Chapter 258
In her half-conscious state, Aldraya would sometimes let out a soft murmur, a gentle hum of pleasure in her throat that, once again and without her realizing it, felt deeply personal and faintly trembling.
That sound blended with her steady breathing, creating an intimate soundscape that filled the darkness of the room.
"Don't keep turning… please?"
Slowly, with careful movements meant not to wake the white bat sleeping against his chest, Theo began to shift his body weight.
The tense muscles of his back pulled away from the mattress, his right shoulder lowering while his left rose, initiating a slow yet deliberate rotation.
His body, which had been half-turned to the left, now sought to face that direction fully, settling into a side-lying position that felt more natural and comfortable.
The movement was not a rejection, but a search for a new balance upon the bed that had become the stage of their nightly routine.
The effect of that movement was felt immediately.
Aldraya, whose body clung tightly like a vine to its host, responded at once with perfect cohesion.
As if bound by an invisible tether, her light yet solid form shifted automatically, following Theo's rotation.
There was no pause, no hesitation in her movement.
She remained fast asleep, yet her subconscious instinct ensured that no gap opened between herself and that source of warmth.
Her embrace did not loosen in the slightest—if anything, it tightened a fraction during the transition, as if to ensure that their bond would not be broken by even the smallest change in position.
Buuuuk!!
The peace of the night still hung thick within the room, a bubble of time isolated from the outside world.
Within it, the two figures remained asleep, neither awake, neither aware of the intimate position that had quietly become their habit.
The world consisted only of shared warmth, rhythmic breathing, and a soothing darkness.
The state endured, undisturbed, as if it might last forever.
Until, finally, that silence was shattered by a mechanical sound with no room for compromise.
The clock beside Theo's bed rang loudly, its alarm blaring at exactly 06:00, marking the end of the night's dominion and the beginning of obligation.
That sound was the first to pierce Aldraya's layers of consciousness.
Slowly, her thin eyelids fluttered, then opened.
Her clear eyes, still clouded by sleep, stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment.
With a movement that was sluggish and reluctant to abandon the lingering warmth, she raised one hand.
Her palm gently rubbed her left eye, then shifted to the right, in a simple waking ritual carried out without full awareness of Theo's presence beside her.
Once both eyes had adjusted, the next instinct to surface was the need for stability.
Without much thought, Aldraya lowered both hands and placed them squarely on Theo's chest, which rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
The hands were not merely resting there, but applied enough pressure to push, as if using Theo's chest as a support to lift her own body into a more upright position.
Whether intentional or not, the push was strong enough to send a waking signal through Theo's nervous system.
Theo, still submerged in the remnants of his dreams, felt the pressure.
By reflex, his head shook slightly against the pillow, a subconscious refusal of the reality calling him back.
Then, with effort, his heavy eyelids lifted.
His still-blurred vision slowly came into focus.
And what he saw was Aldraya's face, only a few inches from his own.
Her expression remained flat, as usual, showing no joy, no embarrassment, not even sleepiness.
Yet her clear eyes were wide, studying every detail of Theo's face intently, as if scanning or simply observing an intriguing morning phenomenon.
Meanwhile, both of her hands were still planted on Theo's chest, not only as support but also as a barrier that drew their faces even closer.
Aldraya's body leaned forward, bracing herself with her hands on his chest, creating an intimate space that felt remarkably small and dense in the early morning.
"Do you need something? Or are you just making sure I'm still here?"
Uuuuhh!
"If you want to be warmed, you can just say so. You don't need to keep kissing my cheek all the time."
A faint smile then formed on Theo's lips, a subtle reaction meant more for himself than for Aldraya, who was still gazing at him with that innocent stare.
In his mind, a teasing question arose.
Had his presence and embrace become such an absolute source of comfort for this girl that her blank gaze was actually concealing a deeper desire?
From the way Aldraya clung to him, from her unconscious sighs in the night, and from the intensity of her morning stare that seemed to hold him in place, Theo read an unspoken message.
A desire to be warmed—not merely physically by blankets or skin contact, but literally and intimately—a warmth born of acknowledgment, acceptance, and perhaps a closeness whose name Aldraya herself had yet to fully understand.
Indeed, not a single expression adorned Aldraya's face.
Her cheeks did not flush, her eyes did not sparkle, her lips did not curve.
She simply stared, flat and clear, like a calm lake in the morning.
Yet it was precisely in that absence of expression that something deeply significant resided.
Her indifference to norms of personal distance, her boldness in clinging so tightly throughout the night, and the way she maintained eye contact for so long and at such close range—all of it spoke more powerfully than any smile or gesture.
It was the body language of someone whose defenses and social masks had completely fallen away, leaving only the most pure and instinctive need.
The need to feel safe, accepted, and—in a very primitive way—loved.
'Not sharp, not sweet like perfume. Just clear air after the rain, warmly embraced by the morning sun.'
Yet no verbal answer came from Aldraya's lips.
Instead, she made a movement more unsettling than any words.
The eyelids that had only just opened wide slowly closed again, like curtains being drawn over the windows of her soul.
With a motion that was slow yet full of certainty, she began to bring her face closer to Theo's.
The distance that was already small narrowed further, until their breaths nearly merged.
At that intimate range, a scent began to fill the air between them.
It was the distinctive fragrance that always clung to Aldraya's body, an aroma that did not come from any worldly perfume or oil.
Even celestial fragrances, with all their cold and majestic perfection, could not rival the warmth of the scent that naturally resided within Aldraya.
It was gentle, yet it pierced straight to the heart, like a blend of morning dew on first leaves, the warmth of sunlight on skin, and something deeper still—perhaps the lingering clarity of her soul before it was tainted by dogma, or the pure essence of her newly born existence after transformation.
'She wouldn't possibly cross—'
Sssssh!
'I-is this real? Are you seriously going to continue?!'
Puuuuk!
"That's enough."
'This is too fast, even by the standards of a character who's already been saved.'
Theo allowed the moment to flow, making no move to stop or evade it.
His mind, usually filled with analysis and strategy, fell silent, observing with careful attention.
To be continued…