Chapter 151 — I Won’t Leave You

Chapter 151: Chapter 151 — I Won’t Leave You

~ Raven ~

Cassian stared directly at her, his expression utterly serious.

"You."

Raven blinked.

"What?"

"I want you, Raven."

Her heart gave an unexpected thump.

Cassian held her gaze, not a trace of amusement on his face.

"I don’t want Prymont having you. I don’t want either of those Blackthorn bastards near you, and I certainly don’t want to hear about another mate turning up." His mouth tightened. "I want you for myself."

Raven stared at him.

Eh?

For a moment, she genuinely wondered whether she’d misunderstood him.

She had expected him to get annoyed. That was usually what happened when she pushed him about anything involving their wolves or Dante.

Instead, he had just admitted that he wanted her, and he had said it as though there was nothing remotely embarrassing about the confession.

Her heart was beating much too quickly.

Oh, Goddess.

She could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks, and her wolf, which had been relatively quiet a moment ago, suddenly became so excited that Raven had to press her hands against the blanket to stop herself from reaching toward him.

Will you behave?!

Her wolf had absolutely no intention of behaving.

Cassian was still watching her.

Raven opened her mouth, then closed it again.

What the hell was she supposed to say to that?

She had spent the better part of their conversation trying to make him uncomfortable. Now she was the one sitting there with a burning face while he looked entirely at ease.

The silence stretched.

Raven glanced toward the window, hoping that looking at something other than Cassian might help her regain control of herself.

It didn’t.

She could still hear his words.

I want you for myself.

Goddess!

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then immediately wondered why she’d bothered. Her hair was hardly the problem.

Across from her, Cassian shifted in his chair.

Raven looked back at him before she could stop herself.

Their eyes met.

A slow smirk spread across his face.

Oh, he was enjoying this.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing."

"Then wipe that look off your face."

"What look?"

"You know exactly what look!"

His smirk widened, making Raven’s cheeks grow even hotter.

"You’re doing this deliberately, Cassian!"

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me like that!"

"I’m simple staring at you, Raven."

"Well, stop it!"

Cassian burst out laughing.

Raven went still.

She’d heard him chuckle once before, but this was different. Cassian leaned back in his chair and laughed as though she’d said the funniest thing he’d heard in years.

Her embarrassment immediately turned into indignation.

"Oh, fuck off!"

That only made him laugh harder.

Raven grabbed the nearest pillow, fully intending to throw it at him, but Cassian noticed before she could lift it.

"Don’t you dare," he warned, still laughing.

"Then stop laughing at me!"

He tried to compose himself, but the moment he looked at her face, another laugh escaped him.

"You were the one who asked me what I wanted!" he protested, sounding almost indignant. "What the hell did you expect me to say?"

"Not that!"

"Then why did you ask?"

"Because you—" Raven stopped.

Because he what?

Because he’d answered her question? Because he’d told her he wanted her? Because she was apparently incapable of having a normal conversation with him without her face turning the color of a fucking tomato?

Cassian laughed again.

"Oh, you’re enjoying this far too much," she muttered.

"I am."

"At least have the decency to pretend otherwise!"

He shook his head, still laughing.

Raven folded her arms and prepared to glare at him until he stopped.

But the longer she watched him, the harder it became to remember why she was supposed to be angry.

Cassian had tipped his head back slightly, and his white hair had fallen away from his forehead. His shoulders were shaking, and every time he tried to draw a proper breath, another laugh seemed to catch him by surprise.

She’d never seen him like this.

There was no sharpness in his expression now, none of the distance he usually kept between himself and everyone else.

He looked younger.

And, Goddess help her, beautiful.

Raven found herself staring, wishing she could somehow capture the moment and keep it, so that whenever Cassian returned to his usual grumpy self, she could remember how beautiful he looked when he laughed like this.

She wondered whether anyone else had ever seen him this happy.

Cassian finally managed to take a breath, then noticed her watching him.

His smile faltered slightly.

"What?"

Raven shook her head.

"Nothing."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, now you’re the one saying nothing?"

"I’m allowed to say nothing."

"Apparently, I’m not allowed to look at you."

Raven pressed her lips together, trying not to smile, but Cassian caught the expression and burst out laughing again.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake!" she exclaimed.

His laughter was contagious. Before she could stop herself, she was laughing too, and every time they managed to catch their breath, one look at each other set them off again.

Raven eventually buried her face in her pillow, her stomach aching from laughing so hard.

When she finally lifted her head, Cassian was watching her with a smile that made her heart do something rather unpleasant.

Not unpleasant.

Oh, fuck.

She really needed to stop thinking about his face.

Their laughter gradually subsided, leaving the room quieter than it had been before.

Cassian settled back in his chair, still smiling.

"You should laugh more often, little bird."

Raven froze.

Little bird?

She stared at him, but Cassian was still smiling as though he hadn’t just said something that made her face burn all over again.

Her wolf stirred delightedly, and Raven tugged the blanket higher over her lap.

Oh, behave.

"Are you alright?" Cassian asked.

"Perfectly fine!"

His eyebrows rose.

Raven looked away before he could see how badly two stupid words had affected her.

"Good."

He didn’t say anything else.

That somehow made it worse.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Raven gradually relaxed against her pillows, although she remained painfully aware that Cassian was sitting close enough for her to reach him.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable anymore.

She no longer felt the need to fill it with some ridiculous remark, and Cassian seemed content to sit there without demanding anything from her.

It was strange.

Only a little while ago, they’d been discussing the Alpha Queen, the Dreamwalker and the possibility that she was being hunted by people who knew more about her than she knew about herself.

Now she was sitting in an infirmary bed, trying not to smile because Cassian Blade had given her a nickname.

She glanced at him.

He was looking toward the window, one arm resting against the chair, his expression calm.

Raven found herself smiling anyway.

A knock sounded at the door.

They both looked up as the nurse entered.

"Cardinal Blade, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Miss Rivers has more visitors."

Raven straightened slightly.

"Visitors?"

"Your roommates. They’ve come back to see you."

"Oh."

The nurse glanced at Cassian.

"I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to give them some time with her. She’s still recovering, and I don’t want the room overcrowded."

Cassian nodded and rose from his chair.

Raven watched him straighten his jacket.

For some reason, she felt an immediate reluctance to see him leave.

It was ridiculous. He’d been sitting beside her bed for ages, and she was supposed to be pleased that her roommates had come to check on her.

But as Cassian turned toward the door, something else occurred to her.

The infirmary would eventually become quiet.

Her visitors would leave, the nurse would finish her rounds, and Raven would be expected to close her eyes and go to sleep.

Her smile faded.

"Cassian?"

He stopped and looked back at her.

"What?"

Raven hesitated. She hadn’t intended to tell him how frightened she was, but now that he was leaving, the thought of facing another night alone made her stomach tighten.

"I’m terrified of going to sleep tonight."

Cassian’s expression changed.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Then he returned to her bedside.

"Because of the Dreamwalker?"

Raven nodded.

"I know I managed to hurt him, and I know you said it might be harder for him to get inside my head again, but..." She looked down at her hands. "What if he comes back?"

Cassian sat on the edge of the bed.

Raven swallowed.

"I thought I was safe before. He made me believe I’d woken up in my room, and I didn’t even realize what he was doing until—"

She stopped.

"I don’t want to go through that again," she admitted.

Cassian reached for her hand, and Raven looked up as his fingers closed around hers.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

His thumb moved gently across the back of her hand, and when she met his eyes, there was something in his expression that made her heart begin to race again.

"I won’t leave you alone tonight, Raven."