One of Them

40

It was early in the morning when I woke up from a deep, dreamless sleep. My eyes opened to the darkened bedroom, the only light coming from the moon outside leaking in through the gap between the curtains. I felt so raw; my head, my nose, my eyes... Had I been crying in my sleep?

Whatever had happened I was definitely not feeling great, and my head was pounding incessantly... 

I felt my along the cool sheets of the bed, searching for Gage's warmth, but the bed was empty. I sat up, squinting my eyes to try to make sense of the room around me. Empty. Getting out of bed I made my way to the bathroom, listening for any noise or sound of movement coming from the room but hearing nothing. Seeing nothing. 

I was alone and that thought scared me. 

I suppose I'd gotten use to having Gage next to me when I woke up in the night. He'd been so helpful with the nightmares and it was actually really comforting to know that he'd be next to me. But nothing good lasts forever and I was alone again.

The pain in my head was only worsening the longer I stood there so going to my bag, I frantically searched for some form of relief I might have stashed in it while packing. Nothing. Letting out a frustrated sigh I decided that my best bet would be trying to find the kitchen. It was getting lighter outside and that meant that the staff would most likely be starting breakfast, right?

I opened the door to the hallway, the rays from the rising sun barely made anything in the hall visible but provided enough light for me to make my way through the winding manor. As I walked further down each hallway, I felt like I might have been getting closer to the kitchen; rooms started looking familiar. I rounded another corner of the hallway pretty sure that the kitchen had to be down one of these halls coming up, but instead of being met by another part of the manor my face collided with a solid surface.

Recoiling from the impact, I ran my hand over the now sore spot on my nose. "Ow." 

I feel the chuckle run through the chest of the man who was currently holding me steady in his arms. I hadn't even realized that I was clinging to the man's naked chest, my eyes ran up the toned, and surprisingly heavily tattooed, abdomen of Valen Morgan. His hands tightened around my waist, gentle but sturdy. I could feel his warm breath on me with how close he was and I was suddenly painfully aware of just how little the both of us were wearing and how thin my nightshirt was. 

"You alright, Mo Grá?" His voice was husky with sleep and his words, deliciously dipped in that thick Irish accent, did things to me I really didn't need to have happen while I was cocooned in his arms. One of the hands he'd been using to hold me moved from my waist to rest against my forehead, half covering my eyes with it. "What?" My voice sounded parched even to me and I flinched at the sudden ache it brought to my throat. Valen's hand slipped from my head to once again rest at my hip, our eyes meeting at last helped along by the peaking sunlight of the room. 

"No fever, good. You look flushed though... You sure you're alright, Mo Grá?" His cloudy eyes held mine, the intricate storm dancing as he looked at me. "What is that? Muh Graw?" His lips turned up into a smirk that made me blush and I felt him chuckle against me again. "Mo Grá." He repeated making sure to pronounce them clearer for me.

"Mo Grá?" I repeated again, this time with his dialect added in. I could feel his arms slip further around my waist bringing the two of us closer to each other, his lips had fallen and the storm in his eyes seemed to rage even more. He held me tight to him and I could feel his heart beating fast under my palm. "Say it again." I was confused by his words and his sudden closeness, his skin against mine, the chill against my bare legs. And then I was suddenly overwhelmed.

Pushing out of his hold I turned to calm myself. Why had I been getting so worked up? I have Gage, and Wolf as well now apparently. Why did those words seem so serious to him? And what was I wearing? I was certain I hadn't gone to bed dressed like this.... 

With a mountain of questions running through my head the onslaught of my headache came back full force and so I asked the only thing I could think to at that moment.

"Do you... happen to have any headache medicine? And maybe some water? I was looking for the kitchen but seems like I'd gotten lost..." Valen nodded, his kind smile returning as he held his arm out for me to take and I was glad. He lead me all the way to where the kitchen was, which happened to be the exact opposite way I had been going, in silence.

Valen did not ask why I'd pulled away from him back there. He didn't question why I'd changed the subject or why I'd remained silent the whole way to the kitchen as he spoke to me about the various paintings and decorations lining the halls of the house, each one a relic his grandmother had passed down to him. He wasn't trying to force me to speak to him or pushing me to take the medicine he'd laid on the counter in front of me once we had finally gotten to the kitchen. 

He'd just stayed next to me, and brought more water once I'd downed the glass he'd originally sat down.