Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

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*****

GAHRYE

Gahrye held her there, standing just inside the door of the suite. He held her as she sobbed her fear and grief. And she held him while he fought his.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there, but he stroked her hair and that soft line down her spine. He stroked her face and kissed her hair, inhaling her scent. 

How long did they have? Hours? Days? He didn't know, but it felt like every moment might be the last and he was terrified. How was he possibly going to make himself go through with it? How could he walk through that portal with Elia knowing he might  not make it back? And she never could make it to him? 

He wanted to scream, to rail against the Creator, to kick out the wall. 

Then, in his mind, all the nights he'd lain alone in his tree back in Anima, pleading with the Creator to find his Mate, to bring her to him, to bring him the love he watched between Reth and Elia…

Then he looked down at Kalle, her cheeks pink and blotchy from crying, but she was beginning to pull herself together and it hit him like a boulder bouncing down the mountainside.

He'd rather have found her and had these months, than have stayed alone.

He would. 

"What is it?" she hiccupped, her eyes wide and bloodshot.

"I'm just so grateful for you," he whispered, stroking her face with his thumbs. "I just… I don't know how I'm going to do this."

She took a deep breath and screwed up her face, forcing herself not to give into tears again. "You're going to do it because you're needed. You're important Gahrye. To so many people. Not just now… but for the future. And frankly, I'm not surprised. You were never meant for life as a merchant," she said dryly.

He shook his head. "No one else ever thought twice about it," he murmured. 

"Except Elia," she pointed out.

He nodded. "I have to go pack. I have to be ready any second. Then I have to go to her. I have to take one more shot at pulling her back. But if she comes, Kalle… we can't wait. We have to go the minute she shifts."

They stared at each other lost in the horror of their mutual visions of what that meant. But then, before she could dissolve into tears again, Kalle pulled out of his arms. "I almost forgot!" she said, cursing as she dug into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a small, glass bottle with a lid that stank of these synthetics that humans loved so much.

"What is that?" he asked. 

"Shaw gave it to me." 

Gahrye immediately snatched it out of her hand as if it might explode and harm her. "What are you doing with it?"

"He said if she came back into human form to give it to her, it would help her stay human for a few hours at least."

"Why would he help her?"

"Because he's insisting that I find out what happened to her in the Traverse. He said she has a unique story and he needs to know it."

"You don't tell him a word," Gahrye said through his teeth.

She shook her head. "I won't. He was acting so strangely, Gahrye. Like, he was trying to save me, like he cared. But then, also like… like there was something wrong with him. And he switched in and of this weird mood… it gave me the creeps."

"He's given me the creeps since the moment I  met him," Gahrye muttered, opening the top of the bottle and taking a hesitant sniff. Then he jerked away and started for the bathing room. "We're not giving her this," he snapped, storming through the living room. 

"Why not?" Kalle asked on his heels.

"Because it's poison. I know sometimes poisons have to be used in treatment of certain things, but I do not trust him. I will not give her this. Likely it will only make her stay human because it will kill her—we all stay in human form once we're dead."

Kalle shuddered and put a hand to his back. "I wouldn't have given it to her without you here to check it," she said, "But still… ugh."

Ugh was right. Gahrye dumped the contents into the toilet and flushed it, still slightly nervous around the deep sucking noise it made, though he appreciated the hygiene of the human systems and wondered if they could improve their own back in Anima. But that was such a small detail.

The deposit and removal of waste wouldn't be a concern if the Anima were extinct. And they would be with Elia, of that he was convinced. 

Tossing the bottle into the trash in the little bathroom, he washed his hands, then turned back to Kalle, putting his hands to her shoulders. They stared at each other and her eyes dropped to his lips.

Gahrye's cock twitched, but he pushed the thought away. "Packing first," he said quietly. "Then… then we'll take some time."

***** 

KALLE

Kalle nodded and followed him in the bedroom where Gahrye pulled the large duffel-style bag that he'd brought from Anima out of the closet, then began to collect the clothes and items he'd brought from Anima with him. There weren't many, so it didn't take long. But that just made the whole thing more terrifying.

She had the urge to just hold onto him, to follow him around the room hugging his arm or his leg like a child—he was leaving soon! Her breath came fast and shallow for all the wrong reasons and she started to feel faint as she ran to find items he asked for with quick, low instructions. Including a visit to the kitchen for some non-perishable food. 

She was only able to bring back a few carrots and some beef jerky, but he said it would do. They likely would be able to get back to the Tree City right away. He just didn't want to take the risk if they got stuck in the forest.

"How are you going to bring her back? To herself, I mean?"

"I don't know. But I do know there's people there that can help. They can help her find herself—help reach her from within the beast. And hopefully Aymora has a real tonic that… I don't know," he repeated sadly. "But I know she has to be there. I know it's crucial. As soon as possible. The very first moment…"

He trailed off and Kalle swallowed. He looked at her, pleading with his eyes. "If she walks through that door right now, I have to do it, Kalle. I'm sorry," he breathed.