“All the nice, normal, human men out there, and you fall for the ancient shadow whore with a bookshop. Un-fucking-believable.”
Maybe I should have left her in that room a little longer.
With a tired sigh, I rinse Louie’s hair, help her out of the tub, towel her dry, and hand her some clothes.
“And what the bloody hell am I doing with those, Aurora?” she asks, standing stark naked in the bedroom with her arms crossed over her chest again.
“Wear them, maybe? Humans wear clothes, Lou. You might as well start now.”
I shove the pile of clothes at her.
“Alright, alright, you don’t have to get pissy with me. I’m just asking, is all.”
While Louie fights with the clothing I gave her, I sit on the edge of the bed, trying desperately to ignore the pain and exhaustion waging war inside my body. After a few minutes, the mattress dips beside me, and Louie’s arms wrap around my waist.
“I’m sorry, Aurora. I’m overwhelmed, but that’s not your fault.”
She exhales hard, pressing her forehead to my shoulder.
“No one did anything wrong here. Not even Ezra, I guess. You, the ancient twat, and that grumpy asshole wrakh helped me get my memories back. I just … wish they weren’t so scrambled. But I know you all tried, and I should be thankful.”
Lou shifts closer and nuzzles into my neck.
It feels familiar—until it doesn’t.
“Lou, I love you, but it’s … different when you do that as a human.”
She pulls back slowly, curling in on herself as her lips press tight.
Oof. My heart.
“But I was thinking we could sleep together in Ezra’s bed. I could use the company, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone right now.”
Lou’s posture straightens as she flashes me a bright, fanged smile.
“I would like that very much, Aurora. Plus, I’d be close enough to hear any danger coming our way, even though human ears aren’t worth shit,” Louie grumbles.
Her grumpiness is even more adorable when she’s in her human form.
I climb into bed, then watch Louie as she crawls to the end of the mattress and awkwardly curls into a ball.
Helping her adjust to her human form is proving more difficult than I expected.
I clear my throat to get her attention, then pat the space beside me.
“Lou, why don’t you sleep under the covers? It’ll be more comfortable in that body.”
Louie perks up instantly, practically bounding up the mattress before diving under the duvet. She exhales a happy sigh and digs into the blankets, claiming them for the pack of one she clearly believes she is, then turns to me with a sleepy smile.
“Human bodies are so fucking useless,” Louie mutters, already half-asleep.
I turn off the bedside lamp, sinking into the duvet with a small, weary smile, happy to have my protector back.
Aurora
Time drags. I haven’t heard from Ezra since the first night he left. I texted him when Louie woke up, just like he told me to, but he never responded.
I haven’t tried again.
