Chapter 158: Chapter 158
TRISTAN:
After just a few minutes of reaching the healer’s house, the old man himself came out of the front door.
“Ah, you’re the husband from yesterday, and…”
At the sight of Kaist, the old man made a deep bow. “Your majesty, to whom do I owe this pleasure of seeing you again?”
Judging from what he had just said, the old man seemed to know Kaist personally.
“Sir Morland, it’s been a long time since I saw you. The lady you just helped, she’s Lady Dahlia Hurst. You remember her, right?”
“Dahlia Hurst, you mean Jude’s daughter?... You have both grown up now, and I see you’ve met our Samalah too…”
Sir Morland was eyeing the way Kaist was wounding up his arm protectively around Samalah’s waist. For some unknown reason, Albus and Arthur were also growling with displeasure at this act…
“We haven’t been fully acquainted with each other yet, but she’s my mate.”
“Oh ho, the prince’s mate?! We didn’t know that our Samalah was indeed someone very special… Wasn’t it only just three days ago when you came here with Thesla and Efiro,” the healer said warmly to her.
Samalah began to stutter, something she had never done before. “A-Actually -”
Before Samalah could finish speaking, my impatience got the best of me. “Sir Morland, how is Dahlia?”
“Your wife has just passed the hour of danger. She is more stable now. Regarding her wounds, I have already been able to heal her hands, and I think I could re-grow the bones and tissues that had been burned on her leg, but it will take a long time.”
“Thank you,” I said excitedly. “Thank you so much!”
“However, she lost a lot of her spiritual power, so it will be unsure if she will still be able to wake up from her sleep or not…”
My Dahlia… Does he mean that my Dahlia will sleep and might never wake up forever?...
“I-It’s alright… As long as she’s safe and breathing… As long as she’s well, it’s enough for me,” I mumbled. “May I see her?”
“Very well. You may come in.”
I quickly excused myself and came inside Sir Morland’s house. It was a small house with just a handful of furniture and two bedrooms.
Dahlia was in the first room. I crouched down beside her sleeping form and held her hands.
I smiled as I touched her hands. They weren’t cold like last night. Although she was still very pale, a bit of color had already returned to her cheeks.
I looked at her fingers now. They were all intact.
“Dahlly… Dahlly, can you hear me,” I whispered.
She didn’t stir, as expected… But I wanted her to… I wanted to see her open her eyes once more. I wanted to hear her voice again.
Just then, Arthur began to growl inside of us.
‘Tristan, back away from her,’ he said menacingly.
‘Why,’ I asked the wolf inside my head while I still sobbed at Dahlly’s side.
‘This girl here… She isn’t our mate,’ he said.
Just like last night, Arthur was acting up again, and the worst thing was that now, even Albus was siding up with him.
‘Tristan, don’t you feel it?… She’s really different from our mate. I can’t even feel Eva inside her…’
I frowned. How can my wolves be so sure?
I sniffed her scent in the air. Usually, I didn’t need to. Dahlia’s scent would hit my nostril almost immediately even if her presence was but a mile away…
And yet, why now can’t I detect that smell?...
No… Actually, I had detected it earlier already, right?
I gritted my teeth. What kind of tricks was Samalah playing on me this time?
******************************
DAHLIA:
As soon as he had the opportunity, Tristan came to check on Samalah’s condition.
My heart stung in pain. Of course he’d do that… After all, in his eyes, she was me, and I was Samalah.
Despite only changing my outward appearance, I was disappointed that he did not recognize me at all. He even almost slapped me twice across the face earlier.
Can his wolves not recognize me? The moment his smell hit my senses, Eva started getting excited despite our inability to communicate… How can he not know this was me then?
“Prince Kaist, would you like to see Lady Hurst as well,” Sir Morland inquired.
“I will come in later. Let Count Abell have his moment with her…”
Kaist cleared his throat and eyed me sideways. “As of now, I have more pressing matters to take care of.” He then turned towards me. “Lady Samalah, can we talk in private?”
I jumped. I almost forgot Kaist was here beside me.
Earlier, he made a bold statement to protect me from Tristan. He claimed I was his mate…
Although I doubt that what he declared before them was true, I was very grateful that he came to my rescue. That might mean he recognized who I was, right?
If that’s true, maybe I could safely tell Kaist the truth – that Samalah and I had switched appearances.
“Alright,” I said. Thesla offered to use his house as a place for us to talk. He gave us some privacy in the garden.
“Prince Kaist, I have something to tell you,” I began as soon as Thesla and Efiro had gone.
“Before that, let me confirm something,” Kaist said. He came closer on the bench I was sitting at that he was almost towering over me.
I thought he was only looking at something, but then he bent down and came even closer towards me.
“What? Why-”
“Be still,” Kaist said.
I don’t know what he was searching for, or what he wanted to know. He just came closer, never breaking his eye contact towards me.
“Lady, please answer me truthfully,” he said when he was only an inch away from my face.
He was much too close for comfort. “Yes?...”
“You were one of the few people who went with Dahlia when she was kidnapped, right? So can you please tell me, why do you have Dahlia’s scent?”
Hearing his question, my heart felt very relieved…
So it was true! Kaist did recognize me. I was so happy that tears started to pool at the corner of my eyes.
But wait… Why does Kaist recognize my smell?
Isn’t it that only fated mates were meant to recognize their partner’s smell?...
What in the world does this mean?!