Our Little Fae

Chapter 25

~Crimson's P.O.V~

"As soon as we get back, we can start personalizing this room to suit you! Whatever you want to change and add, we will get it all done to make you feel at home. Just like the rest of us." I tell Alayna, as we sat on the bed in her room.

"Thanks, Crimmie. I just hope Roman will agree to me staying... I can't help but feel like we're missing something in this situation. Something feels off." she admits, anxiously playing with her hair.

She wasn't the only one who felt this way.

The second Beau had told me and Lucien, we also had a feeling there was something else going on. Why else would Roman want her back suddenly?

He had tasked us with this huge job, with no time limit, and suddenly wanted her back right away, despite us not being finished with everything he had asked.

Of course, I wasn't going to admit it and make her worry more. So, I hold my tongue and force a smile to my lips.

"Don't worry, Kitten. I'm sure everything will be fine." I start to reassure.

"Beau is an excellent negotiator, Damian is his own son and the rest of us all have good reason to explain why it would be best for you to stay with us. Asides from personal feelings, of course." I finish, and she gives me a small smile.

"Let's change the topic. I don't want to spend this time worrying about this any longer." she states, and I nod my head in understanding.

"What were you guys up to while we were away? I want all the juicy details." she grins, and I let out a small laugh at her excitement.

"I hate to break it to you, but there's no juicy details to give. We really didn't do much." I reply, downplaying the reality.

It was true, we didn't do much... but in the sense that myself and Lucien were simply too lost and depressed to bring ourselves to do anything. Alayna being gone brought out a side of us that neither one of us had experienced before, and although Beau would never admit it, I was confident that he had felt lost as well.

Maybe it was because half our friends were gone away with her, or maybe it was just the idea of her no longer being around, but our days had dragged on long and endless. We spent many days sleeping away as many hours as possible and lying around as if our energy had been drained from us. None of us had done anything productive, with the exception of Beau who spent the first few days keeping an ear out to see if anymore rumors or stories were going around about what happened back at the bar.

"Earth to Crimson? You still with me?" my kitten's sweet voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, yes." I mumble, giving my head a quick shake and focusing all my attention back on her.

"How was your time away?" I ask, changing the topic.

"It would have been better if everyone had of been there." she admits.

"I did a lot of training, and I've got a better handle on my elements, especially earth. I've also started learning to control my feedings. In fact, just before I returned, I managed to feed for the first time without taking too much and cutting myself off before I did. No help needed." she grins proudly, and I smile back at her.

"I'm so happy to hear that, Kitten! I'm proud of you." I state, leaning in to give her a quick kiss but she quickly pulls back, much to my disappointment.

"I'm sorry..." I start to apologize, but she quickly cuts me off.

"No, Crim. It's me." she states, a deep frown pulling at her lips.

"Believe me, more then anything I want to... I'm just... I'm not ready yet. I need to be sure I won't get carried away and risk hurting you first." she tells me, and I can't help but notice the shadow of fear appearing in her eyes.

"Is it because of what happened before?" I ask softly, wanting to understand exactly where this fear was coming from.

I watch as she bites her lip, clearly contemplating how much she wants to open up to me before letting out a long sigh.

"Yes... and also a little more." she admits, taking a deep breath.

"I don't want to go into details, but after everything that happened... I was tormented for nights with horrible nightmares... some which involved you." she continues, and I reach out and gently squeeze her hand.

"Listen, kitten. Whatever happened in those nightmares wasn't real. I know they were probably scary, but I also know you would never hurt any of us." I begin to reassure her.

"I'll wait for as long as you need me, until your ready. I care deeply for you, more then I should for someone I've only known for a short time, but when you were gone, you were all I could think about. So, no matter what, I'll be here and even if you feel differently in the future, I'll still be here for whatever role you want me to be in your life." I state, and she smiles before throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly.

"I care about you too, Crim. More then I'm ready to admit and I appreciate your patience. As soon as I get more control and learn how to be intimate without the risk of hurting you, I'll be ready for you. I promise. Nothing will ever change my mind on that." she tells me, and my heart squeezes with joy and it takes everything in me not to cry in pure happiness and relief at her response.

"Want to have a movie night? Just us girls?" she suggests, after a few minutes.

"I would love that. You pick the movie. I'll go change into something comfortable and bring up some movie snacks." I reply.

She gives me one last squeeze before I get up and leave the room, quickly rushing to my own to throw on a comfortable pair of pajamas, making sure they aren't too revealing, as I didn't want to tempt her and end our night early before rushing to the kitchen and grabbing an assortment of snacks.

With arms full, I return to her room where I find her already seated comfortably in the bed with the remote in her hand.

"Jesus, Crim." she laughs, seeing my arms full of goodies.

"I wanted to make sure we had options." I retort, placing them in the middle of the bed before climbing in next to her.

She turns on the movie and we both sit back and relax, our shoulders pressed against each other as we laughed and ate, enjoying one another's company.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asks, letting out a small yawn as the movie finished.

"I would love to." I smile happily.

We clear off the leftover snacks before crawling under the covers, both of us laying on our sides facing each other.

"I can't wait to have more nights like this." she whispers softly, reaching out and grabbing my hand.

I lace my fingers through hers, before leaning down and placing a soft kiss to the back of her hand.

"Me neither." I admit.

It's not long before we both doze off to sleep, enjoying the comfort of each other.

Unfortunately, our sleep is cut short after only a few hours as a loud knocking on the door has us both jumping awake.

"Time to get ready, we leave in two hours." Beau states.