The moment Safira opened her eyes, she was relieved to see the familiar ceiling above her. She almost had tears streaming down her eyes as she realized she was safe and back with Damien.
Though she knew he wasn't right by her side, she could sense that he was close. He was close enough for her to feel safe. Moments later, he burst through the door. She sat up slowly in bed and he rushed over to help her fluff the pillow behind her pack.
"Good morning Sunshine," he whispered in that husky voice she had grown accustomed to.
She could smell the fragrance of breakfast foods wafting off him, which made her salivate. When their eyes met, Safira was quick to avert his gaze. She didn't know what to do or say, knowing that she had lied to him.
He was the one person who helped her unconditionally and she lied to him.
"I…" before she could say anything else, a burnt smell wafted into the room.
Damien cursed under his breath, promising to be back shortly before going to attend to the hazard in the kitchen. Safira could not help but chuckle a little as she could hear him releasing a string of curses while trying to remove the pan from the stove.
Safira tried to get up on her feet so that she could go and take a closer look. But this time, it was clear it was best for her to remain on bed rest. She was quick to notice all the bandages that crisscrossed all over her body.
As she recalled what happened at the borders of the Nightmoon pack, Safira wondered how she would best explain everything to Damien. She no longer wanted to hide anything from him.
She wanted him to know the truth, believing that he deserved that much.
"Sorry about breakfast, it's a bit burnt but still good," Damien entered the room with a tray in hand.
He carefully placed it down in front of Safira. It was quite a feast. Orange juice, a pot of hot coffee, four slices of toast, a huge portion of slightly burnt ham, and eggs. Everything looked delicious.
"What about yours? Don't you need to eat?" She asked as she looked over to him.
It was clear that this was meant to be his breakfast, not hers. That was a breakfast fit for an Alpha, not a healing woman.
"I'll eat later, don't worry about it," Damien brushed it off.
But seconds later, his stomach betrayed him, letting out a growl. He heard it and so did Safira. She could not help but chuckle at the sight of the Alpha's embarrassment. But the chuckle put her in a fair bit of pain too as it moved her stitches.
"We can share it if you like," she suggested.
"That's good with me," Damien replied with a smile as he got in bed next to her.
Safira had some orange juice, while Damien had some coffee. Both of them sat in silence, munching on toast, eggs, and ham without saying much else for a few minutes. They didn't know what to say or how to breach the topic of discussion.
There was so much left unsaid between them and so much to be said.
"The healers suggested that we go to the Moonlight Spring in the Moon Temple to accelerate your healing process," Damien was the first to break the ice, "Now that you're awake and looking good, we can leave anytime."
"Damien…"Safira said as she reached out to touch his hand.
"Yes?"
They were both looking deep into each other's eyes while munching on their toasts, with crumbs on the corner of their lips. It was quite a humorous sight but they were so entranced by each other's gaze they didn't see it as such.
"I think we need to talk. We need to talk about what we know and what happened," she chose her words carefully.
She didn't know how to face him, she wanted to avert her gaze but Damien wouldn't let her. He cupped her face so that their eyes would meet again.
"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I won't force you-"
"No," Safira shook her head, "It's not fair to you. And I want to tell you. I didn't mean to lie to you when I said I was a rogue, I was afraid."
Damien listened in silence as Safira told him the truth. She told him how she was part of the Nightmoon Pack but they all treated her like scum for being wolfless. She told him about her adoptive father, Greyson, who was the only person who ever showed her any form of kindness and love.
She told him how Alpha Markus, the one friend she trusted, turned out to be her fated mate. And yet, he wanted to reject her because she was useless to him.
"But I did him one better," she forced a smile as she remembered the scene, "I rejected him first. He got angry, and decided to send his wolves after me."
Damien held her hand tightly, providing what comfort he could. It was taking everything within him to not let anger consume him, knowing what Safira had gone through.
She could see the growing rage in his eyes too. She reached out and held his face in her hand.
"It led me to you," she said with a smile.
Safira didn't know what overcame her at that moment. She pulled Damien close and kissed him on the lips. It was something she had been thinking about for a while. While she was fighting the wolves at the border of Nightmoon, she'd been cursing herself on the inside for not doing so sooner.
Now that they had a moment together, she was not about to let the opportunity slip by.
Damien was caught completely off guard, but he welcomed the kiss anyways. Both of them parted lips, exploring each other's mouths while wrapping their arms around one another.
They gave in to their desires for a few moments, before resurfacing from the bliss.
Both of them were panting, gasping for air as they parted lips, unable to believe what had just happened. Safira's cheeks were beet red from embarrassment. She could not believe what she did.