Chapter 277

277 Sunrise... and a Healing Heart

Katie was pulled from her mate’s memories only to find that Cole had fallen fast asleep. When he had fallen asleep was not known to her. The faint traces of tears on his face showed that he’d probably fallen asleep a while ago and continued to dream after he was sleeping.

She caressed his cheek, wiping a fresh new tear that broke from its confines mirroring a similar glistening bead one of her own, ‘I guess strength comes in many forms.’

She thought to herself, noticing the man was finally free of the gloom that had plagued his mind. A cold breeze pushed open the doors of the balcony, notifying the girl of a change that she could only describe as a miracle.

There was a drop of rain falling anymore, not even the slightest drizzle of rain and the faint traces of a power that had arrested the sky were gone... ‘So it was you...’

With the calming breeze coming from the balcony, the girl was soon lulled to sleep as well. The night passed even faster than the girl could have imagined and she rose early the next morning, a rarity that hadn’t occurred in quite some time.

“Hey... Hey... Sleeping future king, just how long are you planning to stay in bed?” Katie poked her mate’s cheek beside her.

“As long as I feel I need... What are you doing up at this hour? It’s not even six yet. You haven’t been able to get up this early in a while?” the alpha groaned, pulling a pillow from under him and covering his head.

“Well, I... That doesn’t matter right now,” the girl huffed ripping the pillow from his grip, “Now get up and look and follow me.”

Once Cole realised she wasn’t going to let him be, he rolled out of bed and got ready as fast as she could let him(which almost got him out the door in a shirt put on inside out).

.....

“Come on, you’re taking far too long,” she called to him, dragging him through the palace in a jumpy mood similar to that of an excited child. Losing the remaining embers of sleep was easy once Cole heard a voice that excited.

“Hey, wait up. You’ll trip if you keep running that fast,” Cole called out to Katie as he tried to keep up the pace, “How are you this energetic though?” Hope, as well as worry, seeped into his voice.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. What matters is what I have to show you?” the girl responded, quickly. Cole followed her as she bounded up the stairs and to her destination.

‘She definitely knows her way about the palace. As he followed, he soon figured she was heading for the top floor. A smile graced his lips when he noticed she was starting to regain her cheery nature.

They finally reached the top floor and ascended the stairs that led into one of the towers. Katie had vanished into one of the rooms at the top whilst the alpha followed his mate’s scent with a smile he simply couldn’t wipe off.

“Now what’s so nice about this place that you wanted to...” he froze upon entering the room.

From his memory of the palace, it was one of the few rooms in the place with a balcony and also one with the best view of the palace grounds, however, with how high it was into the air, no one used it for fear of falling accidents. The room was now being used as a storeroom, or so Cole had thought.

The room had been completely cleared and cleaned till it was spotless. The floors and furniture were sparkling clean, but that wasn’t what caught his attention the most.

It was the beautiful girl who stood on the balcony letting the wind blow through her long dark locks. This explained the change in her scent’s intensity, but now he was worried that she was being a little bit too free-spirited for safety, “Hey, Katie, you have to be...”

“Cole, look... Out there... Over the horizon,” the girl pointed excitedly, before stepping out of the way for him to see what she was saying.

Red streaks of sunlight painted the sky announcing the arrival of a light that hadn’t been seen in over a week. Seeing the sunrise had never felt so nostalgic before. After the rains that had terrorized the empire, it was starting to look like they would never see it again, “Is that...”

“Sunrise, Cole. The sun is rising again,” the girl ran back to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the balcony as well, “Come on.”

Following her, the near-petrified alpha watched the sun begin its journey for the first time in a little over a week. It had been a long time since they’d seen the sight.

The sky turned beautiful shades of red that swirled with clouds painting a perfect scenery with the vibrant green of the woods below it, “I never thought it could look so... beautiful.”

Katie smiled at her mate’s realisation, “Yeah... It’s also a symbol of the peace in your heart.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cole asked her.

“Don’t overthink it,” she responded, planting her lips on his. He got the message she was trying to tell him in one go.

While he didn’t want to believe it was his fault for the missing sunshine, the warmth from his mate’s embrace wiped all distracting worrying thoughts from his mind and allowed him to simply accept the moment for what it was... and enjoy it.

‘Perhaps, it would be better if I didn’t overthink it...’ he replied through the mind link.

........

The princess ordered that their breakfast be brought for them in their room. The assortment of cookies and bread that were brought had no idea what they’d been signed up for.

Cole made sure to keep Katie’s plate at least half full without her noticing. With how happy she was, he was sure she was capable of eating so much more if she didn’t realise what was happening.

Over the past days, he’d noticed a significant drop in her appetite and this was his first attempt at remedying it.

When the girl noticed, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

'

“I was just helping you reach the scones. I wouldn’t want you to stretch so far to reach them, dear,” the man chuckled nervously.

“Cole, you’re holding a muffin,” the girl groaned, “If you’re trying to make me eat, don’t lie about it.”

“Well... umm, I just want you to get better faster. Have you eaten to your fill since that day?” Cole asked her.

“No, I haven’t. What does that have to...”

“Aha... So you are still healing? Are you okay?” the royal cut her off, trying to break through his mate’s protective barrier.