Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

*Dev*
“I think she is finally asleep.” Leoni says, walking into the living room and taking the chair across from me. My eyes itch, the exhaustion doing its best to force me to sleep, but my brain…my brain refuses to shut down. I exhale, resting my head back on the comfy chair.
“Is this a stupid idea?” I whisper, looking to the side to see her. “Me staying here?”
She frowns, then she shrugs.
“No, what is stupid is not telling her all of it.” She says, her dark eyes pinning me where I am before I groan and slap my hand over my face.
“Which part do you suppose I tell her, Leoni? The part where I admit that I was stalking her and came across someone watching her room? That would go over great, I am sure.” I scoff at her, and she chuckles.
“Or you could have just told her what you told me. You were out running and came across something suspicious and it led you here. But you know, it’s nice to know the truth now.” She shrugs while I scowl at her.
“Obviously I’m not stalking her.” I say flatly. And she makes the most annoying face, pretending to believe me.
“No, no, you are right. Obviously.” She fights a smile as she gives me the side eye.
“You are far more frustrating than Hastings used to be.” I mutter, and she grins.
“I take that as a compliment.”
“You would,” I snort.
“What are you going to do now to ensure her safety?” Leoni asks, her tone more serious.
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” I ask, looking at her.
“Yes, but that’s only one step. Who is breaking into my house and getting through our defenses? Why are they after her? It’s obvious you haven’t told your uncle.” She leans forward. “Tell me you have thought that far in advance…”
“No, I haven’t! How the hell could I when I was caught off guard? How the hell am I supposed to plan all of this out while also going through all that fucking shit to find nothing about how to break this damn bond?” I groan, standing and pacing away from her before turning back around. “And who is to say it isn’t Nate or my uncle behind it?”
Her brows knit together, and her lips grow narrow as she thinks.
“Does that make sense, though? Why would they spy on her when they can just question her?” Leoni says. She makes a fair point. It would make zero sense for my uncle or even Nate to be here spying on Eden. They don’t do things with stealth, they use their force or name to get answers.
“Eden has made mention, a few times, about if I know who she is, she wouldn’t be welcome here. That it would change things completely. Maybe she has a shady past?” I offer, a sick feeling lining my stomach as it aches at the thought.
Leoni breaks out in laughter.
“Eden? With a shady past? That is highly unlikely. The girl is trained, and she is beta blood, but I can’t imagine a world where she would actually be at fault for anything terrible that happened to her in the past.”
I rest my hands on my hips, exhaling sharply.
“Well, I don’t fucking know then.” I mutter, each passing second growing more annoyed with how little I know about anything. Eden, the stalker, her past and why she was treated so poorly.
“Give her time and she will open up to you,” Leoni sighs. “That girl is smitten with you, just as you are with her.”
“That’s the breeder bond, and it wants us to fuck, not fall in love.” I sneer at her.
“It could still be love,” Leoni shrugs and I roll my eyes at the preposterous thought.
This is all the bond, the way my heart beats harder when I am next to her or how I had to have orange blossoms placed in my room to calm me down enough to sleep decent on the nights I forced myself to not see her.
“I am not fortunate enough to do anything I want for love, you know that.” I remind her, shooting a scowl in her direction.
“You know, Hastings kept telling me that, but I disagree.”
“You disagree half the time just for the fun of it, Leoni.” I say, and she smirks.
“It is fun,” she ironically agrees.
“Talk to her, see if she will open up to you about things, and maybe we can get some clues or insight into who might be after her. Right now it’s not been violent or dangerous. But it’s enough to make me worried, Leoni.” I say with a frown.
“No,” she says resolutely, which makes my eyes grow wide.
“Excuse me?” I bite out.
“I am not here to be your spy. That girl needs someone she can trust, IF she chooses to trust me enough with the past that clearly haunts her, that will remain between her and I.” She says, her shoulders squared as she stares me down.
“If she ends up hurt because you are being stubborn–” I start in on her, but I can see in her eyes she refuses to budge on this.
“I will let you know if there is anything I find too important to not share. But I refuse to be her friend and your spy. I can’t be both.” She says like her answer is so simple.
“Fine,” I grind out.
“That said, I’m not ready to sleep in a room with others yet,” Leoni whispers, clearing her throat as she looks away.
“Well, someone needs to stay in the room with her. What if they come in again?” I scoff, and she shrugs yet again.
“Didn’t the two of you share a room for a week?” She asks, thinking I can’t see through her feeble plan. But I can’t find the energy to fight her on it. Partially because I want to be near her, but mostly because I am too exhausted.
“Fine.” I grit. “You go sleep in your comfy bed while your future king sleeps on the floor.”
She stands, moving toward the hallway before she looks over her shoulder.
“You could always just sleep in the bed with her. It IS a king size, so you have all that extra space.” Then she disappears, leaving me with my clenched jaw.
I turn off all the lights as I trek my way up to the room, taking my time before I push the door open, finding Eden wide awake in her bed looking at paperwork. Her brown eyes look up, a flicker of shock when she sees me before she tilts her head in question.
“Looks like I will be staying in here with you.” I shrug. “If you aren’t uncomfortable with that.”
“Let me guess. Leoni conveniently needs her space?” Eden asks, smiling softly. I can’t help but return the smile with one of my own as I scratch the back of my neck and chuckle.
“Yeah, imagine that.” I grin.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think that woman wants us to just give in to the bond already and deal with the consequences later.” She says, looking back down at the papers in her hand.
To be truthful, giving into the bond feels like a damn good idea the longer I let my eyes linger on her in that big bed in the soft light of the dim lamp. I clear my throat and walk to the small pile of blankets laid on the floor next to the bed, between her and the window.
“I can sleep down there if you want,” she offers.
“That would defeat the purpose of my bed being placed right here.” I tell her. “I want to be between the window and you, just in case.”
“Ah,” she nods, “That makes sense.”
I look at her cheek, a frown tugging my lips downward, but I can’t help but feel a hint of relief. She is right, her bruise is healing much faster than she has healed before. And after seeing her naked, holding her bare body in my arms, I can personally attest to the weight she has put on and quickly turned to muscle.
“Uh, your face is looking better.” I say, “Well, kind of. It looks worse in color, but bruises tend to do that. Look worse before they get better.”
“Yeah, the pain has lessened quite a bit, too.” She smiles and goes back to her reading.
I settle in, walking over to my spot on the floor and removing my shirt before laying down, staring at the poorly lit ceiling. Just being this close to her makes my skin tingle, the pressure of my desire for her stifling me as I turn toward the window, trying to focus on anything but her closeness.
I fade in and out of sleep, each time waking to find the lights still on and the gentle rustling of papers. She is committed to finding that answer, going over the papers I checked earlier and double checking Leoni’s papers too. It doesn’t matter that all we did was read and grow more frustrated with lack of answers.
“Dev!” she squeals, her voice filled with excitement as I turn to look at her as she flies out of the bed and scrambles down next to me. Her soft skin brushes my side as she hovers over me, her hair cascading over her face as she smiles brightly. Shit, does she look stunning like this?
“What?” I groan, trying to keep my voice even.
“I think…I think I finally found something.” She bites her lips, nearly bouncing with excitement as she shoves a paper in my face.
“Okay, okay. Give me a second, damn.” I mutter, sitting up, taking it from her. I read the words, my brows furrowed as she watches me like a hawk stalking a field mouse.
“It could just be the phrasing…” I mutter, my heart conflicted at the findings. I should be ecstatic, but instead panic blossoms in my chest. What if she leaves right away? What if this feeling in my heart isn’t just the breeders bond…what if it’s more? I have already given up my heaven given mate bond. Can I give up love too, if that’s what this is?
“Or it could be the answer.” She says, excitedly. “We just have to find the paperwork and burn it. I mean, if it does nothing than it doesn’t change anything, but if it works, if we both revoke the oath and burn the paper work together…”
“You could be free.” I whisper, my eyes catching the happiness in hers.
“And you could be too!” She squeals. “So, where are the papers?”
I frown and drag both hands through my hair, dropping the old crinkled paper.
“Back where the auction was. I didn’t exactly grab it and bring it along.” I sigh.
“Soooo, are we going on an adventure tomorrow?” She asks, looking at me like her entire life couldn’t get any better than leaving me.