<h4>Chapter 97: _ She is My Wife</h4>


    For the first time in years, I dreamed of something other than blood and vengeance.


    The air was warm, scented with freshly cut grass and the sweetness of orange blossoms. The sky stretched wide and golden, kissed by the beautiful colors of the setting sun.


    I stood outside a house, which for some reason, I knew was <i>my </i>house. It was a beautiful vi in the countryside, surrounded by rolling fields and swaying cypress trees.


    And there, just a few steps away, were two children.


    A little boy, about seven, with golden brown hair and my wolfish grin. He was chasing after a girl with long, flowing hair the color of María José’s.


    Sheughed, shrieking with delight as she dodged him, her tiny feet kicking up dust as she ran in circles around a small stone fountain.


    "Got you!" the boy cried, tackling her.


    They tumbled into the grass, giggling, before copsing in a heap and shaking withughter.


    A warmth bloomed in my chest while watching them. My heart awakened with something so unfamiliar and yet, so foreign, that for a moment, I didn’t know what to call it.


    By the devil, it was happiness. I found happiness in watching these two kids to whom I had never seen in my life.


    Then, the front door creaked open.


    "Amores míos!"


    That voice... it made my hair stand at ends.


    María José stepped onto the porch, her long skirt swaying with the breeze. Her blouse was soft and loose, framing the curve of her shoulders.


    Her hair was free, cascading down her back like a red waterfall. She looked radiant, and breathtaking in a way that made my throat dry.


    She wiped her hands on a dish towel and propped one hand on her hip. "How many times must I call you? It’s dinnertime. Come inside before it gets cold."


    The children shot to their feet, racing toward her, their faces alight with joy. She crouched, gathering them in her arms and pressing kisses to their foreheads.


    "Mischievous little devils," she murmured,ughing softly.


    Then, she turned to me. And just like that, the rest of the world faded away.


    C-can she see me?!


    A smile spread across her lips slowly. She stepped toward me, her bare feet whispering against the stone path, and lifted herself onto her toes.


    "You too, mi amor," she murmured against my lips, pressing the sweetest, most tender kiss there. "Come eat."


    Dios mío... did... did María José just kissed me?!


    I wanted to stay here forever. In this dream. In this life. In a world where she was mine, where we had a home, where the only thing that mattered was the sound of our children’sughter and the warmth of her touch.


    I wanted to eat her food. To be her man... be the father of her kids.


    But dreams are cruel.


    And the sound of an irritatingly loud voice ruined my peace.


    "Luis! Luis, wake up, carajo!"


    A sharp snort tore me from sleep. My eyelids felt like rocks and my entire body was stuffy, and when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Rosario standing over me, her face so close I could see every one of her overgrown eyebrow hairs.


    "Finally! I thought you’d slipped into aa overnight. Dios mío, Luis, you sleep like the dead."


    I wanted to groan. I wanted to curse. I wanted to throw something at her head. But, of course, all I could do was blink.


    She took myck of response as permission to continue her morning rant.


    "You know, some of us actually work for a living. Some of us don’t get to just sit around in a wheelchair all day, drooling like a baby. But do you care? No. You make me do everything. I should start charging you extra for all this suffering."


    I stared nkly at the ceiling.


    "And don’t even get me started onst night! Hah! Do you know what I dreamt about? A rich husband, Luis! A handsome, wealthy man who would sweep me off my feet and take me far, far away from this wretched pack."


    She grabbed a cloth, dabbing at my face like she was a fucking butcher.


    "But do you know what happened, Luis? Right as my dream-husband was about to propose, I woke up to my real <i>barely at-home one, </i>moaning like a dying cow! So, no, I did <i>not</i> get my beauty sleep!"


    <i>Oh, how I missed my powers. I would have long shut her up. She was always well-behaved when I was in control. </i>


    "Ugh. You really need to learn how to control that saliva situation. It’s disgusting." She belched right onto my face.


    <i>My FACE! </i>


    If I could move, I would’veunched her straight through the nearest window. But I endured. Like I always did. Like I had for years before the devil came along.


    She sighed dramatically. "I swear, if I had a coin for every time I had to deal with your nonsense, I’d be richer than the Alpha himself."


    <i>Right back at ya, Rosario. Right back at ya!</i>


    She began her usual morning routine, which involvedining as she moved me into a morefortable position, checked my limbs, and... unfortunately, wiped the drool off my face.


    "And another thing," she continued, "you need to eat. And no, I don’t care if you don’t <i>want</i> to. Because if you don’t eat, you’ll die, and then what? I’ll be out of a job, that’s what! And I cannot afford that."


    I wanted her to choke on her breakfast.


    She fed me as she always did; loudly, impatiently, shoving food into my mouth like I was an annoying child.


    And, as always, she passed out in the chair afterward, mouth hanging open, snoring like a thunderstorm.


    <i>Pig!</i>


    I sat there, trapped, listening to her ungodly snores.


    But it didn’t matter because today was thest day.


    Tomorrow, I will have my body back.


    And I would see her again.


    I closed my eyes, forcing myself to sink back into the remnants of my dream, trying to hold onto that fleeting warmth.


    María José.


    Herughter. Her kiss. Her voice calling me inside.


    I needed to see her. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would have my body back. And when I did...


    Nothing would stop me from going to her.