Amy Blankenship - Sanctuary

Kane gave Tabatha a hurt look, “Love, she just kicked my ass all the way back down to the main floor. Are you seriously telling me that you’re on her side?”

“Your fangs are showing,” Tabatha glowered at him then rolled her eyes when he had the nerve to look down and make sure his pants was zipped. She gritted her teeth to keep from smiling since she couldn’t blame him for looking… after all, the black leather pants was the only thing he was wearing and the button was still unfastened.

Aurora jerked her head around and stared up at the man holding her checking for fangs. Was he a vampire like the man she’d made love to in the subway?

Kane noticed her looking up at him and couldn’t help himself. He smiled at the girl… fangs and all.

“Kane,” Tabatha exclaimed and took a step toward them only to stop when Kane pinned her with a warning glare… accompanied by a dangerous growl. “You’re so mean,” Tabatha informed him in a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.

Seeing his fangs, Aurora’s eyes lifted to his and for a second she went shock still. She remembered seeing eyes like those before… deep amethyst eyes that seemed to look into her very soul.

Now that he had the girl’s attention, Kane slowly let the smile die knowing this wasn’t a game. If it had been Tabatha coming up those stairs instead of him, the outcome would have been the same… except this girl would now be breathing through her neck.

He let his pupils enlarge, “Now then, I’ve introduced myself. It’s only fair that you do the same.”

“Vampire,” Aurora hissed and started struggling again.

Kane sighed feeling like he was trying to hold on to a snake. “No love… that would be me. The question was what you are. You’re not human… that much is obvious. If you were a demon, you’d have been writhing in pain long before breaching the barriers surrounding our home. Now I’m going to ask you one more time… who and what are you?”

Aurora’s lips thinned as she pressed them together. She’d learned as a child to never tell what she was… though the dangerous ones usually knew what she was at first sight. This man had lied to her by playing the part of vampire. She knew he wasn’t… his soul was plain as day to her, though she had to admit there was something wrong with it.

As well as she could see his soul, Aurora could also see the darkness around the edges of it and knew there was a chance of it overtaking him if he was pushed too far.

Her heart fell when she realized she’d been right about this place… it was a sanctuary. He’d said demons couldn’t cross his barriers and this thought alone made her want desperately to stay. She stopped struggling and looked toward the girl that had tried to defend her. Could she trust them enough to tell them who she really was… she doubted it.

“I just wanted sanctuary from the demons,” Aurora said honestly… looking deep into the other woman’s eyes. “I can’t tell you what I am… I’m sorry. If he will let go of me, I will leave quietly and never return.”

Kane noticed the shadow of wings slowly crawl across his arm and for a moment didn’t know if he should let her go or hold on tighter. He glanced at Tabatha to make sure she hadn't noticed the warning.

‘Kane, she’s not going to hurt me,’ Tabatha said very loudly in his mind then softened her inner voice to a whisper, ‘please, for me… let her go.’

Loosening his grip, Kane said in a very soft voice, “I believe you won't hurt anyone nor do you want to… I frightened you, right? You are welcome here any time you need sanctuary… you will be safe inside the barrier. But if you want to camp out on our roof, then at least let me get you some warm covers and a pillow.”

Holding his breath, Kane slowly let go of the Fallen and took a step back, disappearing down the stairs. Tracing to his and Tabatha’s room, he quickly selected several blankets and two pillows from the closet. He made it back up the stairs before Tabatha had taken more than two steps closer to the Fallen.

Laying the blankets and pillows down next to the girl’s feet, he motioned for Tabatha to come with him.

Tabatha nodded keeping her expression calm, although she could have sworn she’d seen Kane’s hands shaking. She sent a fleeting glance toward the other woman as she passed her.

Aurora picked up the bedding and leaned against the wall beside the door before slowly pushing it closed behind them. She felt more drained now than she’d been to start out with but she had her sanctuary… at least for a couple more hours.

Tabatha turned on Kane ready to give him a what for, but stopped when she felt his finger touch her lips.

“Shhh,” Kane whispered near her ear, “come.”

Tabatha nodded and remained quiet as she followed Kane back down into the security office. He shut them in and they both watched the monitor seeing the woman still standing there were they’d left her. Tabatha inhaled softly when the girl lifted a hand to wipe at a tear that had made its way down her cheek.

“Poor girl… I hate to see anyone alone and frightened like that. I wonder why she’s alone… she’s beautiful.” She glanced up at Kane seeing the muscles in his jaw bounce and knew he was gritting his teeth. “Why did you suddenly have a change of heart and decide to let her stay?” Tabatha whispered as if the girl could still hear them.

Kane nodded at the monitor. “She’s right not to tell anyone what she is,” he stated as the girl leaned back against the roof door and slid down it into a sitting position. He shook his head noting the way she was still staring at the covers in her arms with teary eyes.

“She can’t be any rarer than you are,” Tabatha frowned seeing the worry in her lover’s eyes. She looked back at the monitor and felt her heart break a little as the girl hugged the blankets closer as though someone would suddenly appear and take them away.

“I think she may have crawled out of the rift with the demons,” Kane said avoiding Tabatha’s question about rareness.

He needed a moment to think of a damn good reason not to grab the phone and call Dean. She’d obviously lived among the demons for who knew how long and there was no telling how big of a toll it had taken on her. She wasn’t trusting of anyone and now that he knew the reason… he couldn’t just turn her away. He looked over at Tabatha suddenly feeling his mate’s sadness.

“Kane… do you truly love me?” Tabatha asked quietly.

Kane slowly nodded as he searched her eyes, “With everything that I am.”

Tabatha smiled softly at the sweetness of his words. “Then trust me enough to let me in. You’re not alone anymore,” she raised her hand and cupped his cheek. “You’re worried and I want to worry with you. Maybe I can even help chase your demons away.”

Kane took a deep breath. “What if I told you that girl on the roof is probably the only female of her kind on earth?” he asked, his mind still going a mile a minute. “She needs to be with her own kind… her own breed. But if I tell them about her, it will destroy what they have right now. I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

Tabatha's lips parted and she frowned thoughtfully. Bless his heart he was trying, but he wasn’t giving her much to go on. She watched his knuckles turn white where he was tightly gripping the back of the chair between him and the monitor. By this action alone, she could tell that this was weighing heavily on him.

“My first instinct was to pick up the phone and tell the men of her kind that she’s here… I want to tell them. But it’s the wrong thing to do. She’s hiding from something out there and with their help, she would be better protected,” he slung the chair away from him and it crashed into the wall startling both of them. “Damn it!”