Alaricus' POV

Her front teeth dig softly into the succulent red bottom lip as she turns the page, her nose twisting to the side adorably as she sniffles. A soft dark tendril of hair escaping the messy bun atop her head, and curving gently to the side of her face. For it too knew not to disturb the masterpiece that was her face. A deep sigh escapes me, my lips curving upwards as I watch her read, her eyes dancing with the emotions that pass through her with the turn of each page. For once in my life my mind was completely silent, nothing to plague us. How she had become my very peace I didn't know, but she had, the little angel had somehow become my everything and I was unable to stop it.

Tears fill up her eyes, tiny pearl like droplets decorating the brims of her eyes and dampening the lashes as they escape their confines. The tears trail slowly over the soft fair skin of her cheeks leaving a slight shine in their wake, that disappears soon after.

I despised it when she cried. For days after her parents departure her eyes had been puffy and it was unbearable. She'd lie, to comfort me promising she was just not sleeping well, that she hadn't cried. But she couldn't hide it from me. Stepping out of the shadows in which I stand I make my way to where she sits, in her favourite corner of the large library, my quiet little angel curled up on the large armchair.

My arms find their way under her small form and I lift her off the seat, a soft gasp escaping her as she turns her head to look at me. Big chocolate brown eyes stare at me, widened in surprise as I sit myself down in the chair, gently resting her small form into my lap. The slight pressure of her resting on my body sending my heart into a frenzy, but also passing a wave of serenity through me. I lean her comfortably against my chest. My heart clenches as she subconsciously curls into me, the soft curves of her moulding to my large firm body. It were as if I was made to hold her, shaped just so that she would be most comfortable, crafted in a way perfect to fit her.

My eyes travel from her big brown eyes to the book she holds in her hands, darting quickly over the words. Dismay filling me as I realize what had brought tears to her beautiful eyes. The moronic main character had decided to miss his own parents just now. Would it be entirely unjust if I were to hunt down the author?

"Oh angel." I murmur quietly, trailing the back of my hand gently against the delicate soft skin of her cheek, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Sad book." She sputters out, her cheeks reddening slightly as if there were ever anything she had to be embarrassed about before me.

"It's not the book is it?" I ask softly and she bites into her bottom lip harshly, making me frown, she was going to tear the soft skin. I pry her lip out from between her teeth, leaning forward to capture her bottom lip between the two of mine. Sucking on it gently, I dart my tongue over it, my mind reeling with the taste of her lips.

Pulling away from her mouth I look into the doe eyes that stare up at me, my hands cupping her face gently, thumbs rubbing against the moisture that leaks from her eyes and spills onto her cheeks.

"Don't hold it in love, let it all out. It was your choice and for the best but that doesn't mean you can't be saddened by it. I hate to see you cry but I'd rather you let this out than carry it around with you." I say and her bottom lip trembles as the tears that she had been trying to control spill down her cheeks.

Her arms come around me and I wrap my own around her waist, holding her close to my chest. She buried her face into the material of my shirt, her tears soaking through it as her little body shakes with her sobs making my heart drop. I feel my own eyes sting as I hold her.

My sweet little angel, so very sad, but she didn't deserve to be sad. She deserved all the happiness in the world. It was always the sweetest of souls that faced the cruelest of torments, but I wouldn't let the world touch her. She was mine, my light, my salvation, my miracle, the world couldn't have her. It couldn't wrap its cruel reigns around her and steal from her her very happiness, her innocence. This time I wasn't able to help it, there was nothing I could do to change what had saddened her so deeply. But there would never be another, no other woe would ever come near my Amara.

"My sweet angel, your parents are going to be so very happy in the free lands, you're so brave for what you did my little love, so very brave. You never fail to surprise me with your actions, you do things incomprehensible to me, the good in you, its depth is something otherworldly. Your parents are so proud of you, I am so proud of you, you hold the strength of a true warrior Amara. I envy you for it, you're so much stronger than I am. I've never seen something like it. I love you so much, they love you so much, this was what was best. I'm sorry you have to be away from them angel, but at least they'll be happy, free at last." I whisper into her ear, rocking her slightly in my lap, as I swing back and forth slowly cradling her to my chest. She sniffles softly looking up at me with watery doe eyes, her nose and lips still hidden in the material of my shirt. She was like a little kitten, absolutely adorable, but she had the strength of a tiger, the courage of a lion.

"I love you." She says and my heart halts completely, breath hitching in my throat as I look into the shining depths of her chocolate eyes. My limbs falling loose, body completely numb. She loved me, the angel loved me. My vision nearly darkening with the burst of euphoria.

My arms tighten around her waist as I lean down to capture her lips with mine, my heart trying to hammer its way through my chest, her words ringing in my ears. How very softly she'd said it, she'd nearly breathed it, as if it were the simplest of truths.

My eyes close as her lips touch mine, my body coming back to life at her touch. My lips move with an uncontrollable fervour against hers, and I tilt my head to get better access to the decadent sweet nectar. My arms tighten further around her, trying to bring her impossibly closer, but it would never be enough, I wanted to be one with her. I didn't want me without her, I didn't want a part of me even to suffer the torment of being without her.

For the first time in centuries I feel as if I'm alive, as if I'm mortal. I can feel the blood pumping through my veins, the air pushing in and out of my lungs. She had become my very air, and the need for her was dire. My hands roam her soft curves and a slight sound escapes her that has a growl ripping through my chest involuntarily.

I lick over her plump lips, nibbling on them ever so gently, and she parts them for me slightly. Slipping my tongue in a growled moan escapes me at the sweet taste of her. How was I to ever possibly stop kissing her, when she tasted so sweet, when her lips were so soft against mine, when the feel of her kiss was so very addictive. She licks against the bottom of my tongue hesitantly and my mind spins as my fists clench at her sides, careful not to be gripping her. She was too tempting for her own good. Her soft little hands slip in between us, rubbing gently over my chest, the feel of her skin against mine consuming me completely.

How did somebody as beautiful, as delicate as she love a monster like me I'd never know. But I'd gotten as lucky as to receive her love, and I'd never let go. Her hands fist the material of my shirt, and she tugs squirming a little. I pull away, her soft pants ringing in my ears. My absolute favourite sound, the sound of her heartbeat strong and thrumming countering my own. I press my forehead against hers.

"I love you." I mumble, my eyes filling with the overwhelming emotion that I felt, how could one person possibly feel all this, how could one person contain it. I loved her so much it consumed me entirely, it filled every bit of me, and I was so proud, for it was undoubtedly the best part of me, my love for her. It connected me to her in a way no one could ever take away from me. She held all power over me, but not even my angel could make me stop loving her, this connection to her would forever be unbreakable.

Unable to control myself I press kisses to the soft skin that stretches over the gentle curve of her jaw, trailing down the arch of her thin elegant throat. The arch of it had tempted me from the very first moment I'd seen it, I'd wished to press kisses to it, suck on the soft fair skin. I sucked on the soft skin that connected her delicate throat to her collar bone, my eyes rolling to the back of my head at the taste of her, she was so very sweet. I pull away softly as her small hand cups my jaw, and I realize she was trying to raise it and I grant her wish, looking up into her eyes.

"You're crying." She mumbles, seemingly mystified.

"I'm not." I answer, and a small smile comes into her lips.

"Well that's too bad, if you were crying I would have kissed you to make you feel better, but I guess you're alright." She says and my eyes widen, as I shake my head quickly.

"I am, I am." I say, and a melodic giggle escapes her as she stretches up in my arms to press her lips to mine, not moving them simply keeping them pressed against mine before pulling away, much too quick. I try to ignore Eros' pleas for me to weep so that we'd earn ourselves some more kisses, but it's nearly impossible since I wanted to do the same thing.

She pulls away gazing up at me with her big brown eyes bright with happiness, and something that makes my heart clench, love. Nobody had looked at me like that in centuries, I'd forgotten what it felt like, the warmth it provided to be looked at with eyes filled with love. To be looked at as if you mattered, as if you were something. There was a time that I craved this so badly I'd done horrible things to make people look at me as if I were something. But it wasn't with love they looked at me, it was fear. It was as if I were death itself come to take them or their loved ones, but at least I was something. I'd never thought anyone could look at me this way let alone the angel that sat in my lap, looking at me as if I were worthy, but truthfully I wasn't worthy of even a passing glance from her. Something so good so innocent had to be miles above what I was, so far if she looked down she wouldn't even recognize me, I was absolute scum. I wish I were nothing for it would be better than what I truly was, a monster, a beast, a heinous creature who'd committed unspeakable crimes.

Eros whimpered softly in my head, but I ignored him. It wasn't fair for him to get to act like some innocent puppy just because our Amara was around. She had him on a leash, she had wounded a tight collar around my dark heart and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Nothing I wanted to do about it.

A dark strand fell from the confines of her bun and I smiled, her hair was unruly, thick voluminous chocolate waves, so unlike the delicate angelic features they framed. It was a striking contrast, one that could leave me breathless, but what part of her couldn't. Every word, every touch, every glance drew me in, I found them all so very compelling. I found her so very compelling.

She was so small but she could make me bow before her, at times I wanted to. Worship the masterpiece that was her. She'd become my shrine, my faith, my everything. A soft sigh escaped her parted lips as she tightened her small pale fists against the silk of my collar shirt, gripping it tightly in her hands. Leaning forward she rested her soft cheek on my chest, her warm breath caressing the exposed skin atop the buttons, making my stomach clench. I wrapped my arms around the curve of her waist, pulling her in so she could comfortably nestle against me.

"I love you." I whisper to her, in the fervent hopes that she'd say it back, she sucks in a slight breath about to speak and I close my eyes. Hoping to trap the sound of her profession. The amount of times I'd imagined it, dreamt of it, but still it was nothing compared to how it truly sounded. The way her melodic voice delivered the sweet words, the smell of her fragrant breath as she spoke, the way her lips wrapped around each word, I could see them even with my eyes closed. Her voice seemed to form a caress around the words, making the simple statement sound so beautiful it stole my breath away. She loved me, Amara loved me.

I wonder to myself how she could possibly love me, only realizing I'd voiced my curiosity when she speaks. It was nearly alarming, I'd lived centuries, I had self control, in the amount of years I'd lived you master it, but she made me lose all control. She made me forget the countless painful years I lived, and with her I was a newborn once again.

"How I love you?" She asked softly and I nodded hesitantly.

"It's simple really, it's like breathing, it's a part of me now, you're a part of me now. You found your way into my heart, and now your in its every beat." She says, her eyes gleaming with honesty. She was telling the truth, she loved me, not the way I loved her surely, for she had so much more, more to love, more to hope, whereas she was my everything.

I had no love for myself that portion of my heart too belonged to her. My heart belonged to her completely, as did I. But it wasn't a worthy ownership, how I wished I was better. I'd spend the rest of my existence trying to be better for her. For the angel who resided in the very depths of me, in my every breath, every beat of my heart, every thought of my mind, every word from my mouth. She was everything, but I too was something to her. It was a prestige I didn't deserve but one I couldn't dare let go of, how was one to live if they'd found the most precious thing in the world only to loose it. I'd found her, and I couldn't let go, but her love that was something I hadn't consciously dreamt of even in my wildest of fantasies and now that I had it, I couldn't think of being without it.

She made me feel the one thing that made a person mortal, fear, an emotion I hadn't felt for centuries. She made me alive again. I feared losing her, I feared her getting hurt, I feared her being upset, and now I feared losing her love too. But how long could I hope to keep something I was unworthy of. I could trap the angel, but the angel's heart lay only within the confines of her rib age, of her mind, and that I couldn't trap. That I didn't wish to trap. I didn't wish to control her, to tame her, I wished to run with her wilderness.

But I was a hypocrite I'd kept her with me when she didn't wish to be, something I would eternally mourn, and yet I wouldn't change it. I was a horribly selfish monster, but that's what kept her with me, and that was all that mattered to me. That's what kept her safe and that was most important, more important than even her being with me. I was selfish but when it came to her I was powerless, if it meant her wellbeing I'd let her go, I'd let her go in just an instant. She could make me do absolutely anything she wanted, I'd cut myself into pieces if I knew it would please her even in the slightest. But she was far too kind, too good to take pleasure in such things.

Knowing you were loved was an addicting feeling, and knowing it was the angel I worshipped who'd fallen in love with me was beyond words. I wished to hear it again and again, for her to never stop saying it, to look into those eyes, those warm chocolate coloured eyes that burned with love when she looked at me. Something would ignite within them when she looked at me, it had been happening for a while now, but I hadn't dared to assume something so seemingly impossible. A monster couldn't dare to dream of the angel falling in love with him, he would only end up getting hurt, become more broken than he already was.

Perhaps that was my fate, to have earned her love only to loose it when I couldn't bare to live without it, when I'd just begun to understand the feeling, to come crashing down from the euphoric high that her profession had put me in. Just like the many I'd brought crashing down, the many that had so much and I'd taken it all. Amara was my everything if I were to ever loose her surely my fate would be considerably worse than theirs. For I'd gladly choose death over ever loosing her, over ever having her loathe me.

I allow my hands their wish as they cup her dainty face between their rough calloused grip, but very gently, for every part of me knew even subconsciously that she was the most precious thing we'd ever touch. Her skin so soft, like silk beneath my fingertips. I trail my thumb over her soft plump bottom lip, watching her cheeks redden with an endearing blush, making my mouth salivate to taste it. Leaning down I press my lips to it softly, my mind numbing as the heat touches my lips, and daringly I let my tongue dart out licking over it softly. A slight gasp escapes her before her soft hand comes up resting on my face, not even covering half the surface and she tries to push me away. Erratic giggles escaping her, the one sound that could make all my troubles, all my worries float away, just one giggle, just one laugh, just one reassurance that she was happy and I was at peace.

Her melodic giggles make my lips curve up automatically. She wipes at her cheek with the back of her small delicate hand.

"Bad puppy." She says scoldingly and I snap my teeth at her, earning myself another heart thrumming giggle. I'd be anything she wanted, anything she requested, anything she demanded. Before her the most powerful wolf was a little puppy, absolutely powerless, absolutely defenceless against her charms, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I yank her to my chest, and she collides into me, her eyes widening as she looks up at me, before they narrow.

"You went too far away." I mumble in my defence and she looks absolutely bewildered.

"I'm in your lap you pine nut." She says evoking a light chuckle from me, her curses were adorable.

"Yes well you started leaning away, and that's not right." I explain making her lips curve down and she shakes her head at me making tsk sounds with her tongue, but her eyes are playful. Absolutely entranced by the slight view of her little pink tongue inside of her parted lips I lean forward, pressing my lips to hers. My tongue going to meet hers, and I lick over it gently, she should have known better than to tempt the wolf. She bites down on my tongue very gently, making a growl rumble through my chest as my stomach tightens.

Pulling away from her lips, I trail kisses all over her face, mumbling professions of love inbetween kisses, wanting desperately to hear that laugh again. Breath filling my lungs as I do.

"I could just eat you up." I mumble to her and she furrows her brows at me.

"That's the tiniest bit strange, you need to control your cannibalistic urges." She says scoldingly, wagging her finger at me, and I snap my teeth at it smirking.

"Wow you really like doing that whole teeth snapping thing don't you?" She mumbles under her breath.

"Well lets see how you like it." She mumbles making my brows furrow before they shoot up as she leans forward, biting the conjuncture of my neck and collarbone. A growled out moan escaping me as I grip her hips tightly, Eros fighting to come out.