Chapter 23: Fragile Situations

Marien's POV

When I saw those horrible brothers, my blood pressure dropped. I had wanted to tell Sirius everything I felt for him, but they showed up and ruined everything.

Sirius went on the attack as well. I desperately searched for something in my backpack to defend myself poorly or hit any of the two evolved who tried to assassinate my man.

Sirius punched hard one of them, knocking him to the ground and making him swallow sand. The other had wanted to come on him, but he dodged effectively and kicked him. The first attacker was already on his feet and caught him to bite his arm. Sirius threw him against the sand and ran into the city's ruins. The men followed him.

They intended to fulfill their deal since they didn't even turn to see me. The evolved people took their fights seriously. I followed them, too, without hesitation for a second.

Sirius used an old streetlight to spin and fall to the man already close to him. The other passed by his brother and continued to pursue him. I quickly looked for something to help, but Sirius ripped an old car's door and hit the man. He fell a few feet and stood with difficulty, shaking his head, obviously stunned.

The other EH hit Sirius, grabbed him by his shirt, and beat him against the car. I panicked. The rusted car dented deeper and deeper with each hit. I shuddered. I picked up an old twisted iron, and my hand was shaking.

The brother grabbed a piece of glass and approached Sirius.

"Watch out!" I warned him.

Sirius managed to kick the one who had him hitting the car and jumped right away, dodging the other man who had tried to cut his abdomen with the glass. The EH growled at him, and Sirius responded with a short, aggressive snarl of warning.

"What is it, Antares?" Sirius questioned in a mocking way. "Am I still too fast for you?"

So, Antares was the oldest and slightly more robust than the other.

"Shut up, you insolent boy. I always wanted to kill you, so don't be difficult," Antares replied.

His brother Apus stayed a couple of feet away, fully alert. The two brothers lunged for the attack again, hitting and biting each other while growling furiously. I had to decide what to do, and fast!

Sirius crashed into another old car near me, and I screamed, scared, running away. The two brothers were almost on him again, so he rolled onto his back, dodging the first blow from Apus, and rammed Antares, throwing him a few feet away. This gave Apus time to jump and catch him from behind, but Sirius spun around faster and hit him.

I was a nervous wreck, trying to hold the iron with both hands without shaking, afraid to use it and make things worse instead of helping. Antares bit Sirius' forearm before he managed to hit Apus one more time. Sirius hit him to escape, but soon Apus lunged at him, biting him on the ribs. He let out a short cry of pain and kicked Antares, trying to escape Apus's bite. Antares reappeared swiftly in front of him and hit him with the car's door, knocking him to the ground hard. I shuddered.

Antares hit him again with the door on his back, slamming him to the ground and preventing him from standing up. I opened my mouth in horror as Antares kept hitting my Sirius; he tried to hold back the screams, but the man was striking him so hard that it took his breath away. And also, to me.

I exploded, "ENOUGH!" I screamed desperately and ran, preparing the metal piece. "STOP IT, YOU BEAST! STOP!"

I wanted to hit him, but with a single slap, the man threw me to the side. I hit the ground hard, and the pain shot up. I felt helpless, which was one of the worst feelings. Sirius reacted like a bullet, grabbed his attacker by the neck, and brought him almost to his knees, letting out a savage growl.

"How dare you?!" he raged as he squeezed his throat with his forearm.

The man struggled desperately, trying to stand up or escape his grip. Apus went on the attack before his brother finished choking. Sirius endured his bite and didn't let go of Antares, who had his claws embedded in his forearms, trying to rip his skin to free himself.

"Idiot," Antares said with great difficulty, "hit him." His voice almost didn't come out when he finished the word.

Sirius let out a short, savage roar of fury as he tightened his grip on his neck. Apus grabbed the door and hit him, managing to free Antares, but the man fell and didn't move anymore. I was shocked. I felt like I was shaking and tried to stand up.

Apus looked surprised and frightened at his brother lying on the ground, looked at Sirius, and snarled at him. Sirius was bleeding from the bites, the claw wounds, and the glass pieces on his back, but he was still ready to fight.

The man went on the attack, and I couldn't longer bear the anguish. He tried to punch him twice, but Sirius dodged as fast as usual and returned a heavy blow. Apus staggered to the side and spat blood. He turned to growl at Sirius, and I saw he was missing a fang. My husband smiled sinisterly, and Apus lunged again to attack him.

I had to resist the urge to want to bite my nails. These situations would always happen, in which his life would be at risk. And the worst thing was that I could not bear to see him fight, bleed, and scream in pain. I couldn't!

Apus grabbed his neck, but he dealt a blow as fast as ever, freeing himself. I could dream of a world in which there were no more fights, neither between humans nor evolved, and that we could live in peace, but maybe that day wouldn't come, not if Sirius was snatched from me one day...

Fury dominated Apus. He no longer seemed to calculate his movements well. Now, he really looked like a wild animal. Sirius gave him a strong scratch, throwing him to the ground. Apus crouched and lunged at him, and he used the force with which he came to throw him against the old car.

The sound was thunderous, and the few remaining windows smashed into pieces. Apus got up quickly, but Sirius grabbed the car door again and knocked him out, finally making him fall to the ground unconscious.

I ran to him; he was breathing hard. I was relieved that he had finally beaten them both.

"Sirius..."

"Don't do that again," he ordered, turning to look at me seriously, freezing me for a few seconds with those cold, feline eyes.

"What? I can't bear to see you get hurt!"

"Do you have any idea how fragile you are?"

I felt offended.

"I try to be strong, don't say that."

"You know what I mean. He could have killed you in a second."

"But he didn't, and I helped you!"

"I had it under control," he insisted, approaching to check my arm, which I was holding because of the pain from the blow.

"Not from my point of view!" I was still shaking, and he noticed it.

"Hey..." He looked back into my eyes with great concern. "It's okay." He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry that you had to go through this, but I'm relieved that he didn't hurt you, and we must go now, or they'll wake up."

"What are you saying? You are injured."

"I'm fine."

He went to get my backpack, and I reacted; I had already forgotten about its existence again. I was worried. He was still bleeding.

"You must rest. You cannot continue like this," I asked him.

He picked up the backpack from the sand and put it on his back.

"We must continue."

"Don't be stubborn, Sirius!" I complained.

He looked at me, surprised, but after a few seconds, he smiled and continued walking without paying more attention to me. I got frustrated.

"Okay, if that's how you want to run our relationship, and since you like to bleed out so much, we'll walk until it's time to eat, and you'll let me check you out, okay? If not, you will force me to sedate you."

He turned around.

"What?" He smiled. "Sedate me?"

"That's right. I have a sedative," I lied, feeling that I would finally convince him.

"And where is it?"

Oh no. If I told him it was in the backpack, he would know that I would never be able to catch him to get it.

"I have it hidden in my shoe. So, you will have to accept."

"Not if I take it off you first," he challenged with amusement.

"I would get mad at you. I wouldn't speak to you again until we reached the capital, and you would be alone there, okay?" I assured him in the most threatening tone I could.

That option made him ponder. He seemed frightened and huffed in frustration.

"Fine, sorry. I'll let you heal me after lunch. It's just that we really should go."

"I know, I know." I kept walking to catch up with him.

He looked at me incredulously.

"So, why are you making us delay if you know it?"

"Because you don't want to listen to me, and if we're going to do this, you really must listen to me."

"Of course, I listen to you."

"No, we're already arguing!"

"No, we are not," he insisted again incredulously.

I wanted to refute it, but I couldn't help laughing.

"I still wonder why I fell in love with you..." I pretended to regret rubbing my forehead with my fingers.

"Love? I've heard that word before," he muttered to himself.

I sighed.

***

After around one hour or a little more, he stopped, took off the backpack with some pain, and put it on the ground. I was alarmed to see that it was stained with some blood. He sat on an old log, exhausted.

I took the first aid out, reached over, grabbed his chin, and made him look me in the eye.

"Do you see that you were not so well?" I scolded him lovingly.

He smiled slightly and guiltily.

"I had to get you out of there. I'm almost sure they won't follow us. Their pride can do more."

I unbuttoned his shirt and carefully slid it over his shoulders to see all his injuries. I observed the bites, the bumps, and the scrapes. When I saw his back, I got alarmed. He had multiple cuts caused by the glass, and indeed, he would have many pieces embedded there. He was watching me intently with those flashing green eyes and feline pupils.

"You'll be fine," I told him.

I got down on my knees and began to disinfect and heal his wounds. I wiped off the blood and bandaged the shoulder bite that was quite deep. He didn't take his eyes off me. From time to time, I looked at him and smiled sweetly. When I finished, I took his face and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. He gave me a slight smile of enthusiasm.

"Okay, now I'll need you to lie on your stomach. I must take those glass pieces off," I asked him, but he took my face and pressed his lips to mine without paying attention to what I said.

I didn't care this time. I opened my lips against his and kissed him gently. I didn't know what would become of me without him. I wrapped my arms around his neck delicately. He hugged me and pressed me to his body. Feeling the heat of his skin was one of the sensations that made me fly the most, apart from kissing him. His other fang touched my lip.

"Hum," I mumbled without separating a millimeter.

"Sorry," he muttered.

I gently shook my head without pulling away from him and held tighter as I laced my fingers through his hair. I remembered that I should heal him, so I reluctantly stopped. He immediately opened his eyes and looked at me, confused. I laughed.

"Do what I said, or there will be no more kisses," I threatened, smiling.

He smiled resignedly, and I stood up. I spread my bedsheet where I slept, and he lay face down. I sat back on my heels beside him, grateful for the intense, clear daylight.

"Delicious, this smells of you," he said with a smile, tilted his face, and took a deep breath.

I chuckled.

"I need you to be calm. This may hurt... a lot," I warned, worried.

"It's okay, I know, but we have a good tolerance for pain..."

"Oh."

After cleaning his back with hydrogen peroxide, I took the gripper and started removing the glasses.

"I like your kisses," he murmured.

"Me too."

"It feels weird... but delicious. I like it," he added, whispering.

"I like it more," I continued after giggling.

I admired his strength; he didn't let out a single insignificant noise of pain when I took a piece of glass of considerable size. He just endured it.

"I want to know..." he wondered. "You, humans... Well..."

"Yes? Tell me."

"Well, have you... given those kisses to others?"

I got frozen with a piece of glass in the nipper. I was not expecting that question, but I must have guessed. I had given him his first kiss; it was obvious that he would wonder if I had kissed before. I removed the piece of glass.

"Yes, but..."

"To how many?"

"Uh... Three." I was ashamed. This wouldn't happen with a human man. I smiled, pressing my lips together. "It's not the same, you know?"

"How?"

"Those kisses don't compare to the ones I've given you."

"For real?" I noticed he was smiling.

"I was always immersed in my studies. What happened with those boys didn't last, and it was nothing compared to how I feel about you. I have also liked you since I saw you; you filled my days. However, I admit that I fought against myself not to fall in love with you. Still, I fell to your charms like easy prey, as if I was not old enough not to control myself. You have always fascinated me. I never felt all of this, ever. Falling in love with you was as easy and instant as breathing. What I said earlier about falling in love with you... I don't regret it, okay?"

I removed another glass and looked at him sideways. He was with his eyes closed and a slight smile.

"Besides," I continued and blushed, "your lips are the best. They make me lose myself. I've never wanted to kiss someone so much before."

He smiled widely.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. I would kiss you for hours... All night, all day, but there are things to do."

"You can kiss me tonight," he said hopefully.

I chuckled and removed another piece of glass.

"It's tempting, but we must rest first," I replied sweetly. "I promise I will do it some night... in the future."

"I hope it is not too far future."

If I kissed him all night, it would provoke me to do other things to him, I was sure, and I wanted to teach him little by little without rushing anything. I still feared that one day he would get tired of me, and... he would leave... as boys used to do.

"My Sirius Anthony," I sighed. "Relax, and let me finish."

"As you say, miss," he replied in his soft and deep seductive voice.

After finishing, I covered some of the deeper cuts. Then, I went over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Ready. I finished. Let's eat."

He smiled and stood up slowly. I handed him another shirt, and he put it on, depriving me of his statuesque body. He sat beside me under the tree to eat what his mother had given us.

I ended up sitting between his legs and leaning against his chest. The warm light filtered through the tree leaves, the birds sang, and the forest was green and full of life. His caresses relaxed me. I smiled and buried my nose in his chest. I enjoyed his aroma for several minutes.

"We must continue," he whispered.

"Ummm," I replied, my face still against his chest, and I felt him laugh silently. He was playing with a lock of my hair. "I already want to get there and sleep... and you must sleep too," I said, looking into his eyes.

"Yes, if I ensure you're safe, I'll sleep."

I gave his lower lip a slight pinch.

"I will."

He smiled, and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks, undoubtedly caused by what I did. He looked down and seemed sorry for something.

"Forgive me for what happened today, really," he murmured, looking back at me and stroking my hair.

"No, you forgive me for not wanting to listen to you, knowing we were still in danger."

He denied it silently.

"I made you believe I don't care what you say."

"Of course not... You got scared when I told you that I would leave you alone. Then, you do care."

He smiled guiltily.

"I guess we both care for each other. But believe me, I was about to lose control when I saw that he beat you. I almost killed him. Sorry for everything you saw."

I sighed.

"Well, you're right. We have to get to the capital soon, so this will be left behind, okay?" I gave him a soft kiss, and he smiled.

After a couple of hours, we could see the great wall of the capital.

"Finally!"

I took Sirius's hand, and we continued. As we got closer, we saw some men near a group of trees.

"Oh no, they are people. Have they been attacked?"

Sirius watched attentively; we accelerated our pace. Three security men were on the wall, aiming their weapons and watching for movement.

"What is their problem?" I wondered.

I noticed that a third man was lying on the ground. I couldn't make out his face or anything. The wind finally blew against us, and Sirius fully tensed.

"He's... my father." And he bolted.