Through The Dark Side

Though Alastor wasn't clueless, he also wasn't a mindreader. He couldn't tell the inner turmoil and conflict Relm was grappling with over her emotions for him. She'd asked him not to say anything, his immediate protective nature had turned to assuming she meant about whatever dead wolf walking had left these marks on her. It hadn't even crossed his mind that his love, the one truly rare and unique thing he could give to her, was what was causing her all this pain and heartache. Maybe it was because Alastor found it easy to love Relm that he didn't consider it the way she did. It was a hot and intense love, not entirely dissimilar from what he felt for Manea—though his violet queen would always have his heart and soul. Relm had cemented herself in his spirit though, aligned herself with him through their shared traumas and suffering.

Relm spoke after a moment of struggling with herself, naming herself as the cause of what had happened to her. Alastor scowled in displeasure; he knew the pink woman wasn't being earnest with him. It wasn't entirely unexpected, however. Relm had always blamed herself for the misfortune that befell her, always took the fall for someone else. He knew she was protecting her attacker, which meant only one thing—the perpetrator was either someone close to her or a member of Elysium. Alastor huffed to suppress a frustrated growl, then quickly recoiled in shock when Relm rounded on him and began chiding him for having said anything. Dark brows knitted together, bewildered by the young Abraxas woman's abrupt outburst. Slowly the gears in his head began to turn and Alastor realized what Relm had meant all along.

But Relm was far from done. The floodgates had opened and now the emotional outburst was released in full force. Relm choked back sobs, fought her tears while he declared him as the thing she needed. She said she couldn't make things work, and Alastor was totally lost now. She had been trying to make things work with others? Was this what had happened to her? Had she tried to seduce someone else and gotten a raw deal for it? It would certainly explain why she was blaming herself for her injuries. Relm released a stuttering sigh and looked away from him, looking so beaten and downtrodden and broken. It incensed Alastor to see her in such a state. "Relm, stop it," he interjected with an unyielding tone. He pushed through the water to close the space between them, standing so their chests were almost touching as he gazed down at her with resolute yet affectionate obsidian eyes. "I don't blame you for anything, so stop doing it to yourself. You're better than that—much better than that! Gods and devils dammit all, what do I have to do to get you to see yourself the way I see you?"

Without waiting for her response, Alastor lunged forward to throw his powerful forelegs around Relm's shoulders and draw her in for a hug. He didn't expect her to resist, and if she showed him none, then he'd pull her through the water until he had her snug against his larger, bulkier form. A low, possessive growl rumbled in the demon wolf's chest while he clung to her, considering all the pain she was in. Some of it was his own fault, but some of it still remained with an as-of-yet unknown and doomed assailant. But none with Relm—never with Relm. "If I'm hurting you... do you want to stop this?" He was hesitant to ask the question of her because he didn't want to consider the option she might say yes. She might put an end to this wonderful and crazy thing they had going between them. But if it meant protecting and caring for Relm, then it was an agonizing sacrifice he would find the will to make.

"Alastor"