43

~Aurelia Williams~

When I woke up in the night I could hear the sound of water splashing. I lifted my head to see where the noise was coming from and saw that the bathroom door was open a crack, allowing some light to come through.

Suspecting it was arsenic, I got up and checked. I opened the crack a little wider and saw Arsen standing in the shower with his back to me. But as I took a closer look at it, I got a fright and stumbled against the door, which banged against the wall.

With his mouth wide open, he stood in the doorway and stared in shock at the picture that presented itself to me.

Why my heart just started beating faster wasn't Arsenic, who now turned his head jerkily to me, but the red water that flowed down Arsenic's body into the drain. I looked at Arsen's clothes spread out on the bathroom floor. They were all red with blood.

Arsen came out from behind the glass wall and tied a towel around his waist. Then he approached me.

"I didn't mean to wake you up." I started looking at Arsen's body. His hair was wet and tangled on his forehead, dripping. I checked his body for injuries, but couldn't see any wounds.

"What blood is this?" I asked, getting to the point.

Arsenic sighed, then said, "The blood of strays. They tried to lure us into a trap. At first we were surprised, but we were still able to defeat them. There are only a few slightly injured warriors."

"Okay," I whispered very softly, trying to deal with the fact that arsenic had killed someone again. Actually, it wasn't anything new to me. After all, he once killed a rogue in front of me, but still, it was something else, to see him covered in blood.

I will certainly never get used to this sight. But maybe I just didn't fit in here.

Arsen stood in front of me now and gave me a loving kiss on the lips, which calmed me down a bit. But before it could degenerate, he broke away from me and put his hand on my cheek, into which I snuggled.

"Now go to sleep. I'll be right there." He said and then went back to the shower.

I listened to him and went back to sleep.

Even though it was frightening for me right now, I guess I better get used to the fact that arsenic kills other people or werewolves. That's his world, in which I live now. But whether I can get used to it is a completely different question.

Just as I was about to drift back to dreamland, the bed next to me sagged. Then I felt strong arms wrap around me and Arsen's bare chest tight against my back. So I fell asleep in the spoon position.

-----

The next morning I was woken up by the rays of the sun shining on my face. I opened my eyes and looked around the brightly lit room.

Arsen's arms were still wrapped tightly around me and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. Here in his arms, for the first time, I felt pure security, as if this were the safest place on earth.

Suddenly Arsenic moved a little and buried his head even deeper in the crook of my neck. Then he started purring, which still sounded unusual.

"You smell so good," he growled sleepily. "Once I tag you, you'll smell like me. Then everyone will know you're mine."

"I only belong to myself," I replied snippy, and then had to grin when Arsen answered.

"No!" he asserted. I don't know why, but I liked it when he treated me like I belonged only to him. It didn't make me feel like I was something to own, it did a feeling that someone desires me And wasn't that what every woman wanted?

I giggled, intending to tease him a little.

"Yes," I told him. He knows I'm a separate person, but with his possessiveness he could never admit it.

Then Arsen made a sudden movement and now turned so that he was lying on top of me. His face was only a few centimeters away from mine. I thought he was going to kiss me now, but instead he said, "No!" again. He then moved his head down and planted feathery kisses on the back of my neck. He kissed down to my collarbone. Then he lifted his head and saw me at.

"Who do you belong to, Aurelia?" he asked. Just the way he said my name sounded beautiful.

"Just me," I said with a small giggle.

"Wrong answer."

Arsen's head moved back down to my collarbone and then pulled my nightgown down a little to continue kissing a path between my breasts.

A moan escaped my mouth at the tingle his kisses left on my skin. Arsen raised his head again to look at me.

"Who do you belong to?" he asked again.

"Your," I answer him devotedly. I didn't want to say it. It was like I was in a trance. His kisses alone intoxicated my mind.

Arsen grinned, pulling away from me entirely this time. He got up and took a white t-shirt from the closet, which he then put on. Then he gave me his hand and said, "Come on. There's breakfast."