Chapter-73. Mateless infernals
[Raven]
"Asher!" Ezra called out just as Asher shut the door behind him.
Xanthea sat on the bed, frozen like a statue, as she peered at the closed door with petrified eyes. The way tears trailed down her flushed cheeks, it seemed as if she was having a completely involuntary reaction to a shock. Asher's scent dominantly marked her scent, burying the seductive fragrance of her heat beneath his. The scent was strong enough to intimidate and repel an ordinary demon werewolf far away from her.
I slid Asher's shirt down her shoulders, revealing her body covered in bite marks, hickeys and bruises left behind by finger grips on her hips, thighs, wrists and ankles.
My frown deepened.
Rough sex was one thing, but after seeing this - Asher wasn't just fucking her; he was trying to possess every inch of her body, leaving behind his claim as pain or pleasure; he didn't care. Asher had never been so obsessed with anything or anyone. Why her?
I contemplated her, narrowing my eyes. My eyes trailed over the bite marks, which were mostly concentrated near her neck and shoulder. Was he trying to... mark her?
I checked her thoroughly and breathed out only when I confirmed he didn't mark her, but it seemed as though he had a full intention of doing so.
That's odd.
Marking was a sacred ritual of the celestials and the mortals, not the infernals. Demons were never tempted to create a permanent bond through marking because the demon werewolves can't have mates.
Our ancestors were the fallen celestials, the celestial werewolves who were expelled from the Celestial realm and turned into demon werewolves who created a whole nother realm for themselves, which came to be known as the Infernal realm. Before our ancestors fell, the moon goddess took away their powers, authority and their access into the celestial realm. By doing so, she expelled them from the celestial system as well, which cursed the Infernals to remain mateless for eternity. Our wolves cannot sense their mates even if they have a mate by some rare chances, much less create a mate bond or claim their mates through marking.
There was a case that happened centuries ago, and it still remains a tragic mystery in the history of alchemy. Two teenage infernals marked one another for fun. After a few hours, both of them were brought to Helxton's hospital wing. The marks on their necks were infected as though they had been poisoned. The healers and alchemists tried everything they could, but there was no antidote to that poison.
Eventually, the poison spread throughout their bodies, turning them into living corpses. The healers tried to find the reason behind it, but couldn't. In the end, with the consent of their families, both of their bodies were burnt down into ashes. Later, when alchemists examined their souls, they found their spiritual composition to be almost similar. They concluded that the two could have been mates, but there was no way for us to confirm it. "Xanthea..." Ezra called out, bringing me out of my contemplation.
He tensed his brows, his eyes lingering on the bruise of the fingerprint on her neck.
I glanced at Ezra, who contemplated the bite marks on her neck, and I could tell he found it suspicious as well.
But there was no way Asher would even think of marking her. Why the hell would he do that?
I shoved those silly thoughts out of my brain. It was just sex, and I was clearly overthinking.
Maybe it was some kind of neck fetish..
I licked my lips, leering at her delicate neck. It does look tempting, especially when she tenses her body.Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.
I ran my fingers over her bruises and bites, healing them slowly.
"Is it what I think-" Ezra began in a heavy tone.
"Nope," I said. Maybe he too thought that Asher marked her.
"Then why does she look so... hurt and lost?" Ezra asked.
"She isn't crying because of physical pain. If anything, I think she enjoyed herself, had a great time with Asher given how she doesn't have the heat fever anymore."
"Then why? What did he do to her?" Ezra asked me.
"Ezra, it's not rocket science. Don't use the brain you don't have. It's very clear what he did - he fucked her," I shrugged.
Ezra gave me a side look and sat beside her on the bed.
"Xanthea, baby..."
He tried to make her look at him, but her eyes were still locked on the door as though she were still expecting for the door to open and for Asher to walk in.
Checking the bite marks on her inner thighs, I mindlinked the nurse in the castle to bring me a potion kit and warm wet towels.
A few minutes later, the nurses entered the room with their heads bowed, kept the things I needed on the table, and left.
While I prepared the recovery and stamina potion for her, Ezra took the wet towel and wiped her face, neck, and chest. Xanthea still hadn't snapped out of whatever trance she was in.
"What happened, angel? Please say something. Where did he take you?" Ezra kept trying to talk to her.
Honestly, I, too, was curious to know where Asher took her. Even in spy-proof areas, it was difficult to avoid Ezra's drone surveillance. "Xanthea! Raven!" Ezra called out to me with a hint of panic in his voice.
Xanthea had passed out, and Ezra was now cradling her against his chest.
"Oh, good. I don't need to prepare a sleeping potion. Let her sleep. She is just exhausted," I said.
Ezra frowned.
"How can you be so unbothered, huh?" Ezra snapped at me.
"What I don't understand is why are you so bothered about her? Her family issues! Her mental problems! Why do you care?"
Ezra glared at me.
"Postpone her admission. She can't go to the college in this condition," Ezra said, and laid her gently on the bed, wiping her legs with the wet towel. I took a deep breath.
"We'll see-"
"She's not going. I am not asking you, I am telling you. If you still don't agree, I have other ways and I promise you won't like them," Ezra said stoically. "Ok. Ok. Let's calm down. Shall we? She's comfortable. She's ok. She's not hurt," I said.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Oh, come on, man! If you are so unsure, why don't you check her yourself? But I don't remember you ever having a healer's license," I almost snapped at him. Ezra stared at me blankly, curling his fingers into fists.
"Hey, relax. Ok?"
Grunting, I shut my eyes, running my fingers through my hair.
Both of us were already frustrated because Asher made us rethink our decision of dropping the solo sex rules. And the way Ezra was, I could tell he was already regretting it.
"He said he hurt her," Ezra said, peering at Xanthea. "She could have some internal injury-"
"No. Even though it might not look like it, Asher was definitely in a lot of control while he took her. She doesn't have any internal injury. She is in her heat, her body is more than capable of handling this kind of sex," I said in a tone as if I was explaining simple math to a child.
"But she is hurting."
"It's not because of physical wounds! She cries all the time. She is a sensitive omega and maybe the heat made her more sensitive. Maybe it's just her mood swings. Who knows? Mortal or immortal. Women are impossible to comprehend." "Then why did Asher leave like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like he was hurting too!" Ezra got up from the bed.
I stared at him for a few seconds and then broke into laughter.
"E-excuse me? Seriously, that wasn't a joke? Asher and hurting? That man feels nothing!"
Ezra shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he clenched his jaws, clearly biting back words he wanted to yell at me.
The ambiance in the room thickened, becoming oppressively darker and gloomier.
"You should be grateful, Raven, that I am not as insensitive as you, because if I was, I would have already punched your fucking face."
This was just typical Ezra getting offended on behalf of Asher. Nothing new.
His gaze softened as he skimmed his eyes from me to Xanthea. He tucked the blanket over her, stroking her cheeks.
"Take care of her," he said, getting up from the bed.
"Where are you going now?" I asked as he opened the door.
"To Asher," he said and left.
I let out a sigh nonchalantly and took the potion to Xanthea.
"Woah! I never thought my mood could be ruined twice in one night, and both times because of Asher." I clicked my tongue. "Well, looks like it's just us now, little omega."
I kept the potion aside on the nightstand. It would help her body recover faster, but she couldn't drink the potion while sleeping.
I had healed the bite wounds and bruises on her body, but their marks would fade slowly over time, just like the soreness and fatigue in her muscles.
I had no plans to delay her admission to Helxton any longer. She had to be on her feet by the morning and I would do anything to make that happen.
Ensuring she was comfortable on her side; I applied the herbal oil on her body and massaged her waist, hips, and legs. The oil and massage would help her with her soreness and body pain.
I ran my hands up her belly, massaging her breasts.
She purred, arching herself against my touch.
"It's not that type of massage, little omega. But enjoy all you want," I smirked, chuckling.
My eyes kept traveling back to her neck and the bite marks.
Something had indeed happened between them and I wanted to know what it was to cause her such emotional distress.
Or maybe the sex just blew her mind. She wanted more, but Asher perhaps remembered he had some important meeting to attend.
I hated every thought my mind was coming up with, but for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking of all possible scenarios. It was more like impulsive thinking.
I was thinking of asking her maid to give her the potion when she was up. Meanwhile, I had to pick up the healing partner I had chosen for her.
I was about to get down from the bed when her fingers weakly tugged at the cuff of my shirt.
"Don't go..." she mumbled in her sleep.
I placed a pillow in her arms, hoping she'd cuddle it because I didn't have time for all that crap.
"Please, Asher... don't go..."
My brows drew into a deep frown, my jaws clenching tightly.
I ran my tongue across my inner cheek before yanking my cuff free from her grasp.
"The man you are looking for isn't me, fortunately. So rest well until the morning, if you can!" I said those words with a smile, but bitterness was all I felt in my chest.
I strode towards the door.
"Please... don't leave me alone..." she whimpered and my steps halted.
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at her.
I shut my eyes, scrubbing my face with my palm as annoyance ticked into my veins.
"What in the hell is this nonsense!" I grunted and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
I saw Xanthea's maid standing at some distance in the hallway.
"You!" I called out to her.
"My lord," she hurried and stood before me in a bow.
I glared at the maid for a few minutes in silence, my ears still concentrating on every little sound the omega made.
"I need you..." Xanthea moaned weakly.
For faster recovery, she needed proper sleep.
Ugh! That fucking Asher!
Why should I clean up his mess?
I growled in irritation, and the maid flinched, taking a few steps back from me.
"M-m-my lord?" the maid trembled, bowing lower.
No. Maybe it's all for the best. The more possessive Asher becomes, the more satisfying it will be to take her away from him.
"Prepare a warm bath with all that relaxing flower scent and stuff used in heat and a loose and comfortable dress for the bride," I ordered and walked back into her room, taking off my shirt.
While the maids prepared the bath, I laid down on my side beside her. Sliding my arms under her neck and around her waist, I pulled her against my body, trying hard to ignore how she reeked of Asher's scent that repelled every nerve in my body.
"Asher..." she smiled. Snuggling, she buried her face in my chest, using my biceps as her pillow.
I swear if she called me Asher one more time, I would either snap her neck or mine.
"I am Raven, little omega. Raven. And I am all you have right now, so when you wake up, don't be too disappointed."
I reluctantly caressed her back as she nestled against my body.
She gradually drifted into a deep sleep.
She looked so cozy wrapped in Asher's scent that I doubted she'd sense my scent at all.
Whatever.
Bracing the back of her head in my palm, I pulled her closer, shutting my eyes. Her warmth suffused into mine, her heart pounding gently against my chest.
The clock ticked, taking away my restless and wild thoughts, silencing my mind, which was now filled with her soothing heartbeats and soft breaths.
I didn't even realize when the silence in my mind was painted black and I dozed off.