Celestial Bodies: Of Runts and Lycans

Chapter 36: Blame

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Celeste's POV

I try to control my breathing as I lay in bed. Xavier. . A whimper escapes me as I rub my thighs together, trying to get a sense of relief from the aching feeling in my stomach as well as my lower region. Nothing helps as I only feel hotter and hotter. I want to. . I . . I don't know. I huff, trying to do that breathing exercise Zay once taught me. It seems to help a bit as Ancillary internally paces before settling.

My hand goes to my neck, running over where Xavier. . I feel myself turn red again as tingles erupt under my skin. I push myself out of bed with a huff. I hobble my way to the bathroom, my legs both aching and also feeling incredibly wobbly. Messy hair and a pink face stare back at me, my lips slightly swollen. My eyes dart to my neck where a bruise seems to peak out from under the collar of Xavier's shirt. I pull the fabric aside to assess the damage.

'That's where his mark will go,' Ancillary tells me. 'That's why it feels the way it does.'

'And I get to mark him back?'

She snorts, 'Of course you do.' A giddy feeling begins to accompany the warmth. I continue to run my finger over the bruise until it feels like too much, my legs shaky beneath me.

'Ancillary,' I turn to my best friend in the whole world, 'I think I. . I think I. .' Something in me can't even think the words.

'I know, Celeste.' I smile, so internally happy and giddy. I run back to the room, squealing as I jump into his bed, bouncing several times until the blankets shift to swallow me again. His bedroom smells like him, coconut and rain. I love it. I flip myself over; grabbing onto his pillow, shoving my face into its soft surface and inhaling deeply. 

I reach over to the nightstand and grab the remote, turning on a silly show Xavier had gotten me into recently. I didn't quite understand all of the human things that were said or done but it was entertaining enough to not make me bored. It was only after I finished an episode and a half that I began to wonder what was taking Xavier so long. The aching in my body began to come back, sending waves of pain from my toes to my head. My headache slowly returned and the second episode finished before I pushed the blankets away. I crept out of the bedroom and down the stairs, following Xavier's scent. I grew confused as it didn't lead to the kitchen but rather the opposite direction and towards the downstairs hallway.

"Celeste," a voice pulled me from my search. I snapped my eyes to Zay, who was standing in the doorway of her office. "What are you doing out here? You should be resting."

"Xavier. ." A confused sadness filled my voice. Where is he?

She sighed, pushing herself out of the doorway. "Follow me," she nods in a gesture towards the hallway. She reaches out her hand, squeezing mine once I lay it in hers. We get to a door towards the back of the hallway where Xavier's smell is stronger but there's also another scent. Something I slightly recall from my childhood. It's the smell of death.

"Zay. ."

"Did Xavier tell you that he lost a warrior last night?" I nod, eyebrows furrowed before it clicks.