***
"It's really cold..." Sophie muttered under her breath. Her body was shaking so intensely from cold and her eyes pricked with tears. She glanced over to her side and saw that her mate was sleeping soundly.
Every day, for the past year that they were here in Frisia, Leland didn't falter in his strict routine that involved taking care of Sophie, their children, and himself. He was so hard on himself that he always fell asleep fast and deeply.
The Alpha was working so hard especially for her sake that he could only rest by sleeping. She could even hear his light snores due to the extreme exhaustion that he was going through.
Sophie didn't want to disturb him, but she was shaking and so she shook her husband's arm. "Leland please wake up."
Sophie was already covered by a lot and the thickest blankets available, but she was cold tonight. That was despite the fact that she was inside of the castle protected from the winds.
There were a lot of factors that made it impossible to be cold.
Even though Sophie was situated in a room where the fireplace was burning hot. She could see the crackling bright flames that came from the generous amount of firewood.
She was still cold.
It was so freezing.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Sophie, but only a couple of seconds, her husband finally woke up. She looked at him guiltily and said, "I'm cold, Leland."
"Don't worry about it, Sophia. I'm here for you." Leland pulled her close and hugged her to his bare chest. He didn't know why this was happening to his mate even after he was pushing himself to the limits of growth and strength.
According to Lucas and the rest of the pack, they thought they had already experienced the peak of their Alpha's strength when he was trained severely by Isolde, but now he was working twice as hard.
Before, Leland worked to protect Sophie and her family from Isolde. Now, Leland was working hard to save his mate from the illness of the poisons and it gave him an unexpected strength unlike anything before.
"Do you feel a bit better now, Sophia?" Leland asked. The Alpha was already trying hard to strengthen himself and take care of Sophie and their kids. He wanted to see progress from his results.
However, it was to no avail and everything he seemed to be doing was only preventing Sophie from facing something much worse than what she was already experiencing now.
"I'm so sorry, Leland," Sophie whispered hoarsely. "I wish I didn't disturb your sleep, but I can't… it's just so cold."
"No, it's fine to wake me up when you're not feeling well, Sophia." Leland held her close and gently kissed her forehead. "Don't blame yourself for needing me when you are cold."
Sophie closed her eyes and tried to focus on her husband, Leland's warm body, but she was still freezing despite him being so close to her. He was already pressing his hot body so close to her but it wasn't helping.
"We're living in a secure and fortified castle, Leland." Sophie weakly said. "You have me in your arms and yet I am not able to keep warm."
"It's not your fault, Sophia," Leland said as he slowly sat up and looked at her. "Do you wish for me to bring you hot tea? If you are unable to sleep tonight, I can stay awake with you until you are."
It would be like the times when Sophie was still afflicted by nightmares and grief with her late husband. Leland wanted and was going to be there for his mate this time as well.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen.
"I… I wish I could sleep." Sophie looked down at the blanket and gripped them tightly. Her knuckles were white but she couldn't feel them as her shoulders trembled. "I'm so tired but every part of me is shaking."
"Do you wish for some healing tonic from the Healers?" Leland glanced at their bed rest and found it empty. It seemed like Sophie had already drunk them earlier. "I can ask them to make some now."
Even though the Lycan Healers couldn't cure Sophie of the effects of the poison that was in her body, they were able to create concoctions and potions that were able to numb their pain even temporarily.
At first, the healers were afraid that it would cause a severe reaction with the poison in her body, but so far, with Sophie's pain and conditioning worsening, they risked it and, fortunately, it helped alleviate the symptoms.
"But what if they're resting?" Sophie shivered. "I do not wish to be a bother right now."
Leland gently touched his mate's cheek. "You are in no position to care about others while you are still struggling with your own health, Sophia. Lycans are nocturnal. They will not mind the disturbance."
"I… uhm… are you sure?" Sophie looked at her mate's eyes.
"I am positive, Sophia. Even if they were disturbed, they are serving you, the Luna and they will drop everything for your sake," Leland said. "That is how the pack operates."
Sophie bit her lip. "Okay…"
Leland kissed her head and looked back at her. "I will stand up for a moment and talk Max or Duncan to fetch for a potion. Can I leave you here for just a minute, Sophia?"
Sophie bravely smiled and nodded. "Of course, Leland."
The Alpha immediately padded outside of their room to talk with his men.
Sophie couldn't help but hide underneath the blankets and shake. Her husband stepped away, and she was already freezing once again. Sophie detested it.
This wasn't supposed to be worse than when she and Nicholas slept in Hautingen in their shabby hut. Even though the hut was run down and the hard and shaky bed was really uncomfortable, she was so warm.
Now she was sleeping in the most elegant and comfortable bed in a beautiful room, but it felt like she was sleeping in ice.
Sophie suddenly wished for that warm moment in Nicholas' arms and she felt guilty about it.
.
.
________________________
From Missrealitybites:
Uff, I was surprised to see this book receive a flash banner today.
I wish I could give you a mass release to celebrate it. Unfortunately, I am still recovering from the past week's arduous work and cannot write much. =(
So, I hope this bonus chapter will do for now. I will write and stockpile for February 1 IF this book won anything in the Werewolf writing contest which will be announced on January 27. I will publish 10 bonus chapters.
These are the chapters you can look forward to in the future (in no particular order):
- One by one, the lycans will take over power in kingdoms around Riga
- The rise of the Obsidian Sand Pack
- Sophie finally recovered and she becomes pregnant with Leland's child
- The Romanov family move back to Riga
- Luciel and Jan get their human forms.
- They are invited to the royal events (because the king wants to find an excuse to see Sophie)
- Queen Mother gets to see her grandsons and falls in love with them
- Leland and Nic's face-off
- And so much more!
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