Beth woke, feeling disoriented. She swatted at the air around her head, not knowing why she felt the urge to. Then a half second later, she heard the rattling of something vibrating against her wooden nightstand.
Wrath's phone. She started to remember what had happened the night before… the crazy revelations about her father, about Wrath, about herself. About life after death.
The buzzing persisted, annoyingly. Beth tried to move her right hand, but it was inexplicably immobile. Oh, right. Wrath's hand was clamped around hers, not too tight, but tight enough that she couldn't wriggle her hand out. God, with that hold on her hand he had to be awake. But as the buzzing stopped momentarily and Beth listened for his deep, lumbering breaths, she knew that he was dead to the world.
Beth felt her face flush red-hot. Her first time waking up next to a man and he wasn't even technically a man.
The buzzing started up again and this time, Beth groped for the phone with her free hand. She found it and hit the left side of the screen with her thumb until a tinny static voice came from it.
"Hello?" she answered, unsure if she should just have left it.
There wasn't even a split second hesitation before the gruff male voice, menacing and curt, practically growled back.
"Who the fuck are you and where in the fuck is Wrath?"
Beth winced. Some people just weren't made for mornings.
"He's, ah, sleeping." Beth tested her hand again to see if his had budged. Nope.
"Sleep- what the fuck? He never sleeps through his calls. You have two seconds to tell me why you're lying and where he is."
Okay, she was staring to get mad. "First of all, I am not. Lying. Secondly, why do I even have to take this crap-"
The phone was ripped from her hand before she could finish. She hadn't even heard Wrath move, but then all of a sudden his footsteps were pacing before her and he was talking to the rude guy in a hushed tone.
"I'm fine," he was saying. "V, I'm. Fine. Chill the fuck out… Yes… Yes, I'm with the daughter. She's-"
There was a pause, leaving Beth to think that he might have turned to look at her for a second.
"-fine. For now. Look, listen to me…"
Beth tuned out and got out of bed, stretching a little. She told herself that eavesdropping was rude and that she should give him some privacy, but really she just didn't know how to face him. She walked past him and out into the hall, taking care to draw shut all the blinds along the way.
At least nothing had happened between them the night before. He'd stayed with her, refusing to get under the covers, and talked through what being a vampire would be like. There were things that scared her shitless, of course, like not being able to go out in daylight, or the existence of lessers whose sole life purpose was to hunt vampires down. But when she grew quiet and mulled over his words, trying her darnedest not to cry out of self-pity, Wrath simply held her hand and assured her that he would see her through.
Then there were perks, too; eternal life (though whether that was a curse was yet unknown), youthfulness for centuries upon centuries, enhanced reflexes, the possibility of a cured vision, and best of all, she was going to live with the band of warriors that Wrath and her father belonged to. In her father's home.
God, how she'd dreamed of having a home. Not just a house, but an actual home. Her father wasn't around anymore, but she'd be going to meet people that knew him personally, and lived with him. She was going to live in the same house that he did! It felt like the only connection she would ever have to the man who had supposedly loved her all her life.
Practically squirming with anticipation, Beth hopped over to her tiny kitchen and took out breakfast things. She couldn't cook, so all she set out were two bowls of granola, two glasses of milk and two glasses of juice. But it felt slightly meagre, and she didn't know how much Wrath could eat, so to that she added a couple of fruits.
Beth was in the middle of paring an apple when she heard Wrath emerging from her room.
"Here, let me." He took the fruit and the blade away, cutting off her protest. "And thanks for drawing the blinds. It's a real pain to get first degree burns first thing upon waking."
She heard the smile in his voice, and it made her smile too.
"Was that one of the warriors? He sounds a little… anxious." She held back a laugh and took a swig of the juice.
"That's right. Don't mind him, he just had a fit because he couldn't reach me at every waking and resting hour of the day. Guess I can't blame him though, I'm rarely out of the compound in the mornings."
Beth blushed deeply, and turned away. She tried to make a quip about V making a good wife, but her thoughts were interrupted by three rapid knocks at her front door, followed by someone calling her name.
"Beth, it's me. I brought breakfast!"
"Shit, I totally forgot." She set down the glass she was holding and rushed to the door, swinging it open. What greeted her was a fresh glazed donut, her favourite, held to her mouth. She took a bite and smiled through the mouthful.
"Hi. I have a guest, actually," she mumbled.
"Oh. That him? He looks…" There was an undeniable double-take in his voice. "... Nice."
Beth found herself frowning at the tone in her friend's voice. Wrath must have been standing behind her, and she wished she could have seen if he'd done anything to put him off. She turned, introducing them, anyway.
"Wrath, Butch. He's a good friend. Butch, Wrath. He, uh… he's a new friend of mine."
"Look, listen to me. Coordinate the Brotherhood attacks for me during this time. Just for a couple of days." Beth left the room, but Wrath lowered his voice, just in case. "I have to stick with Beth… keep her safe."
"What? Wrath, I know it's Darius's daughter and all, but just lodge her up in the compound and get Fritz to call you when the transition starts. Shit, man, the lesser just keep on coming. The boys and I figure they're trying to track our location, the way they're laying off the usual fight-to-the-death game plan. It's like they actually have a workable strategy this time."
Wrath ran his free hand through his hair and let out an exasperated breath. He knew the situation with the lessers wasn't looking good, but he had to make sure Beth was safely through her transition first. And he wasn't going to leave her unguarded.
"You think I don't know that? Christ, V, just buy me a few days till I find Beth a hellren. I trust that you boys can handle yourselves till then. I'll be by the compound later in the day. We'll talk then."
"Fine." There was a pause. "And Wrath? Sleeping through your calls is really not cool, man. No offense, brother, but keep your wits up."
Wrath hissed and hit the end call button. He didn't need Vishous telling him what he already knew. God, the boys would never let him live it down if they found out that he'd had the best sleep in his life in some female's tiny bed. Or that he'd slept in a female's bed without taking her.
Shit, maybe V was right. He should be on high alert at all times now, not getting carried away by flowery feelings. He stalked out of the room in a dark mood, not bothering to grab his shirt off the floor. Beth couldn't see, so what the hell. At least he still had pants on. The flat was mercifully dark; not a peep of sunlight filtering through the thick blinds, which Wrath was thankful for. Beth adapted fast. He would have thought she would still be in denial about the entire affair.
Wrath found Beth in the kitchen, paring an apple. The sight of the meal that she had prepared for them made his heart trip and his lower body tighten, and Wrath caught himself before his thoughts ran further. She couldn't have known that providing food for another was an intimate thing in his world. Nevertheless, he wanted to return the favour.
"Here, let me," he said, making quick work of the apple. "And thanks for drawing the blinds. It's a real pain to get first degree burns first thing upon waking."
The smile on her face was even better than the one last night. Maybe she did like having him around. He could live with that.
"Was that one of the warriors? He sounds a little… anxious," she said, mirth in her voice. Wrath found himself grinning right along.
"That's right. Don't mind him, he just had a fit because he couldn't reach me at every waking and resting hour of the day. Guess I can't blame him though, I'm rarely out of the compound in the mornings."
Wrath caught a hint of a blush on her face, right before she turned away to wash her hands. He thought he would never tire of looking at her. It was such a pity, though, that she had never seen with her own eyes just how beautiful she was.
He heard footsteps then, approaching the flat, followed by three knocks on the wooden door. Immediately, Wrath stiffened, thankful for the knife in his hand. The sound of a male voice calling Beth in a familiar way did little to ease the tension in his muscles.
If anything, it intensified it.
Beth opened the door, and as Wrath stepped out of the kitchen behind her, he saw the man feeding her a donut from his hand.
Wrath only narrowly stopped himself from launching the small knife straight into the male's chest. Vaguely, he heard the two of them exchange words, though all he really heard was his mind saying 'get your fucking hands off her.'
The prickling scent of unease wafted into the room and Wrath nearly smiled. No doubt he intimated the human. Well, good. Then the scent morphed into acrid jealousy and he wanted to dagger the human again. He was jealous of Wrath. Which meant that he was in love with Beth.
Either that, or he was just eyeing Wrath's upper body strength.
Not betraying his emotions, the human took a step into the flat and extended a hand. Well, kudos to him for that. Either he was daft enough to not perceive the death threat Wrath was, or he was good at pretending otherwise. Wrath decided to play nice, if only for Beth's sake. No, he didn't really want to carve up this man right on her doorstep. Tempting, but impolite.
But as Beth introduced the men to each other, Wrath caught himself. He set the knife down and took the man's hand, pumping once. "Wrath," he said simply, but without menace. He knew his anger was irrational, his irritation unreasonable. Beth was not his shellan, not his to protect and to guard. And soon she would belong to another male… it was time he remembered that fact well.
Wrath stalked back to the kitchen, leaving the two some privacy to talk. As he whipped out his phone and dialled for Fritz, he tuned out their hushed words, listening to only the murmur of Beth's voice to know she was near. If only to ensure her safety, for that was his job.
A few moments of settling arrangements with Fritz, Wrath heard the front door close shut and Beth stepped into the kitchen, obviously pleased that her friend Butch had come to visit.
"Y'know, Butch said he doesn't think you're good company. But I told him that was rubbish, you seem like a good enough guy to me-" she was saying.
Wrath cut her off. "Maybe you're too quick to judge," he said, but as her face fell, he regretted the words instantly. He cleared his throat. "You'd best start packing the things you want to take with you. Fritz, your father's servant, is on his way to pick you up."
"Oh… I thought you'd stay for a while more." Wrath ignored the pang in his chest. "And what about you? Are you coming along?"
"I'll… see you there."
"Alright."
It was hard to miss the strange tone in her voice, and Wrath didn't need to smell the air to know she was confused with his sudden about-face in mood, but he put his guilt aside. It was time he stepped up to his responsibilities, which incidentally did not include seducing the female, whether intentionally or not. It would do him good to remember that.