Pushing off the sink in irritation, I turn to leave but he grabs my bare upper arm. My blood boils in annoyance while my skin tingles with excitement. He perks a brow, obviously sensing it. "Your aura is in disarray," he states bleakly. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock." My Earthly phrase earns me a tilt of his head and I scoff. "Where have you been, Beta?" "On a mission in the Xin Galaxy." "Okay? Would it not be wise to inform your OA of any missions that require your departure? Let go." I pull against his grip and he reluctantly lets go. "Yes, however, this mission did not require your presence nor your opinion," he replies candidly. My eye twitches and wordlessly, I turn away once more but his grip on my arm returns, this time more gentle, as if pleading rather than restraining. "I only meant that this mission did not require you to accompany me as my OA in pretence. It's safer to stay with your younglings out of sight anytime the role is not needed," his voice softer. "You disappeared after you..." I pause and shake my head. I feel embarrassed to say it out loud to him. I feel embarrassed at how much it affected me. "After I kissed you," he finishes for me, the silence following the words adds to the thickness growing in the air. _____ Wrongly accused of being a rebel conspiring against supernatural beings, whom she never thought existed outside of her world of anime fiction, a nightmare plagued Lyla becomes a wanted fugitive. she and her two young children are forced into hiding in a foreign yet beautiful world thousands of galaxies away from Earth to escape her death sentence. She is brought forth before the two heirs to the throne of the Universe. One of whom feels a strong need to hide and protect her while the other maliciously hunts for the wanted criminal, thrusting her into an unexpected journey of war, romance, and ancient secrets about the origins of her haunting nightmares.