When they touch me (Shelagh Milano) novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34
Artemisia

I take a deep breath as I step into the dimly lit office, even though I didn’t get an answer at my knocking.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Cayden asks me as I close the door behind me.

His eyes are still glued on the papers in front of him as I clear my throat. “I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a bit of time to spare for me?”

“Sure,” he sighs, still not looking at me. “As long as you return to bed afterwards.”

I sit into a chair in front of his desk, my insides tingling eagerly to get his eyes on me. “It has been 4 days now since I was discharged. I’m feeling much better already and I can’t stand lying around anymore. Also, I can’t continue to take away precious time from everybody’s day. Matthew and Logan are looking after me lovingly, but I guess they have more important things to do. Please, let me do something. I’m feeling good enough to help you all out and finally show myself to the pack.”

He lifts his gaze to look at me, making me gulp. “I don’t know. You still seem a bit pale.”

“Pale… It’s because you all treat me like I got the bubonic plague. I just bumped my head.” I pout, letting my shoulders slump. “Please Cayden, let me do something. I want to be part of the pack already.”

A faint smile crosses his lips as he looks back down onto his paperwork. “Okay. Let me think of something you can start out going easy. But as soon as I see you feeling unwell, you will be going back to bed!”

“Yes!” I say, nodding. “I won’t protest if that were the case!”

My jaw risks hitting the floor with a loud bang as he chuckles and even teases me jokingly. “Sure.”

“Hey,” I laugh. “I’m serious! I won’t disappoint you this time.”

He narrows his eyes at me and his lips stretch into a big grin. “I’m counting on that.”

My heart skips a beat, but I try to play it cool, reciprocating the smile shyly.

His eyes suddenly change, and his expression morphs slightly as he continues to look at me.

After a few seconds of us just staring at each other, he tears his eyes away from me to lay them back onto his paperwork. “Can I ask you something?”

“Everything you want,” I answer, feeling my heart flip uncomfortably.

“Have you talked with Fynn since you have been discharged?” He asks, making me shake my head.

I wrap the fabric of my dress around my index as I think of an answer that wouldn’t sound stupid. “No, he was so angry that I thought I would grant him his space.”

“Hmm…” He scribbles something down even if I know that he is set on what he wants to tell me. “I appreciate you wanting to respect his feelings, but he is kind of stubborn. I guess if you want him to apologise first, you are in for the long run. If you want him to talk to you, do the first step. Just so you know.”

I chuckle, nodding. “I appreciate the advice, Cayden. Thank you.”

He is mumbling something about me being welcome as my attention gets caught by his phone flashing up constantly. I remember that I already saw it once but I didn’t put much thought into it.

“It’s the council.” He says dryly, making me look at him like a deer caught in the headlights. “One of my advisers is in the high court and keeps updating me about matters regarding our pack. I don’t know if you heard, but we have a running case that seems to be more of a bother than we would have thought.”