Chapter 35 — Khloe’s POV
I was alive.
That whole thought felt so strange to me.
I had actually survived a Blood Moon.
Not only that, but everything that came after felt strange too.
I looked up as Nico hung up his call, placing the phone back on the desk where it always sat.
I debated asking him what the call had been about since I was lost in my own thoughts, but I stayed quiet.
I had been quiet ever since we woke up—and so had Nico.
For some reason, things just felt… off between us.
I wasn’t sure if he felt it, but I certainly did.
Maybe I was overreacting again.
Then again… he was acting differently than he had last night, not to mention that I had disobeyed him more times than I could count.
Maybe that’s why he was quiet.
I shifted uncomfortably, hugging my knees closer to my body.
I couldn’t tell if he was mad at me or not.
Any other time I’d seen him mad, he was visibly upset and even vocal about it.
But now… he was unusually quiet, and it made me nervous.
There was no way he wasn’t at least a little upset about what happened.
Not that I wanted him to be mad, but I needed some sort of answer—or relief.
“Breakfast will be soon,” he said plainly, turning slightly toward me.
I looked up quickly to meet his eyes. Even though his wings had disappeared at sunrise, he still hadn’t put on a shirt.
“O-Okay,” I whispered, inching toward the edge of the bed. “Should I get ready?”
“No,” he said, leaning back against the desk and placing his hands on it for support. “I just told the slave to bring it up here. Just go sit on the couch.”
I looked at him, puzzled, as I hung my legs over the side of the bed. “Why?”
He glanced to the door for a moment before looking back at me.
“The bodies.”
My stomach turned, and I quickly faced the floor.
I knew how lucky I was to survive last night, but I had forgotten that not everyone else shared that same fortune.
I took a deep breath.
Nothing could be done about it.
They were dead, so worrying wouldn’t help.
I just hoped Doe was okay.
“I see,” I said, removing myself from the bed, my feet meeting the cold wooden floor.
Black dots filled my vision, followed immediately by a wave of dizziness.
I hadn’t even noticed I was losing my balance until something grabbed me, and instinctively, I returned the gesture.
My breath caught in my throat as I realized my arms were wrapped around his bare waist.
He held me by the shoulder with one arm, pressing me against his body to prevent me from falling, and looked down at me casually.
“S-s-sorry!” I sputtered, embarrassed, quickly freeing myself.
His grip loosened as I straightened.
“It’s to be expected,” he said, guiding me toward the couch. “Your body is still recovering.”
I gave a slight nod, keeping my eyes on the ground to avoid further embarrassment.
A knock came at the door as we approached the couch. Nico made sure I was comfortable before going to open it.
He had been acting very strangely. Now that I thought about it, he’d been like this ever since I woke up last night.
I intertwined my fingers, resting my hands near my knees.
Nico closed the door, holding a tray with a single plate and a glass of what looked like milk.
But there was no plate for me.
My hands tightened.
Did he decide not to feed me as punishment?
I nervously chewed the inside of my lip.
I never wanted that to happen again, but I guess I deserved it for last night.
My eyes widened as he set the plate and glass on the coffee table in front of me, then carried the tray back outside the door.
I stared at the food, confused.
Waffles covered in strawberries and whipped cream, lightly dusted with powdered sugar.
It looked amazing.
I looked up at Nico as he closed the door.
“Go ahead and eat,” he said.
My eyes widened even more.
This wasn’t food fit for a pet.
“What about you?” I asked.
He shook his head as he approached me.
“I’m not that hungry, so I’ll just eat whatever you don’t,” he said, sitting across from me, elbows on his knees and leaning forward.
I was thoroughly confused, but I lifted the fork and knife anyway.
This looked too good to pass up, especially if he was offering it freely.
“Though, I do want to ask you a couple questions while you eat,” he said, his voice lowering slightly.
Suddenly, the food didn’t seem as appealing.
“There’s no need to lose your appetite, Khloe. You’re not in any danger here. I just want to know why you did what you did.”
His tone wasn’t menacing, so I relaxed slightly.
“W-why?” I asked nervously.
I wondered if there was a wrong way to answer. If I said something wrong, would I be punished?
Even I knew how uptight I was being.
“None of my other pets have ever done anything close to what you did last night. I just want to know why.”
His voice had softened significantly. He must have noticed my nervousness.
I took a deep breath, unwilling to touch the food until this was over.
I looked at the floor, recalling last night carefully to answer him as fully as I could.
“I guess I did it because I knew I was the only one who could give you what you needed. I knew you were fighting it, I knew you were hurting, and I knew that if you didn’t get relief soon, you’d break. I’m sorry I didn’t listen, but I honestly didn’t think I’d survive the night. So once the opportunity presented itself, I…” My voice trailed off, unsure how to explain myself without feeling awkward.
“You attempted a kiss of death,” he finished for me, leaning back and crossing his arms.
A blush crept across my cheeks as I avoided his gaze.
“I wouldn’t call it a kiss,” I murmured.
I was pretty sure kissing your Master was one of the worst things a pet could even think of.
It had just been the fastest way to get him blood.
“Whatever it was, it was smart, I’ll give you that,” he said, surprising me. “But why did you act on it? If you were convinced you were going to die, why try to speed up the process?”
I stared at the now very interesting floor.
“You said a pet’s job was to give their Master what they needed so nothing bad would happen. I knew you needed it, so… I gave it to you.”
The room fell silent, making it hard to breathe.
Finally, I forced myself to look up at him.
His eyes were wide, almost surprised and a bit confused.
Then he furrowed them, bringing a hand to his chin.
“I did say that, didn’t I…” he whispered so quietly I barely heard him.
I said nothing, giving a small nod.
He sighed and stood.
“Okay.” That was it. He walked toward the bathroom.
I continued staring at him.
That was it? No scolding? No punishment?
I looked back at the waffles.
“Khloe.”
My head whipped up to meet his gaze.
“Please don’t do anything like that again,” he said.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just nodded.
His eyes drifted to the side, as if thinking.
“One last thing,” he said, turning toward me.
I straightened in anticipation.
But I wasn’t prepared for what he said next.
“Thank you.”
