Aselia’s POV

For the next few days, I remained in and out of consciousness. But Xiran never left my side.

He was there whenever I would wake up and he was still there when I was sleeping. Day and night, it didn’t matter to him. He was always there for me. I could see black circles under his eyes and his clothes remained the same. That beautiful hair of his was becoming unkempt.

On the fourth day, Dr Wanstine permitted me to have some juice. So Frila brought some cranberry juice. Xiran took the glass and straw from her.

"How are you feeling now, Aselia?" Frila smiled at me.

"Better, I am hungry though and he won’t let me eat anything." I scowled making Frila chuckle.

"Just a few more days and I will personally bring you your favourite meals." Frila winked at me and my eyes lit up at the proposal.

"Really?" There was excitement in my eyes.

"Yes, my dear." She offered me a bright smile.

"Frila let her rest now." Xiran glared at her for no reason at all.

"My apologies, Señor." She bowed before leaving.

Xiran placed the straw in the glass and lifted my bed so I could easily drink. He held the glass with his hands because he didn’t let me move mine. Not that I could do much. One was broken and the other one held a cannula.

I took a few sips. "You have to finish this." His tone was merely a breeze.

"And you need to rest and change your clothes." I eyed him up and down.

"I will once you are better."

"It will take me a while to get better now." I pointed to my broken body, with my eyes. Half of which was bandaged. I had never been assaulted like that before. I couldn’t get their faces out of my mind, no matter what I tried. I wanted to ask Xiran what he might have done to them. But he seemed under a lot of stress so I decided against it.

"Then I will remain here until you do." There was no smile on his face and he seemed extremely tensed.

"Don’t you have work stuff?" I had to make an extra effort to speak, it hurt my ribs.

"Rivan is taking care of it." He propelled the straw toward me so I could drink more.

I finished the juice and he appeared to relax a bit. Not ever in my wildest dream did I imagine being taken care of by vampires. I loathed them and here he was outdoing himself. But why?

The amount of care he showered on me was turning me soft. He was dangerous for me and not in the way I wanted but in a way I shouldn’t even desire. Would he have shown me this much affection or come to my rescue if he had known I was a hunter? Or would he have left me to be devoured by his brother?

The answers to these questions scared me. And the way my heart wanted him to remain close, repulsed me. But then again he saved my life. Did I see wings on him? Or did I only imagine that before passing out? I would ask him sometime.

"Aselia, sleep now." He had placed the glass on the table and was sitting on a chair near the bed. His hand was on my cheek, giving me warmth.

"I don’t want to."

"It’s not what you want, it’s what you need, and right now and that’s sleep."

"You need sleep as well." I frowned.

"Vampires don’t need that much sleep."

"But they can’t stay awake forever as well. Get some rest, I am better now. Don’t drown yourself in guilt. Whatever happened was not your fault. You have always tried to keep me safe." His expression changed to a surprised one at my words as if he wasn’t expecting me to say that.

"It is my fault, my duty was to keep you safe. I failed. Not only that, I let you get hurt. There is no forgiveness for me. Even if you do, I will never forgive myself." The pain in his heart was reflected in his eyes as he said those words. But why? Why was I so special to him? Was it only because of my blood? But he wasn’t even drinking that lately.

"Why? Why am I so important to you?" I asked the question lingering on my lips for a while now. He took a deep breath at my query.

"That I don’t know myself, Aselia. I am still trying to figure this out but my heart becomes too soft when it concerns you. I can’t see your suffering." His words sent ripples of emotions through my body. I wanted to scream at him to stop having all those sentiments for me. If we continued down this road, it won’t end well for either of us. His eyes spoke volumes. All his pent-up feelings had sneaked in there and were peeking at me.

’NO’... my brain screamed at me.

I didn’t want him to have feelings for me. It will complicate things, my brain hurt to even think about it. The way he protected me, calmed me down when I had lost my comrades. And how he took care of me. This was too much even for my ice-cold heart to handle. The walls had been shattered and whatever he offered seeped in and settled down.

Tears had welled up in my eyes and before I knew it they spilt out...

’No, no, don’t cry in front of him,’... my brain and my heart were in a constant battle again.

A tiny salty droplet trailed its way to his index finger and dissolved in his skin, becoming a part of him...Forever.

"Please...Aselia don’t cry. I am sorry if my words have hurt you." My tears had tormented him, I could see it clearly on his face. He wiped them with his nimble thumbs, cupping my face gently. All that tough facade had crumbled down today. My raw emotions played naked on my face for him to see, to touch, to make his own.

He then moved forward and delicately kissed both my eyes and whispered: "Don’t cry, what happened a few days ago will never happen again. I would destroy anyone and everyone who will try to lay a finger on you."

There was a chill in his words and I could feel a dark and cold aura surrounding him. What will you do to me Xiran? Once you figure out I am your mortal enemy as well.