over to Saint's room, I opened the door to see he was still asleep, only now he slept on his stomach while he quietly snored away.
Out of all the pack members, I was closest to Saint. It was odd because we were rather opposite - him being far too happy, while I was always angry at something - but he always got me in his own unique way.
He did things for us to express that he cared and was always in an uplifting mood to help tame our rather dark dynamic. Dimitris was the serious ones, Neo the calm one, and I was the short-tempered force. With Onyx, he held a bit of everything while upholding a level of mystery, and Willow was just a unique package of fierceness.
That left us with Saint, who aimed to bring some light-heartedness to the game, and it was what we sometimes needed to trick people into thinking we weren't as dangerous as we seemed.
Until we threaten to kill their entire generation.
With a smirk, I closed his door and decided to head back downstairs. There was no need to get clothes; my boxers were more than sufficient. With Willow in lingerie, I was pretty sure she wouldn't care about coming back naked.
We'd shift back on safe grounds, and I knew where all the hidden clothes were on the property. I'd helped Saint add a set of clothes for Willow after our first pack run, so at least if she felt uncomfortable walking back naked in daylight, she had options.
Arriving back into the kitchen, Willow was drinking some water and tossing her pills into her mouth.
"Isn't it early?" I inquired.
"Ya," she replied after finishing her glass. "But a run is going to hype my body up, so it would make sense for me to take them now.
I nodded in understanding, knowing she knew her body better than any of us. I couldn't imagine how stressful it was to be on a medicine routine like Willow's, especially with the need to tamper with it depending on multiple factors.
With how busy Aurelia was becoming, I could only affirm she'd try to find a combination that would need less tweaking.
She finished and walked over to me.
"Ready?" I asked.
"One more thing," she whispered and moved to give me a hug.
"What's this for?" I replied but didn't deny the urge to hug her right back.
"Before I entered, you looked really lonely," she quietly admitted. "I know we've been kind of all over the place since sealing the deal and I feel like it's been hard to have you not on security because you're good at what you do, but if you're feeling lonely, will you tell me?"
I didn't know why her observation shocked me, but I held her a bit tighter as I pressed my lips to the top of her head.
"I'll let you know, Willow," I assured her. That seemed to be enough for her as we continued to share the tight embrace.
Pulling back, we shared a look before I offered her my hand.
"Let's go run," I whispered.
I loved how happy she looked as she bobbed her head in approval, her hand resting in mine as the two of us made our way outside. We gave the guards a heads up before we walked through the forest, her hand still in mine.
It felt odd to be walking like this, but I wouldn't deny the tranquility it delivered as we made our way to the deeper part of the forest. One of the reasons why we opted for this safe house was how easy it was to blend into the forest that parted with various trails.
Adding the added safety of the magic walls that protected us from random joggers, we had far more privacy than Neo's penthouse suite.
The deeper we got into the forest, the harder it was for Willow to not stop herself from skipping forward. I ended up snickering when she almost tripped out of excitement.
"A few more steps, Rebel Flower," I teased.
"Oh?" She paused to actually look at me. "Is that my personalized nickname from you?"
"Apparently it is," I assured her, pulling her into my arms for a moment. "Like it?"
"Unique," she admitted. "Sits right in between Wilting Flower and Blossoming Flower, though it may get a promotion if you keep using it enough."
"I'll keep that in mind," I whispered and couldn't help but kiss her. "I'm not used to this," I quietly admitted.
"Used to being in the middle of a forest?" she offered.
I smirked at her