A Warrior’s Second Chance novel Chapter 362

BLOOD CRESCENT

FAYE

I walked out of the bathroom, drying my hands lightly on the edge of the towel as I stepped into the room.

Alexander was already watching me.

He didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to.

It was in his eyes-the quiet concern, the way his gaze lingered just a second longer than normal, like he was trying to read something off my face that I hadn’t said out loud.

I paused for a second, just enough to notice it… then I chose not to acknowledge it.

Instead, I moved like everything was normal.

Because that’s what I needed tonight.

Normal.

I dropped the towel aside and slipped into my nightwear, the fabric light against my skin. Comfortable… easy. Something that didn’t demand anything from me. I didn’t look at him while I did it-not because I was avoiding him, but because I didn’t want to turn this into a moment.

I just wanted to exist in it.

When I was done, I glanced at him briefly.

He hadn’t moved.

Still watching me.

Still quiet.

I rolled my eyes faintly, more to myself than to him, and walked toward the bed.

Without warning, I climbed onto it and moved straight toward him, then dropped down beside him-no, not beside him… on him.

Playful and deliberate.

Like I hadn’t noticed anything at all.

He barely had time to react before I was already there, settling over him, trying to make him loosen up.

“Hi,” I murmured, like this wasn’t anything unusual.

His hands came up instinctively, catching me at my waist, steadying me like it was the most natural thing between us.

And then, just like that-

We were tangled together.

His fingers slid into my hair without hesitation, slow and absentminded, like he’d done it a thousand times before and didn’t even think about it anymore.

I exhaled softly, letting myself sink into it.

This… this right here was what I needed.

Not questions.

Not concern.

Not whatever had been sitting in my chest all day, making everything feel slightly off.

Just this.

I shifted slightly, adjusting my position until I was more comfortable, still on him, still close, my hands resting lightly against his chest.

He let out a quiet breath, something almost like a laugh under it.

“You’re getting bold,” he said.

I smirked faintly. “I’ve always been bold.”

“That’s not how I remember it.”

I lifted a brow. “Then your memory is faulty.”

That made him laugh properly this time.

And for a second, it pulled something out of me too.

I smiled.

I pushed myself up slightly then, sitting up while still straddling him, my hands resting on his chest for balance. My hair fell forward a little, framing my face as I looked down at him.

He was still smiling.

I leaned forward slightly, brushing my fingers through his hair this time, mimicking what he’d been doing to me earlier.

He didn’t stop me.

Didn’t even comment.

Just watched me, that same soft look in his eyes.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

And it was enough.

It could have stayed like that.

But of course-

It didn’t.

His hand moved from my hair, sliding down slowly until it rested at my waist again, steady and grounding.

Then, after a beat, his expression shifted.

Just slightly.

The softness didn’t disappear.

But something else settled underneath it.

Serious.

“Faye,” he said.

I knew what was coming.

Of course I did.

“How are you feeling?”

There it was.

I just shrugged… like it didn’t matter.

“And even if I was,” I cut in gently-not harsh… just enough to stop him before he went too far into it-“what difference does it make?”

He went quiet.

That got his attention… good.

I shifted slightly, my hands still resting against his chest, grounding myself more than him.

“When I saw a vision of you dying,” I said, my voice softer now, not as light as before, “I panicked.”

His expression changed immediately.

Subtle.

But I saw it.

“I did everything I could think of,” I continued. “I tried to stop it. I tried to change things. I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t think straight.”

I paused.

Let that sit.

“And it still happened.”

Silence.

I swallowed lightly, my fingers pressing just a little more into his shirt.

“And when I saw the vision about… about the baby…” My voice dipped slightly, almost without permission. “I panicked again.”

I let out a quiet breath.

“I thought if I paid attention this time, if I stayed ahead of it, if I didn’t miss anything-”

I stopped.

Because I already knew how that ended.

“We still lost…,” I said.

The words came out heavy.

For a brief second, I felt something trying to pull me under.

That ache.

That hollow space. But I didn’t let it stay.

I snapped out of it.

Just like that.

I pulled myself back before it could settle too deep.

I blinked once, straightening slightly, forcing my tone back into something steady.

“So no,” I said, softer now but sure. “I don’t want to do that again.”

I met his eyes fully this time.

“I don’t want to sit around trying to control something I’ve never been able to control in the first place.”