AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Whatever she’d wanted to say died down as she darted behind me at the advancing thumps against the ground. Keia, however, stretched out her feathers and fluttered her wings in front of me.
Keleth approached us.
It had been a long time since I’d seen those scorching eyes and that majestic creature stalk its way towards me, his movements slow yet powerful.
I lowered myself to the ground as he approached, extending my hand out with my palm facing up in hope that I would be accepted. He came closer and sniffed, and I held my breath as those burning pits watched me. Then, he pressed his muzzle firmly against my palm and slowly blinked his eyes. I breathed out deeply, almost gasping for breath before a smile stretched my lips. I threw myself forward, hooking my arms behind his head and pulling him close.
“Thank you,” I murmured, still smiling.
He let out a short rumble, one that was welcoming and full of mercy, mercy because this creature could have pulled me apart, limb by limb, if he didn’t like me.
My companions, including quiet Vyrin, hopped over to Keleth. Keia was more comfortable since she’d known him longer. Vyrin, on the other hand, curiously picked on his dark fur, on his claws, and probably on his skin, judging from the way the panther snarled softly.
Turning away from them, I settled on the grass, facing the grounds and cliffs that were scattered away from this one. I’d never stopped and truly gazed at the scenery, but now, despite laying sideways on the ground with my knees close to me, I faintly glimpsed the other territories, the other homes.
The world of the Spiders was large, perhaps larger than my own, but that made sense. They were huge creatures, and they reproduced at a high rate.
And in this dark, spacious place, I was all alone.
At the first hushed sob, my companions and Keleth silenced, then I sensed them slowly retreating, giving me distance and privacy.
Tears trickled down the side of my face, and I shut my eyes tightly, the darkness I dragged myself into less frightening than the darkness of a land still unknown to me. The grass felt more like blades underneath me, cold and rugged, and I curled inwards further, sniffling and gasping quietly.
This was a land of monsters, of beasts and cold hostility, and I didn’t want a stranger sensing my weakness when my mate was away.
A warm weight touched my head.
I snapped my eyes open and stilled when I met familiar red ones. Relief, sadness, fear, and joy crashed into me as one, forming an odd-sounding sob. One of my hands uncurled and tentatively slithered to clutch at his other hand that was resting on the ground. Slowly, he tipped his hand over, opening his palm to me, and I slid my hand into his, fusing our fingers together so he could not leave.Wouldnotleave.
Eon moved closer, offering his body heat and the safety and comfort only he could give me now. His ruby eyes were warm, warm like they had always been whenever I was with him, and they gazed at me with a softness I’d nearly forgotten.
My longing and affection for him choked me. I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and plastering my body to his solid warmth. His hand on my head pulled me closer greedily, caging me in the safety of his warmth, his strong arms tight around me until my face was pressed into his neck, our bodies almost one as he caved his over mine. Eon buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply, his arms squeezing me to him as if he wanted to take me into his body and lock me there forever.
“Welcome home.”
And I melted into him with a bittersweet whine.
Because this washome.
Home was understanding and sweet and soft and warm. Home was secure and strong and gentle and protective. Home was where I belonged, and home was where I would always find my way back to, and home was all I had and all I needed.
Home was holding me with big, careful arms.
Eon allowed me to cry freely. He allowed me to dribble my sorrows and fears slowly, and he held mepatiently, his mere presence enough reassurance, but he’d used actions because that was what he knew. That was what his kind knew best. They were the best when it came to communicating through gestures and body language, and his had been tranquillising, lulling me to the last tear until all that was left was to breathe.
He pulled me closer, hand stroking my head with the lightest pressure as if he was holding the most fragile piece of glass, voice so quiet as if one loud sound could break me even further.
Home.
Closing my eyes, I held him with a grip that told him he could not go anywhere, that he would always stay with me just as I would always stay with him now, and that healsohad a home now. Not on his own, but with someone who wanted to give him everything. Someone who wanted to bring the stars directly where his feet stood even if it meant I would burn. But then I realised he didn’t need that. He didn’t need any stars becausehewas a star.
The sun.
He was the sun because he was so warm and dazzling, and his beauty was beyond blinding that often I found myself unable to even glance at him. And when he wasn’t around it was cold, so cold that my bones shivered and my skin stretched tight until I could not move. So cold that every breath felt like ice slicing my throat until he was finally within sight, until he was finally near me, and that was when I would truly breathe.
That was when I was truly alive.
“You… don’t hate me?”
