Page 56 of He Claimed Her Heart

“I’m … I’m so sorry Bree. I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,” he pleaded as he tried to comfort me.

“I forgive you, but it scared me for a moment.I almost couldn’t get away from you,” I contended as I felt my neck for damage.

“Did I hurt you? Did Ibite you?” Elias started rattling off questions at rapid speed.

“Let me go see. I need to look in a mirror,” I stated as I went to the bathroom in my room to take a look at my next. The skin on my neck had been grazed, but it didn’t appear to be broken. I wasn’t totally sure. Elias came in behind me and saw it too. He felt the neck and shuddered. He hung his head down in shame.

“I can’t believe I almost marked you without your permission.I’m so sorry Bree,” Elias kept apologizing as he left the bathroom and exited my bedroom.

I heard the door to the suite open and close.I decided to change my clothes into something more comfortable, like pajamas. Then, I went into the living room and sat down on the couch to wait for Elias to return to the suite. After an hour, he still hadn’t returned so I decided to call my dad and see what his thoughts were. He was angry at first, but then calmed down. He said he would talk with Alpha Bennett then get back with me. Dad called me back and stated that Elias had already called Alpha Bennett and told him everything. Elias was upset and remorseful. Dad asked if he had broken the skin on my neck. I told him I wasn’t sure. He said that the doctor would look at it tomorrow when I got home before I went to stay with Drake next week.

I heard a knock at the door, so I told dad good night. I answered the door. Elias stood on the other side ofthe door. “Hey, I am so, so sorry Bree. I want to make sure I don’t try to mark you again. I’m going to stay in another room in the pack house tonight just to be on the safe side. I respect you and love you too much to risk your well-being and right to decide. Please say you understand,” Elias begged me as he stood there with the saddest face I have seen in a long time.

“I understand Elias. I talked to my dad.I was a little freaked out that you left. I didn’t understand why you left. But now I do. It’s alright. I’ll see you in the morning,” I softly stated as I tried to smile and comfort him.

“Good night, Bree,” Elias mumbled as he turned and went down the hall with his head lowered.

“Good night, Elias,” I replied with tears in my eyes as I closed the door. I went to my roomand slid into the bed. This is not how I envisioned my last night to be here. Tears started to spill out on the pillow, and I couldn’t stop them. I cried myself to sleep holding a pillow instead of Elias.

I awoke to an alarm clock going off at 7 AM. Why do I have to be up so early on a Saturday I do not know.I grudgingly got out of bed and made my way into the shower. It felt good to just stand there for a few minutes. When I finished showering, I brushed my teeth, dried my hair, applied my makeup, got dressed, packed up my things, and waited for Elias to tell me what we were going to do next. I forgot to ask what time we were leaving today. I entered the living room with my things, and I saw Elias sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

“Good morning, Elias. How did you sleep last night?” I inquired as I approached him.

“Good morning, Bree. I sleptokay, I guess. How did you sleep?” Elias answered me as he lifted his head. I could see the dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep.

“I didn’t sleep too well. It took me a while to get to sleep. What time are we leaving?” I asked him as I sat down next to him on the couch.

“I heard you crying last night. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to comfort you and that I was the source of your crying,” Elias stated as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.

“It’s alright.There’s bound to be hiccups in any relationship,” I replied as I snuggled into him.

“Yeah, but I…” Elias started to say before I cut him off.

“Shush. Enough about that please. Now, would you like some breakfast? What is our agenda for today?” I questioned him in order to change the subject.

“We have enough time to eat breakfast before we have to leave. We need to beat your territory by Noon. What would you like to eat? I can make it, or we can go down and eat with the pack? Your choice?” Elias asked sounding a little bit more upbeat than before.

“Why don’t I make us some breakfast here? I do cook you know. What would you like to eat?” I inquired as I got up from the couch and made my way into his kitchen.

“Why don’t we cook breakfast together.Let’s see, we have bacon, sausage, eggs in the fridge. Do you want pancakes or waffles with breakfast?” he asked a grin on his face.

“I like both, but either one is fine.Which would you prefer?” I replied with a smirk on my face and a twinkle in my eye.

“Why don’t we make both. That would settle it. I’ll make the bacon, sausage, and eggs. You can make the pancakes and waffles. Sound good?” He quipped?

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied and kissed him on the lips which took him by surprise. I guess he didn’t think I wanted to kiss him after last night.

He started working on his items and I started working on mine. We made quick work of breakfast and soon we sat down toour meal. “We make a good team in the kitchen,” he mused out loud as he ate his breakfast.

“Yes, we do,” I agreed with him as I ate my breakfast.

When we finished, we washed our dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Hespun me around and held me in place by the sink. He looked deeply in the eyes and stated, “I’m so sorry about last night. I wish I could go back and erase part of it. I missed holding you last night. It feels so right holding you in my bed at night, even just like this, it just feels right.” He crashed his lips on mine. His kiss was full of passion and need. He keep his hands on my waist. It was as if he didn’t trust himself to let them roam.

Elias was the first one to break from our kiss.He put his forehead against mine. We were both catching our breath when someone knocked on the suite door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Elias walked over to the door and opened it.His Beta stood there with my protection detail ready to take my things down to the waiting vehicles. “We are ready when you are Alpha,” Beta Steven announced.

---