Chapter 42: Anxiety
Chapter 42
Lenora
I keep my distance.
Not because I want to—but because he needs it.
My mate is relearning the world like a newborn pup. Everything is new to him. His senses, his instincts, the very way his feet touch the ground. He’s stumbling through a rebirth he didn’t ask for. And I know from experience—some things can’t be helped along. They have to be felt.
We haven’t had a real conversation since that night. I can feel him though—goddess, I feel him. Our bond hums like a second heartbeat, stronger now, more rooted. Sometimes I can’t tell where his emotions end and mine begin.
But what keeps hitting me hardest isn’t desire.
It’s the anxiety. The uncertainty. The homesickness that keeps threading through the bond like a cold wind.
I thought he was warming up to life here. I thought...
I exhale and cut into the steak I was preparing. My appetite is gone, the motion just something to keep my hands busy. He prefers his steak a little more cooked. I leave it rare anyway.
He doesn’t notice.
That’s how I know he’s really not okay.