Read The Half Blood Luna by The Black Daisy
Chapter 68
Ella’s POV:
“I thought you were in a meeting with Joseph” I said in wonder.
“I found myself unable to stop thinking about you the whole day, I couldn’t wait for the damn meeting to end so I could come spend the rest of my day with you. I missed you even though we were apart for a few hours only” he said fondly.
I grinned at his lovely words as I replied “I missed you too so much. You never left my thoughts all day”
I came over to him and hugged him, placing my head on my new favorite place, his chest. He tightened his embrace around me passionately.
After a minute, we pulled away as he turned his expression into a professional one and said “Ok, let’s see what you’ve got”
We trained together for an hour and a half, and I was always on the defensive side.
He was simply a magnificent fighter. Graceful, fast, and strong.
I found myself constantly getting distracted by his beauty and sK*llful movements during our fights, that I fail to block his attacks and end up falling down or getting hit somewhere.
During the last attack, Klaus swung his foot aiming for my stomach, but he was too fast for me to block his kick on time, it connected hard with my stomach that I automatically doubled over and fell to my knees as I felt the wind get knocked out of me.
He crouched next to me in an instant, concern, panic, and pain all filling his features at the same time.
“Ella! Are you okay? I’m so sorry I was too fast, I should have been more careful, forgive me love”
When he said the word love, I swear my missing breath came back to my lungs and my stomach forgot its own pain and released a swarm of b*tterflies instead.
I touch his hand in rea*s*surance and say “I’m okay, don’t worry… love”
His eyes shine with desire in response as he helps me to my feet.
We finish the remaining hour and a half exercising together; even though he wasn’t required to, as Linda always sat watching me do all the hard work on my own. But he didn’t want me to feel alone and tried to support me so I don’t give up to my burning muscles before the exercise is over.
He compliments me as we head back to our home to hit the shower before our dinner at my parent’s place.
“You are a fast learner Ella. I didn’t expect you to master so many defensive movements in such a short period. You’re doing better than I thought”
I looked at him suspiciously “Really? Because to me, it looked like I got my @sshanded to me numerous times”
He chuckled and said “Well, I’ve been training my whole life, you won’t always be able to keep up with me at the beginning, but despite that, you held your own pretty good. I don’t give compliments on such a serious matter, I really meant it”
“It means a lot coming from you, thank you. It really gave me more confidence about my sK*lls” I said appreciatively.
“You will become an excellent fighter, I guarantee it. You just need to keep up the great work you’re doing” he said confidently.
As Klaus gets out of the shower all dressed and ready to go, his eyes roam over my body all the way to my face cravingly.
I was standing in front of the glasswall overlooking the forest, and turned around to look at him when he opened the bathroom door.
I was dressed in a simple, chiffon, halter neck, long causal dress. It was black; to compliment his usual color choice, with small white polka dots. My hair was in its usual style, cascading down my back, parted to the side.
He averts his gaze quickly when he realizes he is gawking at me hungrily with passion, trying not to make me uncomfortable.
Sara’s words from our session today, pop into my head at that moment.
‘You can take it easy, a few steps at a time work wonders to ease your nerves about intimacy’
I walk over to him, put my hands around his neck and speak softly “Don’t avert your gaze for me, don’t deny yourself the simplest thing I can give to you currently, it doesn’t bother me that you’re checking me out, it actually brings out some exciting feelings in me”
He stares at me in amazement “You really are very beautiful Ella. Inside and out. I want you to always keep this in your mind, I don’t mind waiting forever for you, you’re so worth it”
“I know you don’t mind, and that’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you Klaus. You’re so worth trying to heal and get over that trauma for, I want you to know that I’m working on it with Sara”
He leans in and prints a burning k!ss on my forehead as he cups my face tenderly with the palms of his hands.
We go over hand in hand to Joseph and Sara’s home after that.
Before dinner gets served, I pull Joseph away from Sara and Klaus and walk over to stand near one of the windows.
“Is everything okay Ella?” asks Joseph in concern.
I hold out my hands for him and he takes them in his instantly and gives them a protective squeeze.
“I wanted to ask you the same thing. You’re not back to your old self with me, I can feel it. I feel like there is some distance between us and I wanted to know if I was the reason for that. Is it because of what I said last night? Are you still bothered by it?”
He gives me a torn look as he says tightly “To be honest with you, what you said was all true, you were right about everything, I can’t stop blaming myself. We shouldn’t have just accepted your death without looking further into it. If I wasn’t so naive, you wouldn’t have had to live that life.
It’s tearing me apart, thinking about everything that was taken from you and never given in the first place. I am afraid there is still a part of you that blames me, or even hates me for not doing one of a father’s most important job, being able to protect his daughter..”
I cut him off adamantly “Don’t ever think like this Joseph because it’s all not true. I truly don’t blame you for anything because there is nothing to be blamed for. It wasn’t your fault. Stop thinking like that. I want my Joseph back, give him back to me please”
I carry on intensely “Look, I want you to know this and never forget it. I never had a mother before, so the feelings I felt for Sara were completely foreign to me and different from the feelings I felt for you.
Because I already had a father, or thought I did, I never knew that fathers could be so loving and caring, I never knew they were able to give the warmest hugs and the sweetest k!sses, I never knew they would go to extreme lengths to protect their daughter and keep her out of harm’s way, I never knew they felt pain and hurt for their daughter’s own suffering, and I never knew; until I met you, that fathers could be loved as much as I love you…dad”
His eyes soften and glisten with emotional tears in response, as he hugs me to his chest lovingly.
He whispers “I love you too, kiddo. I love you beyond any words”
I smile joyfully because now I am certain that I broke through his guilt and sadness after I heard him calling me ‘kiddo’.
I turn my head and catch Sara and Klaus watching us emotionally from where they were sitting on the couch, after discreetly hearing our conversation.
Sara gives me a small nod in appreciation and I smile back at her.
After dinner was over, Klaus suggested a family movie. I think he was trying to create more opportunities for the three of us; mom, dad, and I, to spend more time with each other since the only time we meet is during meal time.
We lay back on the long large sofa in front of the huge TV, as Klaus picks out a suitable movie for all of us to watch and enjoy together.
Klaus and I sit in the middle between mom and dad. I lean closer to dad while Klaus leans closer to mom. Both of them draping one arm around us fondly, as we watch the movie together.
Towards the end of the movie, I ended up curling against dad’s chest and dozing off.
Just before I completely fell asleep, I heard Klaus whispering “Should I carry her back to our room?”
Dad responds in a soft low voice “Let her sleep until the movie ends. I want to savor this moment for a while longer”
My lips twitch a little and I surrender to sleep in my dad’s arms, one of the safest and kindest places to sleep in.
I wake up from an agonizing nightmare as I jerk up and scream at the top of my lungs in terror.
I was on my sofa bed sleeping in the same dress I was wearing for dinner, earlier.
Klaus bursts through the door in fright as he runs over to me, holds my tearful face in his hands gently, and says rea*s*suringly “You’re safe Ella. It’s a nightmare love. It’s not real”
I look at him in pain as I try to catch my breath and calm myself.
He says in agony “I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I was hesitant to sleep next to you tonight because I didn’t take your permission. That’s why I left you alone. I will never let you sleep alone anymore, you’re going to sleep in my arms from now on. I’ll be damned if I let you have another god damn nightmare again, come here” he takes my head and brings it to his chest as he hugs me tightly and rocks me soothingly.
I say after some time while my head is still resting on his chest “You don’t need to ask for my permission to sleep next to me or for anything else for that matter. You have my complete trust, Klaus”
“Thanks for giving it to me Ella. I will forever cherish your faith in me”
One Week Later
I was beginning to get used to enjoying my new life, with my favorite people in this whole world.
I was also beginning to get used to Klaus’s existence in my life. After spending so much time trying to avoid him at all costs. It turns out I was missing out on getting to know this amazing person.
With each day passing, I was falling even harder for him. I don’t know how much deeper I can fall, but I knew I never wanted to stop falling.
I’ve also never been closer to my parents. I was getting used to calling them mom and dad now. And they seem so thrilled whenever I address them by those names.
Things took a little turn in the opposite direction, when it was time for Klaus and dad to travel for a couple of days to our other packs as a part of a routine visit every once in a while. As much as we both hated the idea of separating from each other, it wasn’t convenient for me to miss days regarding my studying and training, plus there was the sessions with mom to consider. So I stayed back at the head pack, impatiently counting the days for his return.
It’s already been two of the hardest days since arriving to the head pack.
I missed Klaus’s presence with me achingly. It was surprising, how much I have become attached to him in such a short period. He was a drug I couldn’t get enough of. And his absence made me on edge.
There was also my returning nightmares that worsened his absence. Ever since he swore he would never let me sleep anywhere but in his arms, I didn’t have a single one. Until he left two days ago, they came right back, even more vicious than can possibly be expected. I haven’t slept properly in these past two days.
Klaus and I would mind link each other throughout the day and later at night. We would both talk about our day. I had to hide the fact the I was having nightmares again from him when he asked me, because I didn’t want to make him worried and sad, not when there was nothing he could do about them where ever he was. Whether he believed me or not was unknown.
He still had two more nights away from me. As we said good night to each other through the link on the night of our third night, I realized I had no intention of falling asleep tonight. The nightmare I had last night terrorized me to the point that I haven’t slept since. I was dead tired from the lack of sleep.
Mom said it will take a while for my subconscious to feel safe and let go of the fear that got rooted deep inside my head causing my night terrors.
Mom! I suddenly remembered how safe I felt when she was holding me in her arms the first day, after my fever.
I hesitated for a few minutes, it was almost midnight. I didn’t want to wake her up if she was sleeping.
I whispered to her through the mind link.
“Mom? Are you still awake?”
To my relief, she answered right away, her voice awake and alert “Yes I’m still up, is something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong… can I… sleep next to you tonight?” I asked in a small voice.
“Of course you can honey. You don’t have to ask for that, you already have the key to our quarters. You just come inside and hop into our bed whenever you want, even if I was sleeping. Come on I’m waiting for you” she said gently.
I smile happily, grab the key to their place, and head over there.
I find her laying on the bed, her arms open and waiting for me to get into bed next to her.
I hop on the bed and lean my head against her neck as I wrap myself around her.
“I can’t sleep alone anymore. My nightmares keep haunting me” I said miserably.
“I’m sorry, I wish there was something I could do or give you to make them go away forever” she said as she k!ssed the top of my head
“Do you want me to tell you a bed time story?” she asked softly.
I looked up at her radiantly and nodded my head in excitement.
“Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a beautiful young girl…”