Remember

Chapter 20: ....Comes...

The sound of footsteps had us stepping away in a hurry, putting as much space between us as possible, and spinning around to face the noise.

I relaxed when I saw who it was. It was Bryce, with a smile on his face.

"I knew it." He said smirking. He made his way towards me. I raised my eyebrows at him and he matched my expression, causing grins to form on our faces.

Right before he pulled me into a hug, Janus spoke up. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you." We spun towards him, confusion was written on our faces. The struggle he was going through evident by the tension on his face. His eyes kept flashing gold before returning to normal as he resisted his beast.

Bryce took a step away from me and walked towards Janus, slowly to show that he meant no harm. He stopped a few feet in front of him. "Take care of her." He whispered, glancing back at me. "She will never admit it, but she needs someone to rely on. Someone who can be a shoulder to lean on and see through the facade that she wears."

Their eyes were locked and so much went unsaid between them as their thoughts raced back and forth.

Finally, Bryce took a step back, preparing to leave. He nodded at Janus before turning to me. He hugged me, Janus's beast satisfied that he wasn't a threat. "You can trust him," Bryce whispered into my ear. I nodded at him.

Bryce walked away, right before he got back to the yard he tossed his head over his shoulder, commanding his gaze. "Janus. One last thing, if you hurt her, it will be the last thing that you do." His voice was dominated by his beast, warning Janus not to test him.

Janus raised his head, meeting his challenge and looking every inch the Lycan's equal. "Never." He said, matching Bryce's warning. Bryce nodded before he disappeared into the evening mist.

Janus turned towards me, a small smile on his face. "May I walk you home my lady?" He asked holding out his arm to me.

"You may," I replied taking his arm. We made our way back to the main house at a leisurely pace, falling into a comfortable silence.

When we got back to my room, Janus hesitated, as if there was something that he wanted to say but didn't know how.

I took the lead, leaning up to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Janus," I whispered softly into his ear. I watched a shiver run through his body as my breath fanned over his face.

"Goodnight Asteria." He whispered back to me as I slipped into my room. I heard him mumble something under his breath, but what he said I had no idea.

I quickly changed into more comfortable clothes and then slipped into bed. My mind was lit with ideas racing around my head, and as sleep claimed me it was an uneasy sleep.

I was chained to a wall, blood felt like it was pouring from every crevice of my body as my wounds refused to heal. The silver racing through my veins prevented me from doing so and made every second feel like agony. I reached out with my mind, crying out for help, begging for it. All fell silent, save the drip of my blood onto the floor. A sense if desperation filled me, hopelessness invaded my every thought. The silver chains around me rattled, a voice whispered my name.

Asteria. The voice whispered. My chains continued to rattle, the voice growing volume. It became desperate, building to a crescendo.

I gasped, my eyes flying open to a hand in my shoulder and a voice yelling my name. Janus was kneeling on the bed beside me, worry clouding his face, a shirt was haphazardly thrown on.

He said nothing as he pulled me into his arms. It wasn't until then that I realized that I was trembling. I don't know how long we were like that. His holding me tight while I wrapped myself into the comfort that he provided.

Eventually, my breathing evened out and my shaking steadied. We pulled back, Janus headed towards the door while I slipped back under the covers. He hesitated at the door before walking out.

"Will you be alright?" He asked me, waiting for my response. I could feel the conflict that filled him, a war as he waited for my answer.

As Janus fought his own war, I fought one of my own. I wanted him to stay, to ward off the demons that haunted me. Yet at the same time, I needed to remain strong. For so long I had portrayed an illusion of strength, even when I had none, that I had no clue how to be vulnerable.

Finally, my desire for sleep won out. "Stay," I whispered softly, hesitantly.

He froze for a split second, as if he had misheard me before shutting the door and moved slowly over to the bed. I slid over to make room for him as he lifted up the sheets and slid next to me.

The tension between us was palatable as we both tried to fall back into the arms of sleep. Janus flopped his arm over. It landed on my hip and he froze, the fear in his body was evident.

"Sorry." He whispered to me, scared that he had done something wrong.

I turned over so that I faced him. His hand still rested on my hip where it had frozen earlier. I rested my hand on his.

"It's all right," I replied. I felt the tension around us dissolve.

Janus reached out and pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face into my hair. I rested mine against his chest along with one of my hands, which traced the hard lines and muscle of his chest hidden underneath his shirt.

"Sleep Asteria." He whispered and placed a chaste kiss on the top of my head. "I will keep watch tonight. I promise."

Wrapped safely in his arms I felt sleep claim me without a second thought.

Hello everyone! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and please vote if you did and didn't forget to comment with what you thought! Please don't be a silent reader! I truly want to improve and the only way to do so is through your feedback. Thank you and have great rest of the day!