Chapter 106: Chapter 106

Chapter 106 Nightmares Come True

At three thirty in the afternoon, a distraught Edward returned home. He took off his heavy suit and changed into a light, white tank top and shorts before slumping onto his bed. With his limbs stretched out, he stared blankly at the ceiling in silence.

The hot afternoon sun shone through the sheer curtains and into the room, illuminating the bedroom wall. Edward stretched out his hand and observed the shadow cast by the sunlight on the wall. Slowly, he moved his fingers and the shadow on the wall moved along with it.

The shadow game was one of his favorite games to play as a child. Like a black and white pantomime, the wall was his stage and he was the director and only actor of his movie. In this simplest form of acting, he would often be caught up in a debate between imagination and reality.

Ever since Fernando's appearance in Skytal, Edward had been plagued by the fear of being trapped in an endless nightmare. And even within the comfort of his soft and comfortable bed, he continued to suffer from splitting headaches, swollen and painful eyes, rapid heartbeats and incessant sweating. There was no respite for his tired body and mind.

It was as if an invisible garrote of pressure was choking him and he felt the constant need to be on his toes, to always stay alert all the time. He dared not allow himself to relax in the slightest, as if he were the protagonist of an action movie, who had to fight against potential dangers all the time before completing his mission. But the difference was, the protagonists in movies usually always came out victorious while Edward's future seemed bleak and dark. He had to wonder if everything would culminate in death for him in the end

"Fuck!" he groaned, "Why can't that son of a bitch mind his own business and leave me in peace!"

He couldn't help but feel irritated thinking about Fernando. His chest rose and fell violently with rage and he clenched his bedsheets hard, trying to soothe his breathing. And after many attempts, he finally regained his composure.

The frightening imagery faded from his mind and sleepiness swept over his body. Before long, Edward fell into a deep slumber in the hot summer afternoon.

He dreamt a beautiful dream, one in which he saw himself shape-shifting into his wolf form and tearing through the jungle, his paws stomping hard on the ground, jumping over the branches and leaves on the ground with crisp sounds.

His body seemed to be weightless and he could not feel any resistance. He felt that he was not really running but flying.

When Edward woke up, the sunlight was still very bright. A glance at his watch told him it was only four in the afternoon. He had only slept for half an hour, but it felt to him as if he had slept for a long, long time.

He looked out the window at the oak trees and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind, and he decided to do something he hadn't dared to do for a long time.

And that was to run.

Edward couldn't help but chuckle. As a werewolf, he was born to run wild and free in the forest and yet here he was, so scared of his enemy that he became stuck at home and work for four months, afraid to run alone in nature.

He found a clean and comfortable workout outfit, put it in his backpack and walked out of his home. Edward's home was located in the suburbs, with no neighbors within a three-mile radius. And behind his house was a lush, green forest that seemed to go on forever. He could run freely without fear of being spotted by humans.

He placed his backpack at the boundary of the woods, and then shifted into a large brown wolf before taking off into the forest. Towards evening, the sun began setting through the dense foliage, spreading its golden rays in the forest and Edward could hear the chirping of birds.

He continued running, revelling in the cool wind blowing against his body, making him feel soothed. He felt a surge of energy surging through his body, it was the kind of power that needed to be unleashed, to burst out of him.

That was it!

He had to fight. Fight to the death the way a true Alpha would. He would slit the throats of Garcia's wildlings with his claws and bleed them to death before they could strike and hurt him.

He ran and ran and ran through the jungle until the sun finally dipped below the horizon. It was getting late, so he returned to the edge of the forest, changed back into his human form, put on the clothes he had prepared in advance, and walked home.

Upon reaching home, Edward headed straight for his kitchen to start cooking dinner. He took a can of green beans and a packet of frozen lamb chops out of the freezer. The lamb chops were washed and sprinkled with black pepper and placed in the oven. Twenty minutes later, the baked lamb chops started to ooze with a delicious scent worthy even for the king.

With dinner prepared, Edward checked his phone which had been laying idly on the kitchen countertop. He saw a string of messages from Bella pop up on his screen. The last message was from ten minutes ago.

"Honey, I'm off work, I'm waiting for you at the intersection closest to your office."

"Why haven't you arrived and replied to my message?"

"Hm, my patience is running out, I'm leaving first, take a taxi back by yourself."

Hastily, Edward quickly called Bella to explain why he couldn't reply to her messages in time. And after learning that Bella was already on her way home, he straightened the table, set the dishes, returned to the oven to heat up the slightly cooled lamb chops, and waited for Bella.

Bella came home and sat face to face with him at the table, eating a meal.

He was unusually quiet tonight, whereas Bella seemed unusually excited. Bella sensed the change in Edward and even though she tried her hardest in engaging him in their conversation, he was disinterested and only responded in the simplest way.

"My dear, you look sullen, is there something wrong?" she asked, unable to resist asking the obvious.

Bella's question made Edward tense up and his heart started to race. What he was about to do would be beyond Bella's expectations, and he wasn't sure if she would be able to accept it, but for the sake of their future, he had to give it a try.