thegirlwiththebuffytattoo:
Coming home at the break down dawn wasn’t a foreign occurrence, but the events of tonight struck a chord in her that rattled her to the core. She’d gotten into a tussle with another nameless mark, the tables turning rather quickly as the usual fight ensued. The threat of silver was very real, so much so that even this goon has caught on to the wolf’s weakness. The gun aimed squarely at her chest, she was defenseless, out of options—yet the only thought that ran through her panicked mind was Shay. She loved her, more than anything on the dreadful earth…but who would be there to protect her when the wolf was gone? Someone else would take her place, but even Arcadia knew the feelings wouldn’t be the same. Shay was her soulmate, the one, and even the finality of death couldn’t change those feelings. If it weren’t for the impending sunrise, the wolf would have been lying face down in a pool of her own blood, poisoned by the kiss of death straight to the heart. Weakening the vampire, and sending him loose on foot, the beast took hold, chasing after him and sending him to an early grave—making sure to dispose of the silver bullets into the sewer grate.
Quietly entering the apartment, the wolf crept to the bedroom, face stoic and un-moving as she knelt down beside the bed Shay occupied. Her lips drew into a tight line as she brought her knuckles up to brush against the soft skin of the blonde’s cheek, leaning in to kiss her forehead ever so gently. The intent was to rouse her slowly, bringing her pointer finger up to slowly trail down along the bridge of Shay’s nose until sleepy eyes parted, and she couldn’t hold her resolve any longer. Before Shay could speak, the wolf took the tiny hand into her own, kissing the palm before bringing it to rest against her chest, heart pounding, “I need—I need to tell you something, something you won’t like but you need to hear it anyway,” She paused, drawing in a breath to compose herself as the threat of tears stung her eyes, “I almost died tonight. Not in some metaphoric way, but in the six-feet under, harsh light of day way. And the entire time he had the gun pointed at me, all I could think about was you. How I’d never hear you laugh, or cry, or say my name just as you’re waking up…or see the way you smile, breathe your intoxicating scent…feel the unquenchable fire in the pit of my stomach when you touch me. I’ve never felt such intense fear until that moment…and I never want to experience something like that again because I love you more than my own life. You’re the sun, the moon, the stars…My everything. I want you to run away with me, get out of this hell hole.. I don’t want to know what life would be like without you.”
it’s not uncommon for her to wake up to arcadia’s voice, to be roused
from a perfectly restful night’s sleep by her honeyed tones and the soft
touch of her hands against skin that had been alone all night. but it’s
different this time, arcadia’s touch is lingering, and shay can tell before
she even opens her eyes that something is wrong. and then her hand is
pressed to arcadia’s chest, and she can feel the thump-thump of her
heart, and the speed at which the muscle pumps. she’s already braced
herself by the time the words hit her, but that still doesn’t prepare her
for the blow that is even considering what her life would be like without
arcadia there.
“okay.” she says it without hesitation, her fingers curling into a ball
against the wolf’s chest. the sleep is still heavy on her eyes and her voice
is still roughened from hours of not using it. she’s wanted to get away for
months now, to wipe her life here and start again, with no ties to the
military at all. but she always knew that this was arcadia’s home, and never
thought about bringing it up. “travel with me. we’ll go anywhere, everywhere.
but i’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
