Tempest

29 : Well, Hello Again, Kitten...

Galan sat next to Tempest as they drew her blood. It was not a long process but they took enough that it made her slightly woozy. Otis brought them some food to eat, especially since they had not eaten in a while. They sat across from each other in a room that Galan said had been his study room when he was younger. The walls were lined with books and the seats were small but the fact that he had history here made Tempest love it.

Otis had gone back to join the others leaving Tempest and Galan alone. They felt like they needed a break from all the action and stretched out their time in the room. When they were finally done eating, Galan asked her if she wanted to head back to the office.

She shook her head no and looked at him uncertainly.

"What's on your mind?" he asked her as she continued to chew on her bottom lip, a frown on her face. She seemed to have a lot of those lately and he wasn't sure he liked them on her beautiful face. "I'm sure Aida can come up with a concoction that would get rid of all the wrinkles that are building up on your face of late. Do we want to take that route though?" he teased her.

She quirked an eyebrow in his direction and scowled at him playfully. "Young man, you really need to be more respectful to your mate."

"Young man?" he asked with a smirk. "Hardly. I was born in 1930, which does not make me young by any standards."

"A pedophile then? Going after a woman who was born when you were fifteen?" she teased back. Galan roared in laughter, shaking his head at her.

"Hardly that as well, kitten," he said as he took her hand and twisted his fingers with hers. He looked into her eyes and then stood up, lifting her from her seat and then sitting back down with her in his arms. She offered a little squeak of protest but knew that she would only be released when he was ready to let her go.

He rested his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. She gasped as his nose touched a tender spot on her neck and her body responded to his closeness.

"Galan," she said softly. His face was right there and she didn't need to speak loudly because of that. She touched his face with her hands and urged him to look at her. His brown eyes looked into her blue ones and she took a deep breath before lowering hers.

"You said some amazing things to me yesterday and I never got the chance to respond to them."

"I didn't say them because I wanted you to respond to them, Tempest, I said them because I wanted you to know how much you mean to me." He pushed her crazy power- infused hair down and gently stroked it over and over again.

Her thoughts went back to what she had said to him back in the clearing along the A1. It wasn't such a long time ago but it seemed like another lifetime. So much had happened since then. It made her cringe and she wrapped her arms around his waist and groaned, hiding her face in his chest.

"I did not do right but you, Galan. I wanted to mess up the most perfect thing that I had ever been given and I --"

"It's ok," he said as he raised her chin so she could look at him. Their lips were so close to each others' that a small move on either one of their parts would have them lip locked. "They were just words."

Tempest sighed. "Words that hurt. Words that could have broken you. Words that I used before I gave myself the opportunity to find out who you were. What you were capable of. You are not weak, Galan. I was stupid and full of pride and I hurt you. For that I am truly sorry."

He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her til she could barely breathe. Her lips moulded themselves to his and they allowed the moment to surround them, lock them into their little world. She pulled him closer, wanting him to be as close as he could be, yet it still wasn't close enough.

With a small groan he loosened his hold on her and she whimpered in protest. He sighed and gave her a peck on her lips.

"We should get back to the others," he said.

As he finished speaking, the door opened and a woman walked into the room. A huge smile broke out of Galan's lips and Tempest immediately went on high alert. She eyed the tall woman with dark brown hair and dark eyes. The smirk on her face made Tempest narrow her eyes and watch her even more closely. She had her long hair braided down her back and a sword by her left hip.

"Well it's about time you found her. She led you on a merry chase, didn't she?" the woman said.

Tempest didn't turn towards Galan but felt him as he stood up with her in his arms. He set her gently on the ground and turned her so she was facing the woman fully. He kept his arms around her and smirked back at the younger woman.

"I would hug you, sis, but I'm a little busy right now and you're kind of interrupting a very lovely moment between Tempest and I."

Unperturbed, the woman grinned and reached out towards Tempest, taking her hand and pulling her gently out of Galan's arms. She studied Tempest's face intensely for a few seconds before her face broke out into a huge grin.

"Welcome, sister," she said as she pulled her into a hug. "I am so happy to finally meet you."

Tempest cast a questioning look towards Galan, who rolled his eyes. "Tempest, that's my little sister, Ceres. Head of the Royal Guards and a royal pain in my ass since we were kids."

"He loves me though," Ceres said as she let Tempest go. "Sorry, I'm not too good at personal boundaries and I just had to do that."

"Liar," Galan teased. "She can detect auras and she wanted to check you out."

Tempest turned quickly to look at Ceres, who was almost as tall as her. "I take it I passed otherwise I would be a blob of blood and gore on the ground."

Ceres laughed out loud and shrugged. "I like you already. Come."

She pulled both Tempest and Galan out the door with her. Galan shook his head and sighed but did not pull away from her. Tempest smiled, picking up that the bond between the two was filled with love and affection.

"Still bossy, Ceres?" Galan asked and Tempest held back a grin.

"It's in my DNA, now let's go. Mom, dad and the others are waiting for us."

As they left the room, Tempest gave Galan a smile and asked, "What's your secret power?"

Galan gave her a serious look which slowly melted into a toothy grin. "I'm the big bad wolf, babe."

*

As the trio walked into Tristan's office, Tempest felt Damien's eyes on her. It wasn't anything creepy, more like extreme curiosity. It didn't make her uncomfortable, just curious as well. He had said he was a dragon and she had never met one before. She wanted to find out more about him and found herself looking at him quite often as the team strategised about what they would do.

When Galan caught her hiding another yawn behind her palm he pulled her up and they excused themselves.

"I think we are all pretty tired right now. Let's regroup tomorrow," Tristan told the group. They left the office one by one, with Aida and Sam giving her a quick hug. The twins and Dean had long left, asking to join the patrol team so they could familiarise themselves with the lay of the land.

Galan led her up the stairs and to her room. They stood outside her door awkwardly.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked.

He looked at her, watched her closely for a long second before he nodded and the two of them entered the room and closed the door quietly behind them.

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20 November 2020

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