56

‘My blood?’ Layla blinked as her heart rate sped up. ‘He wants my blood?! Why mine?! Is it because of me that he was reacting this way to the moon? Does it have something to do with the fact that he’s supposed to be my protector?’

“I wasn’t supposed to say that. What’s wrong with me?” Alaric groaned, cringing at his slip-up as he ran his hand through his hair. “Forget what I just said. It was—”

“You can take my blood.” She whispered. His entire body turned rigid, just like the air around them. It was like the world around them had frozen in time.

“Don’t be silly, Layla.” He scolded; his voice was gruff but strained, like he was restricting himself from doing what he wanted.

‘He really wants my blood, but he’s stopping himself.’ She thought, noticing his fingers digging into the side of the desk, denting and cracking the poor wood.

“I don’t mind, Alaric. You can— I want you to take my blood.” She said, taking slow steps towards him as she rolled up her sleeves.

Alaric didn’t move from