My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 41: Sensory Overload

Violet

"I... I’m awake..." I breathed out, my heart hammering as I clutched my chest.

He slowly stood upright. "Sorry for startling you."

"It’s—it’s fine," I murmured groggily, trying to shake off the drowsiness.

I still felt a bit tired, but I couldn’t complain.

"Come," he said softly and walked out of the tent. I wiped my eyes, got to my feet and followed him outside. Then I paused.

The forest around us had transformed completely, more alive than it had been during the day. Insects chirped in rhythmic waves that rose and fell like breathing. Distant animal calls echoed through the darkness, some of them high and sharp, while others were low and haunting. The wind rustled through leaves with a whisper that sounded almost like voices.

For a second the noise suddenly became louder as if my ears were pressed directly against the sources. I winced and slapped my hands to my ears, cowering to the floor as I squeezed my eyes as if any of that would have done any good in blocking out the sounds.

My senses had been relatively stable for the past few days, and now...

Warm hands gripped my wrists and slowly the noise subsided.

I panted, slowly opening my eyes.

Kael was crouched in front of me, his hands still wrapped around my wrists, his ice-blue eyes searching my face with an intensity that made my breath hitch for an entirely different reason.

"What happened?" he hissed, his eyes searching my face.

I soon realised my hands were slightly trembling. "I... everything just suddenly became louder..."

He went still, and then when he spoke up again, his voice was quiet, controlled, but I could catch the faint hint of concern underneath it. "How often does this happen? Since when?"

"It’s... it’s been more stable lately," I managed, my voice shaky. "I don’t know the woods are very loud maybe... the estate wasn’t this loud."

It truly had been somewhat stable this past few days, and—

"How often does this happen?" He pressed.

I slowly relinquished the tension in my palms, and my fingers curled inwards. I averted my eyes from his. "I honestly don’t know, but I think it started a few weeks ago... shortly after I came to your... place."

"How is it now?" he whispered.

"What?"

"Now. Is it better now?"

I stilled, suddenly just realising the faint waves coursing through my body. It was cold, but not uncomfortable... what was he...

"Yes... but what are you doing?" I asked, staring at where he held my wrists.

He released my wrists slowly, as if making sure I wouldn’t collapse the moment he let go. "I am helping you stabilise yourself a bit."

"My syzygy is stable, I—"

"Control isn’t the same as stability. Your senses, especially your physical ones are developing faster than your ability to regulate them."

He stood up and the sensation coursing through me started to fade. It made me sad the comfortable feeling was already fading. I looked up to see him stretching out his hand towards me.

I didn’t immediately get up.

The moon hung heavy and full, its silver light a mixture of grey and blue shades that nearly mirrored Kael’s icy-blue eyes. I wasn’t sure why or how I hadn’t noticed it before.

His eyes were beautiful.

And unsettling.

Without another word, I took his hand and he pulled me up in one smooth motion. I slightly wobbled on my feet, my legs momentarily unsteady as I fell forward. He immediately clasped his hands over my shoulders, holding me in place. Just as quickly as he had done that, my hands had latched onto his forearms to grip them for support. My fingers curled around hard muscle and warm skin.

He stiffened, and I also went still, refusing to look up from the ground.

I felt a faint muscle spasm against my thumb.

"Sorry..." I whispered, slowly letting go of him.

"It’s fine, there is nothing to apologise for," he whispered, but didn’t let go of me. I felt his grip tighten just a bit. "Can you stand on your own?"

"Yes."

He released me and slowly took a step back.

I stood still.

"You are suffering from sensory overload. Young wolves experience this, though surely not as severe as yours," he muttered.

I looked up to find him staring at me. He lightly frowned, as if caught my surprise before his expression shifted to normal.

He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "Exercising will help, believe it or not. I can also help guide you to properly control your senses, but it would be somewhat... invasive."

He stopped rubbing his neck and when his eyes opened, his frown returned as if he didn’t like the thought of what he had just mentioned.

"What?"

I wasn’t sure what to make of his words either. What did he mean by that?

He looked at me and shook his head. "Tow has done something like that to you already."

’Oh...’

"This changes things a bit," he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to me. "I’ll have to do that soon."

I opened my mouth to ask what he was referring to when he cut in. "Can you move? Are you dizzy? Tired?"

I paused, taking a few seconds to process the state of my body.

Come to think of it, I was no longer sleepy.

"I think I’m fine... thank you."

"Alright... you will need to move." He gestured towards one of the massive trees looming at the edge of the clearing. "I had something else in mind for tonight, but starting with something simpler would be better. Have you climbed trees before?"

He moved toward the tree line and stopped at the edge of the clearing, placing his hand against the body of a massive tree. Its trunk was so wide that I did not think three people could fully link and wrap their arms around it.

My eyes widened.

’I am confused. He said something simpler... so what is this?’