Little Red and the Big, Bad, Wolf.

Chapter 37

My eyes flutter open in response to the blinding light in my eyes.

~Why don't you just close the blinds at night?~

~I was a little busy, Hazel~

I look at my mate laying on my chest, his silky hair tickling my nose every time I breathe in. I run my fingers through it and a sigh of contentment crosses his lips. He lifts his head, his eyes still closed and pecks me on the lips, snuggling closer and wrapping his arms tighter around my waist. He looks like a little kid with his legs on either side of me, his arms on either side of my waist and his head laying against my chest. I continue running my fingers gently through his hair and look out the window. The sun is rising much higher now and I want nothing more than to stay in this moment forever.

He lifts his head up and I watch him as his eyes take a moment to open, adjusting to the light in the room.

"Good morning, amore." (love) He says in a deep, husky voice. Butterflies dance in my stomach as he speaks.

"Good morning, baby," I yawn softly but when I looked up again Roman is looking at me, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I like when you call me that" He says boyishly, littering kisses all over my face as I giggle.

We spend a few more minutes in bed, talking about random things.

"Maybe we should get some breakfast, are you hungry?" I ask trying to wiggle out of bed, but having a lot of difficulty since Roman is laying on me.

"Hungry for you," he says seductively, biting his lip. I roll my eyes and smack him with a pillow, using that as a chance to finally get out of bed. He growls but I just hum as I make my way to the bathroom, taking the sheet with me to cover myself. I grab one of his shirts on the way and slip it over my head, it's length acting as more of a dress and I try not to trip on the numerous amounts of clothes on the floor, my gown in a corner and Roman's jacket thrown half-hazardly on the desk chair. I finally make it to the large marble sink and start brushing my teeth.

He walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, laying his head on my shoulder. I finish brushing my teeth and then grab his toothbrush, putting toothpaste on it and handing it to him. But he makes no move to get it and so I turn in his arms and do it myself. I brush his teeth as his arms hang lazily at my waist, glancing up into his eyes every-so-often to see him already looking at me. After I finish I grab a cloth to wipe off some remaining toothpaste, but as I turn again to face him Roman smashes his lips against mine, pushing me slightly against the sink counter. I wrap my arms around his neck and savor the feeling of his lips, sparks erupting between us. We pull apart for lack of air, but I lean forward and slowly kiss the corner of his mouth, licking the spot before pulling away.

"You had some toothpaste..."

He smiles and pulls me closer, softly grazing his lips against mine, until a voice rings through both of our heads.

You guys are gonna miss breakfast if you don't hurry up

I immediately know it's Dimitri mindlinking us.

I turn back towards the mirror and start raking a brush through my batted hair. Roman growls annoyed at being interrupted but he just watches me try to tame the mass on my head.

"Can I do it for you?" He says after a moment of silence. I meet his gaze in the mirror and smile.

I hand him the brush and he leads me by the waist back to the bed. I sit crossed-legged at the foot of it and I watch in the corner of my eye as he sits crossed-legged behind me.

He starts brushing carefully through my hair, making sure to be extra careful at a knot. I bite my lip when he starts brushing through a really bad spot, my roots being pulled and making me want to whimper in pain, but he kisses behind my ear and whispers an apology before working again trying to get it out. A few minutes later I sigh in relief as I feel the brush move smoothly through my hair.

I lean back so my head touches Romans chest and sigh in contentment as I hear his steady heart and the warmth radiating from his chest.

"Thank you,"

He kisses my forehead and reaches under my knees and my back, picking me up bridal style. I shriek and hang onto his neck as he spins us around the room.

"Baby, I love you"

"I love you-"

Roman, Makada

Dimitri mindlinks us again

We'll be downstairs shortly, Dimitri

No, I-I mean, Dimitri sounds panicked.

Dimitri, is anything wrong?

I slide out of Roman's arms as Dimitri struggles to find the right words.

Roman, our warriors tried to get him, but it's like he just slipped through our fingers! I-

Dimitri, what is going on

He escaped. Fane escaped last night during the ball, our guards were found dead in the Red Room.

I wait a moment, shocked. The room is silent until a deathly growl rips through the air, so loud it must have been heard throughout the packhouse. Roman moves away from me and starts pacing up and down the length of the room, pulling at his hair, his eyes racing in between colors.

Roman, there's something else too

Roman halts and I wait, my breath caught in my throat as I prepare myself for worse news.

Jaxon disappeared 2 hours ago, almost immediately after he was seen near the Red Room. We think he figured out that Fane escaped before we did and ran.

Roman's eyes snap to mine, and I feel the worry in his gaze, he's worried. About me.

I can't move as I try to process this. So, Jaxon, the guy that beat me up for no reason and threatened my family just ran away without us having any proof of what he did to me. Great.

Roman walks towards me and hugs me, tightening his arms around me when he feels my stress and panic through the bond.

"It'll be fine, we'll find both of them and figure out what the hell is going on." He says into my hair. I nod stiffly.

Dimitri, have our trackers started on Jaxon's scent, he can't be far, maybe not even off territory. Once we find him we find Fane. This is priority.

Roman mindlinks to Dimitri.

Yes sir.

"We'll find them, Kada. There's no need to worry."

I nod but deep down,this whole situation seems really fucked up. I'm not an idiot, this has to be connected somehow. Something is really wrong.