Chapter 171: Episode 171.
Aire felt Nate the moment he walked into the room.
The bond stirred low beneath her chest the moment he crossed the doorway, and exhaustion nearly pulled another shaky breath from her lungs.
Nate stopped near the edge of the bed slowly, and everything inside him visibly loosened after seeing her awake properly this time.
Aire noticed as the tightness around his shoulders eased slightly. The fury sitting beneath his skin quieted, and she felt it as even his wolf calmed.
Behind him, Xander entered next, and Alaric came in last.
Suddenly the room felt smaller, and filled with tension, concern, instincts, unfinished emotions, and things none of them fully knew how to say aloud yet.
Madam stepped away from the bedside carefully. "Do not overwhelm her."
"We won’t," Xander answered immediately.
Madam looked deeply unconvinced.
The older woman adjusted the blankets around Aire one final time before finally leaving the chamber entirely.
The doors closed softly behind her, and silence settled in the room afterward.
For several long seconds, none of the men spoke.
Aire noticed all of them staring at her carefully like they feared she might disappear again if they blinked too slowly.
It irritated her slightly.
Gods.
She was exhausted of people looking at her like glass. She wouldn’t like, but she soemhow missed those days when no one cared if she lived, or dies. "I’m not dying," she muttered weakly.
Nate’s jaw flexed instantly. "You stopped breathing for several seconds."
Aire blinked.
Xander folded his arms tightly across his chest. "You collapsed after nearly tearing yourself into another realm."
"That sounds dramatic." Aire secretly rolled her eyes.
"It was dramatic," Alaric spoke quietly for the first time.
Aire’s eyes moved toward him automatically and just like that, the softness inside her disappeared.
The atmosphere shifted so subtly that all three men noticed it immediately. Especially Nate. He felt the emotional withdrawal through the bond at once.
Aire looked at Alaric fully now. Weeks of frustration rose sharply inside her chest again. His weeks of silence, and weeks of avoidance.
Weeks of him disappearing every time she entered rooms.
Aire straightened slightly against the pillows despite how weak she still felt.
"You." She called sharply.
Alaric stilled faintly.
Xander’s brows furrowed immediately.
Nate glanced quietly between both of them.
Alaric’s expression remained carefully unreadable. "Me?"
Aire stared at him. They could tell she was visibly offended, even if she tried to remain soft. "Yes. You."
The room went completely quiet now.
Alaric took one slow step closer toward the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked, intending to take her mind off whatever pissed her off towards him.
"No," she answered immediately. "Don’t do that." she warned. "Did I do something to you?"
Alaric went still. He parted his lips to speak.
Aire cut him off, and her eyes stayed fixed directly on him now. "Answer my question first."
Alaric stated silent.
Xander slowly leaned one shoulder against the nearby wall, watching carefully now.
Nate remained beside the bed, but his attention shifted fully toward Aire.
They both saw it, and it was intruiging for them to see. She did not seem like the frightened girl who first arrived at the castle, or the trembling girl who was ready to apologize for breathing too loudly.
She was no longer the girl who looked terrified every time one of them raised their voice. That girl was still somewhere inside her, but she was no longer the one speaking now.
Aire held Alaric’s gaze steadily despite the exhaustion written across her face.
"Why have you been avoiding me?"
Alaric’s throat tightened faintly.
No answer came, but Aire waited anyway.
"You disappeared," she continued quietly. "Every time I entered a room, you left it."
Xander’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Nate remained completely motionless beside her now. If anything, he was invested in the conversation.
Alaric has been a smug.
Aire looked genuinely hurt beneath the anger, and somehow that looked worse.
"I thought," she admitted softly, "that maybe I imagined everything between us."
Alaric’s expression changed immediately. Pain crossed his face too quickly befire he had time to hide it.
"No." He replied immediately. "You did not."
The answer came fast enough that everyone in the room felt the honesty inside it.
Aire’s eyes sharpened instantly. "Then why?"
Alaric dragged a slow breath into his lungs. His hands flexed once at his sides, but no answer still came.
There wasn’t a simple one.
How exactly was he supposed to explain this?
That the deeper the bond became, the more terrified he grew of himself around her?
That watching Nate mate her first had nearly driven him feral with jealousy despite knowing the bond belonged to all of them?
That every instinct inside him wanted her so violently sometimes he avoided her entirely just to remain sane?
That he had started dreaming about her constantly?
That hearing her cry in the dungeon nearly broke something inside him permanently?
How was he supposed to say any of that aloud?
Aire’s expression hardened further when he remained quiet. "You don’t even have an answer." She nodded in conclusion.
"Aire..."
"No." she warned. "Don’t call me if you don’t wish to give me an answer." Her voice sharpened unexpectedly. "I think you should leave."
All three men stilled instantly.
Nate’s wolf reacted beneath his skin.
Aire pushed herself upright slightly despite how weak her body felt. Her silver hair carefully spread across her shoulders.
"You ignored me for weeks."
Alaric looked at her quietly.
Her lashes fluttered. "You made me feel like I had done something wrong."
"You didn’t."
"Then why did you look at me like you regretted me? Why coudknt you look at me?" she asked between clenched teeth.
She felt her heart breaking. Her breathing became heavy, and slowly, breathing became hard for her to do.
Alaric’s face changed completely afterward. "Aire," he said slowly with regret.
"Do not call my name." Her throat tightened faintly now. "Answer me properly, or you leave my chamber this instant."
Silence stretched heavily again between them.
Thunder rolled softly outside. Non-stop rain continued tapping against the distant windows.
