A gift

Isabelle

I didn't remember when I had fallen asleep because we both couldn't realize when it'd become the night and we fell asleep, but in the morning I woke up in Kaden's arms. Our legs were tangled together under the blanket. I was not surprised to find him awake, he gently stroked my cheek as I opened my eyes.

"Good morning, my love," He murmured and pressed a kiss on my forehead.

"Good morning," I leaned into his touch. His warmth made the comfort flood within my veins.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, his small attempt to hide his concern in that question beneath the small smile on his face didn't work.

He really cared for me and the thought caused the happiness to flutter, I couldn't help the smile that took over my expression and gently rested my hands on his chest.

"Better," I smiled and took the liberty to press our lips together on his which took him by surprise but he kissed me back once he had overcome the surprised daze.

"No can hurt you again, I will kill everyone who'll try to hurt you. You are mine, you belong to me.....only me," He pressed his forehead against mine.

I didn't say anything. Only basked in the feeling. His arms around me made me feel safe and secure, he felt like home.

A few moments passed before Kaden spoke, his body moved to lay on his back, and he guided my head to rest on his chest as well as my body to lay on top of him.

He gently stroked my hair as he uttered the question, "You don't have any last memory of your family, do you?"

I slowly shook my head in response ignoring the ache that'd appeared in the middle of my chest, "I wish I had something of them as the last remembrance, but all I got is the memories that had now started to become a blur." I sighed out.

"Angel, I have something to tell you..."He spoke, there was a hesitation there in his voice that I couldn't comprehend.

"What is it?" I placed my hand on his cheek, lightly rubbing my thumb over it.

"The last time I went out for a day, I went to the bungalow you used to live in...." His words made me freeze. The mention of the bungalow had always unlocked the dark side of the memories, the place I had once loved had given me the most dreadful nightmares I could never forget.

"Why did you go there, Kaden?!" I hurriedly sat up, my restlessness started taking over, "You could have gotten hurt, they could have hurt you!"

"Isabelle...I..." He tried to reach out to me but I moved away.

"That place took my whole family away from me! I lost my everything after going there, every bit of my happiness," My voice got loud, "Those monsters could have hurt you too! Why'd you do something like that?"

His eyes softened noticing my tears, and this time he managed to get a hold of me despite my continuous tries to escape his grip.

"Leave me, Kaden," I fought his hold but he had positioned me on his lap and shifted his hands onto my hips keeping me locked.

"Calm down, sweetheart," He cooed, "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" I sniffled and tried pushing at his chest but I didn't succeed in pulling away, instead, the mere progress was him drawing me even close to him.

"You could have gotten hurt! They could have taken you away too!" The tears rolled down my cheeks.

The thought of losing him made my soul get cold. In only these few days he had become my life, even more than that for me and I could die for him but not see him dying in front of me as my parents and my sister.

"Please don't cry, sweetheart," He wiped my tears, kissing my cheeks and my now red nose, "I am fine, you see nothing has happened to me."

"B-but..." He cut me off.

"I promise I am not going to do anything you don't want to, please let it pass time," He cupped my face in his hands.

"I don't want to lose you too, I won't be able to live if I have to face something like that nightmare again," I hugged him tightly as always burying my head into his neck while seeking comfort from his warmth.

"I promise you'll never have to face something like that again, I promise," He kissed the side of my head and rubbed my back.

"They are...terrifying," my voice trembled, "They don't have hearts in their bodies, they don't care about people at all. They are very...brutal."

"If it comes to saving you then I can be even worse than them, they are not going to be able to even lay a finger on you," He made me look at him, "I promise you, nothing and none is ever going to succeed in separating us. You have become mine since the day I have put my eyes on you."

The determination in his eyes made my fear fade away inchmeal. His hold was protective as if he was telling me that he was here and always going to be and if I say it didn't fill the invisible wounds within me, it'd be a lie.

"Why did you go to that bungalow?" I asked after a while, one hand had moved around the back of his neck and the other one decided to take its place on his cheek but resting lower than usual so that my thumb could trace his jaw.

"I wanted to know about you," He sighed out, "I didn't want to ask you since I didn't know how much damage those monsters had caused and how long it'd take you to fully trust me. I didn't want to lack in your safety because all I want is you to be safe and sound in my arms."

"I trust you, Kaden," I spoke stroking his stubble, "I know I might have not made it obvious, but I trust you more than myself."

"I know," He grabbed my hand that was resting on his cheek and brought it to his lips kissing the back of it, "And you have already given me everything I could ever ask for just by coming into my life."

My heart skipped a beat at his words but the smile splayed over my lips anyways, this time the tears that had gathered in my eyes were not because of fear or sadness. It was because of the raw feeling that bloomed in my chest, something strong and so most unpredictable.

I smiled through my tears, "Thank you, Kaden. Thank you so much for everything you've done, I never thought that someone like you would come into my life and embrace me like this."

"You are my mate, Isabelle. Our souls were connected ever since the universe is there. You don't need to thank me for any of it, you deserve all of it in fact even more than that." He kissed me on the lips causing the flutter to rise again.

Is that what the poets call sweeping off the feet? Because Kaden with his words had already turned everything around not less than clouds.

I nodded at his words, trying hard to not get overwhelmed and he only looked at me accordingly.

"I have got something for you," He suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

"Let me get that for you, I'll be back in a second..." He got down from the bed, and soon my body began craving his warmth but I rested my head against the headrest and patiently waited for him.

Sixty seconds had never felt this long.

When he finally came back I saw him hiding something behind her, a look of hesitancy crossed his face but saw him shaking his hand walking over to the bed before he finally let the frame come into my view.

My brows rose in surprise and the low gasp slipped past my lips and my brain stopped working watching the same picture we had clicked before the storm threw our lives apart.

Mom's red dress, the chocolate in my hand that my sister had stolen from where mom had hidden it, dad's bright smile on his face as always.

I had never thought I would get to see this picture again.

It was certain after Alistair's order to his soldier that every memory of my family in the bungalow would be destroyed.

Seeing this photo again felt no less than a miracle.

"I got this from the bungalow, it was there in your room," He spoke and sat beside me handing me the frame. He must have noticed my stillness because he placed his hand around my shoulder gently squeezing my arm to comfort me.

"I never thought I could see this again," I shakily spoke, and gently touched the frame over my mom and dad's face before I looked at my sister's toothy smile.

I wish I could hug her just like before...

"You see that chocolate in my hand," I sadly smiled pointing at my picture, "Orabelle had stolen it for me. She loved me a lot and protected me till her last breath..."

I hadn't noticed that my tears had fallen on the frame until Kaden pulled me closer, "It's okay..." He soothingly whispered, "They are at peace, and watching you from above. They surely won't like these tears on this pretty face, would they?"

I shook my head and wiped my tears. This caused a small smile to take over his face and he took my hand and placed something in it.

I looked down and the instant recognition brushed past me like a swift wind.

"It's Orabelle's locket, where did you find it?" I asked.

Kaden went silent upon my question, and this time the wavering was there in his expression.

As the recalls took over my mind, my brain clicked.

The painful feeling sharpened itself.

Orabelle had this on her that night. Those monsters had left my family's dead bodies there just like that, they didn't even get any funeral...

"You found it beside her...?" I didn't utter the rest of the question because I just couldn't make those words out of my mouth. It had been years but the truth stung.

He nodded at my question.

I adoringly looked at the locket, it felt like I was just closer to my sister.

I put the frame and the locket aside and hugged him without any delay. Whether he had understood it or not, having something of my family had lessened a big burden from over my shoulder.

At least instead of looking through the memories, I would have something to hold when I would miss them.

"You don't know what a gift you gave just given me....it means the world to me." My words broke his surprised daze and he wrapped his arms around me too.

"You don't know how glad I am that I could make my world happy."

His words as always soothed my pain and made them fade into nothingness until there was nothing other peace I could find...just in his embrace.