I feel a gentle touch on my hand and glance down to see the little girl with the teddy bear trying to reach me. Her small fingers brush mine, and I realise she must have sensed my nerves growing more haywire by the second.
"Thank you," I whisper with a soft smile, crouching down to reach her eye level and interlocking our hands.
She offers me her own smile, letting her blonde hair fall over her face as she shyly glances down.
Tasia mutters something under her breath, and before I can even look up, she rushes to the front door while yelling over her shoulder, "I'll be right back!"
Her words catch me off guard, and before I can even process what happened, she is already out of sight.
Too afraid to look out the window again, I stay in my spot on the ground and lean back against the wall.
I slightly adjust my posture to let the little girl take a seat beside me. She makes herself comfortable by leaning into my side, so I remove my hand interlocked with hers and pull her into a lax side hug.
The atmosphere feels calm despite the loud children not having a care in the world, unaware of the danger outside the house.
But that all comes to a halt when the house's front door bursts open. The loud bang makes all the children fall silent while I jump to my feet, ready for the worst.
Xavion's panicked face enters my vision and I immediately calm down. A smile slips on my face as I step forward to reassure him that I'm okay. I can see he needs it, he needs to hold me to calm himself down, so I let him.
He closes the distance in a heartbeat and pulls me into a crushing bear hug, lifting me slightly off the ground. My arms are pinned between us, so I can't hug him back, but I don't care.
"It's okay. I'm okay," I whisper, hoping he can hear my muffled voice. I snuggle my head deeper into his shoulder as I can't do anything else in my predicament.
A few seconds pass by and the giggles of the children make me realise we are still in front of all of them.
"Xavion?" I whisper, lifting my head a little to reach his ear.
"Mm?" is his only response and I know for a fact this must be a werewolf thing. Not an ounce worried about their surroundings.
"How about we go back to your house, or the pack house as you call it," I try to reason with him, hoping we can move away from all the children's curious eyes.
"She's right," Tasia's voice catches me off guard. I try to look for her over Xavion's shoulder but without much success.
One moment I'm still being squeezed to death and the next I'm in the air. Xavion carries me bridal style out of the house, leaving Tasia and the children behind.
"Hey, I can walk on my own," I playfully glare at him and give him a small nudge. That doesn't affect him at all as he continues walking with determination.
"I know," he answers and I give up, letting myself be carried to the pack house.
In public much less.
So in order to hide my shame, I bury my face into Xavion's shoulder.
For a second, it seems like he is slowing down, and I'm about to look up to see what's going on when I hear Royce calling out to Xavion.
"Alpha, what- My apologies, go right ahead," his voice fades as Xavion doesn't stop. It takes me a good second to realise that Royce only spoke halfway before changing his words. Like Xavion said something.
This makes me slightly pull back and glance up to see Xavion's expression.
He immediately notices, switching from a scowl to a softer gaze. "Telepathy," he whispers, a barely noticeable smile playing in the corner of his lips.
"Oh," I react out loud, thinking about the time he explained these things to me.
I don't hear his chuckle, but the rumbling in his chest tells me he finds my predicament amusing.
He falls quiet again as his feet hit the wood of the steps, and he carries me directly into the house and on the way to his room. The two or three people wandering around inside don't dare ask any questions as they stare at us with curiosity.
Then, just as we reach the door, Xavion leans in close.
"I'm sorry, Eliah," ge growls lowly in my ear and I don't have time to think about his voice because of his apology.
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but before I can speak, Xavion twists his body to push open the bedroom doors with his back. The gesture makes me think that's what he's apologising for, carrying me in like some fragile thing.
He strides straight to the bed, its maroon sheets catching the low light. From this angle, I don't see much, but the dim lighting and deep red accents aren't what I expected his room to look like.
"I really am sorry," he apologises again, and the repetition throws me into a turmoil of confusion.
"Talk to me," I finally get out as he ever so gently lays me down on the bed. His touch doesn't leave me as he follows me closely to lie down.
"I just want to stay like this for a while," he grumbles into my side, shifting his body so he can cling to me with his arms wrapped around my stomach.
"That's okay. Take your time," I whisper with a reassuring smile, even though Xavion can't see anything due to his face being buried in my stomach just above his arms.
Not really understanding what is going on, I decide to play along for the time being so he can calm down before I bombard him with questions. I lift my arm and my hand grazes Xavion's dark hair, the feeling it gives me is so real that I can't help but dig my fingers deeper into his smooth locks.
Xavion's chest starts rumbling like a purr and I know he is also feeling the connection between us growing more secure by the second.
The bond.