The feeling of being rocked in a firm embrace slowly brought my mind from the depths of sleep. Matteo was muttering to himself while he walked around the hospital room. I sniffed softly, nosing his shoulder.

"Master!" he quietly exclaimed, rubbing the back of my head. "Are you all right?"

"Mmhm, my head doesn't hurt anymore. What happened?"

"My father was taken in for testing, but he seemed perfectly healthy after you brought him to life. He could even move his left limbs, which he couldn't do before."

"Hmm, I guess my magic healed him, too. I was just focused on bringing his soul back to his body. It wasn't his time yet, so he hadn't left." I mumbled, nosing and kissing his shoulder. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon. We have to head out in about an hour to make our flight home."

"Mm, okay." I murmured. "Thank you."

"Master, did you use up your magic supply?"

I shook my head. "It didn't even budge. My head hurt from the concentration it took to accomplish that task, so I slept peacefully in your arms, Mattie."

His chest rumbled as he nosed and kissed my head. "What happened to that doctor?"

"It was the demon in disguise. He was the one who killed your father and had planned to wipe out the entire Knight family. I interrogated him on info about his contract, his master, and figured out why he hates your family and such, but it wasn't in that order. I also offered him a new kind of freedom, which he declined, but I know he'll agree to it eventually." I chuckled, clutching onto Matteo's jacket.

Matteo was quiet for awhile, just holding and rocking my body ever so sweetly. I was in utter bliss until Caleb walked in without any tubes in him or on him. Matteo stiffened, but managed to calm himself down while focusing on me. I was lightly kneading his chest, my tail swishing lazily back and forth while he carried me around in circles.

Caleb was frozen in the doorway at first, but cautiously walked over to his bed and sat down. "You really are a strange child." he said softly, and Matteo stopped pacing.

"I thought you would never come back because of your hatred towards me and what I did to you, and yet you bring a young man the size of a little boy to keep you sane, and he was the one who saved me while you wept internally at my side, holding onto me with all your might." whispered Caleb, clutching his gown in a tight fist. His eyes were rimmed red from unshed tears.

Matteo trembled as he stood before his former tormentor. "I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling." he said honestly, pushing his fingers into my hair. "I didn't even know what to say before we came in and suddenly we saw you flatlining, eyes closed and laying still on the bed."

Caleb nodded. "I was watching, you know. Floating above my body, I could see things that I cannot see in this body. Anwyll had strange powers and looked a lot like a little wolf. The doctor in disguise had crimson eyes, the same one from the vision I saw."

I nodded, rubbing my cheek on Matteo's shoulder. "He won't be able to bother you again, no matter how much he tries."

Caleb's breath stuttered. "A-am I free?"

"Free from him, yes, but you are not free of the responsibility that comes with repairing relationships."

The older man shook his head. "I understand, but is the man really not going to try to harm my family again?"

I smiled. "No, and I've made sure of it with the creation of your family's guardian spirit." I said firmly, holding out my arm.

Caleb frowned at first, but jaw dropped when Tien Two materialized on my forearm. Matteo kissed my head and set my feet on the closest chair. I had Tien Two return to her original size as I passed her to Caleb.

"What in the world?" he breathed, gently stroking the bird's head with his thumb and forefinger. "What is it?"

"I told you." I grinned. "This is the Knight family's guardian spirit. Or rather, this is a separate entity coming from the original to protect you during your stay here, but you're leaving soon. Markus adores the original bird, and she loves him, too. You don't have to do anything bad anymore and you can spend the rest of your life making it up to the people you hurt, instead of trying to push them away."

Caleb stared into cyan-colored eyes, which blinked calmly at him. The slender, gray beak nudged his jaw. A tear rolled down his cheek and he silently wept while curled over Tien Two.

Matteo picked my small body up again and tucked me into his side. I rubbed his chest with one hand, slowly soothing his ragged breaths.

"Thank you, Master." he said firmly, but I wiped away the tears before they could fall. He closed his eyes and gently knocked his forehead against mine. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I whispered.

__________________________

I yawned and stretched as we got off the plane. Matteo kept my hand clasped as we headed for the exit. We were finally back in our home state, and I think we were both relieved to almost be done traveling for awhile.

Matteo did talk a bit more with his father, and I was amazed that Matteo did add his father's phone number to his phone to call him. We left the hospital on time and everything went smoothly afterwards. I was a bit hungry now, though, and I knew Matteo was definitely feeling the same from the growls coming from within his torso.

"Noodles?" I asked, and Matteo looked down.

"Noodles?" he repeated, then he chuckled. "Oh, you want to eat noodles."

"It's something you can eat, too!" I reminded, and he bent down down to ruffle my hair and kiss my head. I giggled and squeezed his two fingers, which I held tightly. "Let's enjoy the little time we have left all to ourselves, okay?"

Matteo nodded. "I would never say no to that, my little master."

My huge grin made him smile. I skipped alongside Matteo, clutching onto his fingers while he led us to the bus pickup area. I cuddled into his side and my hair was fondly tussled with his large hand. Matteo's body vibrated with happiness, which was definitely giggle-worthy.

My ears twitched when I began to hear whispers. I whipped my head around and stared at the group whispering. They froze when my piercing stare bored into their faces. The bus rolled to a stop in front of us, and I continued staring even after Matteo gently tugged my body towards the bus.

"Freaky!" whispered one guy after I climbed the stairs.

I popped my head out and stuck my tongue out at the group, before hurrying to Matteo's seat near the middle of the bus. He was looking out the window at the group of college students. I climbed onto the seat next to him and cuddled into his side with my tail whirling at high speed. Matteo chuckled and tucked his arm around my body to keep my wiggly, happy self in place.

He looked troubled while he watched the group of students. I hugged his waist, pouting at him. Matteo glanced down and kissed my forehead, then looked away again.

"Are you worried about something, Mattie?" I asked softly.

"Mm." he grunted. "I didn't like what they were whispering about."

"I didn't like them." I sniffed, then sniffed Matteo's neck. His skin heated from my action, which I thought was cute.

"We made it back in more than enough time to make the conference, but almost everyone recognizes you now."

I groaned aloud as the bus pulled away from the curb. "Why can't I live and love in peace?"

"Because you look like a child." murmured Matteo, gently kissing my wolf ears. "I know you're a relatively innocent but wholly mature adult while you are the cutest wolf in the world."

I beamed. "You're so sweet, Mattie."

He blushed. "And you are too adorable."

I giggled. "Maybe, maybe not. Too adorable for you?"

Matteo kissed my forehead. "No, never for me. Although my heart is pounding like mad just being with you like this."

It was true, but mine was the same way. When I told him, his bright smile made my heart pound even faster. I tucked myself closer for the short ride, and rested comfortably in his one-armed hold. When we arrived at our stop, the bus driver let us off at Matteo's car. I asked how that man knew, and Matteo showed the ticket to me.

"Ooh, okay. I guess you showed him that when I was being rude to those other people."

"Rude?" Matteo laughed. "You weren't being rude. They were the ones gossiping about you behind your back."

I gave him my suitcase while I answered, "Yeah, but I could have handled that better. I really acted like a kid."

"It's better than flipping them off. They probably thought you were cute."

I pulled my lips down. "I guess, but I'm still eighteen. Basically everyone I meet seems to think I'm like eight or nine years old."

"Your appearance gives them that impression, but once you start talking they realize you're not a child." he said with a small smile, shutting the trunk. "Climb in, Master."

"All right," I grinned, bouncing over to the front passenger door. I opened it, then remembered to toss my backpack into the backseat.

A car pulled into the empty parking spot next to us, and I glanced up to see a strangely familiar person. I peered closer, then the man looked over. Our eyes widened and he rolled down the window.

"You!" he exclaimed. "You're that kid!"

I quirked my lips to the side. "And you're the guy who's claustrophobic."

His jaw dropped. "Not a kid?"

I smirked. "Nope."

I turned back to the car, my tail whipping back and forth behind me. I heard him grunt.

"What is an Emerged doing here?"

My eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

I whirled around, and the guy with fiery red hair and fiery orange irises smirked at me as he got out of the car. Matteo was watching cautiously from over the top of the car, but did not make a move. The man in front of me fished out his wallet and whipped out his card, presenting it to me.

I took it and stared at the card. "Kenith Hudd?"

"And you are?" he asked, so I used my magic to create and make it appear underneath Kenith's card.

I flicked it out and he caught it with a surprised expression. "Anwyll DeLuca?" he read aloud. "Unusual name."

"You have a unique spelling for your name, though. You're Ifrit too, no less."

Kenith paused. "What?"

"Or perhaps a reincarnation of Ifrit." I corrected with a smirk, burning his card and the weird magic attached to it. "Who are you working for?"

He peered at me. "Are you—?"

"Your bus ride is here. Get going." I stated, then hopped into the car and slammed the door.

Matteo slid inside and turned on the car's engine, then shut the door and buckled himself in while I did the same with my seatbelt. I saluted Kenith with two fingers as we backed out. He was stunned, remaining in place while Matteo drove away.

"What was that about?"

I glanced at Matteo. "I met that guy about three weeks ago now, I guess. He lived across from my uncle on the top floor. I don't know if he's still there or not, but he asked to borrow me for his business or something. Obviously, Daddy said no."

Matteo hummed. "Why did you burn his card?"

"It had traces of dark magic on it. It was unpleasant to even hold the card." I made a disgusted expression, and heard Matteo's laughter.

"Do you think he's a bad guy?"

I shrugged. "I don't think he's a bad person, but whoever he associates himself with is definitely one."

Matteo pulled up to the booth to pay the fee, then took his receipt from the woman and drove out of the lot. I watched cars come and go for a few minutes until we were out on the highway.

"Do you want me look up a restaurant?" I asked, and he nodded.

"That would be great."

I reached over and patted his thigh, which made him smile. I grabbed his phone from the cupholder, then unlocked it with his passcode. I had blushed when I learned a day ago that it was what he called me.

While I looked up options on noodle restaurants, I got the feeling that Matteo wanted to say something. I looked up and his eyes flicked back to the road.

"What is it, Mattie?"

"I don't know if I should say this, Master, but there's something I would like."

I tilted my head. "Sure, what is it?"

He blushed and nervously wetted his lips. "After we eat, I'd like to rent a hotel room and stay the night there."

"All right. We still have two days before the conference. I'll let Daddy know."

"O-okay," he whispered, then inhaled deeply. "But, Master, I want to do something with you."

My cheeks warmed. "Ooh, okay." I giggled, my tail thumping next to me. "Then yes, Mattie, let's do this thing together."

He let out a heavy breath of relief. "Thank goodness."

"I told you, Mattie. We'll take it slowly and do things when you feel you're ready. Remember?"

"How could I forget?" whispered Matteo. "My precious master, I remember everything you say."

I grinned. "Such a cool skill."

Matteo rubbed his face for a moment, trying to fight off the heat. "You're the real charmer, Master."

I blushed and hugged my tail, then giggled like a maniac with a bright smile.