Chapter 40:

'"Fucking get back you mother fuckers! Hrudra! Hold on!" The demon's voice came from above me all of a sudden as I continued to claw at the earth, trying to free myself in a mad frenzy.

The sound of him digging up the earth eased me a bit but I hated that I knew nothing of what was going on.

After several minutes of the both of us digging, I finally felt the soft lick of fresh air on my fingertips. A hand wrapped around mine before pulling me from beneath the earth and grasping me in a tight grasp.

I coughed harshly, shaking at the thought of being buried alive once again. The mere mention of losing my freedom once again had me shivering once again.

"It's okay, Hrudra. I've got you. You're alive and safe." The demon combed my hair from the dirt, holding me tightly as I let him. My pounding heart didn't calm down just because I was above the ground.

"A-Am I a vampire?" I coughed again when he cradled my head against his chest. Someone kneeled in front of us, her large black hair tied into a bun on her head.

"No. But I knew that the soil that circled a coven was sacred with healing properties. We needed to get you in health as fast as we could so I placed you and Getha underneath. She was injured badly as well as you but had recovered hours ago." Valrun assures me before I sagged in the demon's hold on me.

"Thank, Freya," I whisper as she stood up and nodded to the demon, pleased.

"Good job you pulled her out. Even though I feel she could have remained another hour or two. Us Valkyrie are very sensitive towards being buried alive or being stripped of our freedom." Valrun admits when I nodded and inched away from the large hole in the ground that I was held in.

〰 End of Flashback 〰

"Hrudra... Hrudra. Wake up. It's okay, you-"

"Proximo," I mumble, opening my eyes and looking up at him with a horrified expression. He stared down at me with a worried expression when I reached up to hug him.

"It's okay. I've got you." He whispers, holding onto me as I shivered at the tragic dream and pressed my face in the crook of his neck. His large hands caressed my back in a relaxing way that calmed my muscles down in seconds.

I couldn't figure out what that dream was even about. I felt like I couldn't breathe yet it was a dream, almost like I was buried alive as Valrun said in my dream. Could it have been fear that caused me to struggle to breathe?

Taking a deep breath of air, Proximo's scent had caused shocking and calming waves of sparks to calm my shaken up figure. He didn't say anything for a little while, letting me soak in the comfort he was giving me as my muscles gradually unwinded enough to loosen my hold on him.

I finally noticed the cool night sky we were exposed to as I peered up at the sky and saw sprinkles of stars and the moonlight spilling through the trees. The nice drift of wind made me feel vulnerable but I couldn't forget the sudden dream I had.

It felt like... I died.

"Are you okay now?" He asked in a gentle voice when I nodded and reluctantly pulled away from him.

"Yeah. I just had a crazy dream. It must have shocked me enough that I couldn't breathe very well." I blushed as he smiled softly and cradled my face with one of his palms.

"What was the dream about?" He questions me, letting me go while I settled back down on my sleeping bag and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Uh. Well, I was struggling to breathe and you were there. We were... I was digging to get out and you were trying to get me out of the ground. I asked if I was going to be a vampire and Valrun was there and-"

"Hey. Calm down. It's alright, you're alright." He says in a reassuring voice, holding my hands in a comforting way. "That wasn't a dream. That was a memory." His words caused me to tense back up again.

"A-A memory?" I question horrified when he touched my arm with his large hand. "I-I was buried alive? Why?" He seemed to grow uncomfortable at my questions which caused my anxiety to skyrocket.

"You-You died in the hands of a Vemon." He tells me as I looked like I'd seen a ghost. "Don't worry. The memory you had was that you were buried in a ground with healing properties that saved your life." I stared at his face, unsure on what to think when I brought a hand to my mouth in mock shock.

"Is... Is the Vemon dead?" I ask him making him smile.

"I killed him the second you dropped to the ground." He assured me, grabbing my hands and bringing them up to his lips. "You won't ever have to worry about being in that position again. I will protect you with my life for now on." Proximo promises when I nodded and reached up to hug him again. He seemed surprised at the action but hugged me back.

I felt my toes wiggle underneath the sleeping bag, reminding me of our awkward position. Though I couldn't help but feel safe and secure in his grasp like I wouldn't remember any of the bad memories. I felt his face pressed up against my neck while I ran a hand through his dark brown hair that still felt damp from the river.

"Proximo... The blood moon is going to be here in a week..." I point out as we pulled away and looked at one another.

"I know. We'll be back home before it comes don't worry." He assures me when I nodded and peered over at the river.

"We're alone too." I point out, seeing the water glimmer beside me making him cock his eyebrow up.

"Your point, Hrudra?" He questions when I glanced back at him.

"Last time we... were together. I knew you were someone important. Felt it within me. Now that I'm not taking medication... Maybe it would be different." I comment as he grinned at me with a certain look in his eyes that made me shiver.

"You... Want to? Are you sure?" He questions but I could hear the lust in his voice.

I leaned out of the sleeping bag, pressing my lips on his and dragging my hands up into his hair again. He pressed me on the ground, roaming his hands around me and pressing his lips against mine.

I couldn't help myself, even if this didn't bring back my memories. I would do this all over again because he made me feel special and very, very loved.

〰〰〰

"Are you ready to go?" Proximo asked me as I redressed into my marron dress. He left me to get washed up in the river to go tell the others that we were ready once they were. I was glad to have some time to myself to so I could gawk over of amazing sex was with him.

I wasn't even sure, but I could care less if I remember anything. If he stayed by my side I would be the happiest girl in the world. He was gentle and caring that it hurt to even think of the things I used to do back in my fighting days.

Though more than anything, I would be able to resist him for another day again. I knew the need would become too great and I knew we'd have to depart from the group.

"Yep. I'm just getting dressed. Mind zipping up the dress?" I ask him, pulling my hair over my shoulder to show him the zipper on the dress I was wearing. He grinned over at me, walking over to me in slow steps that caused goosebumps to run up my arms.

I bite the bottom of my lip as his hands touched my cold back. His warm hands igniting the underlying fire inside of me while he zipped up my dress and pressed his lips against the back of my neck.

"You're gorgeous." He mumbles with a loving voice making me blush and peer around my shoulder.

"Maybe it's better if we travel... just the two of us," I comment as he blinked at me in shock.

"It's safer with the group." He points out making the smile on my face falter a bit.

"Oh. Okay. We can travel with the group." I nod when kneeling down and grabbing my bag from the ground along with my sleeping bag. "Let's go." He stared at me for a moment before grabbing his things and reaching for my hand.

"Lets." He pulled me along, holding onto my sleeping bag for me brightening my mood up already. We walked back with a comfortable atmosphere when I noticed the others chatting and waiting for us.

Mira lounged around with the little girl who was her daughter. I apparently saved the little girl which made Mira and I reunite with each other. Though I was still confused about why I would forgive her for something like that.

I get that she forgave me but I didn't understand why I forgave her. She didn't do anything for me that I remember or was told.

Though as long as she didn't attack me, I was fine with her traveling with us. As long as that little girl remains safe I am perfectly fine with her existence.

"Look who finally showed up," Valrun comments making me blush and tighten my hold on Proximo's hand. "Wonder what you both were doing. All alone." She says out loud when I groaned and covered my face in Proximo's shoulder.

"Fuck off, Valrun." Proximo snarls at her while she chuckled and waved away.

"Sorry." She lies before she glanced at everyone else. "Are we ready to go?" Valrun asks the group when Proximo cleared his throat bringing her attention back to us. I peered up at him, confused at what he wanted to say now.

Was he trying to kill me with embarrassment?!

"Hrudra and I spoke and decided to take a different route home. I wanted to see if Claus would bring some memories back." Proximo says making me snap my attention to him.

"That's a good idea, Proximo. Will it be safe for you both to stray off so close to the blood moon? Plus people were still-"

"Hrudra and I want to leave. Don't worry. We'll be safe." He assures them when I nodded and pressed my body against his. Valrun stared at us for a long moment before a man walked up to her and said something under his breath that made her sigh.

"Alright. Contact us one you get to Claus's casino. Don't be gone for too long." We nodded like children before bidding our goodbyes and walking in a different direction than the rest of them. I grinned up at him, pressing a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," I mumble with an adoring look when he smiled down at me and pressed his lips on mine.