Saida

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When Crimson and Lamech had left, I turned back and completely focused on Stuart again. I walked over to him, and as I got closer, I noticed that his already pale skin seemed to have gotten even paler. He also stared at me with wide eyes, making it both look like he was a ghost and that he had seen one.

"Are you alright? You're not feeling sick?" I asked and placed a hand to his forehead. As soon as I had done that, I realized the foolishness of my action. He was a vampire after all, I doubted vampires could get sick in that sort of way.

"I'm fine," he said with a voice that trembled slightly and caught my hand as I let it fall down again. "You must be tired. I'll show you to your room."

He kept holding my hand as we started to walk. I turned to smile at Alair.

"It was nice meeting you," I told him over my shoulder and got an amused smile in return. That smile made me blush and wonder if Alair had understood that Stuart was my mate.

We walked up the same stairs we had taken down. After three flights, we turned to the left and walked a few doors down before he stopped and pushed one open.

"There's a bathroom connected to the room, if you want to shower," he told me and then looked away but made no movement to leave. In fact, he still held onto my hand.

I didn't want him to leave either. I wanted to get to spend more time with him, just talk about random things and get to know him better. And maybe work up the courage to tell him he was my mate. Or to figure out if he had also already understood.

"Are you hungry?" he asked after a moment of awkward silence and looked back at me. "I can go fetch you some food?"

I contemplated the offer quickly. I was indeed hungry, but the main pro I found was that hopefully he would stay while I ate.

"Yes, thank you," I smiled at him.

"Alright," he nodded. "I'll be back in a bit. Just make yourself comfortable in the meantime."

He turned to walk away, but still holding onto my hand. After one step, he realized it though and looked back at our locked hands. He let go of mine almost as if it had burned him, and I saw the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and then walked away.

I stood in the doorway and watched as he disappeared up the stairs. He reminded me a bit of the first boy I had ever dated. I had been in my teens and so had the boy been. He had acted all awkward and nervous around me for the most part and it was that part Stuart reminded me of. A teenage boy with his first ever crush.

I went into the room. It was much more spacious than my normal room, but far too dark and red for my taste. I preferred light colors, and I knew if that room would turn out to be my permanent bedroom, I would have to change the interior.

I went into the bathroom to wash my face and comb through my hair. It was first then that I saw the bruising around my throat, and it really looked horribly blue and purplish. But it was nothing to do about it. In just a few days, it would have disappeared.

As I went out of the bathroom, a knock came on the door. Stuart was on the other side with a plate of sandwiches.

"Thank you," I said as I took it. "If you want to, I could do with some company while eating."

"Of course," he answered and seemed relieved at my words.

There was a small table in the room that we sat down at. I took a sandwich and a bite while trying to find a first question to start the conversation.

"Are you certain you don't want anything for your neck?" Stuart asked before I could come up with anything. His eyes fixated on my neck and I could see the redness in his eyes returning. "We should have some cream that can help with bruising."

"I'm sure. It'll disappear on its own in a few days," I shrugged and took another bite. His eyes seemed to turn even redder. I knew the basics of what that meant, that his animalistic instincts were taking over. But I didn't know what it might result in him doing and as safe as I felt around him, the idea of him losing control to that side of him had me worried.

"It was the coven, right? I wish I could..." His voice trailed off, and he took a deep breath.

"How do things work here?" I asked to change the topic and just went for whatever popped into my head. "Do you all have like different professions or specialties within the clan? Like, do you do different work around here?"

He looked up from my neck and met my eyes. To my relief, the redness in his ebbed away.

"We do, yes," he answered and started fiddling with a watch he wore around his wrist.

"So what do you do?" I continued the questioning.

"I oversee our military. Or I guess it's more accurate to call them our fighters." He looked away and stared intently at the bathroom door.

"Really?" I said and felt my interest grow. "Do you often have issues that need forceful handling?"

"No," he answered and shook his head, turning his eyes back on me. "The one a few weeks back was the first in a very long time."

"What happened a few weeks ago?"

"Oh, I assumed Crimson would have told you," he said with a frown. "A nearby wolf pack had some issues with rogues that we helped them with. We'll continue to provide them with assistance for the foreseeable future."

"Assistance? What does that mean?"

"That I will take a few of our fighters to the pack and live there with them to serve as extra help in case of further attacks."

I felt my heart sink at his words. He wouldn't be staying here? What... What would that mean? Could I go with him to the pack? Would he be okay with me going with? Maybe he would find me an annoying hindrance and tell me to stay here.

"How about for you?" he asked, cutting my spiraling thoughts short. "Does the coven also have different positions or such? What did you do?"

"Well, the coven does, but me and Crimson have always lived somewhat apart from them. And I've never been much of a spell-caster, so wouldn't have gotten any fancy title even if I had wanted one. I am very good at potions though."

I couldn't help the pride that emanated from me. While I had been learning spells, I had often been told I wasn't a witch, considering how bad I was. But potion-making had, on the other hand, always come natural to me. Or it had been easier than the spell-work at least, so it was probably a combination of a small amount of talent and hard-work, but I knew my potions were all flawless.

"Really? Is my information correct with that potions can actually be made by even humans as long as they know how?" Stuart asked with genuine curiosity.

"Sort of, yes. There are some exceptions," I answered and then couldn't stop the longer, more complicated answer of the magic involved in different potions. I wasn't sure if Stuart was actually interested in what I said or just being polite, but he listened and nodded and asked questions as I talked and explained.

"So it really depends on the potion and ingredient, but the short answer is that any potion can be made by even a human," I concluded after a long while.

"Adorable," Stuart mumbled and smiled warmly at me.

"Excuse me?" I said, confused and certain I had misheard.

"When talking about something you are passionate about, you become adorable."

I felt my face become warm, and I took a bite of the sandwich I had forgotten. I finished it off while we sat in silence.

"I should let you rest," Stuart said when I was done, and though I didn't want him to leave, it also felt like it might be a good idea to get to be alone for a little and gather my thoughts. "My room is the next one. So if you need anything, it's just to come knocking."

I nodded and watched as he took the empty plate and left. I threw myself on the bed and let out a sigh.

Well, the day did not end the way I had imagined when I had woken up that morning.