Kass’ eyes flashed. “I didn’t forget.”
“Do you regret it?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer.
“Regret what? Having a child with you?”
“And the act that goes along with it, I guess.”
Kass frowned. “No, I don’t.”
“Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised. “Huh. I thought you would have.”
Kass sat up and looked down at me with his serious expression. “Why is the fact that I enjoyed our time together and don’t regret having a child with you a shock?”
Feeling small under his sharp gaze, I shrugged. “Figured you were mad enough to regret it.”
Kassius looked at me for a long time, seeming like he wasn’t totally there. I squirmed uncomfortably. Finally he said, “I regret that you did what you did. I don’t regret being with you. Not at all.”
The words hit me harder than I expected. “You don’t?”
“No.” Kass brought a hand close to my face and let it hover for a moment before he stroked my cheek. “Halo, I’m sorry. I think… I might have been wrong. About a lot of things.” He paused, averting his gaze. “About magic.”
I was too surprised to answer, or to even tease him about it. Instead, I placed my hand on top of his against my face and held it there.
“Everything is so different, and so similar at the same time,” Kassius said. “I feel like I don’t know what is right or wrong anymore. It’s going to take me some time to get used to things.”
His gaze met mine now.
“I don’t think I can be… intimate with you. Not right now. But if you want to lay together, hold hands, maybe... a bit more. I might be able to do that.”
My heart fluttered the same way it did the first time we held hands all those years ago - tight, hot palpitations against my ribs. Like I hadn’t already been intimate with this man in the past. Like I was meeting him again for the first time.
“Halo?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. I took his other hand, squeezed it. “Yes, I’d like that.”
A gently, almost shy smile crossed Kass’ lips. “Maybe I should continue getting dressed?”
I pouted. “Only if you come back fast.”
“I will.”
He clothed himself, then returned in the same position just as he promised. I vaguely lamented losing sight of his bare body, but I still had the mental image of him to hold on to, at least.
“I should tell you something,” I said. “It’s about Angel.”
Kass immediately perked up.
“I saw her today.”
“Where?” Kass demanded.
I held up a hand for him to calm down. “Please just listen.”
I saw the flicker of doubt on his face - the same one that always flashed in the midst of an argument. But I didn’t want to see it now. I didn’t want him to leave. Gently, I placed my hand on his chest.
“She’s safe. She’s with a couple,” I told him. “Two men. Probably an alpha and omega, but I wasn’t sure.”
A million emotions crossed Kass’s expression, the most prominent being relief and confusion. “She’s okay?”
