Damned (Alastor x OC)

Ch 61

Looking back over towards the fight, I could see Alastor now had Xander held back again, but the shadows that were swarming them seemed angry.

"Zip..." I started, and looked down at him, "can you please get me up there again?" I asked him, and he churred quietly before he nodded.

Once again I felt light headed before I was standing up on the rock again.

Alastor's eyes shifted to me and widened, immediately followed by tears filling them.

"Aria!" He called, sounding relieved, whereas Xander saw me and growled.

"How!" He yelled, yanking against Alastor's restraints.

Something was different this time, though, he was acting desperate...scared. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked to Alastor, trotting up to him.

"W-what happened?" I asked, and he chuckled tiredly, running his fingers back over my head before he pulled me forward and kissed my forehead.

"We won..." he said quietly, and then pulled back to look at me.

The look on his face wasn't what I was expecting. It was a bit of a bittersweetness...

I gave him a reluctant smile, shaking my head as my ears laid down, "then why don't you seem happier?" I asked him confusedly.

His brows furrowed and he took a deep breath, lowering onto one knee in front of me so him and I were more level.

"Take that key card I gave you and get out of here..." he said softly, "I have to stay behind..."

"No, no you don't," I said immediately, my voice beginning to crack, "you're coming with me, come on," I tugged him, but he didn't budge. I tugged again, weakly, my bottom lip trembling as I looked into his eyes.

"Aria, baby..." he brushed his fingers over my cheek and gave me a gentle smile, "go...I need to make sure he doesn't get away..."

The cave around us rumbled, and pieces began falling as shadows started rapidly swirling around us. They were mostly around Xander, but they would lap at us every once in a while.

I shook my head, taking a step towards him.

"I'm staying with you," I whimpered, putting my arms around his neck, "wherever you're going, I'm going, too..." I said pitifully.

He pinched his eyebrows together and then closed his eyes and sighed. Using his free arm he wrapped me up in a hug and picked me up.

He turned us slightly, and when he released me, he gave me a tender smile.

"Ok, sweetheart," he said softly, and I noticed his arm was shaking as he desperately tried to keep Xander still. The man in question was thrashing at this point.

I kept my eyes on Alastor, holding onto him tightly. He looked back at me with a gentle expression, and brushed my hair back with his fingers.

Pulling me forward, he laid a gentle kiss just above my brow bone. My breath caught in my throat and he lingered there for a moment.

Then he pressed his forehead against mine, hovering over my lips. He closed the space, kissing me tenderly. The kiss was soft and sweet, and when he pulled away I chased him, just wanting to be close to him.