Chapter 22: Two Different Storms (II)
Rosalie:
Zaiden’s question left me stunned into silence.
What did I plan to do next?
The words echoed inside my head over and over again while the storm continued raging outside the glass wall behind him. Thunder rolled across the mountains while rain battered the windows relentlessly, yet somehow the loudest thing in the room remained that single question.
Because the truth was... I didn’t know.
I had been asking myself the exact same thing every single day since waking up here.
What now, Rosalie?
What happens after everything falls apart?
And even after two weeks, I still didn’t have an answer.
I lowered my gaze toward the steaming tea in my hands while trying to steady my breathing. The warmth from the cup spread across my palms, grounding me slightly against the emotions threatening to rise inside my chest.
Two weeks.
It had already been two weeks since Eiden found me half-dead beside the river. Two weeks since my world ended. And somehow during those same two weeks, Eiden had not only healed me completely but also given me a place where I could breathe again without feeling like I was constantly drowning.
Safe - that was the right word. For the first time in years, I had felt genuinely safe. But that didn’t mean I could stay forever. I shouldn’t stay forever.
The realization tightened painfully around my chest again. Because the truth was brutally simple - I had nowhere else to go. No home, no family, and no place waiting for me. Not anymore.
And honestly, had I even truly had one after my parents died?
The Blackthorn pack house had never really belonged to me. I was merely someone existing inside it, someone tolerated, hidden, and loved only behind closed doors.
My grip tightened slightly around the tea cup. It took every ounce of self-control not to let the emotions overwhelm me right there in front of Eiden and Zaiden. Especially because I could feel them watching me closely. They were studying my every reaction an every shift in my expression.
I inhaled slowly before finally forcing myself to look up, and my gaze landed on Eiden first. His blue eyes met mine instantly, calm and patient as always. And suddenly I realized something terrible. I had never properly thanked him, not truly, not beyond rushed words spoken while half-conscious or embarrassed.
My throat tightened faintly.
"Eiden..."
Both men remained silent.
I swallowed softly. "Thank you," I whispered sincerely. "For everything."
The words felt painfully small compared to what he had done for me. I wanted to thank him for saving my life, for carrying me out of death itself, for healing me, for letting me stay, and for giving me peace when my entire world collapsed.
But none of those words fully left my lips. And yet, somehow I felt like he heard them anyway.
Eiden simply nodded once. Then that soft warm smile appeared on his lips again, and just like every other time something inside me calmed instantly. It was frightening how easily he could steady me without even trying.
After a moment, I turned toward Zaiden. His gray eyes were already waiting for me.
Unlike Eiden’s warmth, Zaiden’s gaze felt intense and steady, like nothing escaped his attention. And for some reason, despite how nervous he made me, I forced myself not to look away this time.
"I don’t really have a place to go." I admitted quietly. "So... I thought maybe I could settle down in a small human city somewhere and start over there."
The moment the words left my mouth, silence settled across the study again.
Neither man looked surprised. If anything, they looked like they had already expected that answer.
Eiden leaned back slightly against the couch before speaking first. "It won’t be easy."
I looked at him as he continued gently, "As a werewolf, living among humans permanently comes with difficulties."
A small smile pulled weakly at my lips, though it never reached my eyes. Because if only he knew how ironic that sounded.
"I don’t think my wolf would be much of a problem," I murmured quietly and the bitterness inside my own voice startled even me. I lowered my gaze toward the tea again as I added, "I’m more human than werewolf anyway."
The words had barely left my mouth before Eiden spoke immediately.
"No."
I blinked slightly in surprise and looked back at him. His expression remained calm as he spoke, "Your wolf is strong."
This time I actually let out a soft chuckle, humorless and disbelieving. If only he knew. If only he knew how many years I had spent begging my wolf to answer me, to speak, to help me shift properly, to become stronger. But nothing ever happened. Nothing.
"I think you are giving her too much credit," I said softly. "My recovery happened because of you and your great healing skills. Not because of my wolf." I shook my head lightly. "She’s too weak to do anything impressive."
The moment the words left my mouth, something suddenly jabbed sharply inside me. It wasn’t painful exactly, but enough to make me gasp quietly in shock.
My hand instinctively moved toward my chest. "What-?"
A small smile curved Eiden’s lips instantly. And across from us, Zaiden looked suspiciously amused too, though it was too subtle to even be noticed. Yet I still noticed it anyway somehow.
Eiden tilted his head slightly as he pointed out. "I would be careful calling her weak again if I were you. She clearly disagrees."
I stared at him blankly, furrowing my brows.
No. That wasn’t possible. My wolf had never reacted before. Never. Not even when I cried for her. Not even when I begged desperately for her to answer me.
So what exactly was he talking about?
Yet the knowing look passing silently between him and Zaiden made unease curl inside my stomach. It was like they understood something about me that I didn’t.
Before I could ask further, Zaiden finally spoke again. His deep voice cut cleanly through my thoughts. "Even if we ignore your wolf," he said calmly, "living alone in a human city still shouldn’t be your solution."
I looked at him fully again.
His gray eyes held mine steadily. And for the first time since entering the study, something shifted slightly in his expression. It wasn’t softness exactly, but something close to certainty.
"If you truly have nowhere else to go," he said quietly, "then stay in the Nightfang Pack."
