“He is picking up on her anger as well,” Darius says and I look at Aleera and put my head in my hands. She thought I was weak; I knew she would. I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t powerful. I wasn’t strong.
Darius steps closer, holding Ryze in his hands like he is holding an oversized chicken. Instinctively, I cringe away, and Ryze flaps his wings. Darius lets him go, and Ryze flies over to perch on the headboard. His tail flicked over her arm as he petted her like she was his pet, not the other way around. “Crazy bird,” Darius mutters, climbing on the bed beside her. Ryze hisses at him, but he waves his hand at him.
“Hate me all you want. Just do it quietly,” Darius snaps at him. I shake my head, but Ryze seems to listen, huddling in his feathers like an owl watching with wide eyes, but he remains quiet.
Darius leans his face closer, sniffing her neck before sighing and laying back. He pats his chest with his hand while looking at me expectantly, but I don’t move.
“One!” Darius says, and I ignore him, not in the mood to cuddle. I was antsy and irritable.
“Two!” I pick at the blanket, watching her squirm as fear floods me through the bond from her.
“Don’t make him get to three, Kalen,” Tobias hisses behind me and nudges me toward him.
I roll my eyes and look at Darius, who raises an eyebrow like he was daring me to disobey him before pursing his lips. He lifts a finger, motioning for me to come to him, and I growl before crawling closer. Obviously, I didn’t move fast enough when Darius ripped me on top of him.
“Stop your pouting and sleep,” Darius growled before pressing his lips to my forehead. His hand was warm as it trailed up my arm gently.
“You’re not weak,” he whispers, while I trace the scars on his chest with my fingertips.
I looked up at him, observing his aura, but I could see he was worried about something. His aura was black but flickering red oddly.
Everyone had color in their aura, depending on the emotion. Mostly everyone was a shade of black or grey, sometimes blue. Looking at Aleera’s was like looking at a bubble when the sun hits it, a mirage of every color you could think of. Observing Darius again, he was nervous about something.
“What are you worried about?” I asked him.
“Nothing that concerns you, now sleep,”
“Only if you tell me,” I tell him, and he growls, squeezing my arm before he sighs.
“She will know all my secrets, just like she knows yours,”
“You worried she will find out about your father?”
“No, something else,” I could tell he wouldn’t answer any more than that and sighed before looking at Tobias, who curiously watched Darius.
Darius grabs my hand, placing it over his heart and holding it there. “Try to sleep. I will wake you when she is up,” he says before I feel his magic wash over me. I melt against him, letting his scent soothe my anxiety.
A few hours later, I am woken by screams; I lurch upright, and so do Darius and Tobias. Lycus, having returned, growls, stepping over me, his eyes on the door. Blinking, I see it is still dark, but definitely early morning. The light outside was lightening, and I could just make out the trees in the distance.
“For crying out loud. What now?” Tobias groans, tossing the blanket back and climbing out of bed. Something was going on downstairs. Darius tapped my arm, and I rolled off him. He leaned down, kissing my lips softly, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth as he kissed me. All too soon, he pulls away before ruffling Lycus’ fur as he climbs off the bed.
“Stay here,” he says, grabbing a shirt and tugging it on as he follows Tobias to the door. They leave, and I look at Lycus, who starts to shift back before moving off the bed toward the closet. Sitting up, I see Aleera was still asleep, but her eyelids moving rapidly when she shot upright, scaring the crap out of me. She blinks, her eyes trying to adjust to the light.
“It was you all along,” I whispered. Tears glistened in her eyes before spilling over. “I never ran from you, Kalen. I was trying to find you, find my internet friend,” she tells me, and I suck in a breath.
“You’re not mad. I didn’t tell you?” I ask her.
“No, I am mad I ran,” she says, tears roll down her cheeks before she threw herself in my arms.
I wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tight. She didn’t hate me, and I had never felt more relieved. Feeling the bed, I watch Lycus climb on the bed. He kisses my cheek before running his fingers through her hair, and Aleera turns her head on my shoulder to look at him.
I kiss her nose, hugging her tighter when Lycus runs a hand down her sides before pinching her chin and pulling her head off my shoulder. Her lips part, and he kisses her gently at first before his tongue invades her mouth, making my cock twitch beneath her.
“Thank you,” Lycus whispers, pulling his lips from hers and she looks at him oddly, clearly confused by his words.
“For what?” she asks, confused. Lycus pecks her lips before laying down, pulling us with him.
Chapter 81