Guinevere frowned. How on earth was a dirty werewolf deemed worthy of possessing such power?
It rattled her being. She could feel the magnificence of it as it caressed her being and called to her. It didn't call her like others did. No. It called for her to submit. It called for her to surrender.
Guinevere's night was sleepless. The foolish wolf broke her curse like it was a mere twig, and she did it unknowingly. A curse that took her years to perfect!
She couldn't fight against such power and win. But she was certain of one thing. Marisol Hallows didn't deserve that power.
It was hers. It belonged to her. Only she could wield it correctly. The heavens were playing a treacherous game.
They blessed a werewolf with the most power any being could wield and fated her to become the Luna of Redwood. Redwood was the ancient source of all witchcraft. Its lands were blessed with unimaginable power, all of which now belonged to a dirty werewolf.
No, she wouldn't stand for it. She couldn't.
The door swung open and an even dirtier wolf ran in. He was wounded in battle.
"You failed me!" She screamed. She would take out her anger on the worthless fool, but what she wanted to know more than ever was how Marisol was hidden from her until it was too late.
Who was the witch that betrayed her kind for the werewolves? That person, she promised, would suffer a worse fate than Marisol herself.
A voice in her head told her, "You're running out of time. You can only capture the young witch now that she's ignorant and unstable."
Guinevere nodded, then snapped the neck of the foolish rogue who'd failed her.
"The time is finally right for war." She said.
Cedric stirred awake for the second time that day to a sight he still couldn't bring himself to believe. As soon as his gaze fell on Marisol, he couldn't, for the life of him, tear his gaze away from her sleeping form. She looked so serene in her slumber, so beautiful, ethereal even.
Unconsciously, a content smile brightened his features. He'd worn her out to exhaustion. That warmed his heart. A chuckle threatened to escape his lips at his own silly thoughts, but he'd be damned if he selfishly disturbed her sleep.
He tentatively lifted a finger to lightly trace the slope of her nose, then the outline of her kiss-swollen lips. How on earth had he bagged Marisol?
He didn't deserve her. And with that thought, the euphoria of their mating ceremony wears off. He immediately retracted his hand and rolled out of bed abruptly, the cold fingers of realization gripping him harshly.
'What the hell was I thinking!' Cedric thought to himself as he began to pace back and forth, a nervous habit he'd developed since Marisol came into the picture.
How could he have been so careless? How could he have allowed himself to give in to his desires, knowing full well the consequences? He'd promised himself to stay away from her, yet what had he done? He'd gone and sealed their mating bond, and now they were connected forever. His fingers ran through the strands of his hair, tugging at it in frustration.
There was no way he was worthy of someone as otherworldly as Marisol. This was going to be hell for her even if she hadn't realized it yet. She was beautiful, perfect in every way and Cedric...... he was a beast. He was chained to the darkness and cursed to spend the rest of his days wallowing in it.
A wave of self-loathing washed over him as he berated himself for his weakness. How could he have been so selfish, so reckless? Marisol deserved so much better than this.... than him. She deserved someone who could give her the world, someone who wasn't going to force her into spending the rest of her days navigating a curse.
Cedric cursed at himself for not trying harder, for being weak in the face of his primal instincts. It was a truth that he couldn't deny now. He couldn't live without Marisol, not after discovering her existence. She was his anchor, a lifeline in a world consumed by darkness.
Without her, he would be lost. She was his sanity. She gave him life, hope, peace and solace in a world that was beginning to weigh down on him, but what did he do? There was nothing he had to offer. If anything, he would only ruin her, drag her down to be at his level and stay there with him.
'No.' Cedric decided resolutely. Marisol deserved nothing less than the world, and he would do everything in his power to ensure that she got it, even if it meant letting her go.
Hurriedly he threw his clothes on, intending to escape both Marisol and his thoughts.
"Cedric?" Just as he reached the door, he heard her sleepy voice call, causing Cedric to freeze in his tracks, his hand still clutching the doorknob. He shut his eyes in resignation before slowly turning around to face her, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of her sitting up, her confused eyes fixed on him, swirling with a mixture of concern and curiosity.
"Where are you going?" She spoke again, her voice soft but insistent.
Cedric swallowed heavily, caught off guard by her sudden awakening. "I... I just needed some air," he stuttered out, his gaze flickering away from her intense stare. He really, really needed to get out.
Marisol frowned at that, the sleepy haze clearing at once as her brows knit together in confusion. "You ... need air?" she repeated, her tone incredulous.