As I soak in the bathtub, I hear Lylah pacing back and forth in the room. Once clean, I step out and open the bathroom door in my full glory. Lylah comes to a halt. I casually put the towel over my head and dry my long wet hair.
‘Damn you, Lord Talon! Do you have no shame!?’ Lylah yells.
I remove the towel, look down at myself, and then back at Lylah, whose cheeks are now the rosiest red from blushing.
‘Clearly, Lylah, I have nothing to be ashamed of,’ I smile mischievously at her.
‘You!’ she says and abruptly turns, opens my antique wardrobe and rummages through my belongings. I lean against the door frame and cross my arms as I stare at her sweet little ass as she is bent over going through my clothes. I could stand and watch this view all night. I smirk.
As Lylah grabs my clothing and turns her head, she realises what I’ve been quietly viewing.
Lylah storms toward me and shoves my clothes into my chest, ‘Don’t you ever stare at my ass again! Now in the world of wands! Will you please? Get dressed!’
‘Only because you said please,’ I smile.
Lylah rolls her eyes at me, and I put my arms through the shirt.
‘Not in here! Go in the bathroom and dress, for wand's sake. I don’t need to see your… appendage dangling in my face!’ she says as I notice beads of sweat forming across her forehead.
Lylah steps back quickly, trying to put space between us. She is fighting the pull between us, and me being completely naked right in front of her is proving difficult for her to fight.
‘Fine, if you insist,’ I say, bundling my clothes up and returning to the bathroom.
I hear Lylah sigh in relief as I close the door.
Now dressed, I enter the bedroom to find Lylah sitting back in the gentlemans chair with her arms crossed. I casually walk to a set of antique black drawers, pull out a long-sleeved casual shirt and walk over to Lylah. ‘You can sleep in this until I organise some clothes for you,’ I tell her, placing the shirt on her lap.
‘Or you could lead me out of here, and I can go home and sleep in my chambers in my packhouse,’ she retorts.
Lylah stiffens as I kneel in front of her.
I stare meaningfully into her dark blue eyes. ‘Lylah, I promise I will take you back home to see your family as soon as possible. But for now, I need you to trust me. I swear to you I will never harm you. I just need you to give me a chance. Just one chance is all I’m asking of you,’ I plead.
‘How am I supposed to trust you when you killed all those people? How am I supposed to trust you when you have kidnapped me?’
I gently take her hands.
‘I have never killed anyone in my entire life, Lylah. I don’t even kill the wildlife I feed from, and I told you I will take you back to see your family.’
‘I saw you there! You were even wearing black clothing and the same cape. I saw your red eyes, just like I did the night you destroyed my life… ‘ she quickly pulls her hands from mine and looks away. ‘I want you to go.’
‘Lylah. I swear to you. It wasn’t-‘
‘GO!’ Lylah yells, pointing to the door.
Sighing heavily in defeat, I storm out of the room and slam the door behind me. I pace the hallway outside my chambers.
How can I prove to Lylah that I’m not a murderer? How can I prove to her she can trust me?
I sit on the ledge of the large, arch-stone window near my chambers and peer out at the lake. It’s the middle of the night, and all is still and quiet. There isn’t even a ripple in the water. Then, after an hour, I hear shouting and sobs from my room. I quickly open the door. As it creaks open, I see Lylah asleep under the bed covers. She is wearing my shirt and her clothes are on the nearby chair. The leather braces she wears, for some odd reason, are also with her clothes.
‘No, please,’ she mumbles while she turns and tosses, gaining my full attention again.
She is having a nightmare.
Her arms swing as if she is holding her dagger.
‘Get away from him! Micah! Please, please don’t die. Please don’t leave me,’ she cries.
She is drenched in sweat and extremely distressed. I caress her face.
‘Micah?’ she asks, regarding my touch.
I’m not sure who Micah is to her. Perhaps a cousin or a brother? I remember Lylah said he was killed that night which she has mentioned a couple of times. Is this possibly what broke Lylah? I know my brother kills with great violence, so I can imagine the trauma it would have caused her to have witnessed a loved one killed by him and his Blood Dwellers.
Lylah screams and sits up, waking in terror, and bursts into tears.
I kick off my shoes, coat and shirt, leaving my trousers on, get into bed next to her and scoop her onto my lap. Her forehead rests above the deep cut she gave me across my chest, and salty tears drip onto the wound. I wrap my arms around her back, and she places her hands on my chest, sending a soar of sparks igniting throughout my body.
‘Shh, shh.’ I say, hushing and stroking her back.
After quite some time of comforting Lylah, her crying and sobs cease. Her hot breath against my chest has been sending my insides crazy. My fangs had protruded a few times against my will as the bond was pushing me to bite and feed from her. Even though I could barely keep my eyes off the nape of her neck, and I could have fed off her, I didn’t. I had to force myself to focus on what was important, and even though I need to feed soon, I’d rather starve and become feral and weak than feed from her without her consent. Her blood is hers to give, not for me to take, even if we’re Blood Flames. I want to earn her blood and earn her trust.
I lay comfortably back in the bed, keeping Lylah pressed against my chest. She sleeps soundly for the rest of the night with no more nightmares.
By the morning, she has snuggled her face further into my neck and has her hand firmly pressed against the stitches over my wound. My hand caresses her back until she starts to stir awake. She sits up swiftly when she realises we are in bed together.
‘What are you doing in here? I told you to go!’ she says in confusion.
‘You were having a really bad nightmare. You were shouting and crying. So I rushed in here and held you, and then you fell asleep on me,’ I tell her.
She looks even more confused now, ‘I did?’
‘You don’t remember?’ I ask.
‘I-I remember the nightmare, but nothing afterwards,’ she confesses.
‘The nightmare you had. It was from that night you lost Micah?’ I ask.
Her eyes bolt up into mine, and she nods.
‘Every night, I have the same dream, the same nightmare. Ever since you killed Micah over nine months ago.’
I wish she would stop referring to me as the one who killed him, but until she sees the Blood Dwellers for herself, she will continue to blame me and keep trying to kill me. Although right now, she is more placid than usual, she does look miserable and overtired, probably from the nightmare.
‘Lylah, was Micah a relative of yours? A brother perhaps?’ I ask.
She shakes her head no, and now I’m the one staring at her, greatly confused.
‘Then who was he?’
‘Micah is my mate, my fated mate,’ Lylah whispers.
And just like that, the colour from my face drains, and the utmost horrible feeling consumes me. I struggle to breathe and quickly withdraw myself from the bed, and without saying a word, I grab my clothes and flee the room. Nadia is sitting in the chair, waiting to take over her post. She is startled as I almost tumble over, looking out of place.
‘Master? Are you okay? Did Lylah stab you again? You look paler than usual, and your breathing is quite heavy?’
I don’t answer. Instead, I rush downstairs and attempt to clothe myself. I pace around, scrunching my hair in my hands. Lylah has a mate! She had a mate! This doesn’t make sense. I am her Blood Flame.
‘Lord Talon?’
‘Soren!’ I say, placing my hands on his shoulders.
‘Has something happened?’ he asks with concern looking at my dishevelled and half-dressed state.
‘It makes so much sense now,’ I say, shaking him. ‘This is why Lylah is fighting the bond. This is why she is confused when we touch or when we are near. She had a mate, and what Lylah feels with me, she once felt with Micah, and she doesn’t understand why she feels it with me. But what does that mean if she already had a mate, and then he died, and now she is my mate? I guess what matters is I am her mate now, and she has been given to me by the God’s. It’s my duty to love and protect her; hopefully, one day, she will put her guard down and love me too.’ My back stiffens. ‘Oh, wands! I’m such a cauldron! She is hurting and grieving. She has been broken and suffering from the loss of her mate, and what do I do? Strip off, bare naked in front of her!’ I fall back into a chair and drag my hands down my face in deep despair.
Soren’s mouth is gaped open in shock at what I’m saying.
‘Lylah has a mate?’
‘Had, a mate.’
‘You stripped off naked in front of her?’
‘Don’t even go there, Soren.’
Soren tries to stop a smirk from forming.
The stitches on my chest itch. I look down to see the wound has completely healed. I brush my hand over it, and the stitches fall to the ground.
Soren and I stare at each other, completely dumbfounded. I need to show Becky.