Khloe's POV:
When I woke up, there were only two things that first registered in my mind: that it was too early for me to be awake, and that Nico was moving to get out of the bed.
And apparently part of my brain decided that the latter wasn't ok and decided to quickly wrap my arms around his arm before the reasonable part of my brain could fully wake up.
He stopped moving once I did, which surprised me enough to make me open my eyes a little bit.
The first thing that I noticed was the small amount of light visible through the curtains on the window, showing the sun was just barely beginning to rise.
My groggy eyes then shifted up to Nico. He was just sitting on
Khloe's POV:I looked out at the extensive line that held everyone in this city that was both old enough and healthy enough to give their blood.Whether they were willing or not wasn't really their choice.If it was then I doubt anyone would be here.This collection wasn't like the typical blood donation where a doctor gets the blood from your elbow. No, the vampires running the operation got the blood from the person's neck with a larger than usual needle so the process wouldn't take that long. Something about the oxygenated blood that traveled to the brain peeked the vampires liking enough for them to only want to take from that spot.I let out a quiet sigh, crossing my arms against my body in an effort to feel a bit warmer.
Khloe's POV:The blood collection was slowly coming to an end, yet it couldn't seem to come fast enough.I never remembered the collection ever taking this long, then again I guess I've never had to stay the whole time.I held my arms against my stomach as it grumbled in hunger.Although Nico and Xander received a lunch, us pets weren't as lucky. The small portion Nico was able to give me wasn't nearly enough to tide me over.And poor Doe hasn't had anything.Hungry and tired, I leaned back against Nico's chest, noticing how his grip tightened on me for a moment as I did.Waking up as early as I did this morning was never easy for me.
Nico's POV:The middle-aged vendor sent me occasional glances as Khloe looked through the assortment of pastries through the glass case.I just stood silently by the cash register, waiting for her to decide what she wanted.I had planned on visiting the pharmacy after this to restock on certain items once we were done here.However, it seemed like Khloe was having difficulty deciding what she actually wanted.If she wanted to go here out of all the places in this city then I guess it's understandable for her to take some time to decide exactly what she wanted.Seeing that she would be looking for quite a few more mi
Khloe's POV:I let out a sigh of relief as we entered back into Nico's warm room.The rest of the blood collection went by quickly and luckily without any other sort of incident.Although Nico had been quieter than usual ever since the incident with Samuel happened.I wasn't really too sure why, but I could tell that he wasn't mad at me about anything so that eased any major worry that I had about the subject.Still, the silence was off-putting and caused me to mirror it ever since it began.I slowly made my way over to the foot of the bed as Nico headed straight for the closet.
Khloe's POV:I sat at Nico's desk, pencil in hand as I sketched... nothing in particular...Nico was gone. Today was his last busy day before he got a long break from work, and today seemed to be an insanely busy one.He had left soon after breakfast and he had said that he wasn't sure when he'd be back.Well, it was long after lunch and he still wasn't back.I sighed, plopping my head down onto the desk as my pencil fell against the paper.I didn't even bother to move the hair that fell in front of my face as I did.It felt like it was too quiet in this room. Too quiet and too empty.Which was weird be
Nico's POV:The halls of the castle were silent and empty, as they should be at this time of the night.That dreaded meeting went on way too long as they usually did, leaving me tired and in a bad mood.Luckily it was the last one for a while, finally giving me the ability to tend to other things in my life.I paused once I reached my door, wondering if Khloe was asleep in there.She better be, it would be unhealthy for her if she wasn't.I know that she has difficulty sleeping without me, but maybe the safety of my room was enough to get her to sleep.Being as late as it was, maybe exhaustion alone would have put her to sleep.
Nico's POV:My first day of not having to do anything had gone well so far.For the first time in a while, I felt stress-free and actually had the capability to relax.I leaned further back against the headboard, stretching out my back.It was refreshing.Hopefully I'll never have to be the one in charge of that again. Maybe they'll make Xander do it next time.I smiled a bit, shifting the toothpick from breakfast around my mouth with my tongue.Doubtful, but that would be fun to watch.I turned my head towards the bathroom door as Khloe exited out of it.Her hair wa
Nico's POV:Khloe's mood hasn't changed for a couple of days.She still just been ridiculously quiet and avoidant.Normally I would just think that this was something that would just blow over, or that she would get over whatever was bothering her.But it was still evident, even more so than before.And I was becoming more and more worried about her.She wasn't even eating all of her food during any of the meals and would eat slowly as if she was forcing herself to. Not to mention that she was taking exceptionally long to fall asleep and stay asleep.I turned my chair so that I was facing her.She was sitting in
Khloe's POV:I woke up exactly where I should have, wrapped in Nico's arms.Well, I don't think Nico would consider this being wrapped in his arms.He was very upset last night that the wounds on my back prevented him from being able to hold me like he usually did, but he eventually settled with his hand on my lower back.I for one didn't care either way, as long as I was touching him in some way I was happy.I opened my eyes to scan the room, noticing that it was a lot darker than it usually was whenever I woke up.Nico's slow and steady breaths were the next thing that caught my attention.
Khloe's POV:Confusion filled my mind as I watched Nico leave the room in a flash.He said that he had found our out, so I guess he found a solution to our problem.I wondered what it could be as I tried to make the heat from Nico's kiss leave my face.I disregarded coming up with possibilities very soon, figuring that I would hear about it as soon as he comes back.With that thought process being disposed of in a matter of seconds, excitement and joy began to fill my mind again from the events that had happened only minutes before.The excitement that I had to hide while he was here so I didn't make a complete fool
Nico's POV:I didn't even try to suppress my huge breath of relief as I laid myself back against the bed."God it feels so good to finally have that off my chest," I admitted, stretching my hands above my head before laying on themIt was weird that I could actually feel a physical difference within myself like I was finally able to truly relax.I guess all the vampiric instincts that were screaming at me to take her had finally calmed down.Although they were very upset that I wasn't holding onto her right now.But it's probably for the best for both of us that I take some time to calm down after that whole thing l
Khloe's POV:His body stiffened as soon as I spoke.And to be honest, so did mine.This conversation had been on my mind ever since last night and I just wanted to hurry and get it over with.Get it over with and get some answers.My anticipation grew as Nico put his hands into his pockets."I did," he replied, he himself sounding nervous.My shoulders slumped a bit at his lack of a response, making my nerves even more on edge.It was like he was avoiding the questions at hand.
Nico's POV:I swallowed in my newly dry throat, exhaling an almost silent, nervous breath.Right... That topic.I knew that we were going to have to get to it eventually, but I didn't think that it was going to be this soon.Hell, there were a lot of things that had happened in the last twenty-four hours that I didn't think would happen.Yet despite all that, Khloe wanted to jump right into this.I searched her face, trying to see if I could find any hint as to how she felt about it, getting nothing but uncertainty.Sure, I kissed her, but in my defense, she defini
Khloe's POV:The world around me was calm as my consciousness came back to me.My body was warm and comfortable, a feeling that automatically told me that I was in Nico's bed.Memories of what had happened began to flash in my mind, forcing me to open my eyes, my heart skipping a beat at the thought that I had just passed out from the pain.What I saw, however, denied that thought.I was lying facing the bathroom, seeing Nico sitting in his desk chair.He was facing me, but he wasn't looking at me.Instead, he was hunched over, elbows set on his knees and his palms pressed against his forehead. His hair fell
Khloe's POV:It took another hit against my back before I let out an agonizing cry, my head automatically lowering to the floor in submission."I can't believe your nerve," Layla growled, landing another slash against my back, "For as long as Nicos kept you alive I thought you would have known better!"My tears ran thick and fast onto the floor as the cracking sound of the whip, and the occasional shredding of my shirt rang out repeatedly.My throat began to tighten enough to make me unable to scream effectively and left me quickly gasping for the air that suddenly seemed more limited."Nico doesn't need such a disobedient pet in his life," She began again, "An
Khloe's POV:I aimlessly wandered around the room, trying to think of something to do that would distract me for a short time before breakfast would arrive.Nico had hidden all of my art supplies in order to rid any suspicion, so I couldn't do that.I partially debated just laying in his bed, knowing that those pillows had the smell of him all over them.Although if I did that Layla would probably catch onto my scent and get upset.I honestly couldn't really do anything without risking me doing something that Layla wasn't going to like.And well, I was already so anxious from the past 24 hours that just doing nothin
Khloe's POV:I sat on the couch while Layla and Nico hurriedly got ready for breakfast, not having moved since I sat here last night.Last night... Where I had planned on just crying myself to sleep.But those plans switched around a lot faster than id care to think about.I didn't expect anything that happened last night.After what happened once Layla got here, I didn't expect anything at all.I didn't expect that Nico would try to comfort me, I didn't expect him to try to lay with me, and I didn't expect him to try to figure out why I was upset all while Layla was asleep.