Note: Thank you, Mynovel20 darling, for gifting a castle to this book earlier. Just knowing you read this book and love Leland means the world to me. Mwahh!
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Meanwhile, after Doctor Lehman left the manor and the commotion with Karenina was over, Sophie saw Leland enter through the door with an unreadable expression.
Yes, her husband didn't talk much and he also didn't express his feelings freely, but after six years together, Sophie could already recognize most of his emotions behind his flat expression and she could respond accordingly. However, today, she couldn't read him.
This made her feel bad about being human. If she was a she-wolf, she could sense Leland's emotions and feelings and didn't have to rely on her instinct. Leland could feel her and it became a great advantage because he always knew what she needed and felt.
Sophie thought being lycans had so many great perks that she started to understand why many humans were jealous of them. More than ever, she wished she was one.
Darn it. Even though she inherited the blood of one of the greatest lycan in history, her grandfather, King Malachi, her father's gene was more prominent. She could only watch the other lycans and hybrid couples around her with envy. They had such an amazing bond with their mates.
In her case, it only worked on Leland's side. She wanted to feel his pain, his emotions, and be able to say the right words and do the right thing when it came to him.
Like today... she wished she could read him.
"Leland..." Sophie smiled and got up from the chair to approach him. The man smiled back.
"Sophia," he said to her. "Are you still unwell?"
Sophie raised her brows at his question. How did he know that she was feeling unwell? She was wondering for a second before she remembered that he could in fact sense her emotions.
"Just nausea," she replied. Leland came to her, cutting their distance immediately, and scoop her up with his strong arms.
"Then you shouldn't have walked," he said gently.
Sophie felt he was like the calm water, that would make her drown in his sweetness. She wrapped her hands around his neck and watched his face carefully. She was enjoying his side profile from such close proximity and realized he was not upset with her.
Sophie thought Leland was feeling upset because she let the royal doctor in to check on Jan's condition without consulting him. However, he didn't say anything. This made Sophie feel bad about what she did.
"Leland..." she spoke with a low voice. "Someone came from the royal palace earlier today to check on Jan's condition."
Leland opened the door to their bedroom with one hand while his other hand kept supporting her body. He walked toward the sofa by the window and then placed Sophie there.
His mate was confused because Leland didn't seem to hear her. Did he not want to talk about it? She already felt guilty about letting Doctor Lehman in behind Leland's back and now she wanted to make up for it. Yet, he didn't seem to want to discuss it.
Should Sophie just keep quiet? She looked at him with widened eyes as Leland sat beside her and looked at her longingly.
"What is it?" she asked him carefully. "Is something bothering you?"
Leland didn't answer, which means something was bothering him. Sophie touched his hand and looked him in the eye. "Does it ever bother you that I am just an ordinary human, unlike my mother the great Anne Hansley?"
He replied without batting an eye, "Never."
Sophie chuckled and rubbed his hand lovingly. "Are you sure? You don't talk much and I think you would appreciate having a mate who could understand you without words."
She was referring to the fact that if Leland had a female lycan as his mate, things would have been easier for him.
Leland shook his head, "You put up with me, knowing I cannot express my thoughts well, and always try to understand me. Why would I want another woman as my mate?"
Sophie was touched by his honest but sincere reply. Of course, she didn't want him to want another female to be his mate. She was just saying things to lighten up the mood.
"I love you," she whispered and tilted her face to kiss him. After she landed a kiss on his lips, she rubbed his cheeks and looked him in adoration. "Please, don't ever change."
Leland smiled. His mood had quickly improved because of the unexpected kiss. "Don't you want me to talk more? You asked me to share stories about your parents."
"That will be appreciated, but I don't want you to feel burdened by it. I love you for who you are," Sophie replied. She had decided to stop mentioning Doctor Lehman and focused on them since Leland didn't seem to want to talk about the doctor's visit.
Perhaps he didn't want her to think he was petty by expressing his displeasure over the fact that Nicholas did send a doctor to visit his injured son. Leland was just a man with feelings and he was jealous.
"I don't mind," Leland said. He pulled her to sit on his lap, facing him. Her slightly protruding tummy was before him. The man couldn't help but smile at the sight. Thinking about their future child always made him feel happy. He looked up from her tummy and nodded at Sophie. "I am not great with words, but I'll try."
Sophie rested her head on his shoulder and hugged his back. "I had an awful day today."
"Is it because of that evil woman?" Leland rubbed her back lovingly. "I let her go because she was a woman, but I can easily go and kill her now if you wish for it."
Sophie chuckled. Leland spoke about killing Karenina like he was talking about the weather. This made her remember that this man was only sweet to her. To everyone else, he was a ruthless monster.
She shook her head weakly. "I hate her, but I don't think she is worth your time. Don't bother with her."
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From Missrealitybites:
OMG OMG OMG!! I can barely breathe! I woke up to the announcement of the werewolf contest winners and WE WON THE FIRST PLACE! Thank you so much for your support of this book.
Thank you for loving Leland, Sophie, and Nic and for making me feel confident that their story is worth reading. This is my first werewolf story and I am slowly falling in love with the werewolf genre.
My next book is about vampires - a genre which I have never written before, but I like werewolves so much now, that I think my next book will have werewolves in it too. I'll make it work!
PS: I will write more on Leland and Sophie soon, after I publish for TCP. I want to celebrate today's win by writing about Leland (since many of you are missing him on screen).
Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com