The next day.
Athissa and Mary went with the group traveling back to the Ravenfort pack.
Mary rode with Edward, while Athissa was sitting alone in a cart with goods as her companions.
Athissa sighed deeply and leaned back on the chair.
They had been traveling for hours, and boredom was killing her.
On the other hand, Mary and Edward were so busy flirting with each other that even the other men showed annoyance.
However, they remained silent.
Just a little grumble here and there.
‘I wonder what the Ravenfort pack looks like,’ Athissa thought as she looked at the clear sky.
Then her eyes shifted to the back where Caelus was riding.
His face was stoic and cold, different from the man she had talked to yesterday.
Athissa watched Caelus for a few seconds.
‘Yesterday, he had been surprisingly talkative, but now, he looked like someone had personally offended him by inventing the concept of happiness,’ Athissa thought.
Caelus’s dark clothes moved slightly with the wind as he rode behind the cart, his expression completely unreadable.
Athissa tilted her head.
‘What happened to him?’
She had barely finished wondering when Caelus suddenly looked up.
Their eyes met.
Athissa immediately looked away.
She pretended to inspect one of the boxes beside her.
A few seconds later, she heard the sound of hooves approaching.
Caelus rode beside the cart.
“Are you bored?” He asked.
Athissa looked at him.
“Extremely.”
Caelus’s lips twitched.
“You’re a doctor.
I thought doctors enjoyed suffering.”
Athissa frowned.
“We enjoy making other people stop suffering, Alpha.”
Caelus’s brows furrowed upon hearing the word ‘Alpha’ on Athissa’s lips, but didn’t correct her.
“That sounds exhausting,” he said.
“It is.”
For the first time that morning, Caelus actually smiled.
Athissa blinked.
‘He smiled!
Omg!’ She thought.
Athissa felt she was seeing the man from yesterday.
Not the terrifying cold man who looked like he could kill someone with a glance.
This version of Caelus looked… human.
“You should smile more,” Athissa said.
Then his smile disappeared immediately.
“Why?” Caelus asked.
“You look less frightening.”
Caelus raised a brow.
“To you?”
Athissa shook her head.
“To everyone.”
A few riders ahead suddenly coughed awkwardly.
Athissa looked forward and saw several men were pretending very hard not to listen.
Caelus ignored them.
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“No.”
Athissa answered so casually that Caelus stared at her.
“You should be,” he said.
“Why?”
“I’m an Alpha.”
Athissa shrugged.
“And I’m a doctor.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“People are afraid of doctors too.”
“Are they?”
“Especially when we carry needles.”
Caelus stared at her for a moment.
Then he laughed.
It was quiet, but genuine.
Athissa smiled.
“There.
That one!”
“What?” Caelus’s brows furrowed together in confusion.
“That smile.”
Athissa pointed at Caelus lips.
“You like my smile?” Caelus smirked.
Athissa froze.
She had not expected him to turn her words against her.
“I—”
Caelus leaned slightly closer while still riding beside the cart.
“You said I should smile more.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re staring at it.”
“I was observing.”
“Observing?”
“I’m a doctor.
Observing is part of my job.”
Caelus’s lips curved.
“Then observe carefully.”
Athissa narrowed her eyes.
She started feeling different about their interactions, as if there was another meaning to it.
“Are you flirting with me, Alpha?” She asked, crossing her arms.
“No,” Caelus answered seriously, but it came far too quickly.
“Really?” Athissa pressed further.
“I’m simply enjoying the conversation with you,” Caelus replied.
Athissa sighed heavily.
She felt that if she continued with their current topic, it would lead to something else.
So she decided to change it.
“Well, umm, I heard your pack has been dealing with rogue wolves.
Can you tell me how severe it is?” Athissa asked.
She was also curious about their ongoing war.
Caelus inhaled deeply, and his eyes looked ahead.
“We’ve been at war for years.
I lost count, but there are times when the damage is less, but most of the time, the effects are so great that the pack suffers greatly,” he explained and looked Athissa in the eye.
“That’s… so bad,” Athissa looked down while fidgeting at the hem of her skirt.
“Yeah, if I remember correctly.
We no longer have a healer.
She died after she got attack while patching up a fallen warrior.”
“Condolences.”
“But now we have you.”
Caelus looked at Athissa from head to toe.
“And you look healthy enough to live longer.”
Athissa felt all the hairs in her body stand up.
Being a replacement for a dead healer wasn’t uplifting.
“Don’t be scared.
I’ll protect you,” Caelus replied seriously.
“You should be since you’re the Alpha,” Athissa nodded her head.
Caelus smiled and went backwards, ending their conversation.
After a few seconds, a man near the cart came close and suddenly coughed.
“COUGH!
COUGH!”
Athissa looked at him with a raised brow.
“I’m not sick,” he said.
“I know, but why are you coughing?”
The man glanced behind him at Caelus before looking back at Athissa.
“I’m just curious about who made our Alpha smile,” the man said.
“And you are?” Athissa asked his identity.
“Oh, right.
My name’s Cole.
The pack’s Delta,” he introduced.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Athissa,” she smiled.
“Yes, I heard.
The doctor, right?” Cole grinned.
“Yes?” Athissa squinted her eyes as if Cole wanted to say something.
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” Cole shook his head aggressively.
“Oh, okay—”
Before Athissa could finish her words.
Cole spoke again.
“It’s just that you’re the first woman who made him smile so easily.
Even Chloe can’t make him smile like that,” Cole chuckled upon remembering a distant memory.
Athissa’s smile dropped upon hearing a woman’s name.
“Chloe?” She asked.
“Ah… I should not mention that,” Cole cleared his throat and went back to his post.
Athissa tilted her head with interest.
However, her chest tightened a bit.
‘Chloe?
Maybe she’s his mate,’ Athissa thought.
Somehow, that idea made her chest ache for an unknown reason, and she didn’t feel good about it.
Nature really woke up and chose chaos.