Wolf under an oak tree.

“Where are we going?” I asked him when we left the packhouse and I looked up to see that we have a crescent moon today with millions of stars that have dutifully lit up the dark sky. And I thought of my life like that star, you can see it shining brightly when the clouds have cleared, but if the sky is gloomy, you will not be able to see the star, but we always know that the star is shining brightly even behind dark clouds.

“To my house,” Jace spoke, bringing me out from my trance, when I looked at him, I can see the worry lines on his forehead, his eyes were dull, and there were bags under them.

“No Jace, you don't have to take me to your house, I think I will be safe if you just let me sleep in one of the rooms in the packhouse,” I mumbled, and I tried to wriggle my way out from his arm, but his arms held me even more firmly, and he looked at me with a tired look.

“After hearing you scream like that and feeling your apprehension, I don't think I will have a peaceful sleep tonight, if I just let you sleep in the packhouse, Iris,” he said, and I slowly nodded my head before placing it on his broad chest. The place around us was serene and quiet, and I can see that the occasional houses that we pass were all dark, meaning that this must be in the middle of the night.

When we reached Jace’s house, he held me in one arm and opened the door using the other, and then we made our way upstairs. At first, I thought that he might just drop me in a guest bedroom, but when I realized that he opened his room door, I was shocked.

“Jace, I will be fine in the guest bedroom.”

“I know you will be fine there, but I don't want to let you out of my sight. So you sleep on the bed, and I will take the couch,” he said and slowly placed me on the king-sized bed, which had huge fluffy pillows and a warm black silk duvet, a content sigh left my mouth, and I closed my eyes for a few minutes to absorb the enticing smell of my mate which was very strong on his bed.

“Looks like you like the bed, huh?” Jace teased, and my eyes flew open to see him giving me a knowing smirk, my cheeks heated up, and I let out a nervous laugh. And I threw a pillow at him, but he caught it at the last minute.

“Alright, so why don't you get some sleep,” he said and came towards me and pulled the duvet over my body.

“Jace, I can't sleep with jeans, it's so not comfortable,” I whined, and he looked at me before he walked into his closet and came out with a pair of boxers and a large black t-shirt.

“Go and change into these,” he said and gave me the clothes, and I slowly got up from the bed and made my way into the en-suite bathroom. Once I removed all my clothes, I quickly got into the shower and rinsed my body from all the dried blood and debris, and once I deemed myself clean enough, I wiped my body with the towel and wore the clothes that Jace gave me.

“Iris? Are you done?” Jace called my name, and I quickly dried my hair with the towel one last time before I left the bathroom, and I saw that he was not in the room.

Hmm, maybe he had to do something.

I shrugged, and I quickly climbed onto the bed and closed my eyes. “Hey, you are already sleeping?” Jace asked me when he came back into the room, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that his hair was slightly wet, and he was wearing a track bottom and loose-fitted t-shirt.

“I was about to sleep,” I replied and he nodded his head and took a pillow and a blanket from the closet, and made his way to the couch.

“Jace?” I spoke while he was arranging his bed.

“How are Mike and Elana?” I have been constantly thinking about those two, and I know that I won't be able to have a peaceful slumber unless I know that those two are alright.

“Mike just got out of the operating room five minutes before you screamed in your sleep, and for now he is unconscious, but I think his mate’s blood is helping him recover. But it is slow since he was stabbed using a silver knife,” he said, and a frown was etched on his face.

“As for Elana, since she is a werewolf and unluckily she wasn't stabbed by a sliver knife, she had completely healed except for a few cut wounds,” he said in a monotonous tone, and I can decipher the hate in his voice.

“It's good to know that they both are recovering. I don't know what I would have done if someone was badly injured.” I mumbled, and when I looked at Jace, he had this faraway look in his eye, and I know that he must be mind linking someone, so I left him alone and laid down on the bed and closed my eyes.

I have no idea what time it is, but I am pretty certain that it is not morning yet, what woke me up was the sound of someone groaning and cursing. At first, I thought that he might just stop after some time, but it was more than a few minutes now and Jace hasn't stopped cursing at all.

Irritated at being disturbed in my sleep, I got up from the bed and listen to what he was mumbling. “Uh! If I knew that my mate was going to make me sleep on the couch, I would have just bought a more comfortable one.” this sentence was followed by a few more curse words, and what was comical to see was the way he was sleeping on that couch.

For his six-foot height, that couch looked very uncomfortable since his legs were hanging outside and half of his body was out of the couch too, and I couldn't bear to see him in this condition, so when I was about to tell him to come and sleep with me that is when he completely fell off the couch letting out a groan which made me laugh hysterically.

“Iris! Didn't you sleep yet?” he asked me from the ground and tried to untangle his legs from the blanket.

“How can I sleep when someone keeps cursing out?” I asked in-between laughs, and his face turned red.

“I am sorry, Iris. This couch is getting on my nerves. I think I will just sleep on the floor.” he said and took his pillow and kept it on the floor.

“Jace, come and sleep with me on the bed,” I said with a smile, and his face held a shocked expression.

“Are you sure? I mean, it's completely fine, I will...” I cut him mid-sentence. “Just get in here,” I said, and he gave a shy grin before he took his pillow and came to the bed. Once we were both lying down on the bed again, I turn off the bedside lamp and turned away from him.

“Uh, aren't you going to keep a few pillows between us?” Jace asked confused, and a small smile appeared on my face.

“Why should I do that when I am sleeping with my mate?” I asked him before I closed my eyes.