-HER-

After returning to the camp that night, I didn't get to see Ezekiel until the next morning. As soon as I returned to the camp, I went to meet my wolves and see how many were alive and injured from the war. It took a while to assess the whole situation.

After that, I ate dinner, cleaned myself, and went to sleep. I slept like a plank that night. I'd never been so tired before in my life. Maybe because I had never fought a war so demanding in such a harsh climate.

My muscles cramped the next morning. There didn't seem to exist a body part in my body that wasn't aching in any way. I was tired and felt like sleeping all day but I didn't because already a sunrise had passed. We only had two more sunrises. Time was very limited and we needed to use it in the best way we can.

The next day, the first thing in the morning me, Lua, Ezekiel, Tryfon, and some of Ezekiel's important lycans sat down to have a detailed discussion on the war and make strategies. To say that I was surprised by how the meeting went would have been an understatement and I could tell that Lua was surprised the same way I was.

Now you may ask what was so surprising?

The lack of sexist or degrading comments from the Lycans directed towards us. None of them said anything. For a moment, they talked and acted with us as if we were equals, and this more than impressed me.

The lack of such crude and degrading comments provided less friction between us which in turn made the meeting a lot more smooth and productive. We were able to plan everything extensively in just a short period of time which was amazing given the limited time we had. And it felt nice to be finally taken seriously.

I didn't know what influenced them to change their attitude towards us like this but nonetheless, I couldn't have been much more grateful for a change like this. This was so much needed.

As Ezekiel had told me yesterday— I and my wolves were going to solely take care of drakkons while Ezekiel and his lycans were going to use all their energy and resources to fight his brother which was a much more important war. I had no problem with this.

After lunch, the two of us spent our time separately with our own armies. I now had 800 wolves left. The rest 200 had died in the previous war. I wasn't very pleased with this loss so I made them train harder and planned even more excessively to make sure that we aren't taken by surprise again like yesterday.

It was a very busy and tiring day but I was enjoying it because of the way Ezekiel was acting now. He seemed like a completely different person. I found it very easy to work with him when he wasn't busy passing some sexist remarks on me and I HAVE to mention this— he was surprisingly good to work with. He was very cooperative when the situations demanded.

It would be a lie if I say that I wasn't liking this new side of him. I was actually loving it and maybe it was the first time when I was actually starting to feel some sort of real attraction towards him and I could feel the same from his side as well because he would often sneak into my tent to curl up with me at night when we would rest for only a couple of hours.

Two sunrises had already passed. we prepared for our wars extensively. It was the night before the third sunrise when I was resting in my camp for an hour when he snuck inside my tent. It was completely dark where my tent was but I could still feel him sneaking inside my tent quietly before slipping inside my sleeping bag.

"What do you want?" I asked in a crooked voice.

"Nothing," He grumbled in response after a stretch of thoughtful silence. In any other situation I would have wiped out my sword and attacked him but tonight I let him curl up behind me before burying his nose in the crook of my neck even though it tickled.

"Celeste?" He whispered. I hummed, waiting for him to say something but he didn't. A long silence followed before he called for me again. I hummed again but he didn't say anything this time again.

When he did this the third time, I spoke up, "Is this your new way to annoy me?"

"Actually no," he grumbled before I heard his heartbeats quicken. His breath seemed slightly uneven, making me turn around to see what was the matter with him.

"What is it?" I pressed.

"Erm... I wanted to tell you something..." He grumbled before he hesitantly buried his nose in my hair.

"And what is that?" I asked him. He remained quiet for another moment before he finally started to speak.

"Celeste, I—"

"Celeste!" Lua's voice from outside my tent interrupted him.

"My resting time is over," I told Ezekiel as I got up. Meanwhile, he laid there in the dark with his eyes glowing, watching me anxiously.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" I asked as I reached for my sword. In response, he closed his fingers around my arm and tugged me until I was hovering over him before he united his lips with mine.

I was shocked for a moment but I found myself kissing him back because I realized that we hadn't kissed in a long time. I welcomed the sparks and the sensations from it that drove away my sleepiness.

I pulled back briefly when Lua called for me again but he united his lips with mine again before kissing me like a thirsty man lost in a desert. The kiss had my heart and my core pulsing rapidly.

When Lua called for me the third time, her voice sounded like she was about to enter my tent. At this point, I had to pull back and answer breathily, "I'm coming,"

"Are you alright?" Lua asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," I answered as I glared at the lycan laying under me.

"Alright. We are waiting for you,"

"I know. I will be there in a bit," I told her before Ezekiel flipped us until I was under him. I glared at him but his lips had already captured mine for an angry round of kissing before he finally let me go.

_

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