“No, I mean it, Aleera. Stick close to me. There is a reason I don’t allow my mates to leave the castle. It’s not safe. So, stay close to me,” Darius said.
My brows furrowed, and I looked over at him. “Why are you letting me come with you then?”
“Because I don’t know the first thing about lady products, and secondly…” He paused and sighed. “I wanted to apologize. Figured you would want to get out of the castle for a little bit. Kalen said it would be good for you to get out of that place for a while.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You can’t hurt Kalen either,” I laughed.
“None of us can. Kalen is… He is—”
“Special,” I offered, and he bit his lip and nodded.
“He is our glue. Kalen is the reason we all held together the way we have,” Darius answered, and I nodded.
Chapter 67
The town wasn’t thatfar from the castle. It only took roughly twenty minutes to drive there. The time seemed to fly by as I was busy talking to my internet friend. When Darius pulled into a parking spot out the front of a grocery store that was part of a small shopping complex, he got out and walked to my side. The place was bustling with shoppers as I glanced around.
The moment I stepped out of the car myself, Darius was already at my side before I had even shut the door. He grabbed my hand, and I glanced down at my hand when he laced his fingers through mine before raising an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t argue. I want you close,” he said, glancing around almost anxiously, which I thought odd. He led me to a small post office first before pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking a mailbox.
“You don’t get your mail at the castle?” I asked him.
“Nobody can find it. It’s hidden,” he said, placing the mail in his back pocket. He dragged me to a few different places, including a pharmacy where he picked up prescriptions for Kalen, and I was surprised to see how many different pills Kalen took. When we were done there, Darius pulled me to the grocery store.
I did, however, notice that anyone who stepped near or in our path quickly scattered. The pharmacy completely emptied of people when Darius entered, leaving only the pharmacist who was familiar with Darius. The grocery store was the same, except even a few of the workers scurried off.
“Do you always get such a warm welcome?” I whispered.
“It has its benefits. Never have to wait in line,” Darius chuckled while stepping closer to me and placing his hand on my hip so I was pretty much tucked under his arm. He led me to an aisle that contained feminine products, and both of us stood there like idiots.
“Please, tell me you know which ones to buy,” Darius murmured. I picked up one of the colored boxes to read it, and so did Darius.
“What, they couldn’t make it one size fits all?” he said, picking up a couple of boxes of pads while I picked up some tampons.
“One size fits all?” I asked him, shaking my head.
“Yeah, why are they different sizes, and how do you know what size to buy?” he asked, holding up two different ones. This was the most bizarre experience of my life and not one I ever pictured doing with Darius.
“Just go with the regular?” I told him, and he looked at the box in my hand.
“You are not using those. You can die if you forget it is in there,” Darius said, placing it back on the shelf.
“Huh?”
“Lycus said something about some syndrome.”
“Toxic shock syndrome?” I offered.
“That’s the one. Stick with the less-lethal kind,” Darius said.
I shook my head at his words. Darius grabbed a few different boxes, putting them in his basket. “You know it only lasts twenty-four hours, right? I don’t need all those,” I told him.
“What if they are uncomfortable?” he said, and I just let him go, letting him steer me toward the next aisle. His basket was full by the time we were done, and he escorted me to the register. The entire time, Darius kept glancing around nervously when his phone pinged, and he got a text message. He pulled his phone from his pocket. Looking at it, he sighed. He looked around for a second before looking behind him.
“I will be right there. Put the rest of the stuff up. If anyone speaks to you, scream,” Darius said, wondering off about three meters away to some confectionery stand. I placed the contents out with a sigh before putting the basket back beside the register when the man behind the register spoke.
“Never seen you in here before with Darius Wraith. Family member?” he asked while scanning another item and placing it in the bag before looking at me.Surely Darius didn’t mean to scream if the teller spoke to me.