He expected her questions more than her silence. But she didn't push, she didn't press him for answers he wasn't ready to give. Though he didn't expect she'd stay so quiet forever. Adeline would get her answers, one way or another, he knew at least that much about her. In this moment though, her silence was a blessing, a gift she likely didn't know she was giving him. His demons were his own and with their new presence in his life, he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.
It was part of the reason why he forced his expression to smooth when she flinched at the growl in his voice. A storm raged within, one that he barely controlled. It was the adrenaline that flooded his system that kept him from giving into the herbs and easing into something more relaxed.
Instead, Adeline painted a picture he never wanted to envision. She had been at the college when it all started. She had been there and he had no idea. His wife stood on the very same battlefield he had. Somehow, despite her inexperience, she had managed to come out unscathed. Physically at least.
It was difficult to wrap his mind around. The fact that his wife, the woman he loved more than his next breath, fought in the same war he had. Blood stained her dainty paws. There had been a threat to her life. A very real one. One that had resonated with one particular Jacobite in particular. The wannabe solider had, in fact, described his wife. It had been Adeline on that field, one the three wolves described. His mouth went dry.
Transported back to that day, he wouldn't ever forget waking up in that cell. The girl they had sent to interrogate him had been a joke, not that she had been shy about utilizing the muscle Jacob employed. Kenzo could practically taste the blood in his mouth all over again. His heart thundered against his chest, feeling like it might explode. His sides would rise and fall. "It was you." She'd have no idea what he meant, the words barely spoken above a whisper, murmured more to himself than to her and his worst nightmares were given life.
But then Adeline was snarling, her ferocity filling the room and jerking him back into the present. His eyes refocused on her, brows pulling together in confusion. She'd maimed someone. As if he needed anymore shock today. "I'm sorry." For what exactly, he wasn't sure. He was sorry for being gone so long, for returning to her worse for wear, for nothing being where he should have been to shield her from all of this. For failing.
Exhaustion would push through, his body sagging on its own accord as he sank into the linens, his breathing slowly evening out. That glaze was slow to return to his stare, but unwelcome sleep would claim him, his mind needing a break as much as his body. Still wrapped around his life, he made no effort to disengage from her, or offer her any hope of escaping him.
exit
"If the accident will."
"Kenzo Speech."
"Adeline Speech"