Chapter 117
I replied, “Okay, bye–bye, see you.”
When I was alone, I started thinking about Nathan, but I can’t let myself get too hung up on him!
I was lost in my thoughts for two hours when I shook my head to clear my mind, then got up and headed to the kitchen to
bake a cake.
Half an hour later, suddenly the door was pushed open, revealing Carter.
“Surprise!” I smiled as Carter walked through the door that evening. “Welcome back!”
The aroma of roasted herbs and garlic filled my small cottage, and I’d managed to bake a simple vanilla cake with cream frosting–nothing elaborate, but made with care.
Carter’s eyes widened as he spotted the cake on the kitchen counter. “That’s the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen!”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Carter, it doesn’t even have decorations. It’s just plain cream.”
“That’s the beauty of it,” he said softly, his eyes warm. “Simple. Honest. Perfect.”
After dinner, Carter took a bite of cake and closed his eyes. “If the Moon Goddess created desserts, I believe this would be
the flavor.”
“You’re exaggerating!” I couldn’t help but laugh at his dramatic praise.
As we finished our meal, Carter surprised me with an unexpected request. “Would you play the harp for me tonight?”
I nodded, happy to oblige, but then Carter stunned me further by proposing we play a duet–he on piano. Two staff members had already arranged for a piano to be delivered to the living room.
“I didn’t know you played!” I exclaimed, genuinely shocked.
“There’s still a lot you don’t know about me,” he replied with a mysterious smile.
We sat at our respective instruments, and our music blended with surprising harmony. His fingers moved with practiced precision across the keys, complementing my harp melodies perfectly.
There was something oddly familiar about playing with him–a connection I couldn’t quite place.
When the last notes faded, I looked at him with newfound appreciation. “Carter, that was beautiful… I’m speechless!”
Our eyes met for a moment too long, and something shifted in the air between us…
2
Carter suddenly cleared his throat. “It really was wonderful. But I’m afraid I need to go.”
At the door, he hesitated. “I need to leave for a few more days. Who else will bake me such delicious cakes? I’ll miss you.”
“Be careful, would you?” His tone carried a weight I couldn’t quite understand, reminding me strangely of Nathan.
“I will,” I promised.
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Chapter 117
Carter leaned in. 1 placing a gentle kiss on my cheek before departing into the night.
Despite my exhaustion, sleep cluded me. I found myself back at the plano, my fingers hovering over the keys as I replayed the day’s events in my mind.
“Carter had behaved strangely tonight. And then there was that ofce in the market–Nathan’s voice. But how could that be
possible?
Nathan was back at Ironjaw territory, probably planning his wedding to Madison and dealing with the border war..
I miss him more than I’m willing to admit. What is he doing right now? Is he with Madison? How is he handling the border war? Does he ever think of me?
That unsettling sensation returned–the feeling of being watched. I rose quickly and moved to the window, pulling back the curtains to peer into the darkness.
Nothing but the moonlit garden greeted me.
“You’re being paranoid, Rachel. Time for bed,” I murmured to myself.
I checked that the windows were secure and the door was locked before turning off the lights and climbing into bed.
But sleep remained elusive, and the baby inside me seemed to sense my unease, beginning to kick gently against my belly.
“Shh, settle down, baby,” I whispered, stroking my rounded belly “Everything’s going to be fine, okay?”
The baby quieted for a moment, as if listening and waiting.
I smiled softly in the darkness and began to sing an ancient werewolf lullaby.
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