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He sed as he leaned closer to her, al Aria?"

She pressed her pal for you for that" She tilted her head as her thumb brushed briefly across his bottom lip "I wouldn’t have hated you if they had"

"I didn’t coaze focused on her finger and the lingering bites

"You did, when you could, and you ca yourself, and everyone else killed for lad you waited"

"I know you have nighthtly, but he pressed her hand to his cheek before she could pull away completely "I see the way you are now in the dark"

Her haunted eyes flitted away froeons…" she shuddered as she bit her lip "They were awful I’d like to say that I’ll get over it one day, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to be in enclosed spaces like that again Maybe one day we can turn the bathrooed a tremulous s they did…" Her nose scrunched up, disgust filtered over her features as herforced his blood into me, to keep me alive To punishnight them I’ll learn to deal with my fear of entrapment and the dark, and tiht to keep his face iut The dark, he hadn’t realized that it bothered her until now She had insisted that he leave the bathrooht, but he’d just assueons had left a lingering impression on her; one he suspected was even more profound than his father or Caleb

She closed her eyes and for a , so vulnerable that it took everything he had not to snatch her up and firain It was a foolish thought though, impossible, and one she would only resent

"His blood was so different than yours It ful; I’d never tasted anything so vile" Then she was looking at hi "Why was it so different?"

"Because you belong with me" It was the most simple, basic, and truthful answer that he could come up with

"I do don’t I?"

"Yes" He hadn’t rowl

She sers flitted over his ar against its intrusion into my body It’s intrusion into you Even ed there"

She’d rendered him speechless Eht actually cry He didn’t think he’d ever done that in his life It was rage that drove hie to possess her in every way This though, this was different He loved her, he’d die for her, but he realized now that their relationship had been mostly driven by fear Fear of her blood slave status, the fear that ca in this war, fear of Caleb and his father

However, at the heart of it, at the very center of everything they had accoift they’d been given, his love for her, and hers for hiined they could do, and in the end they’d won He didn’t knohat their future held, but he knew that no htht

He was astounded by the love that flared through hi hatred toward his father and brother They were his past, and sitting before hi and beautiful than any he’d ever dared to hope for

"Even if they had done lad that you hadn’t co Braith It may have taken me time to heal, but they wouldn’t have broken ht now, but I’, she was trying to come to terms with the abuse she had suffered and the loss of her father, but she wasn’t broken "You’ll id, her dusky eyes widened as she stared at him "Braith, I’m aware of the fact that they won’t acceptstrands of her dark auburn hair behind her ear He relished in the silken feel of her skin beneath the palered on her cheek "And I know you don’t want to change e you Aria, I would love nothing htened I won’t survive the change"

"There are so better"

Her forehead furrowed "What things?"

"Later Aria, for now take some time to heal We have time now, enjoy it"

"We do, don’t we?" she replied with a small smile "I miss him"

"I know"

"I wish he had survived to see us succeed"

"He knew"

Her eyes drifted closed as she rested her cheek on her knees again He continued to hold her until the water turned cold, and he helped her out She stood, shivering slightly as he dried her off with a towel and helped her into a robe As they entered the sitting rooht of Jack on the couch with his legs leisurely crossed at the ankles Braith wasn’t the least bit surprised to see his brother though

"I brought the food"

Aria eyed Jack warily as she circled around hian lifted his head to watch her for ahis head back to his paws "Thank you," she muttered

Braith was re off between them before she’d been abducted He hadn’t had time to think of it after, but the tension between them was obvious as they stared at each other His brother wasn’t so foolish as to think he could take her fro him, or was he?

"Why are you here Jack?" Braith inquired brusquely