His Little Fae

Homecoming (II)

"My heart

is so full of you,

I can hardly call it my own"
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As it turned out, Alexius truly had maxed out his ability to get on people's nerves. At some point during the flight, after seemingly tolerating his presence for half an hour, Victoria was shifting into her dark brown wolf form and suddenly everyone was scrambling to stop her from starting another fucking war.

Alexius had only laughed when she bared her fangs at him, as if he found her adorable.

He'd dodged when she'd swiped her claws, smiled teasingly whenever she growled. His amusement only waned when I strode over and yanked him away by his silvery hair.

"I'm making nice with your wolf friends and you're dragging me away?" He'd asked innocently. And for a moment, I saw the mischievous boy I knew and the troublemaker he still was.

"Shut the fuck up," I'd hissed, watching as Noah and Livius attempted to calm down the irritated she-wolf.

Alexius had fallen silent, but it was less because of my not-so-polite request and more because he was looking at her. Watching her. A mix of amusement and intrigue in his heavy gaze.

I had almost snorted. Victoria hated the fae. And Alexius hated werewolves. They'd kill each other if left alone.

Or she'd kill him. Since my halfwit brother would be too busy laughing at her venomous glare and staring at her with stupid fucking stars in his eyes.

He was an idiot. I warned him to be wary and bite his tongue. And still, he'd given me a patronizing smile while happily clambering into the car with Victoria and Noah. Luckily, Livius went and dragged him out before coming back to me.

We really didn't need any more casualties.

Alexius' bullshit aside, I was glad to be home and free of Gabriel and his faction. Or even better, to finally look to a future without grief and threats and danger.

Livius seemed to carry that same sentiment, a disarming calm lining his movements. One of his hands gripped the top of the steering wheel and the other rested on my leg. I set my hand over his, goosebumps rising on my skin at the single touch.

Warm. He was always so warm.

He smiled to himself as we drove through his forest, the castle just a bit further out. I could already imagine making a beeline to the royal wing and collapsing into our bed.

I just needed sleep, even if nightmares of the past few days plagued it.

Livius' fingers tightened on my leg. "No dozing off just yet, ma reine. You've got a welcoming party."

I frowned, not even realizing my eyes had slipped shut. "I don't want a welcoming party."

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling in the corners in a way I hadn't appreciated before. "I'm sorry. But even I can't spare you from Mrs. Valentina or little Bella."

Distractedly, I flipped over his hand and laced our fingers together, my attention on the movements. Livius tore his attention from the road and looked to me for a brief moment, his fingers squeezing my own.

He was quiet for a long beat, visibly mulling over his next words. "You seem different," he finally said.

I ran my thumb over the back of his hand. "Just more grateful," I murmured.

Gabriel had tried to kill him. Hell, he'd tried to kill us both. We were lucky to have escaped unscathed. And we only had the moon to thank.

After what Alexius said on the plane, new thoughts of what would've happened had I stayed put flooded my mind.