Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Tender Fractures
SONIA’S POV
His lips tasted like the aftermath of sweet victory, which made me stop moving mine abruptly. The familiar warmth and the faint taste of something uniquely him lingered, but something else tugged at the edges of my senses.
"What is it!?" He asked, concern filled in his voice as he pulled back slightly, his eyes searching my face.
I sniffled into the air, a familiar scent overwhelming my nose. Two familiar scents actually. They were faint but unmistakable, like whispers carried on the wind.
"It’s funny, but I caught a scent," I said, my brow furrowing as I tried to place it.
"Really? What scent?"
"It’s nothing right? I mean I can’t even feel my wolf, how am I supposed to catch a scent?" I asked rhetorically, shaking my head.
"You were able to heal Moon."
"That operates differently," I paused, and cracked my brain for a few seconds. "I mean, I think."
"What was the scent you caught?" He asked again, as if he had not heard anything I just said. His hand remained on my waist, warm and steady, grounding me.
Well since he wanted to know so badly, I decided to indulge him.
I placed a hand on his shoulders, and pushed my nose to his chest. The fabric of his shirt was soft under my cheek, carrying the clean scent of soap mixed with his natural musk.
Slowly, I began to sniff my way around. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was looking at me like I had lost my mind. His body tensed slightly, but he didn’t pull away.
Maybe I had. But what if I hadn’t?
There wasn’t any point to this whole thing, therefore, there was nothing to lose.
"So familiar," I whispered, my breath warm against his skin as I moved higher.
I moved to his collarbones, and even up to his Adam’s apple. The steady thrum of his pulse beat against my lips, strong and reassuring.
I was on my way to his face, when I felt a gentle shove.
"Hey, why does it feel like you’re only using this as an opportunity to sniff me? I don’t trust you," he said in a suspicious tone, though his eyes held a spark of amusement.
I thought about it briefly, and he was justified to feel that way. Who just upped and started sniffing people?
"If I wanted to just sniff you, I’d ask," I defended myself anyway, my cheeks warming.
"Right." He nodded, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
"Anyway, I think I’ve gotten my answer."
I turned to walk away once more, but he pulled me back for the umpteenth time, his grip firm but gentle on my arm.
"Who said you could leave?"
"I wasn’t leaving. I just want to sit," I said.
In a blink, he carried me from the ground up into his arms, then walked over to the couch. His strength was effortless, his body heat enveloping me like a protective cocoon.
He placed me on it before plopping beside me, close enough that our thighs brushed.
"Are you trying to show off?" I asked after recovering from the shock of his sudden action, my heart still racing.
"Nope. I just have an extra adrenaline rush from the day I had. I thought it’d be absorbed by Lorena’s condition. Turns out it resurfaced when I walked in through that door."
"Are you saying I resuscitated your energy? Just like you do every time I’m sick from healing?" I asked, adorning a cute expression as I tilted my head.
He chortled dryly. "You’ve become really expressive, haven’t you?"
My smile dimmed as I pouted into silence, my fingers tracing patterns on the couch cushion.
"Hey, don’t even think you’ll get away with not telling me what the scent was."
"Oh," I turned so I was directly facing him. "They were at least three distinct, and five faint," I said.
"Go on." He urged with a nod of his head, his eyes locked on mine.
"Okay, I think the first two belong to my siblings. But that doesn’t make sense right? I know Cade and Jed did not come to the pack," I yapped, my mind racing to make sense of it.
His face went from partially listening to widened eyes.
"I did see your siblings. Cade, and Jed to be exact."
My heart skipped a beat. There was no way he was being serious. Except he was just trying to fool around with me.
"You really saw Jed? How’s he? He’s older than me, but everyone always thought of him as the last child. We were never really close. Well except those few times he’d sneak me his drawings just for the sake of it."
I teared up like I usually did every time I remembered my family. The memories flooded in—Jed’s mischievous grin, the way he’d ruffle my hair, the secret sketches he’d leave under my pillow.
"Is he still so naughty?" I choked, my voice cracking.
"Why do you choose to think about things that make you so emotional? Heck, why are you so emotional?" He asked in a clearly disgusted tone, though his hand reached out to brush a tear from my cheek.
There it was. The novelty had once more worn off.
I was going to go into my shell and wallow in self-pity, until I remembered my promise.
Lifting my head, I smiled through the tears that had gathered heavily in my eyes.
"It’s normal to get emotional when you think about your siblings you’re never sure you’ll ever see again. Don’t you miss your parents? I’m sure yours is worse because their absence is a little more permanent," I explained, my voice soft.
He looked to be in deep thought for a moment there. I was glad because it was either that, or have him rebuke me for daring to bring his parents into this conversation.
"I guess you’re right. It’s just weird to always be so emotional." He shrugged, his thumb still gently wiping away my tears.
"When you miss someone terribly, what do you do? How do you express yourself?"
"I move on like normal people do? We can’t always stop to bask in the misery of missing someone. Life has to go on."
"Oh Ramon," I brought my fingers to his face, stroking it gently. "I’m so sorry for the barren childhood you had. If you had lots of siblings, perhaps you’d have more empathy."
He pushed my hands away, but I didn’t take offense. His touch lingered for a moment longer than necessary.
No one said getting through to him would be a walk in the park.
We have made significant progress in such a short time. That was all that mattered.
"I grew up around other kids. Liam was my best friend. We practically grew up together."
"Was?" I lifted a curious brow.
"Stop that," he cautioned.
"Stop what?" I asked innocently.
"Trying to play therapist."
He rose to his feet and walked towards the door, but stopped just before he could step out.
I held my breath, waiting for him to return to me.
When he turned around, I was about to leap for joy when I heard a voice behind me.
"Alpha Ramon?" Moon called, coming out of the room.
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