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09

Lorcán expected her to push him away from her and maybe make him regret the best way she knew how to even though for her to get that exact place, he might’ve already took a hold of her hands. But when she relaxed under his touch, her hands slowly wrapped around his neck, he knew either of the two would happen. This kiss would have all worked up that he didn’t have any other choice but to flip her onto her back and had more than just a kiss. Or she would get back to her senses when he was at the verge of losing his sanity.

Aranya felt the way he was kissing, with so much passion she had never been kissed before. Had she ever been kissed before? She had, of course, but all those weren’t kisses, at least for her. Because she had never kissed a guy with anything in her heart like she was now. She was purely interested in how his lips moved against hers, synced with hers and made her felt what she was feeling now. She was aware that the pace at which the kissed was slowly increasing and his hands weren’t any more wrapped around her, they were moving seductively over her arms and she felt as her skin pores straightened.

Had any man ever kissed her so gently yet so passionately like him? Maybe one had, or all of them did, she just wasn’t interested enough because all she thought when she was together with other men was that, whoever she kissed first must be the one she took home because Betla would know, and that man would be the one she would expect. No! It finally clicked on her and her eyes immediately split opened. She tried to rake her brain to see if she had kissed Jaromir before she left, but she saw nothing. They hadn’t, the highest they got with each other was a hug and she was the one that did that hoping he would kiss her but he didn’t. Oh no!

She didn’t know when she pushed him away from her body and immediately stood up, pulling the front of her gown around her body. What had just happened?! What was she going to do? With Betla, with Jaromir, with Lorcán! She breathe out of exasperation and palmed her face to calm herself down, she would figure everything out later, what was important now was for her not to act shady around this man, under the intense yet lustful gaze of his bloody eyes.

She kept breathing until she was sure she had calmed down before she pulled her palms down and stared at his face, “What was the meaning of that, Lorcán? Don’t you think you’ve crossed a boundary?” He did, he did. And it didn’t matter if he was used to crossing boundaries before and going out of them unscathed. This boundary was a no go area, he would never escape, it would cost him his freaking life.

“I can’t see any boundary between us. And besides, didn’t I tell you you’re now my captive?” He looked relaxed, or in the actual words that would do justice to his situation, weak. She knew she had that effect on men, a single look from her itched and when she touched a man, oh, when she touched a man, he lost all focus and right now she could see through him. He was trying all he could not to pull her back to himself and did whatever that heart wildly beating against his chest wanted him to.

She placed her hands on akimbo and fiercely looked at him, again, the fire flashed that it nearly made him winced, but he stood sturdy as he was. “And who the hell do you think you are to be captive? Listen, your magic tricks don’t scare me, okay? All I want is for you to understand that we have nothing between us, get the freak out of my life and make sure you never show your face in front of me…” she let her words trailed off because god knew she wanted to add, ‘Unless you want to die’ but that to him, would sound like an empty threat and he would laugh it off, maybe even act roughly to see the extent she could go. How did she wish she didn’t have a secret to keep? She would have shown this arrogant man staring at her with desire swarming through his eyes what she was capable of.

She didn’t wait for his answer when she got out of the room and made sure she banged the door loud enough to make him jerk from his relaxed position before she walked to her suite, or in other words, which were more accurate, paced to her room. She roamed her fingers through her hair and slumped on the sofa next to her, what would she do? There was no doubt Betla had known by now who she had kissed, what he was and how much power she possessed. And if he had the power she would use, which she always did because Arana made sure she got the most powerful or from the most powerful clan-she made sure Aranya felt it in her body, a shudder, a cough, an unexpected howl, whatever sign she would make to let her know that she should make sure she brought that man home.

“She won’t notice this. Maybe she was asleep. Maybe she was checking something in her room. Maybe she was in her magic room…” she frantically kept making excuses because she didn’t want to make believe that she would have to take Lorcán to Betla instead of Jaromir. She didn’t even understand why she felt a certain urge to protect him from her hungry mother.

Was it because he saved her? No, because he didn’t save her, he, pushed her to nearly losing her life because if it hadn’t been for him, she would have saved herself from those young men. What was it? Because he paid for her food the first day she came to Elara? That wasn’t it, because she had never thought of being thankful toward him because of that. Whatever the reason was, she didn’t know it yet. She was about to run out to the market streets, use her magic to see who among the moving men was powerful and she would kiss him first before anything so that Betla wouldn’t notice her kiss with Lorcán, but whoever man whose destiny would soon end.

Almost at the door, she felt as her whole body convulsed roughly and she didn’t know when she howled to the extreme she had never howled before and her knees immediately went south. The whole inn echoed with her howl and she felt so weak. That scared her, she didn’t care if anyone would know such a scary howl came from her room or, she was the one, all that dawned at her was whatever the intensity at which she howled, shuddered or coughed, that determined how much power the man was and how badly Betla wanted him. What would she do now?

She heard a frantic knock on her door, “Who is it?” She managed to ask because she knew if it was Lorcán she would rather show him that she wasn’t the mortal he thought she was because she wasn’t in the mood of playing any games right now.

“It’s me, Portia. Is everything alright, your highness? We all heard the howl that came from your room, are you attacked?” She wished she could say yes, but the attack happened within herself and now she was so weak to move a limb.

“I’m fine, but came you come in without me opening the door for you? I’m so weak to do that, Portia.” Her voice shrunk at that, and all she wanted was to sleep. That was what happened whenever she kissed a guy and it was as if Betla knew she was together with the guy, she could only cough or shudder. The first time she had ever howl was with a certain man she still felt guilty of taking to Zinambra, and then with Lorcán.

“Yes, your highness, I’ll come through the window.” Within seconds, Aranya watched as a bird flew into the room and within a flash, that beautiful bird had turned to a panicked Portia.

She rushed to where Aranya was still on her knees as she breathed hard. She held her arms and helped her on her feet, “Are you sure you’re fine, Your Highness? Was it a wolf’s howl we all heard from here? Were you attacked?” Aranya managed to smile before she shook her head at her.

“It’s what frightened me, I think the wolf was behind my window and I got scared. I stumbled and fell, that’s why I feel so weak, nothing to worry about.” Portia helped her to her room and Aranya asked her to bring some food for her, she was suddenly starving and that reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday lunch.

Instead of Portia to walk out, she ducked her head and apologize, “I’m sorry, your highness, but I can only be fast this way.” She immediately turned into a butterfly and flipped her wings before she flew away. She was still in awe of Portia’s natural creation, sometimes she wished she were a bird and if that happened, she didn’t know how long she would have travelled in this world. But whatever form she would change herself into, she would never be as fast as Portia could be.

She was still panting for her breath when Portia this time walked in with a tray in her hand and she placed it on the side table. “Here’s the food your highness, do you think we should send a message to his highness?” Aranya nearly choked on her food before she shook her head.

“No, please. I told you I’m fine, Portia, just weak because of the shock, nothing else. And please stop referring to me as Your highness, call me A-” she immediately stopped herself and smiled, coughing a little to make her tongue-slip smooth, “Verena, call me that please.” It wondered that she had remembered the name she told Jaromir, even though she had never forgotten her forged name, but Avyannah stuck more in her mind that Verena did.

“But…” Portia began, and Aranya shook her head.

“Please, I beg that of you. Can you leave me alone? I want to sleep after taking this.” Portia only nodded before she walked out of the suite and Aranya heard as she carefully closed the door behind her.

She was done with the food, about to place back the bowl on the table when someone barged into the suite and walked immediately into the room that she wondered who the hell had the nerves to do that. It wouldn’t be Jaromir, that man had so much ethics to just barge into her room without informing her. Her thoughts wandered to Lorcán and she almost as immediately saw him in front of her, which a panicked look in his eyes but that wasn’t what she noticed first, it was the eyes, now a bit clearer than how she had left him and the wet hair sticking to the side of his face enough evidence that he had just gotten out of the shower.

He sat beside her on the bed, took the bowl from her and kept it on the table before he took her hand in his and began examining it. “Are you hurt? Did something happen to you?”

She pulled her hand away from his hold, “What do you think you’re doing and how dare you barge into my room just like…”

He placed his hands on her two shoulders and violently shook them, “The hell with all that! Do you know how scared I was when I heard that howl and when I asked it was said that it came from your room? Do you know what a wolf was capable of doing to a harmless mortal like you? A fairy even? No, that wasn’t even a wolf, and even if it was, it would be the most powerful in its entire clan…” she tried cutting him off when he fixed his eyes that were filled with frustration on her, “Tell me, were you hurt?” The moment she softly shook her head, he drew his hands away from her shoulders and stood up, “Then, you can go to hell.” He stomped out of the suite and instead of her to feel angry at his choice of words, she found it so hard to take her eyes off his retreating back and a smile crept to her lips. So this is how it felt to be cared for?

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