(AJ's POV)
William had gone hunting by himself, and for the first time in a long while, AJ actually felt alone.
She needed him, more than anything else she'd ever thought possible. In that moment, when he hadn't been there for the first time since her transformations had calmed, her heart skipped a beat and she hugged the cloak he had always worn tighter, hoping, praying that he was okay, that he was alive.
She knew the demon was after all of them, but to think he was gone while she was left alive? The thought was unbearable, and Adeline cried out at the thought, as if it had caused her physical pain. Looking to her side, the silvery fox pelt offered no peace, for this too had often been thrown over her lover's shoulder, at times distinguishing him from his men.
And at times it was she herself that was thrown over his shoulder, when she was moody and unwillingly to obey what he had said. Ultimately though, this always ended in their room, soft whispers and feather light kisses making her know her place in the coven she called home.
But now, what she wouldn't give to see him walk in, sighing before slipping out of his suit jacket, smirking as he inspected the way she was laying on the bed, his deep brown eyes alight with the only fire she knew wouldn't burn her. How she wished. And then, the clock ticked, the red LED changing to 11:12.
Getting up and uncapping the bottle of valerian extract, she more or less poured the entire thing into the tea Brendon had made for her, intending to stop the nightmares once and for all, because this time, the ghosts had come, saying she needed to kill the ones she loved in order to for them to stop bothering her. Smiling, she almost thought she'd start listening to them. Of course, she didn't think she'd be saved.
A few hours later in the early morning, William crept into their room after a night of well-deserved hunting, surprised to see the blonde sleeping peacefully, small hands clutching the pelt to her side. She wasn't moving, her body still for once.
Slipping in beside her, he smiled as she didn't even stir. Perhaps the valerian and honey tea had worked? He'd told Mike and Brendon to make sure she had some before she went upstairs, so maybe they'd gotten the ratio wrong and she was zonked into an anti-insomnia haze.
"Adeline, love, I've returned," he murmured against her skin, his lips against her temples as one hand ran lazily through her curls.
When there was no sign of her having heard him, he wondered briefly if she really had slipped into a deep sleep.
"Adeline?" he repeated, worry etching into his voice.
Still no response. Wanting to know what had made her like this, William pulled at the comforter, finding her body looking perfectly fine, although it didn't look like she was moving, not even the slight rise and fall of her chest to register if she was breathing.
Internally, he freaked, and immediately put two fingers to the inside of her wrist, checking for the faint heartbeat the hybrid would still have.
Should still have, anyways.
Not finding it, he did what any other vampire would have done upon seeing their lover in such a comatose state. Biting his arm, he moved her and propped her up against him, getting her mouth open as best he could before allow the blood to drip into her.
He closed his eyes, remembering the night he'd found Adam, mauled and left for dead in the alleyway, heartbeat just as faint as Adeline's now was. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how she'd gotten like this – unless – looking on the dresser, how could he have missed it? The bottle of valerian extract was sitting uncapped next to the music box!
And then, it made sense. Her nightmares – she had tried to overdose on the one thing that would make her sleep, perhaps so that it would be eternal, that she'd never have the nightmares again.
Gently pulling his arm from her mouth, William knew it wasn't the new blood she'd needed, what she needed was what was already in her to be cleansed.
Looking over her, his hands cupping her face, hazel eyes hidden by lids, he cursed himself for leaving her, if only for a night.
"I'm sorry. Darling, I'm so so sorry," he murmured against her forehead, before turning his head and biting her, intent on drinking as much of the tainted blood as he could.
He didn't know how long it had been, but the room began to get fuzzy around the edges, and he began to lose his sense of awareness, punctured only by the sudden whimper from his lover.
"W-William…st-stop…I'm…I'm dizzy…" she moaned sleepily, and he managed to pull his fangs out and look at her, before the entire room flip flopped and he laid down, trying to remember why he was so out of it and on a high.
"I'm s-sorry…you've seen the bottle…I just…William? Baby, you're- you didn't- oh, William!" She spoke in broken fragments, the reason for her dizziness finally becoming clear, as he raised a hand to his hand, motioning for her to be quiet.
"It'll wear off in a day or two. Promise me you won't do that again, my love."
She bit her lip and shrugged as if to say, 'I can't really promise anything', but then she realized he'd grabbed the collar of her nightgown and was drawing her closer to him.
"Promesse-moi, chérie."
Her eyes widened in shock at the mere notion that William was speaking her native tounge. Needless to say, it got her to smile.
"Fine. You got me with that, and damn, does it sound hot when you speak it. I promise I won't do anything stupid like that again."
"Good. Now, seeing as I've just made myself sick due to your blood, I'm going to have to lie low tomorrow. Brendon and Mike are to watch you, and you're to stay by them at all times, have I made myself clear?" William asked, surprised he had thought out tomorrow when the valerian in her blood had put him in such a haze.
She nodded, "But tonight, you need to lie still and quiet. There goes whatever I was thinking, but if it's any comfort I'll stay here until you drift off." She offered, one hand moving to rest over his heart when she curled into him.
He smiled, sighing, "I should hope you'd not want to leave me. I mean, what sort of gentleman would I be if I had left you up here alone after that battle with the demon?"
"But you di-"
"No. I sat in a chair beside this bed for three days, waiting for you to open your eyes. The amount of painkillers you were set up with hardly allowed you to acknowledge any presence but your own."
She winced, remembering.
"That's enough…and I'll stay, at least until the boys and I go out."
His eyes closed, the effects of the sleep aid washing over him, the blonde beside him counting his breathes to mark time in the lullaby that played in her head.
And then, she decided,if the ghosts wouldn't go away, she start listening to them, and it would start tomorrow, with the deaths of the two second in commands. Smiling, she drifted off, mind reeling as to how the murders were to play out.
