Closeness

Closeness
And then he dragged Valerio all the way to the porch swing and sat him down. "But—" Valerio tried to speak but Adrian was already rushing inside. "The kitchen is in the left side hall!" Valerio yelled from after him, once he didn't stop. 

"I'll find it!" 

Valerio almost chuckled, shaking his head at Adrian's antics. He didn't know the last time he had ever felt so deeply about someone. For him, everything that Adrian did or said was important and remarkable. He was utterly taken by the man with chocolate brown eyes and it was only a matter of a few more moments before he would reveal this to Adrian too. 

In the midst of all these events, he wanted Adrian to know that he would never be left alone. 

Never again. 

However, right at that moment, Valerio heard Adrian returning and he looked up with a huge grin on his face but when he saw Adrian looking at him with a horrified expression, his happiness was warped once again. 

"What's wrong?" He asked standing up, checking to see if there were any visible injuries on his mate. 

Adrian breathed deeply, as if he had ran all the way back, "there is a dead man behind the kitchen counter." 

The dead man had been Aleksander, killed in cold blood by a bullet in his brain, shot just a few moments before the two had arrived at the tulip mansion. 

After finding his father's body, Valerio had crumbled onto the ground, his soul shattering at the sight as his tears sprung free and Adrian tried to comfort him but nothing worked. 

And within a few moments, they heard explosions happening near them and they realized that their lives had been in danger by whoever killed Aleksander. 

That was when the two mates had felt the greatest urge to protect each other  as they escaped death by shifting into their wolves and beginning to run away, without turning back. 

And now, Adrian watched as Valerio ate his food only for the sake of keeping himself strong, just in case he needed to fight. 

They hadn't spoken about what they saw and had only worked together to survive in foreign wildernesses. 

"We will have to put out the fire." Valerio stated, once they got finished with their food and Adrian nodded his head as he picked up a small canister filled with water and chucked it at the fire in front of them, succumbing their surroundings into darkness. 

"Sleep." Valerio demanded from him, "I'll take the first watch." 

Adrian wanted to protest, he wanted to remind him that he needed rest more, but he didn't know how to say those things without making it seem like he was commanding him. 

And so, he sighed and nodded his head before laying down on the cot that they had stolen from the tulip mansion before leaving, along with a few other necessary things to survive. 

The night was exceptionally cold as Adrian curled into himself and closed his eyes, bringing his knees to his chest. 

Sleep didn't come easy to him, but he could feel someone placing a warm piece of clothing over his body and once his shivering stopped, he could finally sleep peacefully. 

Valerio sat beside where he slept, watching his face look so peaceful under the mellow light from the moon as he rubbed his arms to keep himself warm. 

The thin linen shirt he wore did nothing to keep the cold at bay, especially considering that he had placed his coat over Adrian's body to keep him warm. 

In the sounds of the night and insects, he allowed his mind to wander over the possibility of what might have happened if Adrian had given him the chance to reveal the truth about their bond. 

He thought about where Ophelia was and who killed his father and what enemy had attacked Escalara. 

He knew that if he had been alone, he would have gone back to look for his best friend and to save his city. However, he didn't want to put Adrian in harm's way because the thought of anything happening to the boy sleeping beside him, caused his heart to crack. 

He didn't know when, but his body succumbed to sleep. His exhaustion was finally taking over as he involuntarily allowed his eyes to rest for a moment. 

It was after a few hours that Adrian woke up to the sound of someone's ragged breathing as he looked up and saw Valerio curled up against the tree trunk, shivering in the cold. 

His eyes widened as he realized that Valerio's coat was on him and he instantly got up and put the fabric around Valerio's shivering body. 

The night was exceptionally cold and Adrian watched with impatience and let out a defeated breath when he realized that Valerio was not getting warm. 

And then, he shook his head and instantly lied down behind Valerio, wrapping his arm around his torso and entwining their legs together as he held the young Alpha in his arms while he shivered and hoped that his body heat would be enough to keep him warm. 

Once he didn't feel another chill passing through Valerio's body, he closed his eyes again, pulling the raven-haired boy closer to his chest as both of them slept, wound in each other's arms.