Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85 Request Reconciliation
Caesar’s POV
The sheets were a tangled mess when I shoved them off and sat upright, my entire body slick with sweat.
My skin burned like it was on fire from the inside out, the fever twisting through me like wildfire. For a second, the room spun, my vision going in and out of focus. I blinked hard, gripping the edge of the mattress to steady myself.
That’s when I heard it—soft movement, like someone shifting inside the walk-in closet.
My heart kicked hard in my chest.
Sylvia?
I didn’t think. I just moved, driven by a surge of hope and despair. I got out of bed and moved across the room barefoot, the cold hardwood floor grounding me just enough to keep me from losing it completely.
She was there.
Her silhouette, familiar and maddening and everything I needed, stood just inside the closet, half-turned away as if unsure whether to stay or bolt.
Relief hit me so fast it was dizzying. My wolf practically howled with want.
I didn’t wait. I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back against me like she belonged there—because she did.
She stiffened the second my arms closed around her, but I didn’t let go. Couldn’t. I pressed my face into the curve of her neck, breathing her in like she was oxygen and I’d been drowning for days.
“Sivi,” I whispered, my voice raw, my lips brushing her skin. “Don’t shut me out like this... please.”
My breath warmed the side of her face as I spoke, and I felt her flinch—just a fraction, but enough for my gut to twist.
She didn’t say anything. Not a word. I felt her heartbeat racing under my palm, fast and uneasy. Her hands hovered at her sides like she didn’t know whether to push me off or turn around and fall into me.
The silence between us stretched, thick and sharp like broken glass.
“Sivi...” My voice cracked, and I hated the way it sounded—pleading, exposed. “Say something. Anything.”
"Caesar, let me go first," she finally said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle.
"No," I refused, my head growing foggier by the second. Despite the haze, I knew exactly what I was doing as I tightened my hold on her. My wolf wouldn’t let me release her—not when there was this unresolved tension between us.
Sylvia turned in my arms, her expression shifting from reluctance to concern as she pressed her palm against my forehead.
“Damn it, you’re burning up!” she blurted, her eyes wide. “Are you seriously running a fever? Did you even take anything, or are you just trying to die dramatically?”
I could barely register her words. The pounding in my head, the heat crawling under my skin—it was all background noise compared to the storm inside my chest. I wasn’t thinking about my temperature. I was thinking about her. Us.
“I’m not worried about that,” I muttered, trying to sit up straighter. “I just need to know—are you still mad at me? Can we stop doing this? Please, Sivi, just talk to me.”
Her brows snapped together, her look switching from concern to frustration in a heartbeat. “Seriously? You’re burning up and still picking a fight about feelings?” she snapped. “God, you’re the most stubborn Alpha I’ve ever met. Could you maybe, I don’t know, take care of yourself for once?”
She grabbed my arm, clearly ready to haul me to the ER herself if I didn’t cooperate.
“I already took something,” I said quickly, catching her wrist before she could yank me off the bed. “I swear. I took meds earlier. I just needed to lie down for a bit.”
I wasn’t lying—well, not about the pills anyway. I had downed a couple painkillers before crawling under the covers. The worry in her eyes was unmistakable, and my wolf preened at this evidence that she cared. She still cared. No matter how pissed she was, deep down, she still gave a damn.
“Fine,” she sighed, helping me lean back onto the bed. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
I chuckled weakly, but as soon as she leaned forward to fix the blanket, I grabbed her hand and tugged—just enough to throw her off balance. She stumbled and landed half on top of me with a surprised little yelp, her hands flattening against my chest just as a groan escaped my lips.
“Crap—are you okay?” she asked, scrambling to push herself up.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Just... don’t move so fast.”
She hovered above me, clearly torn between staying close and bolting for the door. Her scent was all around me. I didn’t let go. Instead, I slid one arm around her waist and pulled her down gently, closing the space between us. Her body tensed, but she didn’t pull away right away.
“Let go,” she said, but it came out soft. Hesitant.
I didn’t.
“I don’t want to,” I said quietly, my voice rough with more than just the fever. “If it were up to me, I’d hold you like this forever, Sivi.”
The nickname rolled off my tongue again and again, my wolf delighting in the way her scent spiked with each utterance. I could see the flush creeping up her neck to her ears.
"What’s the point?" she suddenly asked, her voice small. "Don’t you already have... the one who got away? Why pretend with me?"
"The one who got away?" The words cut through my fevered haze like ice water. Everything clicked—the distance, the anger, the way she had been pulling away.
How could Sylvia think there was someone else? There had never been anyone but her. From the moment my wolf had recognized her as our true mate, there had never been a choice.
