The Family Business: The love and war series [COMPLETED]

Chapter 19: White Winter, Green Christmas

This chapter is dedicated to a RL friend who has been so supportive!! :)

Chapter 19:  White Winter, Green Christmas

Aubrey woke with a throbbing pain in her head. Whoever the goddess of headaches was, she was certainly working overtime. Taking in her surroundings, Aubrey instantly realized she was in Damien's room, in Damien's bed. She jumped from his sheets and sprinted toward the door, only to find he was already standing there.

"What the hell did you do to me?" she asked, her voice at a high roar.

"Nothing you didn't bring upon yourself. Now what hell happened last night?"

"Last night?" She quickly looked toward his dark windows. The sun was attempting to shine through. The last thing she remembered was standing on the Belvedere tower. She forced the memories to come to surface. "You attacked me!"

He looked annoyed. "You attacked me first. Now, do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

"No," she said out of reflex rather than honesty. She tried to recall her last thought, but her head was throbbing. All she could see were flames. "You tried to fry me!"

"I did no such thing. Dragon's fire cannot burn a mate. Plus, you control your own fire, so your claim is irrelevant."

"Then why does my head hurt so much? What did you do to me?"

Damien ignored her questions and asked his own. "Aubrey, you turned into a white tiger. How long have you been able to do that? And why didn't you tell me from the start?"

Aubrey almost felt like she was supposed to be the guilty party. Almost. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean, why didn't I tell you? How did you not already know? You knew everything else!"

"I didn't know this," he said, his voice raising in anger. "How could I?"

Aubrey glared back at him. A furious dragon was a force to be reckoned with, but Aubrey matched his fury with her own. Daughter of war, she was.

Deep down, something told her that he would never put her in danger; however that feeling shared real-estate with the ones that made her want the hot-headed beast. She chose to ignore both emotions. They obviously couldn't be trusted.

Aubrey backed away from Damien, not from fear, but for reassurance. If a fight broke out she wanted enough room to make her move. Not knowing what he was thinking, Aubrey remained defensive. She kept her eyes on him and noticed, for the first time, that he looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept all night. Concern hid behind his cold, angry eyes.

Her body stayed tense as she asked, "So what now?"

"Now..." Damien paused and strode over to his bed. Aubrey could see the distant look he held, like he was searching for the right words to say. He let his body fall to the edge of his mattress. "I don't know."

Aubrey resisted the urge to run and comfort him. She desperately clung to her anger as if it was the life preserver sent to keep her from drowning in the messed up life the Moriai had thrown her in.

Her throat began to swell with pain as she asked, "Now you fulfill the prophecy, right?"

Damien rubbed his temples. "If you honestly think that it would be so easy for me to take your life, than you definitely lack the knowledge of just how important your position is."