Chapter 138 - New routines

**Ambrogios pov**

I watched Ana while she slept. Ana, short for Anastasia. Every now and then she would wince or frown at something she didn’t like in her dream. In between she smiled and I found myself getting curious about what she was dreaming.
She had had a rough start when she woke up and was still shy and insecure in anyone’s presence but mine. I had started giving her regular blood, something she actually liked and because of how strong she was, she now only needed blood from me once a week. I looked at my wrist, it was almost healed, except for two faint bruises where her teeth had punctured my vein. She used to want to fall asleep to my voice, said she had vague memories of it from the alley where she died and it made her feel safe, like everything was going to be okay.
We talked a lot about her past life. She lived alone, worked as a croupier and had no family to speak of. Her biological mother was an addict and her home had always been flooded with men who financed her mother’s drug addiction in exchange for sex. When Ana was thirteen, her mother had tried to sell her to a man who had a sick fondness for children. Ana had hit him on the head with a vase and run away and never looked back. She had lived both in nature and on the streets, never went back to school but everything she learned, she learned in the libraries where she sought warmth on cold days or in the alleys where she learned to trick others in dice games to get money for a hot meal. Finally, she had become good enough and started saving money. She was a diligent night guest at the homeless shelters and always made sure to be clean and tidy and when she was fifteen she got her first job as a night cleaner in an old people’s home. There was a woman, alone and abandoned by the relatives she once called family. She had trouble sleeping at night and she and Ana soon became good friends. When Ana was seventeen, the woman died. She left what she had in her possession, such as jewelry and some older ornaments, to Ana, what was in her accounts was taken by her greedy family. Ana sold some of the jewelry and finally could afford to pay the deposit for a small apartment and when she turned eighteen she took an evening course and trained as a croupier and she had been working at the gambling tables for two years when our paths crossed.
I gave her my story too, the raw naked truth, I didn’t want to hide anything from her. She surprised me by crying over the young man I once was, the one who only wanted the woman he loved. She felt strongly for Mateivia and Mateus and clapped her hands to the part when the Gods granted to make him a man. She growled at Selene and the fate she gave Aayla and mourned all who died on the battlefields of the wars we fought, wolves and vampires alike. She asked a lot about Luna and longed for the day when she would get to meet her. She often wrote down what I told her, saying she never wanted the true story to be lost. The history of the Origins she called it.
“I hope my story will be as significant as your’s father...that I too will find love, the type that makes it worth living and dying for the one you love.” That was the last thing she said earlier, before she yawned and fell asleep. I hadn’t told her that the Gods had already seen her meaning, I didn’t want her to carry that knowledge yet.
“I’m sure you’ll have a special story to share.” I whispered to her sleeping face.
I leaned and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.
“Is she sleeping?” Tony waited outside, he had a harder time than the others leaving her side and it pained him that she wasn’t comfortable enough for them to spend time with her yet.
“Yeah, she’s sleeping…I thought we’d try again tomorrow, it’ll get easier on her in time. The girl’s had a rough life.” He nodded and put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked beside me.
“Are you okay father?...I know the last few days have been hard.”
“It has...and it still is...” We passed a mirror and out of old habit I stopped and looked myself in the eye. They were now unfamiliar to me, Zandra’s gray lines had disappeared, not even a shadow of them remained. All that was left was my own golden color...the eyes of a monster. I sighed deeply and continued my way down the corridor.
“Everyone appreciated you joining the dinner today, the mood is completely changed throughout the cluster...lighter somehow.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been absent, that too will change…a lot will change. Thanks for being here Tony…thanks for me being able to count on you to fill in for me.
“Of course father..always.” I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him to me as we walked. I meant everything I said and I knew there was no one but him who could take my place one day.
“So…I talked to Hope today…she’s not happy that you haven’t contacted her.”
“I’m going to…tomorrow…what else did she say?”
“Callum is fully recovered, her belly is growing and everything seems to be calm and peaceful. They are still going through the collected material. She has, as expected, been approached by lawyers regarding her father’s death and looks to inherit quite a lot, even corporately. Perhaps the Sons did not trust the state enough, the biggest assets were kept private and Bugatti owned most of them all. They have had both wolves and vampires as prisoners for their experiments, we need to meet and find a solution for them.”
“Absolutely…of course…I’ll call her tomorrow.” I could feel a pang of guilt for being absent, who would have thought that we would become so close after being each other’s archenemies. But I was ashamed, I was so ashamed. I couldn’t save her friend, her sister, I couldn’t heal her. She had sacrificed herself for me, for all of us. Gave up everything she loved so we could go on.
“Good, I don’t think you have a choice, she wants the ceremony for Zandra on Saturday and if she doesn’t hear from you she will come knocking on the door, you know how stubborn she is.” I chuckled a little as Tony’s version of the future played out in my head.
“I know…I promise, tomorrow.” We had arrived at my quarters and were standing between the doors of what had once been Zandra’s room for a night, and mine. I looked at the closed door with mixed feelings.
“Do you need anything? I can send someone up?”
“Thanks Tony, but I’m okay, I can actually make sure I stay well fed all by myself" I gave him a few pats on the back and stood watching as he continued down the hall, presumably to meet his brothers and fight over who would get to watch over Ana while she slept. It wasn’t necessary but something they all wanted to do. One of them always sat outside her door in case she woke up and needed something. She rarely did. She slept well and when she woke up then she waited for me to come, she never asked her brothers for anything.
I took a deep breath before opening the door to my room. I had wanted to return here as soon as I left, but at the same time I needed to be by Ana’s side. I stepped inside, I could smell her scent everywhere and it had that familiar calming effect on me. The room was pleasantly bright from the sun outside. She stood with her back to me. Her long silver hair in waves over her shoulders and caught the rays that shone on her, she was more beautiful than ever. It hurt me to the core that she couldn’t go out and really feel it, she could only enjoy it inside the protective glass. Nature and the elements had always been a part of who she was, she loved the warmth of the sun as much as the coolness of the rain, and now, I had forced her into a life where she could only enjoy the rays of the moon, or the fresh air of a cloudy day.
“Stop my love, I said I don’t want you to think like that.” There was no bitterness in her voice, no disappointment or sadness, only warmth, happiness and love. She turned and her gray eyes sparkled as they caught mine. My fierce little witch, my mate and my love…my Zandra.