Alec's P.O.V

I saw her expression when Martha mocked her, she was revisiting her past.

She was so scared that she started shaking, for a moment I thought that she will pass out because her face was as pale as milk. I wanted so badly to take her in my arms and never let go, however much I may hate her but by looking at her, I know one thing for sure: I will always protect her even if I don't accept her as my mate, no harm will ever befall her.

She excused herself from the kitchen with shaking legs.

"Take care of her Alec, from what I just saw, something so dark has happened in her past that it is diminishing the light of her present." Martha said in a motherly voice.

Martha was like a mother to me. I knew her since she was in her 30's, she took care of me like I was her own son. She didn't marry because she thought that I needed her more than she needed a husband, not that she didn't had one. She lost her husband a few days before joining me in the castle. She had said at that time, that she would be cheating her husband if she married once again.

I don't see any sense in that and whenever I asked her, she said that it was called love and that I would understand it, when I fall for my mate.

So not going to happen.

Martha was not human either, she decided to become one. She was a witch before but opted to turn human once her love of life died. She can't live for an eternity without her love of life.

I nodded my head at her and went out of the kitchen to follow Elisa.

She was with Master Gilfred.

I greeted him and he carried on his way after introducing him to Elisa.

She asked me if there was anyone else whom she haven't met and then carried on her way without even looking at me.

I want her to stay with me.

"What happened in the kitchen, Elisa?" I asked her.

She stopped but didn't turn around to face me.

"W-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

I went behind her and placed one hand on her shoulder to turn her around.

She kept her head down, but I know that her eyes were already filled with tears.

I tilted her cheek up, "Tell me." I said softly.

Those words crumbled her resolve and she dashed into my arms and began crying.

I hated tears yet her cries were crushing my dead heart, how much has she gone through? She's so small and innocent, how could someone break her so much? I wanted nothing more than to crush that person who hurt my delicate flower so much. The urge to protect her grew more in me.

"I will always protect you from the harm, from the pain Elisa. I promise you." I said to her and tightened my hold on her.

I stroked her silky hair to calm her down. Honestly, I don't know how to calm down someone who's crying because I've never did this in my past. No one dared to show their tears in front of me because they knew what would happen if I caught them crying.

But my trick seemed to work on her because she was becoming silent as more minutes passed.

Finally she pulled herself back, I kissed her forehead as if sealing my promise of protecting her.

She looked so tired, without a word I picked my feather up in my arms and began making my way towards my room.

She's going to stay with me from now on, even I don't know the reason why I wanted her in my room.

Because you want her Alec.

My inner voice muttered but I scoffed it off.

She laid her head on my heart and slowly began drifting off to sleep.

Such a simple gesture but it made my dead heart flutter.

I kicked open my bedroom's door and laid her down on my bed. She's already asleep, I turned around to leave but a small, soft hand held onto my big one.

I turned around to see that sleepy+scared Elisa was clutching my hand as if her life depended on it.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Please lay down with me. Please, this one night or else he might come." She pleaded me in a small voice.

How could I say no to her ever?how--

Wait a minute, who's going to come here? I did not question her who 'he' is because she looked so afraid. I let it drop fo now.

"No one will touch you Elisa, not with me around." I assured her and pushed the black covers away, laid down and gently pulled her in my arms.

She came in my arms readily and rested her head on my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her and began drawing patterns on her back and once again she drifted off to sleep again.

I kissed her forehead once more and pulled covers on both of us to keep the harsh cold away.

She was sleeping with a smile on her face. So innocent, I continued my patterns on her back and with my other hand I tucked her silky strands behind her ears. I began carressing her cheek, I touched her eyes, nose, eyebrows and her lips.

Just by touching them, I wanted to kiss them, but that would be wrong, so wrong.

No, I can't. It's like I'm taking advantage.

But just a peck wouldn't hurt her, would it?

My inner voice said. Yes, it wouldn't hurt if I just pecked them.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

No.

Fuck it. I slowly bent my head and kissed, no pecked her slightly parted heavenly lips and immediately pulled back.

Wrong move. By doing that, I wanted to kiss her again and then again.

My whole body and I mean whole body was growing hard.

Shit! I shouldn't have listened to my evil inner voice.

I--

She stirred in her sleep and I held my breath.

Oh no! She was waking up. Did she realize that I took advantage of her while she was sleeping in my arms or did she feel the current too like I felt when I kissed her?

You didn't take advantage, you just PECKED her lips.

Shut up! I growled at my inner voice.

I'm never going to take--

Suddenly she bolted upright and untangled herself from my arm and sheets.

"Elisa? Come back here." I said to her.

But she didn't seem to listen to me because she pushed her feet down on the floor and made her way around the bed from the front and came to stand by my side.

I was completely confused now.

Is she sleepwalking?

My eyes widened, yes! She was sleepwalking, now what am I supposed to do?

Wake her up or follow her?

But she was standing by the bed and not going anywhere.

She tried to push me in the middle of the bed.

"Elisa, do you want me to shift towards the other side of the bed?" I asked her. Maybe she wanted my side of bed?

She shook her head but continued to push me in the middle.

God! What does she want?

I sighed and complied to her wish.

When I went in the middle, she climbed back on the bed and came towards me and did the most surprising thing.

She climbed on top of me and laid her head down in the crook of my neck.

Her hair tickled my neck as she adjusted herself on me.

When she found the comfortable position she sighed and went back to sleep and I laid there thinking what just happened.

What the hell is happening?

She put her left hand on my right side of the chest.

Oh God! If my body felt hard before, it was rock solid right now.

How was she even sleeping on something so hard? Her breaths teased my neck.

I didn't know she was so bold in her sleep.

I sighed. Whatever it maybe, my body was stiff yet it felt so good to have her here, in this position. Not sexually. Because if I put it that way, then it was fucking hard not to make a move towards her.

I decided to put my hand around her back so that no one could take her from me and once again resumed stroking her hair with my other hand.

This was feeling even better with each passing moment.

Vampires didn't need to sleep because they were already dead. Some did, just to dream about something or about the people they loved in their past lives.

It may seem that living for eternity was full of fun but it's not. Even eternity gets boring if you have no one to share it.

Vampires who find their mates were the most luckiest creatures in this entire universe because they won't be separated by death and can have eternity in each others arms.

Only I was the unlucky vampire who found a not-so-human-but-still-appears-human mate.

I closed my eyes for a moment but didn't realize that for the first time in so many decades, I drifted off to sleep with my mate on top of me.

Elisa's P.O.V

Never in my life had I slept on such a soft bed.

I nuzzuled it and it seemed to....tighten it's arms around me?

What the hell?

How come the bed had arms?

Ever so slowly I removed my head from what appeared to be a gap between pillows and glanced up.

Fuck!

I immediately clamped my hand on my mouth to keep the scream down that wanted to escape from my larynx.

How in the hell did I end up sleeping on top of him.

And the gap between pillows was not a gap but his crook of neck.

I tried to remember everything that happened when I entered his bedroom.

He laid me down on his bed.

I pleaded him to sleep beside me. Shit! I did that?

He laid down beside me and took me in his arms. Check.

Then I remembered the feeling of electricity in my whole body that stirred me up and then I went around the bed and (tried to) pushed him in the middle.

He did that and then I climbed on top of him.

Oh my God! The guts I have when I'm sleeping.

I actually ordered him to move in the middle.

Suddenly I felt like laughing. Oh God! I'm going crazy.

Now that I'm fully awake I should definitely move beside him but he had an iron grip around me.

Now what?

He looked so peaceful when he's asleep. I couldn't stop myself and glided a finger across his jawline.

Shit. Suddenly he took a deep breath and I quickly settled back in the crook of his neck and tried to calm down my thumping heart.

He began stroking his hand through my hair again and oh boy! It felt so nice.

"Elisa?" He said.

I kept silent because I don't have any explaination about why I climbed on top of him.

" I know you're awake, I can hear your heart singing loudly." He said.

Thanks my treacherous heart for blowing my cover.

I sighed. "You need to remove your iron grip if you want me to climb down of you." I said.

Please say no.

Oh my God! My inner voice has completely lost it's mind.

If possible, he tightened his grip more but not enough to be painful.

"Who says I want you to climb down off me?" He asked.

I removed my head from his neck and looked in to his eyes.

Biggest mistake. His eyes were cloudy and they seemed to hold my eyes because I was not able look anywhere but him.

"Who is 'he' Elisa?" He asked abruptly.

I frowned as I tried to analyze what he was implying by 'he'.

Then I remembered.

"Please lay down with me. Please, this one night or else he might come."

Oh no! In my sleepy state I uttered my heart's deepest fear to him.

I sighed. I have to tell him because he could have called me mad and left me but instead he laid down beside me and actually let me to sleep on top of him.

While I was sleeping peacefully l, he must be uncomfortable the whole time, given that he hates me.

"My brother." I said to him and laid down my head on his heart this time.

"And what was that in the kitchen, Elisa?" He asked another question.

I remained silent. Not that I was scared to revisit my past but because I don't want to share it with any one.

"You know, my mother used to say that when you share a sad memory with someone, it helps to lessen your burden on your heart. I am not forcing you to tell me, I am just saying that by storing it inside you, it will not allow you to move on in your life." He said to me.

"Just like hatred?" I asked him.

"Don't you think that the same will happen if you store up your hatred?" I questioned him.

"I know how to cope up with it because I'm not only strong but also old. You are weak and so young, it will break you one day if you keep it in." He said in a soft voice.

"You don't know how broken I'm from inside. So broken that no one can stick my shattered pieces together." I whispered as a stray tear fell down from my eyes onto his jacket.

"One day, someone will hug you so tightly that all your shattered pieces will stick together." He said and I glanced up at him.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really."

I put my head back again and contemplated how much to tell him. I never shared it with anyone, not even Kate because she knows how much it affets me when I do.

Once I tried telling her and couldn't sleep for a week. I actually slept beside Kate and she just smiled at me and let me sleep beside her.

I don't know what effect it will have on me when I tell Alec now, because while telling Kate it did not unburden my soul but increased the pain in my heart.

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

"J-just before y-you saved me t-that night, I received punishment f-for b-breaking crockery. I-I am clumsy and--" I began shaking as I remembered not only that night but the other memories that wanted to come out.

Tears poured out of my eyes like a tap that has been turned on.

He took my hand in his and squeezed it. That calmed me but not enough to stop the shaking.

"I can't. I can't do this. My past will never leave me nor will it let me be happy again." I cried.

"Sshh.....look at me Elisa. Look at me." He said and I did.

His expression was not one of hatred when he sees my tears instead they were filled with understanding.

"Just try. I know it won't be easy, but try. I have full night and so do you, we have tomorrow and day after tomorrow and so on. Just try." He said.

I nodded my head and tried again.

But before I could say anything he began kissing my knuckles and continued staring into my eyes.

I don't know what boosted my confidence up but I tried again and this time my shaking seemed to lessen a little. But my tears won't stop.

"Before you saved me that night I b-broke a piece of crockery due to my clumsiness. My brother was so angry that he took me to the basement which held special tools to serve me punishment for each mistake. I pleaded h-him to stop, that I won't do it again but he didn't listen.He locked my hands up by chains dangling from the ceiling. He knew that the whip hurt me most so he took one out one and lashed it on my b-back uncountable times. T-the pain was unbearable and I wanted nothing more but to die at that moment.
"When Martha got angry at me I couldn't stop the memories from flooding my mind."

I finished a part of my story and waited for him to judge it. I know he would now make fun of me.

I noticed that he still wore his jacket because it was soaked with my tears yet they continued their flow.

I couldn't even look into his eyes because I know they must be filled with pity and sympathy I so despised when someone gave me.

"I will kill that bastard." He said, anger vibrating from his chest.

I didn't say anything because I was feeling a kind of lightness in my chest.

Why?

Why does it feel that my heart is beating with a little less burden for the first time?

Why does it feel like the close, tight feeling in throat had lessened a bit?

Is it true? His words about sharing burden?

"Look at me Elisa." He said softly.

I shook my head.

"Why?"

"You'll judge me, pity me." I said quietly.

"Just look at me." He said and picked my head up.

I refused to look in his eyes. He wiped my tears off my cheek and brought my face closer so that our noses were almost touching.

He kissed my lips softly, then he kissed my cheek, my red nose, my eyes and lastly my forehead.

"Please look at me." He pleaded.

I couldn't stop myself this time and looked into his eyes as I braced myself.

But his eyes held no pity nor sympathy, but only pain.

Why pain?

His eyes seemed glossy too.

Was the great, King of Vampires, Alec Kincaid crying?

Why?

I moved my hand on his cheek to feel the wetness but I felt none.

I think I'm just thinking things. Why would Alec, who despised tears so much, cry?

"Sleep. I promise that I would always keep you safe as long as you're with me." He promised me again.

I smiled at him and drifted off on him again without feeling scared of the nightmares I might see because now I know that Alec will keep them at bay.
******

How are you my lovely readers?

How was this chap? I almost cried because of her pain.

Did you?

Thanks for reading.

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Until then hugs and see ya