Faith's fingers stopped moving the tissue over his skin and she stared at her own hand for a long moment before speaking. "I feel kind of guilty," she whispered. "I like you. A lot, actually, and it feels like I should be completely focused on comforting Kaylee and on finding Crissy, so just being here and not back at the clan house doing something feels wrong, but..." she sniffled again and bit her lips before continuing. "I couldn't let you stay here bleeding and unconscious and all alone. That felt wrong too."
Aldric had to swallow down the tightness in his throat. "Faith," he said softly, but couldn't think of what other words to use. Instead he decided to take a lesson from one of Faith's own actions, and pulled her down into a kiss.
23
Faith's brain went blissfully blank the moment her lips touched Aldric's. It was like after swimming across an entire pool underwater she was finally being allowed to surface and take a breath. They hadn't discussed her impulsive kiss the other night, events sweeping them up and distracting them, and she had been strangely disappointed. This though?
This almost seemed like the universe was trying to balance out all the shitty things that had happened this week, and Faith almost felt like it was enough, just this kiss. She tasted copper and somewhere in the back of her mind she connected it to the mug she'd seen on the bedside table. A small part of her brain recoiled and started to panic, but the rest of her leaned into it.
So what if he had to drink blood to live? Lots of people had weird dietary or medical needs, and who was Faith to judge him for it? This was Aldric. This was the man who had repeatedly put himself between her and danger. He'd held her while she let go and cried over the terror of the attacks and the pain of losing her sister not just once, but twice. He had done nothing but lend her his strength from the moment he came slamming through the cabin door to kill the rogue wolves that were threatening her and Kaylee, and he had asked for nothing in return until now, and even the kiss felt like a shy request for permission rather than a demand for repayment.
Faith pulled back only when she had to, as her crying jag had left her hiccuppy, and just then an ill-timed spasm interrupted them. Aldric's eyes were still closed when she opened hers to apologize. God he was a beautiful man, and when he eyes opened, dark pupils with a ring of the most mesmerizing green she'd ever seen.
"You have the most amazing eyes," she said before her brain could catch up. Aldric blinked, then grinned, and when that didn't seem to express his feelings well enough, he actually chuckled.
"I don't believe I have ever had anyone compliment my eyes before, though several of the wolves I have fought have told me they were terrifying and strange," Aldric's grin turned a little toothier and his eyes darkened overall.
Faith nudged an unbandaged patch of his chest and rolled her own eyes. "Yes, yes. You're a very scary vampire. Now drink your cup of blood before it gets cold and congeals."
Aldric reached over and picked up the mug, peering at the bag sitting in the now tepid water. He made a face and sighed. "I'm afraid I may be too late."
"You should have to write an apology note to whoever donated that for wasting their time and generosity," she said.
Aldric put the cup back on the table– next to her own coffee cup she noticed– and shook his head. "Madeline gives us bags that are unusable for one reason or another. I believe this bag is too old to be used medically."
Faith couldn't have stopped the grin if she had tried. "You're telling me your milk is about to go bad so you have to drink it all now?"
Aldric chuckled again and shook his head.
"How have you accepted all this so easily?" he asked her, his eyes still full of humor.
She shrugged and shifted her legs up onto the bed now so she could snuggle her head back onto his shoulder and carefully laid her hand on his chest where there were no bandages in the way.
"I guess it's because I've always had magic of my own, so finding out that the world is even bigger than I knew it was is weirdly reassuring in a way. I mean, now I know what happened, why Grampa was suddenly sent away from his home, why we don't have much training and why Mom was so strict about keeping it a secret."
She felt Aldric nod. "I can understand that. I'm certain that you have been able to fill in some gaps in your family history now."
"Exactly," she agreed. She ran her fingers along the edge of the tape holding down a bandage over the gouge that Faith clearly remembered being opened by that jackass in the common room of the lodge. She knew he felt the shudder that ran through her body, but he thankfully didn't comment on it.
"I don't know. I guess that knowing about my own magic for so long, and then first meeting you in such a stressful situation when I had to protect Kaylee..." she shrugged again. "I think that if it had been almost anyone else that had showed up that day I wouldn't have been so comfortable about it."
"I–" Whatever Aldric had been about to say was interrupted by a loud electronic ringing which made them both jump. "My phone?"
"Oh! I have it. Madeline took what was
