Chapter 167: Elias hates EVERYONE

Noah’s POV

Dream

My hair is being stroked by gentle hands. The touch is slow and so tender it feels out of place. I frown and press my face into the person’s lap.

Wait...this doesn’t feel familiar in any way. This isn’t Elias’s lean but strong build and it’s definitely not Zanes softness. Who is this?

I turn my head to look at the person through hazy eyes and my mouth falls open.

It’s a woman I’ve never seen in my life before. She’s a very beautiful woman with white hair like Siren’s.

If Siren was a female, I’d bet Elias’s left nipple that he’d look exactly like this. They are beautiful in a haunting way, yet their beauty is somehow soft, the only difference between them is that this woman’s hair glows like the moon.

"I don’t know you" I say when my senses return and she laughs softly. Her laughter is as soothing as the sound of the sea. "You don’t know me, child?" she asks and I nod.

"I don’t...know you" I repeat with uncertainty and she keeps on stroking my hair. The gentleness of her touch is so satisfying.

"You do know me and your husband hates me" she chuckles and I frown in confusion. Yeah well, Elias hates everyone and everything that lives and breathes. I know he hates me, but I just can’t prove it.

"Why does he hate you?"

"He thinks I’m never there" she says softly.

"Are you?"

"I will be..." she says and moves her hand from my hair to my stomach. I don’t like that she’s touching my belly. My body is already accustomed to Elias’s touch. "I don’t want you touching me there" I say quietly, and she takes her hand off.

"Isn’t it divine?" is the last thing I hear before the thin line between dream and reality blurs.

The coolness of the dream disappears and I’m back in Elias’s bed. My face is smushed into the soft pillow and it’s still dark outside. I slowly open my eyes to look for Elias.

"...when you wear a smile, make sure your eyes match the look..." a strange male voice says and I freeze in place on the bed.

Huh?

I must have inhaled some of Damien’s toxic fumes. What he was smoking seemed pretty strong and that’s the only sane way I can explain why I’m dreaming of women with glowy hair and hearing voices of cheerful men. What’s going on?

"Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel! Now, the corner of the lips should go up and not downwards like this..." the voice continues and I sit up slowly, resting my weight on my elbow as I find my husband doing the weirdest thing yet.

Elias is sitting in front of a mirror that wasn’t in this room the last time I checked. I really don’t know what to think of this bizarre sight. This is completely new to me.

"Elias..." I call and he turns around slowly like he’s in a horror film.

Dear Goddess. Not only is the turn terrifying, but his overtly bright phone screen is also pointing upwards and the look on his face is shocking enough to cause a mass hysteria.

He looks like a smiling devil from a medieval painting, but he’s a handsome version with dark hair and small hands.

"Elias...is everything okay?" I ask out of concern and the smile widens.

Should I run? How loud can I scream to get Lucas’s attention? I think I can do a bit of karate, but will it work on a Skinwalker?

"Dear husband, you are awake. Did you sleep well and would you like anything?" he asks in an eerie voice. I can’t do this. I won’t die by the hands of a weird Elias.

I fall back into the bed, pull the blanket up, and shut my eyes. This has to be a kind of dream, maybe if I go to sleep in my sleep, I’ll wake up in the real world. It’s logical.

This is terrifying in every single way. My Elias doesn’t smile, he doesn’t say things like ’dear husband’, and he sure as hell doesn’t watch YouTube videos on how to smile!

The bed dips as the weird Elias straddles me.

"G-get away from me. My husband wouldn’t like to see you touching me" I say with my eyes shut and the person doesn’t leave. He pulls down the blanket, leans in, and presses his lips to my cheek.

"I am your husband, Angel" he says against my skin, and I open my eyes to look at him. The freaky smile is gone, his usually flat expression is back, and his normal talking tone is here.

"What were you doing? Halloween is six months too far away for you to start scaring people" I say quietly and he lifts himself slightly.

"I was practicing being normal" he says flatly and I lick my dry bottom lip.

"Normal? What do you mean by that?" I ask.

"Doesn’t it bother you that I’m odd?" he asks instead of answering my question, and I blink in confusion as I look at his handsome face in concern.

"It hurts when you describe yourself as odd in a bad way, Elias. You’re good as you" I say, reaching up to caress his cheek. The alpha leans into my touch like a puppy and my omega purrs, releasing a soft scent into the air for him.

"I hurt you last night, baby" he murmurs, dropping his body to mine and pressing his nose to my neck. I’m completely entranced by his version of an apology, so I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer.

This moment is breathtaking...more breathtaking than the dream I just had.

The vulnerability in his voice, the unintentional meekness in his gestures, and the borderline painful tenderness in his tone. It all causes my heart to skip a beat and goosebumps to erupt all over my skin.

I don’t want him to change.

Elias is a hard and cold man, yes, that’s an undeniable truth, but it doesn’t wipe out the fact that he has an unexplored softness that shows up when he’s genuinely sorry about something.

He’s still a child...the child who wanted my cherry blossom and traded his peace for it.

"I want you to become better, Elias. I don’t want you to change into a different person. I like you like...you" I say and he presses a kiss to my collarbone.

"You said you love me" he says softly and I blush.

"Let’s not talk about that right now" I whisper and he nods, moving himself upwards and breathing my scent in.

"I want to tell you everything, Noah. But words...words are hard for me" he says and my heart breaks.

I remember how hard it was when he tried to talk about his trauma a few weeks ago...I remember seeing the effect it had on him. I also recall telling him to hold on if he couldn’t handle it. How could I have forgotten about that?

"I know...I’m sorry for trying to force you" I whisper as I bury my fingers in his hair. I scratch his scalp lightly and he groans against my neck.

"I want to try" he says and I stop moving my fingers.

Goddess...when it comes to Elias, I have no pride, no anger, and no self-preservation.

"I dreamt again of the kidnap" he says and my heart clenches on his behalf. He is hiding his face in my neck, but I can feel the tension in his body. He’s forcing himself.

"I dreamt of the room of things I couldn’t control. I was back in the place where I couldn’t sleep because every second I closed my eyes; something would go wrong. Something would pop out of a box, something would make a disturbing noise, one of my brothers would scream in pain...I was going mad."

"I’m sorry" I say in a broken voice.

"It’s not your fault, Angel" he murmurs.

"It is. I was the reason you were sold out" I say and he lifts his head to look at me.

"You kept me sane. Your cherry blossom...I had it with me at all times. Even when it was dead, I held on to it and told myself that someone would come save me" he says and his face starts to blur.

My eyes are full of tears. I hate this so much. I suffered, he suffered...why is the world so cruel?

"I’m really sorry, Elias. I wish I could change everything" I whisper and he kisses the corner of my eye.

"You cry a lot, hmm. You haven’t changed one bit" he says with that smile returning to his face and I burst out laughing despite the tears that flow down my face.

"I’m trying to console you, idiot. You shouldn’t mock my antics" I say with a sniffle.

"I’m not mocking, baby. I’m celebrating" he says as he wipes my tears off.

"Celebrate in a different way. And Elias...whenever you have a bad dream and you can’t talk about it, just hug me" I whisper shyly.

"What is that supposed to do for me?" he deadpans.

"It brings healing, you premium jerk" I say and punch him on the shoulder. Jerk. The atmosphere between us is heavy, but it’s progress.

I’m glad we had this moment and I’m sure we need to watch more cartoons together. My husband needs to learn about the power of friendship before it’s too late.