Xander's POV:

I eyed her from where I sat on the bed as she covered up the last of last nights... activities with concealer.

We planned on going into town today just to unwind a bit.

I had a feeling that we'd be getting that letter inviting me and Nico back to our territory here soon, and wanted to have another one of those days before we left.

A purr started in my chest as she got up on her toes, one hand leaning on the bathroom sink while she leaned as close to the mirror as she could to make sure she had them all hidden.

I quickly shifted my focus and looked away to cut it off.

Not because of the reasons I had last night, but because it was almost embarrassing how freely it happened now.

How incredibly easy it was for that part of me to start up whenever it came down to her.

It was like after her words last night it couldn't stop. I couldn't stop.

Especially after hearing how much she enjoyed the feeling of it.

Is this how she feels knowing that I can sometimes sense her emotions?

Except this was only one physical reaction that only came from her.

It seemed that feral part of me was partially awake and had undoubtedly chosen its favorite.

And although I couldn't even disagree, I would appreciate a little more subtlety.

The purr broke through again for only a second as if taking my thoughts and tossing them right into the trash.

Fantastic...

I rubbed my palm up and down my face a few times in some sort of preparation before turning towards where she was again

She stepped back as if she was done, but I knew there was one on her upper neck that she hadn't gotten yet.

Probably because it was on the back-half of her neck and currently covered by her hair, so she just didn't see it.

There was a small animalistic part of me that was displeased with the fact that she was covering them at all, but thankfully the smarter half of me understood.

I lifted myself from the bed and stepped into the bathroom, wordlessly reaching over her to grab the make-up brush she had just put down.

She followed my hand with her eyes, silently questioning my action.

"You missed one," I simply said, using my free hand to get her hair out of the way.

She watched me through the mirror as I used the residual concealer left on the brush to dot over the purple mark.

A little of this stuff went a long way, and it dried almost immediately, matching the color and texture of her skin perfectly.

"I do not remember that one, "she vindicated.

With the daze she was in, I couldn't blame her.

That doesn't mean I'm not gonna tease her about it though.

"What a shame," I sighed, feigning sadness, "I remember it quite well."

I saw her roll her eyes through the mirror in my periphery as I finished up, also noticing her cheeks temporarily shift in color.

Smoothening out the hair I disrupted, I set the brush back into the little box she kept all this kind of stuff in.

"Y'know, I was serious about what I said last night," Her voice had a timid hint to it through her typical straightforward way of speaking, which caused me to momentarily pause.

"Which part?"

Many things happened that last night.

If she was talking about our late-night conversation then I already knew that she meant every word of what she said.

I was actively searching for even the smallest sign of dishonesty from her and got absolutely nothing.

Which... was the main reason why I ended up breaking down but...

"About you biting me," She clarified, catching me even more off guard, "You didn't let me finish, but that is something I would like you to do sometime in the future. You did say 'not tonight' so... sometime later then?"

I just blinked at her in the mirror for a moment, processing.

And then when she deemed me silent for too long, she turned to face me, brows raised and expecting an answer.

She was serious about that...?

I honestly had no idea how to feel.

"You... want me to bite you?" I asked, needed solid clarification before everything else.

I thought she had gone through that enough times to last many lifetimes.

I thought she would have loved the idea of never having to have that happen to her again.

Which was one of the reasons why I so quickly dismissed it.

Not a major reason, but a reason nonetheless.

"Yeah. And, y'know get some blood while you're at it too. I just...," she delayed a moment, looking towards the ground. Her words came her next long exhale, "I want to get the memory of the last one out of my head."

A stabbing pain pierced my chest as her fingers lifted to trail over that spot on her shoulder.

"I dunno. You just helped me relax when it came to getting my neck touched so I thought that maybe this'll work too," She rambled, which I found even more odd, "You've just... helped in a lot of things relating to it and-"

I lifted her chin with my curled first finger, ceasing her words and that nervous scent that had begun to radiate from her.

I didn't like catching that scent anywhere near her, especially when she was talking to me.

And even more so when it was one of the rare occasions where she was allowing herself to be vulnerable.

I knew the defenses she had no choice but to build weren't going to come down all at once, and I didn't want her to feel like stepping out of them every once in a while meant that she had to fear.

Not anymore.

Not with me around.

If she needed my help in breaking down apart of it when she was already determined to grow from it, who was I to deny her?

I just needed the rest of me to behave whenever the time came for me to go through with it.

I glanced down to her neck, memories of the night before returning now with the added action of tasting her blood.

The thought almost had me purring again and thank God I felt it coming in time to stop it.

I was fine with the purring, but I drew the line at inappropriate timing.

"I'll do whatever you need, Doe," I assured, feeling the drop in her tension through the small area where I was touching her.

Those wide eyes of hers that I adored made a quick appearance before she cleared her throat.

"Thank you," It was just as awkward as all her previous 'Thank you's, but they were getting better.

I still found it endearing.

There was a small silence, and even through it she didn't move her chin from my finger.

"So... now?" I asked, tilting my head, and ignoring the dumb excitement the question caused me.

"No, sometime later. That is unless you want to get a mouthful of concealer."

Fair point.

She didn't even decide to go with a turtle neck, just wore a regular T-shirt and covered up the rest.

She mostly wore them after Layla came by anyway, so I can't imagine the memories with even those are pleasant.

She would he wearing a jacket over it anyway...

I just nodded, giving her time to recollect herself.

When she did, she gently took hold of my wrist, pulling it back a few inches palm-up.

"Can I see your claws?" She asked, still just a tad apprehensive.

Another bad memory if I had to guess.

No... I didn't even have to guess, I knew.

That's where Layla was aiming both times she attempted her petty slaughter.

Even knowing that, I felt like it went deeper than that.

For this, I didn't let myself hesitate.

I wanted her to know that I was serious about doing whatever I needed to to help her.

Flexing those little muscles in my finger, my nails elongated and sharpened into darkened points.

Straight away her brows drew together and her lips became a thin line.

The musk of fear hit me but only lasted about ten seconds before slowly dissipating.

A few more of her just looking at them before she took my hand again, silently trailing her thumb up my middle finger.

Her warmth even now from her touch nearly caused tingles in my chest.

She placed her first finger over the top of my claw to press it between her thumb, drawing them up to its point.

I nearly contracted them just out of sheer instinct as she reached the insanely sharp edge, but managed to resist.

All her movements were slow and cautious, maybe even a little curious.

I just watched through the quiet, her expressions steadily changing, yet I couldn't make out too many of her thoughts.

After a bit more of that, a resolute look flashed across her eyes.

I let her guide me as she took my wrist again, inching it to her face.

I tried to hide my surprise as she set it in a way to where I was cupping her face, the tips of my claws just barely touching her skin.

She let out a soft sigh, letting her hand come up over mine to hold it there.

My heart thumped harder as she relaxed her head into my hand, her eyes fluttering shut during her next breath.

Like she knew in this moment that I would keep her up.

I swear to God I'd hold this girl up until the world burns into nothing.

I wanted to see her flourish more than anything, and I wanted her to do that without having to fear.

No matter how long that takes.

I retracted my claws before sliding my hand to the back of her head.

Taking a small step forward, I pulled her so that her forehead was against me.

She didn't hesitate, didn't pull back, didn't do anything but accept the position and lean more of her weight into me

Her next words were small, yet assured.

"You've got me." it wasn't a question, but a statement.

One that worked instantly in filling me with determination and relief.

Hearing her say in her own little way that she trusts me.

"Damn right I do."