The Highlander's Charm

Three

It only seems right that I have to look towards the heavens in order to find the Angel that had been kind enough to rescue me from my own fate... And as I climb the ladder that leads up to the loft I cannot help but worry about whether or not he might notice the scent of iron that persists on my breath despite having rinsed my mouth after satisfying my thirst as best that I could without harming any of the cattle... I hardly want to frighten the delicate shifter responsible for both saving my life and causing the fire that had been dwindling so swiftly inside of my soul to reignite with such passion... 

I have to stop for a moment halfway up to the hayloft I had been so kindly guided to by Alpha Bower in order to collect and calm myself... I want to rush to him so badly... But I need to make sure I do not startle him before I have the chance to truly introduce myself. 

It is an easy decision to make to hold my breath when I feel steady enough to continue to climb, the scent that had flooded my senses when I had laid weakened in the sun overwhelming my old heart as I finally clear the top of the ladder and step into the loft, my eyes falling on the most peacefully resting figure I have ever seen... 

My Flinn is all auburn curls and rosey cheeks as he rests tucked so sweetly on a pile of hay in the corner, a little bundle held tightly against his chest while the sweetest of light snores leave the gentle-looking full lips that I can only imagine say the most delightful of phrases... 

I cannot find it in me to move any closer to him... I cannot do anything but stare at him and think about how fragile he looks and how odd it is to see someone so feminine sporting the same kind of kilt his father has on... and how soft the legs look that are tangled in said kilt...

I am not sure how long I watch him for, my position changing to that of a seated one while I wait for him to wake naturally,  the strong steady beating of his heart the most wonderous noise to have ever graced my ears... But when I notice it starting to speed up it gives me pause, the shift back up to my feet seeming automatic so that I might bring myself closer to him just in time to see him go stiff and then pop into a sitting position so that he might clutch his chest with a troubled gasp that has me by his side in an instant, his free hand finding mine for support as he tries to calm himself and as I try and figure out what has startled him so. 

...

Flinn

...

At first, I think its Papa or one of my brothers that's found their way to my side just in time to be of comfort to me as the nightmare my dream had turned into overwhelmed me enough to force me awake... But as I start to catch my breath I notice that the scent surrounding me is the one that has been the source for both my pleasant dreams and my night terrors as of late... The hands currently holding me feeling cool to the touch and so much more gentle than that of any of my family members... Not that they do not try and be mindful of how much smaller I am than they are... Just that the vampire I had happened upon seems to be trying to be so very careful... My mate seems to be trying to be so very careful... 

The courage it takes to bring my eyes up from the floor to try and meet his gaze somehow found within me though I am not sure where...

"Are you alright?" Until he speaks I cannot even be sure that he is real... his face so near mine that it steals my breath away, his eyes pinning me to where I sit while I look up at the face that when first revealed to me had been sunburnt and nearly lifeless, now given a healthy flush beneath his dark two-week-old scruff, his dark hair tumbling down in waves to his shoulders as he kneels next to me and waits and watches with his dark eyes while I try and calm myself enough to answer him. 

I must open and close my mouth a dozen times before he takes mercy on me and removes his hand from my back only to bring it up to tuck a few strands of my sleep crazed hair behind my ear as heat floods to my face. 

I do not think I have ever felt so small in my entire life as when he helps pulls me to my feet and I barely come to his shoulder, his hands gentle as he dusts the hay from my clothes for me with a small smile on his face while I stand and stare at him stuck in my stupor, his hands leaving my body only to pick up the shawl I had tugged from Mama's shoulders this morning that she said I might borrow to see if her scent might help me rest a little bit more peacefully before he shakes it out and strings it around my shoulders with a tenderness I had not thought possible from a soldier, "Was it a night terror? I was told that I've caused you some distress, and I must say... I am so sorry, my Love..."

His hand finds its way back up to my cheek to caress it while I continue to try and string some words together so I don't look like an entire fool and only coming out with, "I-It's not your fault... A-Are you alright? Should you be out of bed?" 

Despite his color having returned to him so thoroughly tiredness seems to still linger around his eyes... And yet still he smiles so softly while gazing at me, "I'm more than alright... For I have found myself a bonnie lad... Haven't I?"