Chapter 248

248 Comfort

Vincent’s heart left his chest when he found Tilla crouching on the floor with her head resting on the rug. His hands were already laced with the strong smell of the werewolf blood. So, he couldn’t quite tell if Tilla was hurt and if she was bleeding or not from the angle she was lying.

He wanted to call her, but his voice got stuck in his throat when he saw her unmoving.

He slowly walked inside the room while trying to take a look at Tilla’s forehead to see if she was badly injured. He could hear her breathing, but he wasn’t sure if she was still conscious.

‘Why did I have to push the door so hard?’ Vincent cursed himself in his mind and stopped behind Tilla.

He gulped and slowly held out his hand to touch Tilla on her back. But he sharply inhaled and refrained from doing so when he saw the state of his hand – all red and sticky with dried blood. And to add to that, his dirty claws were still on full display.

Vincent immediately held his hands behind his back. He retracted his fangs and then happened to subconsciously clear his throat.

He saw Tilla shuddering in fear.

And his words finally came out of his mouth when he realized that she was still conscious, “Tilla! Are you okay?”

He didn’t know how relieved Tilla was to hear his voice until she turned to look at him with teary eyes and instantly got up on his feet to jump at him.

.....

Vincent’s heart skipped a beat when he felt Tilla’s warm hands around his neck and her soft body pressed against his cold and rock-hard body.

“Oh, thank god, it’s you!” Tilla didn’t care about all the formalities and simply wrapped Vincent in her arms. She was so glad that she got to embrace Vincent when she had already given up her hopes and was ready to embrace death instead.

“Yes.” Vincent cleared his throat again and said in a consoling voice, “Yes, it’s me.”

Tilla was so shaken while she waited for someone to snuff the light out of her that the moment she heard Vincent’s kind words, she instantly broke down into tears.

Vincent could feel Tilla quivering as if she had been stranded on a mountain for days. He lifted his hands to hold her and tell her that she was now safe with him. But his hands stopped a few inches away from Tilla’s back when he suddenly recalled how he had plucked out someone’s heart with those same hands.

“I thought I was going to die...” Tilla sobbed while still trembling like never before.

Vincent suddenly felt a piercing sensation in his heart. He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain. And unable to see Tilla in such a state, he tightly hugged her back without caring about his hands that were soaked in the enemy’s blood.

He gently rested his chin on Tilla’s head and softly whispered, “Tilla, you are safe now. I am here, aren’t I? Please, don’t cry.”

Tilla felt greatly comforted by his words. The loud screams and roars that were piercing her ears until now suddenly seemed to settle in the background. And the way he hugged her so tightly, she felt as though she was in the safest place on Earth.

She slowly began to calm down, reassured by Vincent’s constant soft pats on her back.

Right then, Vincent suddenly lifted his head and looked back towards the door when his ears caught a few pairs of footsteps running inside the inn. He wanted to go and check if they were the enemies who had managed to escape the eyes of the soldiers outside.

However, since Tilla was still tightly holding onto him, he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave her alone again.

And Tilla’s hold on him wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t go away. ‘What if I leave her alone and someone finds her before I come back?’ he thought while tightening his hold on Tilla. ‘I don’t think I can rest easy if something happens to her in my absence.’

‘Lord Hamilton can handle the intruders, if there are any. I’m not moving from here.’ Since Hamilton was there with the Crown Prince, Vincent decided to stay there with Tilla until everything settled down.

—

After Hamilton sent Vincent to go and take a look around the inn, Alexander looked at Hamilton with a lot of questions in his mind.

“You are here to guard me?” Alexander asked the moment Hamilton closed the door behind him. “I thought you wanted to stay with me because this room was heavily guarded. From what I noticed, you don’t have any personal guards.”

“Umm... Please...” Hamilton gestured for the Crown Prince to take a seat on the bed, while he dragged a chair and sat down while facing Alexander.

He then tried to answer as honestly as possible, “It’s not that I don’t have any personal guards. I do have them. But I didn’t bring them here since my cousin had only extended the invitation to me. Besides, I do believe that I am the second strongest va- umm... man after the King himself. So, I am confident that I can handle myself without my guards.”

Alexander nodded his head and answered his unanswered question, “So, you wanted to stay by my side in case someone broke into my room.”

“Yes.” Hamilton gave a subtle smile and said, “You are our esteemed guest after all. You had received me well when I was in Lavinya. Let me return the favor this time. I want to make sure that you come out unharmed when this battle is over.”

Alexander was happy to see how Hamilton looked very serious when he said that. He looked towards the door and then asked, “I guess, we aren’t stepping out of this room now. Are you still planning to take me somewh-”

Hamilton suddenly sprung up on his feet and stood while facing the door. He could hear the commotion that was going on inside the inn – the sound of something crashing and thudding.

He took a deep breath and narrowed his blood-red eyes. He clenched his fist and took a battle stance, ready to take action if enemies were to suddenly burst open the door.

And he replied to the Crown Prince, “I don’t think the time is in our favor to do so. I am going to do my best to keep you from harm’s way.”