Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven: Natalle
Natalie’s P.O.V.
The night was awful.
I didn’t get a wink of sleep, and I was positive that Killian didn’t either. Although with him sleeping in the
sitting room, I moved from the ufortable armchair to the empty bed so I wouldn’t have to sit up all
night.
It made me smile when he came back into the room. Even if we were mad at each other, I felt heard.
He had listened to me thest time we fought and even if he didn’t want to sleep next to me, he still
came back. He didn’t go sleep somewhere else, and he didn’t stay up working all night. While his legs
hung over the end of the couch, and he was clearly ufortable, the small gesture made me very
happy.
The next morning breakfast was brought to our room, and I was stunned when Killian sat down with me
at the small two-person table and began to eat in silence. We had never shared breakfast before, and I
felt self-conscious as he watched me eat.
“What is your favorite color?” His question after a long night and morning of silence took me by
surprise, and I blinked at him from across the table.
Civility. I had asked him for civility, and he had heard me.
I smiled softly as I realized that he was making an effort. He hadn’t stormed out of the room and
mmed the door between us. He slept in our room, stayed to have breakfast together, and now was
trying to learn more about me.
“Blue,” I looked away as I felt my cheeks warm. His piercing, hazel eyes were burning into my soul, and
my tongue felt like it was tied in a knot as he continued to stare at me.
After I left him high and dryst night, I had expected him to be angry at me. But if he was, he didn’t let
it show.
If anything, he seemed more at peace now than normal.
“And you, what is yours?” I nced over the rim of my cup as I took a sip of my orange juice. His eyes.
locked onto mine, and I smiled at him as I swallowed my sip and lowered my drink.
“Green.” He said, and I forced my eyes away from him to nce around the room. There wasn’t a
single green thing in here, nor did I remember seeing anything in his office.
I wasn’t daft enough to think that he favored that color because of my eyes.
We had a long way to go before any deeper feelings coulde to the surface between us. The
physical attraction was undeniable, but it was the walls he had up around him that made it so difficult to
Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
get to know him or develop feelings for him.
“That’s good to know,” I whispered as I smiled down at my te. There had been no hesitation in his
answer. He willingly told me something about himself. Even if it was as small as a color, it was a step.
The loud knocking on the door disrupted my thoughts, and my smile fell as I looked over my shoulder
at the heavy wooden barrier. I wished I could send them away, but it wasn’t proper nor was it polite.
More than likely, it was Joselin telling me that I had to train today, and I would owe her an apology for
my actions and words during my heat.
She hadn’t deserved the way that I hadshed out at her. Now that I knew I had been wrong about her
rtionship with Killian, I was ashamed to have to face her.
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“Put your clothes back on. I aming in!” The familiar voice of Killian’s sister shouted as she cracked
open the bedroom door slowly as if she was scared for what she might find on the other side.
Killian grumbled, his hand tightening around his fork as he looked away from me and to the door.
“Charlie, it’s safe,” I said trying to hide my disappointment behind a forced smile.
Killian had finally started talking to me this morning. It may have only been one question and a one-
word answer, but it was a start.
“Oh, good. I was hoping we could spend the day together before we get ready.” She cheered as she
walked forward and grabbed the uneaten English muffin half from Killian’s te. He let out a growl as
she proceeded to help herself to some jam before taking arge bite.
Killian nced at me briefly, and I could see that he was feeling torn. If I had to guess, he was enjoying
our civil time together as much as I was.
“Thank you for breakfast, Killian,” I said, and he seemed to light up when I used his name again. The
brief moment of happiness vanished as soon as his little sister looked at him. He pushed his chair back
aggressively as his eyes met mine. “It was very nice.”
His shoulders fell a small amount at my words, and as he walked past me toward the door, he stopped
by my side.
I held my breath.
It felt like he was a scared animal, and he was trying to approach me on his terms. I didn’t want to
make any sudden movements and scare him away.
His hand lifted as he reached for me, hovering over my shoulder. His fingers flexed before he curled his
hand into a fist and pulled his arm back to his side without touching me.
As he walked away, my eyes followed him. I couldn’t help the small feeling of longing for his touch. He
hadn’t held mest night and refused to touch me this morning. My chest almost ached as I watched
him leave. My lips parted as I took in a deep breath wanting to say that I appreciated the effort he had
put in this morning, but not wanting to do so when his sister was currently sliding into his chair and
eating the rest of his food. Instead, I called out, “Have a good day!”
He looked back at me, our eyes meeting for the briefest moment before the door closed between us.
“That was really awkward,” Charlie mumbled as she looked up at me with her *full.
I didn’t want to discuss my rtionship with her but didn’t want to push her away when I had no other
friends here. So, I kept my **.
“It was actually a very nice morning,” I said, pushing down my bitterness that it had been interrupted
and finishing my eggs.
She let out a short hum, raising her eyebrows in disbelief before taking another bite.
“What are we getting ready for?” I asked, wanting to change the subject, but the way she nced at
the nket and pillow on the couch told me that she was still distracted by my rtionship with her
brother.
“My wee home celebration. It won’t be very big. Just a gathering of the court and my friends. It’s
more like a small ball, really.” She lit up when she mentioned her friends, and I smiled at her. It was a
happiness that I hadn’t seen from her before, and I knew that it had been the night decision for her to
leave the castle and travel.
It was hours of pampering with a teaming in to do our nails, giving us a full body massage, and a
facial.
I wasn’t a huge fan of having someone else touching me, but once I was able to rx, I thoroughly
enjoyed it. In my old pack, I had never been able to afford a luxury like this. I never even had the free
time to do something like this. I had spent all of my time cleaning up after others and waiting on them
hand and foot.
My entire body seemed to melt and by the time they had usying with face masks on and cucumbers
over our eyes, I felt like an entirely different person. All of my sore muscles from training and my stress
were gone.
I also really enjoyed the day with her. She was genuine, friendly, and a little quirky.
The low hum of meditative music had me dozing off, and my fingers twitched as I fought off the sleep
that was calling to me.
“Natalie,” Charlie called out, and I hummed in response. “What has my brother told you about our
parents?