Chapter 99: Something Happened To Eiden
Zaiden:
If someone had told me yesterday that today’s biggest problem wouldn’t be the chaos from the pack meeting, the border dispute, or the three elders threatening to resign over a centuries-old territory disagreement, but rather my best friend smiling like a lovestruck teenager, I would’ve questioned their sanity.
Yet here I was.
Standing in Eiden’s kitchen at six in the morning while the man quietly hummed to himself as though the world hadn’t just spent the past twenty-four hours trying to give me a headache.
I leaned against the kitchen island, arms folded across my chest, watching him prepare for the morning run. The smell of fresh coffee filled the room, but Eiden seemed far more interested in whatever tune he was humming than in the conversation I’d been trying to have with him for the past half an hour.
"...so the eastern territory elders refused to sign the agreement," I continued, trying one last time to make him pay attention. "Then the northern representatives started accusing them of manipulating the trade routes. One thing led to another and half the meeting ended with people shouting at each other."
"Hm."
That was all I got. A thoughtful little hum. Nothing more. I narrowed my eyes. "Eiden."
"Hm?"
"Did you hear a single word I just said?"
"I did."
"And?"
He smiled while stirring something in the frying pan. "Sounds exhausting."
I stared at him.
That was it? I had spent over half an hour explaining the political disaster I’d just returned from, and that was all he had to say?
No. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I had known Eiden for years. He wasn’t someone who ignored problems. And he certainly wasn’t someone who hummed while someone else complained about them, especially me. Which could only mean one thing... something had happened. Something important. Something capable of putting him in such an outrageously good mood that not even pack politics could disturb him.
I slowly straightened.
"Eiden."
This time he actually looked at me.
"What happened yesterday?"
His smile deepened. "What makes you think something happened?"
I deadpanned. "You are humming."
"...I hum sometimes."
"You haven’t hummed in the twelve years I have known you."
"I probably have."
"You definitely haven’t."
His lips twitched.
I pointed an accusing finger at him. "You have been smiling since I walked into this house."
"I’m usually smiling."
"Not like this."
He opened his mouth to answer. But before he could, the sound of a car engine drifted through the open kitchen window and both of us instinctively looked outside. The vehicle stopped only seconds later. Everything inside me immediately settled.
Rosalie.
She was here.
My wolf surged forward with unmistakable excitement after two full days of being away from our mate. Without consciously realizing it, I had already stood up.
Only... Eiden was faster. Much faster. Before I had even taken two steps toward the front door, he was already outside... running. Actually running. I frowned before following him out onto the porch. And then... I stopped. Completely.
Mr. Wilson had just opened the rear passenger door and Rosalie stepped out, adjusting the strap of her small backpack while offering the older driver her usual warm smile.
She looked beautiful in comfortable clothes and with her long hair tied into a loose ponytail. Even though she never wore makeup except for lip tint, she always looked breathtaking.
Before she could even properly close the car door, Eiden reached her. And without the slightest hesitation, he wrapped both arms around her waist and effortlessly lifted her completely off the ground.
I blinked.
Surely... surely I hadn’t just seen that correctly.
Rosalie laughed, brightly and freely. Her hands immediately found Eiden’s shoulders to steady herself, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of surprise or discomfort on her face. Instead, she looked... happy. Genuinely happy.
Moon Goddess.
She was hugging him back. Not politely or awkwardly. Instead, she actually leaned into him.
My wolf immediately voiced his displeasure.
Then, as if that scene hadn’t already been enough, Eiden gently lowered her back onto the ground. One of his hands remained against her waist while the other brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Then, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. It wasn’t long, nor was it passionate. It was simply tender.
Rosalie’s cheeks instantly turned the prettiest shade of pink. And the color had absolutely nothing to do with the chilly dawn breeze sweeping across the porch. I had seen enough women blush in my life to recognize exactly what I was looking at.
She looked at him, actually looked at him... with softness, with trust, and with something quietly growing. Only after several more seconds did her gaze finally shift beyond Eiden.
Until it met mine.
Almost instantly, she straightened slightly. The bashful expression disappeared, replaced by the familiar gentle smile she’d always worn around me.
"Good morning," she greeted softly.
I managed a nod. "...Morning."
From beside her, Eiden looked directly at me. There was no arrogance, no challenge, only a knowing smirk. He gave me a single glance that seemed to say - Yes. Something happened.
My eyes narrowed.
Exactly what had happened yesterday?
Unfortunately, that question only tormented me for the next hour and a half. Training had officially become torture. Not because Rosalie performed poorly. Quite the opposite.
She had improved tremendously over the past two months. Her movements carried more confidence. Her wolf felt stronger. Her reactions had become noticeably faster.
No. The torture came from watching those two together. Every correction Eiden made somehow lasted a second longer than strictly necessary. Every time he adjusted her stance, his hands lingered just enough for Rosalie’s smile to appear. When she landed a successful strike, he praised her so warmly that she beamed like she’d conquered the world. When she stumbled during one exercise, he instinctively caught her by the waist before she could lose her balance.
Instead of immediately stepping away, the two of them simply... looked at each other. For one heartbeat. Two. Three. Then Rosalie smiled. Again.
I wasn’t imagining it. She smiled differently around him now. It was lighter and more open. My wolf became increasingly restless. I wasn’t angry. Eiden was my brother in every way that mattered. And Rosalie, she deserved happiness. If anything, watching her smile like that filled me with relief.
Yet, there was another emotion quietly growing beneath that relief - jealousy. Simple, honest, and unavoidable. I was jealous not because I wanted Eiden to have less. But because I wanted moments like those too. I wanted our mate to look at me the way she’d looked at him. I wanted to know what had happened yesterday that had erased so much of the hesitation she’d always carried. I wanted... just one forehead kiss that would make her blush that beautifully.
Instead, I spent the entire session standing several steps away, pretending to observe their technique while silently wondering whether I’d somehow missed an entire Chapter of my own life.
Finally and mercifully, the training ended.
Rosalie accepted her water bottle from Eiden and the two exchanged another smile. Then she waved goodbye to both of us before walking toward the waiting car.
I watched until the vehicle disappeared beyond the trees. Only then did I slowly turn around.
Eiden had already walked back inside the house, still humming.
I followed him into the kitchen. The moment he reached the counter, I grabbed his shoulder and turned him around to face me. He blinked in mild surprise. I looked directly into those infuriatingly cheerful blue eyes.
"What," I demanded with complete seriousness, "exactly happened yesterday?"
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