She thought it was odd that the home was so dark, many of the lanterns unlit. Rem took her time down the stairs, tightly gripping the handrail when wind whistled through open windows.
Nia said, “You alright?”
“Yeah. It’s just dark, and my leg hurts.”
“Oh, I didn’t think of it being dark.”
“I mean, I can barely see these stairs,” she said with a chuckle.
“The moon is bright tonight,” Nia defended. “We really like to bathe in it when we can.”
Once her feet were on the ground of the main floor, Rem glanced around the foyer, the moon casting a faint glow. Suna led them to a room off the foyer, Rem holding her breath when she spotted Ronan in a library.
The thick creature rested in a chair next to the fireplace, golden light washing over the room. Ronan surveyed Rem almost instantly, the usually stoic gaze relinquishing discipline to unabashedly look over her body.
Her stomach flipped when he readjusted himself in his seat, still staring at her; she looked at the floor with a confused heart. Had he won her so easily? Was her body betraying her humanity this swiftly?
He was the opposite of anything human.
And yet, when she looked back at him, his gaze was already waiting to connect with hers.
Another flip of her stomach made her knees weak.
No, there’s definitely a part of her, removed from all of this, that just enjoyed this attention from him.
Ronan gently motioned his head to the chairs across from him. Rem sat in one covered in a floral pattern, the cold fabric breeching her thin dress.
Nia entered the room to stand next to Rem, along with Suna… And Ronan’s mother. Freya sat next to Ronan while Suna stood behind the both of them.
Ronan’s gaze never moved from Rem. She had picked up on a few social cues and wasn’t sure if she should look him in the eye, opting to keep her gaze on the table that separated them.
The Alpha spoke, and Nia echoed, “He wants to know how your injuries are… Also, you can look at him, Rem.”
Rem looked up, crossing her arms when her nipples hardened, although she caught how that increased the depth of his gaze.
She cleared her throat. “Throbbing, but I will heal.”
He narrowed his eyes on her; the fire casting long, moving shadows.
Ronan’s voice rumbled, and Nia followed his words like a shadow. “To save time, he wants to ask the important questions… He wants to know if you’re adjusting well, given the accident,” Nia said.
Rem glanced between all of them, her racing heart staving off the cold air of the room. She looked at Nia, who continued to keep her gaze down. Rem didn’t understand why she could look and not Nia. It made her feel like something was going on.
His mother added, “You do not need to be nervous, Rem. What my son means is, you are adjusting well here, despite everything that has happened. Did you not like your home? Do you like this world better already? We thought someone being uprooted from their home would need more patience… Especially after the hunters attacked.”
“Um,” Rem began, looking back at the table.
Freya and Suna both stared at Rem, but it was Ronan’s gaze that made her look down. She wondered if he knew how intense he could be, even if he harbored no judgement in his gaze.
“If you escaped anything akin to abuse,” his mother suggested, and Rem met her gaze, “you do not have to share that now. We are simply curious. We are naturally suspicious and hard to gain trust in. You have been mauled but never asked for help. Are humans like this back where you are from?”
She tapped her foot and bounced her knee. Rem had to give it to Freya—the female donned the same overwhelming gaze of her son, but also one that was gentle, even motherly. The expression tempted Rem, reminding her of her own mother.
“What if I cannot say?” Rem muttered.
Out of her peripheral, Rem caught Ronan burning his gaze at Nia, no doubt demanding translations.
Freya replied, “Why wouldn’t you be able to say it?”
