《Meeting Her Fate & His Fledgeling | Complete | Book 1 & 2》Chapter Sixteen -- Slow to burn, Quick to break

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Chapter Sixteen

Slow to burn, Quick to break

Spring had finally sprung, and out came Karou's strappy dresses. Karou's favourite season was undoubtedly Fall, but the opportunity to wear something other than jeans and a sweater was welcome. Unfortunately, the weather barely ever warmed up, so she made the most of the forecast on the rare occasion that warm sunshine was out. Even if it was still a little chilly, that was nothing a cardigan couldn't fix.

It was May, and with summer just around the corner, Karou was enjoying as much time out in the woods as she could. Now that she was a vampire, there was no longer the fear that her pale skin would burn if she lingered too long out of the shade. Being vampiric came with certain perks, and rapid healing and regeneration were useful.

With the sun setting later in the day, she wandered back to the unit around seven in the evening, having had a pleasant day filled with some quality alone time. She had wildflowers poked into her hair, a pencil tucked behind her left ear, and her sketchbook nestled under her arm. Being alone out in the open felt less depressing than sitting in the unit watching television alone, waiting for Warren to finish work.

Without any discussion, things between Karou and Warren had seemed to patch up. Neither had mentioned Lillianna nor Roman in almost two months. The unit had become a happy place again - a haven for just she and Warren. She was pleased that she hadn't been in long when he came out of his office ready to retire for the day.

The best part about Saturday nights for Karou was that they'd stay up late. Warren would cook something delicious for dinner. They'd watch movies and sometimes talk a little; twenty-questions had become a game they often played together. Then, eventually, they'd go to bed together. Then when Sunday morning came, Warren's day off would start, and Karou would get him all to herself.

It might've seemed that they were an average couple from the outside. But seeing as they hadn't had sex since before the fiasco in Blue Ash and their relationship supposedly not being the romantic kind, that simply wasn't the case.

Karou had closed off sexually, and Warren hadn't dared push his luck, even if it was proving to be one of the hardest things he'd had to endure. At least he was keeping his secret well hidden. His eyes never gave him away, as Karou always mistook the longing looks for lust. His stolen glances at her were just that, stolen and undetected. Still, even though Karou firmly denied him, that didn't mean to say that she wasn't struggling just as much. Their rules were strict, even if they were unspoken. Absolutely, no sex. No kissing on her lips or elsewhere. They were both careful about where they placed their hands on each other so as not to wander too far. They were still close, just not that close, not anymore. Although they fed from one another now and then, it had gotten rarer. Warren was sure that alone would finish him off. He could only go so long without a taste of her before he started to feel starved and feral; that was when she'd give in and lend him her neck. But nothing was the same. If only they'd chosen to communicate, they'd have known that they pined for the same things. Alas, they were stubborn and equally unyielding to their detriment.

With a movie playing, Karou laid the length of the sofa, parallel to the TV, with her head in Warren's lap as he read. His hand rested idly on her upper arm, only moving away for seconds at a time to turn the page of his book. The movie she'd chosen was a tragic romance, and with the last scene playing out, Karou sniffled back tears. Being a sucker for a sad story meant that she'd become unduly invested in the characters fictional love affair and was as sad to see them kiss their last kiss.

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"I miss that." She muttered as the two characters parted ways. Sitting up from Warren's lap, she dried her eyes and fought to stop her lower lip from quivering.

"Hmm?" Warren hummed curiously. He wanted to know why she'd moved as well as why she'd said what she had. He looked to the TV screen, but now only the credits rolled; the film had finished. "Miss what?"

"Oh nothing, I'm just being soppy." Karou brushed off the subject and climbed off the sofa. "I'm going to get a drink. Do you want anything from the kitchen?"

"No, I'm fine. I have a drink on the coffee table." Warren watched her wander out of sight. Now that he was alone, an opportunity presented itself. So, he quickly grabbed the remote and rewound to the last scene. This time, he watched it to its conclusion. "You miss kissing?" He asked aloud as Karou re-entered the lounge with her beverage.

"Warren, do you think you have a drinking problem? You drink every night." Karou ignored his question for now and hid her alarm by sipping at her mug of milk.

"If drinking a couple of glasses of scotch a night makes me an alcoholic, I dread to think what you'd have made of me in the 20s." He chuckled as he set his book aside, and with liquor in mind, he downed the rest of his second glass. "You didn't answer my question..." Licking the alcohol off his lips, he shot her a glance from under his heavy brow as he set his empty glass back down.

"Sometimes." Karou kept her eyes from his for a long moment until her blush faded. She had sat back down on the couch and set down her mug onto the coffee table too. She wore a faint, perhaps forced smile when she turned to face Warren again. It was a subject tainted with sadness for her. She thought about kissing him all the time.

"I'm sure you'll make up for the lost time when you get to Enoch." He said, trying to lighten her mood; he was the king of fake smiles and knew one when he saw it.

"Why haven't you called Cambria to tell her I'm fledged yet?"

"Eager to get a head start, are we?" Warren half chuckled but finally, let out a sigh and combed a hand back through his floppy bangs. The mood had turned a little melancholy, and the thought of her leaving soon really shuck him up. "Uh, I guess because she didn't leave me a number to contact her on. She kind of insinuated she'd know when it was time to fetch you. I'm sure you won't have to wait much longer."

"I'll just have to wait then." Karou sighed and tipped her head to the side when she considered the position he was lying in on the couch. "Warren, I'm thirsty."

It didn't need saying because he could tell by her eyes, and Karou could tell by his that he felt the same. Nothing more needed to be communicated to prompt him into action. Peeling himself up from the couches leather cushions, he turned his back towards her - it was a tactic they'd been using lately to stop the feeding sessions from getting 'out of hand'. Truthfully, she hated how far they'd backtracked regarding their feeding ritual. Regardless she approached his bare back. Their heights being nearly a foot apart meant that she had to remain up on her knees to properly reach a good biting spot without pressing into him too much. When he felt her ready to engage, Warren pushed the fleshy part of his knuckle between his teeth to stop him from making any noises that she could've taken suggestively. However, even with the restrictive distance, it still felt incredible to have her so close.

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Some moments after she'd bitten him, Karou had grasped onto his shoulder when she sensed her footing was unstable. My knee is slipping. She thought as it was about to happen.

Instinctively Warren reached back his arm to stop her from falling. His hand found the curve of her waist under his palm. Her body fit so perfectly in his hand, but he brushed such thoughts aside so as not to get carried away. He held her weight securely so she could continue to feed unhindered, but Karou's reaction was equally as forbidden. In desperation, Karou pressed herself against his back, and when she hooked her arms under his and splayed her hands over his bare chest, he felt sure he'd lose it. His fledgeling was thoroughly testing the strength of his resolve. Her following involuntary action was what pushed him over the edge; when she moaned into his neck and dug her fingernails into his chest, Warren's fingertips pressed into Karou's waist more desperately too. Although the relief of her holding onto him was blissful, it just wasn't enough! I can't take it anymore. The tension was too much to handle.

Karou found herself laid back on the couch, with Warren having turned on a dime to lean over her in a sharp and decisive motion. His hands quickly tore open her pyjama top so that his hands could get to her breasts and his fangs into her neck. The way Karou gasped at the forwardness of his actions only spared him on. When he bit down into her neck, a lusty growl ripped from his chest. Karou replied with her own excited moan.

Knowing she was breaking all the rules, knowing it was wrong to let him have her, only made her want him more. How desperate he was for her, turned her on and all the way up. Karou knew how toxic Warren's personality could be, but in times like these, she felt addicted to that toxicity, just like he was addicted to her blood. Driven crazy with lust, Karou didn't refuse him because she'd reached her breaking point too. Welcoming him into her arms felt so good she couldn't stop herself from raking her fingernails into his left pectoral and his right shoulder blade as she moaned again. "Just don't stop." Her legs had already wrapped around his hips and tugged him to meet hers despite their clothes.

Tentatively he pressed one last kiss onto her neck before leaning back to look down at her face; he'd finished feeding and lapped the remains of her golden blood from his lips. The smile she wore told him she was content, and even with her eyes closed, the expression made her glow.

"You've stopped." Karou's whined. Her twinkly blue eyes slowly flickered open to find his, while her hands traced shapes over the skin of his shoulders, neck, and chest.

"I've drunk my fill. I shouldn't take anymore; it wouldn't be fair." Warren whispered, his fingertips gently brushing back the stray strands of her brown hair back from her face. He thought how the metallic undertones of her iris shimmered in the low light was so pretty.

"I thought you might carry on kissing me afterwards." Karou said, but the moment it left her lips, the look on his face told her, "There isn't going to be anymore kissing, is there?"

"If there was, you'd regret it. So I think it's for the best that there isn't, don't you? After all, you've realised what I tried to tell you all along; that I can never give you what you really want."

"Then it's already gone too far, hasn't it?" Karou said, and this time, it was she who put up a wall. Despite being left on the other side feeling naked and idiotic for dreaming that this time would be any different than the last dozen, she had to regain control. Retracting her hands back from Warren and seeing as her top now lay on the floor in tatters, she pulled her arms into her chest to cover herself.

"Please don't do this?" Warren begged. His ego and pride were brushed aside in the wake of his desperation to keep her close somehow. Now he was left wishing he'd just carried on kissing her like she'd asked him to. Warren cupped her face and let his head drop onto her shoulder. "Please?"

"Ugh." Karou whimpered painfully; she could feel her eyes welling up. Warren was so compelling, but he was still trying to manipulate her. One way or another, she had to get away from him. Karou closed her eyes and reimagined a scenario between Warren and Lillianna. It hurt, it made her skin crawl, but it was the perfect catalyst to make her recoil from him and give her enough fight to push him away. "Warren, let go of me," Karou demanded decisively.

I really don't want to. He thought, he knew he'd never had been able to say it, so instead, he just thought it. Karou could feel the vulnerability clearly, but when she moved as if she meant to get up, he let her.

"You have to." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear as she walked away and disappeared into her bedroom. That night she closed the door behind her that seemed to finalise the process of shutting Warren out.

Warren spent the rest of his night on the couch. The buzz from having fed from her after so long left him too wired to sleep, but he had wished for it, wanting to be unconscious when his chest ached as it did. No amount of self-soothing and raking his fingernails into his scalp calmed him. He wanted to scream; he was so frustrated. He couldn't even call Magnus because then he'd have to admit how deep his feelings were for Karou, and he doubted he'd get any sympathy. His mentor had made it clear that he sided with Karou concerning his escapade with Lilli.

When she came out of her bedroom the morning after, Karou showered and got ready for her day without much thought as to where Warren was; she expected he'd be in his office working. To find him still passed out on the couch was strange. Still, she had no desire to wake or talk to him, so she snuck out of the unit.

Deciding to be in a good mood was helping her achieve it, but the last thing she could've wanted happened as she walked through the woods that morning. She bumped into Ebon.

For a couple of week's, she'd avoided being alone with him. However, she didn't mind hanging out with him if there were any of their other friends around, but when they were alone, he'd always try and make a move on her.

When it became clear that their paths would cross as she neared bridge on the woodlands path, she kept her head down, hoping that a polite nod and smile would suffice and that he'd keep moving. Maybe he had somewhere he needed to be? Unfortunately, she had no such luck. Ebon held up his hand and waved at her before she got within five feet of him.

"Hiya, Karou!" He called as he jogged towards her. From the way he smiled at her, it would've been impossible to tell that he used to have such a low opinion of her. Although he'd officially apologised for his behaviour, it was hard for Karou to get past it. Sure she believed in second chances, but she also valued first impressions and Ebon's, on their first date, left a lot to be desired.

"Uh, hey, Ebon." Karou greeted as she continued to pace past him, carrying on, on her way to the tavern. That's where she was going.

"Mia said you've been away on a vacation or something… So what's with that? I didn't think anyone was allowed to leave." The kin decided to attempt conversation, and Karou shuddered at the topic he'd chosen.

"Yeah, Warren sent me to Russia for a couple of weeks."

"Wow, perks of living with the boss man, huh?" Ebon rolled his eyes. Karou found it amusing how much he disliked her Sire. By now, Ebon had backtracked the way he'd come from the tavern because he was keen to follow her and keep talking. "You know that there are still rumours going 'round about you two? Like about you being 'with' him, or whatever." He paused, rubbed over the back of his neck bashfully and then met her eyes again. "But you're not right?"

"I swear we've had this talk before Ebon," Karou said as she entered the tavern with her puppy dog in tow. "But no, I'm not 'with' Warren."

"So weird that you call him that." He snickered. "Doesn't he make you call him Mr Howard?"

"No?" Karou scrunched her face up, confused. Did everyone else call him Mr Howard? She couldn't say she'd noticed.

Ebon answered the question she'd thought when he said, "You're literally the only person who calls him by his first name."

Well, I am the only person that lives with him... But... that's not even his first name.

Karou ordered herself a coffee at the bar, and even when she turned to choose a table, Ebon followed, still overly eager to talk to her. "Ebon, did you want me for something?"

"Erm, no, not really. Jus' thought we could hang out, y'know?" The kin boy shrugged. "Karou?" Acting bashful again, Ebon looked down at the table before he dared meet her gaze.

"Yeah?..." Karou asked as she sipped from her coffee mug; she met the blushing boy's eyes from over the rim of it.

"You know I really like you, right?"

"I think you've mentioned it before, once or twice." Karou wanted the ground to swallow her. She really didn't want to have to turn him down again, especially given the night she'd had with Warren. She wanted someone she shouldn't, and someone she wasn't remotely interested in wanted her; how painfully, cliché.

"Why won't you just give me a chance to show you I'm really not a douche?" The boy's brown eyes look earnest, and it took Karou aback. "I know we got off on the wrong foot because I said some shitty things, but I just said it to fit in, y'know? I've always thought you were really cute, and smart and interesting. You're awesome at drawing and cheering people up. You're so kind-hearted. Won't you just give me one chance? I'll take you on a date that'll knock your socks off; you won't regret it, I swear? How about it, huh?"

Ebon's face remained hopeful even though for a long moment, Karou just blinked at him, bewildered by his sincere request to take her out. She couldn't even imagine what another date would be like in a place like the Compound; surely they'd covered all doing all the interesting things the first time around.

"Ebon…" Karou said his name as delicately as she could.

"It's cool. I get it."

"I'm just not looking for a relationship right now."

"No worries, it's all good. We're still friends, 'kay?" He stood from the table they were sat at, and although he'd briefly looked dejected, he seemed to have picked himself up quickly and smiled over at her chipper and carefree.

"Yeah. Alright." She smiled back, trying to be as apologetic as possible, despite feeling relieved that he'd accepted her rejection so well and that she wouldn't have to feel guilty for having made him miserable. Slouching back onto the pew-like bench she sat upon, Karou let go of a relieved sigh. Thank God that's over with.

"Sorry if I don't give up on you so easy, though, Karou." With that, he waved goodbye and walked away.

She tensed up again... Or maybe not. Ugh, the sooner I leave here, the better.

With the afternoon waning, she'd remained in the tavern and now sat sipping at another mug of creamy coffee and drawing. She rested her sketchbook on her thighs with her feet up on the bench. For a while, she'd sat just thinking about what to draw. Inspiration appeared eventually; she found her victims and began scribbling down the image of a group of men who sat talking over a round of beers. Because she didn't know them per se, she was trying not to stare in their direction for too long at a time, but what she couldn't tune out of was their conversation.

Through the course of their chit-chat, she learned that people had started to trickle away from the Compound to go and live in isolated racial groups. For example, one of the elfish men was considering leaving for an elven enclave near Spain's Mythical Capitol, Isadora. He said he'd feel safer there, seeing as the attacks on the north wall were getting more frequent.

Growing increasing alarmed by what she heard, Karou had grown distracted from her drawing, and it was no longer relaxing her.

Awful things always have a nasty habit of coming in three's. First last night, then Ebon, and now this? Feeling uneasy, Karou had millions of new questions buzzing around her head. Before she knew it, she'd downed the rest of her coffee, packed up her pencils and was marching off back to the unit.

"Warren?!" Karou yelled as soon as she was through the front door. Throwing her sketchbook down onto the couch and kicking off her shoes, she stomped further inside to find him. He had some serious questions to answer.

First, she noticed that he wasn't in the living room anymore; she would've seen him as soon as she entered if he had been. So, she checked the kitchen, bathroom, and his bedroom too. He must've gone to work then. Karou thought. Just as she wandered back down the hall from his bedroom, heading towards his office to disturb his work, she saw him poking his head out of the door. Before she could say his name to alert him to her location, he'd spotted her and beckoned her over to him. She could see he had his cell phone pressed to his ear. Perhaps he'd dodged a scolding, so it was good for him that he was otherwise engaged – Karou's manners wouldn't allow her to interrupt him if someone else was listening.

Like a raging bull, she'd marched back to the unit ready for a fight, but now she stood in his office patiently waiting for him to finish his phone call. She had some time to calm down, and fortunately, her attention was distracted from her questions. Apparently, Warren was fluent in French! Is there anything he can't do? She thought to herself.

Right now was only the fourth time she'd ever entered his private workspace, and as she stood waiting before his desk, she had no idea what to do with her hands. She was trying not to stare at him while he was on the phone so as not to intrude even if she had no idea what he was saying. It didn't take him many minutes to tie up his business, and once he had said his polite, professional goodbyes, he scribbled something down into his planner.

"Sorry about that... I wasn't planning on working today, but I had to take that call." Warren said to excuse himself.

"You speak French?" Karou found herself asking before anything else came to mind.

"Uh-huh, yeah. I lived in Paris when I was sired, and since then, I've lived there for long periods." Warren answered, half distracted by closing down his laptop. Once he was done with that, he stood up from his desk chair as if to leave the room. He wasn't dressed for work and wore a casual pair of black, slim-fitting jeans and a thin cheesecloth, collarless button-down in a light grey colour that set off his eyes.

Why do I always find myself admiring you? Karou thought privately. Lately, she could keep most of her thoughts to herself and could choose what Warren had access to. She was glad of that now because she was disgruntled to have been ogling him again. While she still felt drawn to him, she felt no amount of forgiveness towards him for the evening before, though her logical side told her they'd been right to abstain. Getting entangled with him sexually now that her time to leave for Enoch was getting closer and closer wasn't the best idea. But still, when he rounded the desk and perched himself on its ledge, with his hands grasping either side of his hips, face to face with her, a fantasy ran wild in her mind! How exhilarating it would've been to tear open that shirt and have her way with him on top of his desk. Ruining how regimentally it was set out in a moment of passion was thrilling.

"Karou, did you want to say something to me?" Warren asked.

"I actually came in with the urge to start an argument..." She admitted, snapping out of her daydreaming. "But I've calmed down a little bit now. I uh- overheard a conversation in the tavern. Why didn't you tell me that people are starting to leave the Compound?"

"Because when you came back from Blue Ash, I didn't think it was a good idea to fill your head with other people's nonsense. I didn't want you to feel unsafe here like you did there. That was the only reason you wanted to come home, right?"

"If I hadn't come back when I did, I'm not sure I wanna' think about what Roman would've done to me by now... But how you want me to feel doesn't matter. The men in the tavern said that people keep attacking the north wall. How did I not know about this? It isn't safe here, is it? It is just another lie. You're lying to me again!" Karou was obviously upset. Although she wasn't raising her voice just yet, she didn't feel like backing down.

Warren just sighed. For now, he said nothing to explain and went to go rummage through the second draw of a tall filing cabinet. He took out a wedge of paperwork and passed it to her; the numerous sections were tabbed stating which wall and which security tower they pertained to. "They're the daily security and patrol reports."

"What am I supposed to do, read through all of these?"

"I have. It is one of my responsibilities as the Compounds Overseer. I can assure you that this Compound is still within the parameters of 'safe'. There has only ever been one mortal attack, and it was dealt with effectively. There haven't been any security breaches; no one has gotten within ten feet of the wall. There have been sensor alerts, but they've also been dealt with effectively-"

"What do you mean by 'dealt with effectively'?" Karou stared down at the papers in her hand briefly and then discarded the pile onto the edge of Warren's desk.

"I mean that in since 2008, a total of sixty-four trespassers have been executed whilst trying to gain access to the Compound. Sixty-three mortals and one vampiric male who was shot in error. Fifty-nine of those mortal deaths occurred during the most recent attack which you know about."

"I guess that the casualties haven't been that great in number then." She mumbled as she looked to her feet. Now she could see that perhaps people were over-reacting. "Why aren't you stopping people from leaving? What if this turns into hysteria? And... You said one vampire died; I thought vampire's don't die if they're shot?"

"They do if you shoot them in the head." Warren didn't look at her when he said this. "As I said, it was an error that I paid for. If only he'd complied with the guard's requests, then I wouldn't have cleared the shot. He learned the hard way that being a pureblood doesn't always get you what you want." He cleared his throat and met her eyes again.

"How did you pay for the mistake?" She had to ask...

"Roman requested an audience with me in Blue Ash, and the Davikov Elders had the lower-ranking members of the Black Winter gave me a good 'telling off' the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, this particular pureblood was of importance to them. Surprise, surprise." Warren rolled his eyes.

From his comment, she gathered that he'd had a medieval-style beating as punishment for his crimes, but she didn't follow the comment about purebloods or what the Davikov had to do with the Compound. "What's the deal with purebloods, and why are the Davikov involved in the Compound?"

"When you first got here, I told you the Compound is endorsed by the IVG, uh, the International Vampiric Government. The Davikov Coven and the IVG are one in the same organisation, as perverse as that is, they make all the big decisions for the vampiric race-"

"Why is that perverse?"

"Because they think that purebloods are more valuable than sired vampires - a view which I, as well as the majority of the vampiric community, find archaic and bigoted. Why should someone born with our virus be valued more highly than someone who contracted it via siring? For instance, do you think your own life is less important than Magnus'? The IVG does. Your races Government do. It gets worse though, they also think that any vampiric life, sired or born, is more important than any other Mythical life, and on top of that, any Mythical life is more important than a mortal life, unless you are lycan of course, then you're the bottom rung… Ugh, and I still work for the bastards..."

"If vampiric life matters so much more than anyone else's, why do they shelter all the people here that aren't vampiric?"

"Because they don't know about the others... That's why no one other than Magnus ever visits, together we uh- fiddle with the figures so that Roman and his Elders are none-the-wiser."

"Not that I like Roman, but why am I not surprised that you're lying to him?" Karou rolled her pretty blue eyes and folded her arms across her chest in disapproval.

"Probably because you've already figured out that there aren't many aspects of my life that I'm not willing to lie about... I was once just a lawyer, Karou; I'm professional when it comes to bending the truth." Warren said before he stood from his desk and exited his office.

"That's probably why it has always felt so real then..." Karou muttered bitterly.

As he was halfway through the door, he heard her comment and bristled. "And so, we're back to the usual axe you have to grind..." Warren huffed. "I should've known you'd find your way back to that again…"

"Well, excuse me for feeling led on, and a little bit put out. I'm surprised you even noticed how I feel; you don't exactly have an affinity for feeling." Karou snapped as she followed him into the unit's main living space.

"You could at least put some effort into your insults."

"Was that a little too obvious a point? Seeing that all your flaws are so blatant, I'm spoiled for choice over what to mention!"

Warren scoffed; he treated her comment with the contempt it deserved. "You feel led on? The last I checked, Karou, you are the one making all the conditions on my sex life. I can't sleep with Ellis. I can't sleep with Lilli and I can't have you anymore either! And even when I could have you, you decided I couldn't kiss you, even though I've kissed you before, numerous times. Your conditions are ridiculous! You gave me everything only to slowly take it away until I'm left with nothing."

"Yes, you kissed me. Yes, I gave you everything, back when I was stupid enough to believe I could change you. Now I know that that's never going to happen. All that I gave you I can never win back, and God, I gave you so much!"

"I never insinuated that I'd change Karou. I'm ten Goddamn decades old. I'm pretty fucking set in my ways!" Now they were yelling at each other, and their hands had become animated in their back and forth.

"You told me I was different! I hoped okay! I hoped you'd-"

"That I'd what? That I'd love you?" Warren interrupted. "We've been over this!" Then, growling into the air, he looked away from her. He turned around, unable to face her while he had a minor meltdown. He raked his fingers back through his hair in an attempt to calm down, but it was impossible at this point. You have no idea how much I wish I didn't. He thought helplessly to himself. By now, he'd tried to retreat a few times and stood in the space between the front door and the sofa, pacing as he set his clasped hands atop his head.

"What is so wrong with me? Haven't I given you enough? Haven't I been kind enough or patient enough? Am I not pretty enough?"

"How can you even ask me that, Karou!?" He turned to her and growled. She'd come right up to his side, and when he turned, he yelled in her face with his hands raised aloft, shaking as he begged the question.

"Because I need a reason why you don't love me when I can't get you out of my head? I hurt so much inside, in places I didnt know I could feel anything, and its all because of you." Karou screamed back, the water in her eyes threatening to spill as tears.

Warren grasped her upper arms and thrust her back against the bookcase to his side. Pinning her there, he glowered into her face. "I don't have a reason because I do, but how could I possibly make you believe me after all that I've done to hurt you?"

Karou yelped when her wings and back collided with the hardwood of the bookcase; she felt a crack, but Warren mistook the pained look on her face to be in reaction to what he'd said - half of it was once she'd registered what he'd actually said to her. "It's hurting me." She whimpered.

"You think you're the only one in pain? I've been in agony over you for months. You teased and manipulated me before I even touched you. I can't get you off of my mind. I can't keep my eyes and hands off you. I can't sleep. I can't quench my thirst anymore. I only ever thirst for you. You've poisoned me! Everything about my existence is different because of you, and I can't even hate you for it. I want you so badly! But I know you won't have a happy life with me, Karou, because I know who and what I am. I've tried to save you from that, to protect you, but you're so persistent about getting close to me." Warren paused to sigh. "You have to go to Enoch. You need to go, but I dont know how I'm supposed to let you go." He loosened his grip on her upper arms and slid his hands down to hold onto her wrists. But as soon as he relieved some of the pressure, Karou winched. He found the reaction odd, but she quickly explained.

She reached to put her hands on his shoulders; she wanted to touch him tenderly in response to what he'd said, but finally, the tears in her eyes fell. For two reasons, what he'd admitted moved her but mainly because the pain she now felt in her wing was excruciating. For now, she couldn't string her words together, so she hung her head to press her forehead into Warren's chest. Despite the argument, whatever moment they'd been having was ruined when she said: "Warren... I... I think my wing's broken."

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