I nearly growled in frustration the next morning. The boys had taken extraneous precautions and made sure that I had a guard around me literally wherever I went. By lunch time, I was about ready to dig into Michael's throat purely from irritation at the situation. He must have noted the change in my scent because he quickly sent the other guards away. It was only then that I relaxed to the point of being somewhat sociable. And the fact that the full moon was tonight didn't help in the slightest. "Aline?" Michael questioned tentatively.
"What?" I snapped, my blue eyes narrowing dangerously at him.
"I just—are you okay?"
"Fine."
He let the matter drop, stealing small glances at me then and again. I pretended he was nothing more than a brick wall. When I found that I couldn't concentrate enough to read, I relented to going swimming. That was enough of a physical activity that I would blow off some steam.
I spent hours in the water, floating on my back. With the water in my ears, I couldn't hear the guards. I could feel their minds near me but, thanks to years of training, I was able to shut out their thoughts just as easily as I had kept Sookie out of my mind. This meant that I could meditate my mind into a state of simply being. It was kind of like taking a century long nap. Every once in awhile I would do this. Especially if it was the day of a full moon and I was surrounded by other aggravated shifters. My fairy blood tends to make me shy away from things that agitate me. Like today, which leads to my little meditation gig. Without realizing it, I must have drifted off to sleep in that position because a pair of arms sliding under my figure startled me awake. I awoke to the emerald green eyes of Godric, who was looking at me in a mixture of panic and worry.
"What's wrong?" I asked immediately. If he were alive, he would have exhaled a sigh of relief as he nearly crushed my figure against his. It was then that I realized he was fully clothed, still.
"We had thought that you drowned," he replied. "You were asleep?"
"I couldn't have been for very long," I noted, looking up at the sky. It was only a bit darker than the last time I had noted it. He still looked startled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"Your heartbeat stopped," he pressed. I bit my lip.
"I was meditating," I admitted. He frowned at me. "Sometimes I meditate when I'm stressed out or annoyed. And, well, it's been known to put me into a state close to death. I'm not really awake for it all so I don't know the specifics of what happens to me. But Alcide and Jackson hate it when I meditate. They got used to it on the condition that I would tell them about it first."
"We may have to extend that rule here," the vampire noted dryly. For the first time that day, I grinned sheepishly.
It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that I realized Godric hadn't let me go. But he didn't force me to remain where I was when I pulled out of his grasp. My brother stood there with raised eyebrows. Our run tonight was going to be interesting. I got out of the pool with a shrug, telling Godric I would be back in an hour or so. Though I didn't turn to look, I knew that he was watching my brother and I run into the woods. Once we had cleared the woodline, we ditched our clothes before shifting into our wolf forms.
After we had had our fill, we returned to where we had ditched our clothes and quickly dressed again. "So you and Godric?" Alcide questioned.
"He thought I was dead," I shrugged. "I worried him."
He stared at me before shaking his head. "You're so damn oblivious to everything."
"Hey!"
"It's true. I know that look he was giving you," Alcide shook his head. "It's the same look I give Debbie." I wrinkled my nose.
"That's different, you guys are engaged. Godirc is probably just intrigued by me."
"You're ridiculous," he pulled his shirt on over his head. "And Debbie split." I was instantly concerned.
"What?"
"She's been seeing that fuckface Cooter."
"She left you for a man named Cooter?"
"Yeah," he replied dryly. "Look, all I'm saying is that if that man is looking at you that way, try and pay attention a little more. He seems like a good guy."
"You hated Marc."
"Not because he was a vampire," Alcide shrugged. "Dad may have hated him for that—so did most of our pack. But he didn't treat you well. Sold you out to try and save his own skin. This one doesn't strike me as the type to do that."
"I still think you're just insane," I shook my head at him, effectively ending the conversation. But it didn't end before I made the silent resolve to myself to maybe pay attention a little more. Vampires feel a natural pull toward me because of my blood. But Eric tends to keep his distance usually. I mean, I think he likes my company and all but Godric is less…reserved? I can't think of the right word for it, honestly. But that's probably because I'm all kinds of confused about it now. Thanks Alcide. You sure know how to make a girl paranoid.
My brother left an hour later to get back to Mississippi since he had a job to do in the morning. Eric was at Fangtasia, naturally, and Godric had kindly asked the guards to at least be partially at ease. So they only followed me whenever Godric wasn't around. And, as a result, I made sure to remain in Godric's care. But what Alcide said was still bothering me. Perhaps more than I thought because Godric inquired about it.
"It's just something silly Alcide said," I shook my head dismissively. "He seems to think that I have more allure and power over men than I do." The vampire's eyebrows raised in amusement.
"Is that so?"
"It's silly."
"You sell yourself short."
I frowned at him. "He seems to think that you care about me."
"I do."
"As more than a friend."
He sat there for a moment, trying to think of how best to continue the conversation. "Does this bother you?"
I studied him. Alcide was right. But did it bother me? "No," I shook my head. "It doesn't bother me. I just," I paused, "I don't understand it."
"How so?"
"You're just so…damn near perfect," I admitted with a laugh. "Patient, kind, understanding. I'm not full-blood, but I am a werewolf. Patient, kind, and understanding are not words we use very often."
"You sell yourself short," he repeated with a chuckle. "And you speak too highly of me. I am not as patient and kind as you believe."
I smiled lightly at him. "I'm not naïve enough to think you're a saint. Nobody ever is—vampire or otherwise. But I am willing to bet that you rank higher than I do on that ladder."
"I think that you would be surprised." I let the matter drop, staring out across the still pool waters.
"I am sorry if I upset you," he said quietly after awhile. I looked at him, giving him a firm look.
"No, you didn't upset me," I admonished lightly. "I just—well, I guess I just feel bad that I didn't believe Alcide." Then I started giggling to myself. "This is one of those moments where I'm surprised at how different my thought patterns are from normal people." I stopped giggling to smile at him. "No, you didn't upset me."
We once again fell into silence, though he was visibly less worried than he had been. For some reason, I found it endearingly odd that I made a vampire that was over two-thousand-years-old nervous. As these thoughts passed through my mind, I became conscious of how tired I was. Slowly my eyes began to close, my head resting against Godric's shoulder.