Page 197 of Awakened

“What’s happening?”

A soft voice with a distinct accent floats down the corridor on the left.

Branwen appears, carrying a stack of folded towels in her arms. She fumbles the towels—on purpose—and the trainee lunges to grab them before they can topple onto the floor. In the process, she manages to swap their positions—forcing the male to turn so his back is facing us.

“Oh, Fates,” she exclaims. “How clumsy of me!”

It takes everything in me not to laugh at her over the top performance. I swear I can feel her sly amusement like it’s my own. I’m suddenly positive that her appearance isn’t random.

“No, that’s, ah—that’s alright,” the trainee mumbles, clearing his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

He’s so nervous he can’t stand still, shifting back and forth on his feet. I can see the tips of his ears turning red from thirty feet away.

Branwen waits for him to glance away down at the floor, then gestures for us to get moving. She adjusts her grip on the towels and extends her hand to the Alpha.

“I’m Branwen, a guest of Gavran’s. However, you wouldn’t know it by the state of things. Apparently, the heathens over at HQ are under the assumption that towels replenish themselves, so I’ve been forced to make the trek all the way over here to fetch my own.”

She holds up her stack to punctuate her claim, and the trainee—who I’m starting to think has never actually spoken to a girl face to face before—nods in understanding.

Soren smiles, shaking his head in disbelief. I kind of want to hang around to see how she handles the young Alpha. Soren reaches for my hand and tugs me behind him to make our escape.

Once we’re far enough away, he exhales. “Fates, if that’s all it takes to sidetrack a guard, it’s a wonder this place hasn’t been infiltrated before.”

That same giddiness from earlier returns, and I laugh, feeling so light I worry I might float away. This moment feels so unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Like my nervous system doesn’t know how to process it.

It’s the middle of the afternoon; I just spent the last few hours enjoying time with my Mate, and to top it off, we completed a heist in a—probably—restricted part of the Bloodbound compound.

Even better… what we discovered could lead us to answers.

The only thing keeping this from being the best day of my short life is the lingering blanket of sadness and loss of my mother. I haven’t allowed myself to linger on the memories from last night. Haven’t let myself process it. Between the fire I used to kill that Severed and my mother dying—again—it all just feels like too much.

It’s overwhelming.

Soren must notice the smile fall from my face, because he stops walking halfway across the training yard. He spins to face me and places his hands on my shoulders.

“Where did you just go, Omega?”

His moss-green eyes search mine, full of so much care and concern that I have to look away.

Fates, what is wrong with me? I was just so happy not even sixty seconds ago. Why did I let myself go there? Why do I let myself feel things that hurt?

I ruined it, and now I’m about to ruin his whole day, too. Unless I can shove all of this down deep somewhere I don’t have to acknowledge it.

I just need to get through everything happening. I just need to get through the more important things, and then I can let myself spiral.

My Omega whines, a sound full of despair. I don’t need her words to know what she’s thinking.

How long?

How long can I go on ignoring all the bad things and clinging white-knuckled to the good?

Before Soren can push for an answer, Branwen’s voice floats to us on the breeze. We both turn as she pushes through the side exit of the trainee compound.

Still carrying an armful of towels.

Seeing her brings a grin to my face. She jogs to catch up with us, wordlessly handing her stack of towels off to Soren, who takes them without complaint.

“What are these even for? We have plenty of towels, trust me.”