Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 30 Nora POV Staying with Jeremy was mostly just awkward and upsetting. At least, because of his injuries, I could walk out of the room and shut the door. I left Jeremy alone with his thoughts and went downstairs. I couldn’t risk leaving him alone in the house. He still needed my help with getting fed and moving to the bathroom. I just needed a little space from him and all the things he was trying to make me remember. In the living room, there was a dusty piano. The keys were covered and I could tell it hadn’t been played in years. Looking at the piano made me think of Blake. I wondered if he had sent anyone after me yet. Was he even going to or was he going to announce that our marriage was over because I’d run away? It might be easier than going through a divorce. My stomach squirmed uncomfortably when I thought about Blake. I didn’t really like how we’d left things but I still knew it was for the best. I needed to make my own way. I couldn’t go back to Moonery and didn’t want to keep pretending I was something I wasn’t. The truth was, I wasn’t a queen and I didn’t belong in Blake’s world. I didn’t know where I belonged anymore. I went over to the piano and ran a finger across the dusty key cover. Raising my pointer finger, I rubbed the dust against my thumb. The piano was very nice. It was a grand piano carved from wood and it was very high quality. It was a bit of a shame to see such a gorgeous instrument left to get dusty and unused. I went to the kitchen and got a dust rag. Humming to myself, I cleaned the entire piano, bringing out the true gloss and shine. It was gorgeous. I imagined the that keys were dusty too, so I lifted the piano cover and ran the rag over the keys. Accidentally, I pressed one of the keys and a perfect note wrang out. The piano was still tuned, even after so long of just sitting there. “Wow,” I whispered to myself. Sighing, I tossed the rag aside and sat on the piano bench. I plunked my finger down on a few of the keys, testing their sound. It all sounded great. As I teased the keys, a song came to mind that I had learned to play. It was one that had been very special to Blake and I’d heard him play it several times. Automatically, my fingers took up position to play the notes. Because it had been a special song to him, I’d asked Charles to teach it to me. I hadn’t played it in a long time but my fingers moved with muscle memory, tapping out each of the lovely notes and chords. Closing my eyes, I really started to feel the music. My fingers danced along the keys like they were acting alone and I let the music roll through my bones. Tears wet my eyes because the song connected me so strongly to Blake. Even if our relationship was a lie, he’d helped me a lot and been there for me when the rest of my friends and pack had turned against me. That should mean something. With a heavy sigh, I stopped playing and slowly lowered the cover over the keys. I sniffled and wiped my light tears away. “I didn’t know you could play like that,” Jeremy’s voice said from the doorway. Camping. I whipped around and glared at him. “What are you doing? You probably reopened your wound!” Tim fine, Nora I was careful coming down the stairs,” he assured. Cunching his side. Jeremy hobbled into the room and sat down on the couch. He sighed and pulled his shirt up, showing me that the bandages were still intact. “That was stupi d. You aren’t trying to drag this out, are you?” I asked, creasing my brow. Jeremy held up a hand and shook his head. “No. I wanted to see if it was really you playing. I’ve never heard you play like that.” “There’s a lot you don’t know about me anymore,” I reminded him. I crossed my arms. “We learned to play the piano together. I’ve never heard you play like that, though,” he mused, his eyes getting distant as he thought of the past again. “You didn’t even like playing piano, did you?”

“No. I didn’t like playing piano as a kid,” I agreed in a cl*pped tone. Jeremy looked me over with curious eyes. “You’ve changed a lot, Nora.” “We both have,” I said, nodding. Jeremy was silent for a moment. He stroked his chin and looked around the little house we were staying in. “Sometimes, I miss it,” he muttered. I was a little taken aback by that. “Miss what?” I asked. “You, us, all the times we had together growing up. I’ve seen how much you’ve changed but I don’t know if those changes are good or bad anymore.” I sniffed and rolled my eyes. Jeremy didn’t have any right to tell me that he thought the way I’d changed was bad. Everything I had done was to survive. I did what I had to and Jeremy had no right to judge that. “So, when did you learn to play the piano? Did you do it on your own?” he asked, changing the topic slightly. I lifted the piano cover and absently played around with a few of the keys. To be King Blake’s bride, I had to learn a few delicate behaviors,” I explained, keeping my eyes on the keys as I alternated back and forth between two keys. The sound was soft, allowing our voices to be heard easily over the random notes I pressed. “That sounds well, that doesn’t sound like you at all. When we were kids, you gave up playing piano pretty quickly,” he recalled. I glanced at him. He looked so relaxed on the couch. Like he wanted to be there in that house with me, away from everything else. I wondered why he was so willing to remain there and why he looked less stressed than I’d seen in a long time. “We might have been taught piano together, but everything I learned, I did so on my own, when I was alone,” I said with an indifferent shrug, “Oh, that’s I felt Jeremy’s eyes on me, so I glanced over at him again.  He was staring at me with heavy eyes. It seemed like he was pitying me or something. I didn’t want or need his pity! Turning away, I started playing the opening bars of the song Ed played earlier “That is really beautiful. I’ve never heard that piece before. It beert one of the classic’s an area sauger on shay Spony sat when I stopped playing a few bare in “I’m not surprised, it is an original piece,” I said softly. My stomach twisted and my heart beat faster. Why had I picked that song? I would hur hop on and care so play any of the others I learned. If I weren’t thinking of Blake, I would have chosen a different song and wantith’s awkward conversation with Jeremy. Aworing the “Oh? Did you write it?” he asked. “It seems to suit you so well. If you were a song, I fenf filem that wesestof the proces melody” 1 scoffed and shook my head. It was such a corny thing for him to say, but it made my heart ache suddenly “I’m not that talented. Blake… he wrote it for me,” I explained. I slid my eyes sideways at Jeremy again. He was just staring at me, too stunned to speak.