I hope you're doing well. I love you, Alastair.

I ended the note there, afraid to sign my name in case it was to be found. I hoped he would agree to it. Perhaps it was silly but the idea of having no connection to him, not even a letter, for a long period of time frightened me. Since the time I had been with him, we barely spent days apart. The only times we had were from force and during those times I nearly cried myself to sleep every night without him.

He was my love, my other half and without him, I felt broken, incomplete.

Oh, Alastair, I nearly cried, how I miss you.

This is only the first book to an entire series so expect this book to end with open-ended questions and unfinished problems because they're going to be slowly answered throughout the series. I'm already a few chapters into a new series I've come up with and I'm hoping to publish the prologue in the next month hopefully. Aaah, so exciting! xD The end of one and the start of a new! <3