Realm of the Rogues

Chapter XLIII

Dom helps me up on my feet, before turning his back to me and bending down, urging me to jump up onto his back. I wrap my arms around his neck and jump up to clench my knees on either side of his waist. He stands up and jumps once, getting my body to sit more comfortably around his, and then he grabs both my thighs firmly with his hands. Then he tilts and turns his head slightly to see me.

"Are you comfortable?" he asks me, still sounding a bit concerned.

"Yep, I'm good, now stop worrying about me and get going," I answer, eager to leave the dark mindset behind for a while and brighten the mood. Dom seems to understand as he smirks and turns his eyes back on the road in front of him.

"Say less, Princess," he jokes before sprinting off again. 

We run for quite some time. Every time I start to lose my grip from exhaustion, Dom stops and lets me down to regain some of the strength in my fingers and thighs, before we continue on. Dom doesn't seem to tire, as his grip on my thighs remains consistent throughout it all. I can't help but feel butterflies in my stomach every time he looks back at me to ask how everything is. He is remarkably sweet, and I can't help but get the feeling, that it's only because he feels guilty. I still don't understand why he even decided to help me in the first place, let alone go through so much for me, but I'm grateful, and try to just leave it at that.

"So, where are we going?" I ask one of the next time we stop up, so I can shake out the stiffness in my fingers.

"Can't we just find a car, so we don't have to stop up every few minutes?" I continue before he gets to answer my first question. He stands with his arm folded over his chest while looking at me with an amused look on his face.

"What's wrong, Princess? Having a hard time hanging onto my heavenly-made-greek-god-looking body?" I can hear the laughter in his voice and just roll my eyes, continuing on to shaking my legs one at a time.

"Ha-ha, good joke. No, I'm serious, isn't it also hard for you to carry me and run at the same time?" I ask him then.

"Ha, please. Do you see me breaking a sweat? I'm too perfect for that," he says with a wink in my direction, before turning around, preparing to lift me up on his back again.

"Besides, I like to feel your boobies on my back," he adds, not concealing the laughter in his voice. I stop dead in my tracks and just stare at him with my mouth agape. After a second he looks back at me and then breaks out into full-blown laughter.

"Hahaha, I'm sorry," he says grabbing his stomach, "but you should really see your face," he continues, now wiping his eyes.

"I didn't mean to offend your dignity, M'lady, but I can't lie, I really didn't mind the feeling." He walks back to me and tousles my hair, not helping to relieve me of my displeased look.

"I don't think I want to hang onto your back anymore," I say in an annoyed voice, now folding my arms over my chest as well as he had. He just grins and a playful look sneaks into his eyes.

"Well, in that case, I can always carry you in my arms instead," he proposes with a glint in his eyes.

"Then why the hell didn't you do that from the beginning, so I wouldn't have had to struggle to hold on?" I almost yell at him as I throw my hands up in despair. A very sneaky smile just spreads on his face.

"May I refer you back to my earlier statement?" he says with a wide grin, and I can't help but exhale in surprise and then giggle myself. I swat him on the arm and he starts to giggle as well.

"You are a lost cause, Dom. Now carry me," I grin and then throw my hands up over my head, as he then scoops me up into his arms, and takes off again.

"So why can't we just take a car?" I ask him again, as we zoom away.

"Well we have to hurry, and running is faster. I'm not as fast as the others anymore, since I'm no longer part of their clan." At my look of confusion, he continues.

"The more vampires are in a clan, the stronger each member of the clan is. I'm now a rogue, just as you are, so I have no boosters anymore. So whenever the clan finds out that you are gone, we need to be as far away as possible." As he finishes, he looks up again at where he is going. I keep staring at him, realizing how lucky I am, that he wants to help me, and just how much he has sacrificed for me.

"Thank you," I say sincerely, and he looks down in surprise. Then he smiles with a hint of pain in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Princess, it's my pleasure. My life was getting too mundane anyway," he answers, now truly smiling.

"By the way, where are you planning to take me?" I then ask, wondering where we could possibly go, without the vampires - and everyone else for that matter - finding us.

"Well first, the nearest airport. Then Scotland," he says with clear excitement in his voice at the notion of returning home. I can't help but feel excited as well. I have never been out of the country, nor on a flight before - but I have seen some airplanes fly over the territory of our pack from time to time. It always seemed like something I could only dream about. The thought of being up so high and flying away with such speed sounds very fun, but also a bit frightening.

"Are we going to see your hometown?" I ask him, interested to learn more about his past and upbringing. A small shadow glazes across his eyes just for a second, however, before he answers.

"Maybe. I didn't plan on it, but if we have the time, sure. I was thinking that we should find some of my old buddies first, however. They may be able to help us." He has a faraway look in his eyes, as if he is thinking about some old memories. I wonder who these old buddies might be.