Xander's POV:

Lily ushered me out of the kitchen after handing me the meal she prepared, keeping Doe back there for a few more minutes

I listened to her without whining too much, knowing that I was lucky to have been in her kitchen for as long as I was.

Setting the carbonara she'd made me down onto the bar, I quickly glanced back to the far corner of the room at the familiar scent.

Marcus still laid his head on the table back there, fast asleep. Though this time, an unfamiliar boy sat next to him, fixing what looked like a small blanket around Marcus' shoulders.

My brows furrowed with the knowledge that I hadn't seen this boy during the time after Khloe was drugged.

Or at all for that matter.

Only a certain few have access to this floor, so where did he come from?

He looked to have noticed me not long after the thought passed my mind, eyes rounding almost nervously.

Which could have been for a variety of reasons.

If I hadn't seen him before then he hasn't seen me either until now.

His face blanched, glancing back to Marcus before walking a little too quickly towards the exit.

"I haven't seen you around here before," I called out, effectively slowing him down to a stop.

Which worked in my plan of giving me time to fully memorize his scent just in case.

Having to forcefully ignore the scent of Marcus who just happened to be on everybody today.

"Right," the boy began, the calm in his voice not at all replication his stance earlier, "I actually work with your father, Prince Alexander."

Okay... He was talking the truth.

And that did make sense. I knew mom and dad had a few trusted human workers as most Lords and Ladies did.

"I just came down to check-in is all." He concluded with an innocent smile.

Hm. Alright, I guess.

I just gave him a nod, and he made haste out of the room.

Doe walked out of the kitchen just about a second later, hands reaching above her head in a stretch.

I scooched down the bar a seat to give her a place to sit before lifting my fork.

She took it with a quiet 'hup', having the side of her that Marcus' scent covered facing me.

The sudden presence of it again had me gripping hard around my fork, suppressing any feral outburst threatening to reappear.

I tried to pretend like it didn't bother me outwardly, and I'd like to think that I was doing a good job.

But on the inside, I was reeling. That constant battle now that a physical bond had been formed between me and her temporarily becoming more difficult to deal with.

I had my scent all over her. What makes him think he has the right to challenge that by-

My fang dug into the inside of my lip, snapping myself out of it.

Reminding myself that he's a human and that these kinds of vampiric matters mean absolutely nothing to him.

The thankfully rational part of me argued that he wasn't doing this sort of thing on purpose.

He couldn't sense me. In the same way that Doe was thankfully oblivious to how I'd been instinctively laying a claim on her.

Which half the time, I didn't even notice I was doing.

It was the subtle things that didn't feel much different from our day-to-day activities. The purposes of which I didn't realize until I had already done it.

Wearing the shirts she chooses to sleep in for a bit, just to make sure she gets covered in my scent. The dislike that was quickly shifting more into anger whenever she covered up a mark I'd left on her skin.

Irrational. I know.

This new attachment was overtaking me a lot quicker than I liked, and any retaliation to it meant a painful attack deep within my chest.

Even now it was like that part of me was prowling. Silently screaming its frustration into my head about his scent mixing with hers.

Mixing with mine.

"If you're not gonna eat that, then can I have a bite?" She spoke, thankfully turning my attention.

I silently handed her the fork, and pushed the plate towards her, watching her eyes light up in excitement.

As if I never let her have a bite.

I yanked my advanced hearing away from the boy sleeping in the back, giving her my entire unwavering attention.

"So when are our bagels supposed to be ready?"

She waited a few seconds, swallowing my food before answering.

"She said that she plans on finishing them up tonight, so we'll get to try them tomorrow."

I'll ask Lily to incorporate them into our picnic meal tomorrow then.

I set my elbows on the table and slid them over until our arms were touching, watching her twirl a singular noodle around the fork for yet another, smaller bite.

My movement caused her to pause, eyeing the contact almost warily, her heart rate going a tad abnormal.

Again... She'd been acting just noticeably different today.

With my close proximity, she must have decided against her second bite, stabbing the noodle-encased utensil into a crispy bacon piece and lifting it to my mouth instead.

The action made me temporarily forget about Marcus, melting into a calm at her presence and gesture.

With my eyes never straying from her, I took the bite, the fork fitting perfectly between my fangs.

Lily's handmade pasta was truly something else.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly, lips pressing together before she looked away entirely.

She promptly pushed my plate back to me, looking almost... embarrassed?

"Take your fork back before I eat the rest of it," She demanded in her typical distraction-from-my-emotions kind of way.

I plucked it from her hand with a silent breath of a laugh, feeding her a few more bites as I ate whenever I caught her staring.

~~~

Doe and I both stared into the dense forest ahead of us.

Most of the snow had melted, now even in the shaded areas.

I just hoped that the pond I planned on taking her to was completely thawed.

The sun felt amazing, but these tall trees only let so much of it see the ground.

I adjusted my hold on the basket...bag thing Lily had put together.

'Packed specifically to be able to survive that speed of yours without making a mess' she said as she pushed it into my hands.

Always thinking ahead those chefs...

My eyes turned down to Doe, who had squatted down to look at a patch of magnolia that must have recently sprouted.

"You ready?" I asked, causing her to stand back up.

She glanced at my back, and then into the woods.

"You sure you're not gonna crash us into a tree or something?" she, very understandably, checked.

"With you on my back, I'm positive," I answered, kneeling down so she could get situated.

My body valued her safety over my own. She won't get hurt.

She settled for my answer quicker than I was expecting, crossing her arms around my neck.

I hooked an arm under her left thigh before standing, maneuvering my right to do the same with the basket of food in my hand.

"Put your head down against my shoulder and hold on tight," I instructed with a turn of my head.

I felt her arms and legs lock around me promptly.

Once she was ready, I kicked off and the world sped by.

Weaving through trees, catching the scents of pine, wet earth, and the overall freshness of the air as we shot through it all.

I knew the locations of this spot by heart, and my legs followed suit.

The stop was probably one of the most graceful ones I've ever been able to do, as I initially guessed.

Doe blew out a sharp breath, lifting her head.

"See? Told you I'd get us there in one piece," I chimed.

"That was the weirdest headrush I've ever experienced," she disclosed as her feet hit the ground again, shaking her head.

She stopped mid-action, eyes going wide as she took in the scene around us.

The c-shaped pond I'd brought us to wasn't a very large one. Maybe 50-60 feet long at best.

And from the looks of it, it was mostly thawed.

Tall grass spread all around it, some of which I'm going to have to clear before we set up what we needed.

The sound of surrounding birds chirping with the tranquility of the water was a welcome sound. nostalgic in a way.

Tall trees canopied overhead, letting light through in small bursts throughout the surrounding area.

I took a step closer to the water, Doe following me and spotting the tiny fish that called it home.

As well as two- no three turtles resting on a rock that was perfectly placed to get sunlight.

There were a variety of wild animals nearby. I could sense them deeper into the trees and hear their little skitters.

I knew this pond was a water source for most so maybe we'd see a few of them pass by.

As for predators... well, I knew there are bears a bit deeper into the woods, but even so, they know better than to mess with vampires.

I'm the most dangerous thing in these woods by a long shot.

Maybe a fox or two might pass by, but they didn't tend to cause any big problems.

"This place is beautiful." She spoke softly, extending her arms to feel the grass.

I set the basket down onto the ground, settling on a spot just a few feet from the water's edge to set things up on.

"It's probably one of my favorite places in these woods," I told.

Which was a heavy claim since these woods went for miles.

"One of?" She repeated, turning her head to me with a look of interest.

I smiled at it.

"I'll take you to every one I can think of." I promised, "But not all of them will be as nice as this."

She didn't look to care about that last part, just turned her head back with a new bounce in her step.

My claws extended, ready to give some of this grass a trim. just enough for us to lay out the blanket packed.

"Go ahead and take a look around," I insisted, "I'll get things set up."