A changed man

There was nothing like opening your eyes and seeing yourself lying on your bed, staring at the familiar ceiling above you. The softness of the bed was so welcoming Aaliyah wished she never had to get up from it.

She was back to the mansion, sound and safe.

The last thing she remembered was getting picked up by Alastair, and she remained in her position wondering whether all that was a dream. There was a wondrous look in her blue eyes, seeking for the truth.

Had all that been a dream?

Then, she noticed a large body right next to hers. Slowly, she faced him to stare at his face. As she did, pain rocked her body and she winced softly. But once she locked eyes with him, she could only feel his piercing gaze.

It was hard to believe, but he was truly lying on the same bed next to her...and it was still bright outside. She felt so small next to him, and even though this might turn out to be a dream and she would wake up eventually, she wanted it to last.

Why was he lying next to her?!

"How are you feeling?"

He still had that careless look on his face, and if she was still sleepy then his deep voice that just woken her up completely.

Opening her mouth to speak, nothing came out due to how dry her throat became and her throat made a cracking sound instead.

The way he flew out of the bed startled her, and she gripped the sheets only to find him pouring a cup of water from a jug she hadn't seen earlier. He moved so fast like he was panicking or something, and yet his movements were still so controlled and flawless.

"Let me help you," He said, giving her no chance to fight back as he swept his arm around her waist and gently pulled her up till she was in a sitting position. He kept his hand on her waist as support she could lean into and brought the cup of water to her lips.

Aaliyah had no words. He had just rendered her speechless.

"Open up, Little Siren," He urged softly, nodding his head at her a little before she did as she was told as if she had been bewitched or something. He gave her the water as if he was giving a child, and she took it in small gulps down her throat.

When she was done, he laid her back on the bed and covered her with the sheets properly.

"Alastair...?" Aaliyah forced out, just to make sure it was him and he hadn't been possessed or something.

He gazed at her, stealing her breath like he always does, "Yes, Little Siren?"

"No...," She shook her head, ignoring the pain that came with it, "What have you done with Alastair?!"

"Little Siren," He suddenly cupped her face, and she froze. His touch, as always ignited something so fierce within her that she couldn't put it into words. There was no denying this strange electric feeling that only came from being with him, "You're ok now. You're in safe hands,"

Yes, this was Alastair. Just that, his attitude toward her has changed, but why? What happened to that rude, arrogant, and scary side of his? No actually, she could still feel the strength of his aura raising hairs on her skin.

"Why...?" She said again, "Why are you so...,"

"Because you're my wife, and it's my responsibility to take care of you,"

That made no sense at all, "But you...,"

"Forgive me for being so cold and mean to you," He replied, caressing her face gently. It made her want to slip more into the coziness that came with his touch, "It took me a while, but it's finally settled within me that I married you and I am now responsible for you, wife,"

Calling her 'wife' made her stomach summersault, and she had to hold back a crazy scream that had rushed up her throat. To be honest, she didn't know whether it was excitement or she was frightened, but nevertheless, something kept bugging her about this change in his attitude.

Was it that during her absence he had realized how important she was to him? It still made no sense. She has never been important to him.

"Little Siren, I'm going to take care of you. If there's anything you need at all, let me know immediately and I'll tend to it,"

God, this was so new to her. It didn't even sound sweet to her ears, and yet she was still pulled to every word that left his tongue...and drowning in those beautiful eyes of his. It was so hard to look away.

"Alright, thank you," She replied, even though she had so many questions. She had thought the forest had been too much to bear with the infinite possibilities of getting killed out of nowhere, but this right here... Alastair being all nice and sweet takes the whole cake.

Who on earth would have thought...!

Aaliyah was still boiling with disbelief.

She watched him step into the bathroom, and after a few minutes, he walked out again.

"I've prepared a bath for you. It contains herbs to help with your wounds and make you feel much more better. Would you like to have it?"

Aaliyah's jaw almost hit the ground. Could this be heaven and maybe an Angel had taken the form of Alastair? Her head was about to blow seeing him being like this to her.

"Can I?" She blurted.

"Of course,"

Before she could move, he had come over and picked up her into his arms like he did last time. Aaliyah mentally zipped her mouth shut, trying her hardest to maintain her cool and not lean in to sniff him like a needy woman. The man's scent was highly intoxicating!

As soon as they walked into a bathroom, Aaliyah stiffened like a corpse.

"You can drop me now," her lips were pursed, her cheeks a little red.

"If I drop you, you might be able to ensure the pain but you won't be able to walk with your leg so severely burnt. I'll keep carrying you around till you're healed,"

Her heart was about to go into a frenzy.

"How am I supposed to take off my clothes and have my bath if you're always carrying me?"

He paused, staring down at her as if she had just asked a ridiculous question, "You should already know the answer to that question... sweetheart,"

Aaliyah gulped like a fool, her cool slipping away from her. Something about him was just so magnetic and she could already feel all common sense floating away from her the longer she was with him. Calling her sweetheart had messed her head up, and now she couldn't even say a word back.

It was when his fingers started to fumble with the hem of her dress that it actually hit her that he was about to take off her clothes.

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