Chapter 333: _Say You Need Me
(Warning: Mature Content Ahead.)
That night, Odessa and I managed a sound sleep with her in my arms.
When I woke up, I squinted through the morning sunlight, feeling the bed for her.
Empty.
I sat up, scanning my gaze around until I saw the balcony door open wide, a cool breeze blowing into the room through it.
My eyes flicked to the clock on the wall.
It was already past ten AM, which was expected since the chaos from last night ended by midnight.
"Odessa?" I called out, stepping out of the bed and adjusting my red night robe.
I followed her sweet scent to the balcony and sighed lightly when I saw her standing there, her left hand on the railing while her right hand held a glass of wine.
That was one red flag...
She had her back facing me, letting me see her beautiful blonde hair which was tied in a high ponytail. She wore a white night gown which hugged her curves.
But I didn’t have the time to admire her beauty, even with the golden sunlight kissing her skin like a painting.
Not when her shoulders were slacked and her emotions... Empty.
Another red flag.
I couldn’t feel anything from her through the bond. No sadness, no anger, no grief... Nothing.
Just the kind of emptiness someone feels when they no longer have something to live for.
"Death never felt so real..." She suddenly whispered, her voice trembling. She shook her head, taking a sip from her wine.
It was then that I noticed two empty bottles on the floor beside her, causing my eyes to widen, dread crawling down my spine.
Hell no.
"Odessa—" I stepped forward, stretching my right hand to her shoulder but she continued.
"It’s ironic. The girl who watched her parents die at such a young age." She let out a dry laugh, obviously forced.
That one was a sting, even though there were no accusations behind her words.
Just raw, unfiltered truth.
"The powerless witch who watched her people losing their lives in a meaningless war. The scared wife of an Alpha king who watched people die around her while getting blamed for each death." She paused, croaking like she was struggling to breathe.
I couldn’t take it anymore and held her shoulder but she was persistent: "The hybrid who slaughtered tens of people while trying to earn their trust. The... The mother..."
An emotion finally broke through her, like the first crack in an icy wall I didn’t even know she had put up.
Despair.
"Odessa, stop." I turned her around but then my heart lurched when I saw a single tear drop streaming down the corner of her eye.
She wasn’t empty.
She was hiding everything.
"... The mother who didn’t even get to hold her... Her baby before he was snatched away. Like a pawn in whatever cruel game Ryker is plotting." She shook her head, her lips remaining parted. "And now my best friend. My only friend..."
That last part felt like she was mourning both Caroline and Marcellus.
As cruel as he was painted before she killed him, even with the fact that he’s killed so many people under our noses all this while... He had still been a great friend.
It was almost unbelievable that he had faked it all this time.
"Odessa, I can’t let you spiral," I muttered, placing my other hand on her shoulder as well. "I can’t let you break."
She shook her head, looking me dead in the eye. Those bright violet eyes which always lit my morning and warmed my nights... Were now empty hollows of their former selves.
"Why?" She asked, squinting her eyes. "Because the pack needs me? So that I can get ready for whatever judgment or scrutiny the elders of my coven have?"
I wanted to speak, but she suddenly broke down completely, tears streaming like a flood down her face.
"I’m tired, Kaelos." She wept, pressing her face on my chest. "When will it end? When will the pain end? When will life stop hurting?"
I wrapped my arms around her body, pressing her closer to my chest until she melted, giving in to my hold.
She wept louder, the glass of wine in her hand dropping to the floor with a crash. But I didn’t flinch, stepping over the shards and guiding her back into the room.
"My love..." I whispered, placing her on the bed and making her sit. I sat beside her, letting her rest her head on my shoulder as I brushed my hand through her hair.
"As... Crazy as it sounds, do you know one constant in all these things you’ve listed?" I asked, keeping my voice soft.
She could barely speak through all the crying but managed a trembling, "W–What?"
My lips pressed into a thin line as I wondered if I should say it.
’Probably not...’ Damon chimed in my head, his howl hesitant.
But I ignored, letting out a deep breath. "Me, Odessa."
She stiffened under my hold, her sobbing stopping as well.
I blinked, quickly trying to clarify. "From your parents’ death, to your first days here in the pack, to the charity Ball, our baby’s death..."
’You’re losing her, idiot!’ Damon snapped in my mind, but once again, I ignored him.
Odessa slowly raised her head from my shoulder as I finally went straight to the point.
"I’ve been with you through all of this. Yes, I’m the one who killed your parents that night and I’m eternally remorseful of it. But... But maybe it’s proof of the binding fate of the mate bond."
I grabbed her hands, rubbing them tenderly as I stared into her eyes.
There was a flicker of something warm, a flash almost impossible to notice.
But I noticed it.
"Fate..." She smiled wryly, shaking her head. "Or just a cosmically terrible coincidence?"
I would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the solemn air between us. Instead, I blurted. "Same thing, I guess."
Her smile became warmer as I placed my right hand on her face, wiping off her tears with my fingers.
And she didn’t look away even for one second.
Her breath trembled against my cheek when I leaned closer, my thumb still brushing away the trails of her tears.
"Kaelos..." she whispered, her voice breaking like fragile glass.
I kissed her.
Not the kind of kiss meant to distract or silence, but the kind that tried to put broken pieces back together.
Her lips tasted like salt and wine. They trembled under mine at first, but then she pulled me closer, clutching my robe like she needed to anchor herself in me before the world swallowed her whole.
I groaned low against her mouth, pulling her into my lap. Her nightgown shifted against my skin as she straddled me, and for the first time since the chaos, I felt her need.
"Odessa..." I murmured against her lips, but she silenced me with another kiss, harder this time.
Her hands fumbled at my robe, tugging at the fabric until it fell open, baring my chest.
I felt her palms splay against my skin, her fingers trembling but eager, dragging down from my neck to the ridges of my abs. My blood stirred hot, my body responding before my mind caught up.
"You don’t get it," she whispered fiercely against my mouth, her tears still wet on her cheeks. "I need to feel something else right now. Something that isn’t grief."
Her words gutted me but I didn’t stop her. I wouldn’t.
Instead, I kissed her harder, sliding my hands beneath her nightgown until I touched the soft skin of her thighs.
She gasped into my mouth when I squeezed, when I dragged my palms upward, urging the gown higher and higher until it bunched at her waist.
The moment her bare skin pressed flush against me, I groaned, my hips bucking upward instinctively. The friction drew a sharp whimper from her throat—half broken, half hungry.
"Odessa..." My voice was guttural. "Are you sure?"
She met my gaze, her violet eyes burning through the haze of tears. "I’m drowning, Kaelos. And you’re the only one who can pull me out."
That was all the answer I needed.
I surged forward, capturing her lips again while my hands slid up her back, tugging the nightgown over her head. She let it fall to the floor without a care, leaving her naked and trembling in my lap.
My chest tightened at the sight of her.
Even through all the pain, she was still mine. And I was hers.
I bent forward, trailing kisses down her neck, tasting the salt of her tears mixed with the sweat of her skin. She tilted her head, granting me more, her breath shuddering every time my lips grazed the hollow of her throat.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, pulling, guiding, urging me lower.
But I didn’t rush.
I wanted her to feel every second, every brush of my lips, every graze of my teeth as I worshipped her skin down to her breasts.
When I took one into my mouth, her sharp gasp filled the room.
She arched against me, nails digging into my shoulders as if the sensation was too much and not enough all at once. I groaned against her, suckling, teasing, while my other hand kneaded the softness of her other breast.
"Kaelos..." Her voice cracked, breathless and needy.
I pulled back just enough to meet her gaze again, my lips swollen from kissing her. "Say it, love. Say you need me."
"I—" Her voice faltered, tears brimming again. She swallowed hard. "I need you. Please."
I growled low, the sound rumbling from my chest as I pressed her back against the mattress.