Starlands - Mated To My Bully

Six

Emrys

I stare down at the female passed out on the floor. Aether shakes his head at me as he strolls over to her. I place shadows inside her head. Filling her mind with darkness so that she remains asleep.

Aether picks up her body, covering himself in her urine, sweat and blood. ‘It went too far.’ He sneers at me. I don’t say anything. I haven’t finished with her yet, but I’ll allow him to clean her up for what’s next.

‘Clean up the mess.’ I shout over to Rune as I head up the concrete steps and back into our home. I’m still angry with him. Rune says he didn’t know before last night. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he’s just weak. He knew earlier than we did though. He knew about her and instead of telling us immediately, he chose to continue to party, f**k two females and tell us after they left.

Not only that, but Aether thought she might be female and said nothing. I could see the lack of shock on his face. He finally admitted that he suspected it from the start and he thought she’d have a good reason. He didn’t want her truth but he kept her safe just in case.

He has two sisters. Aderyn who is nine and Honora who is eleven. They are a bit of a touchy subject. Aether had an older sister who found her mate as soon as she turned eighteen. She was three years older than Aether but they had always been close.

Elmae tried to have a child with her mate for two years. When they found out that she couldn’t bear a child, he beat her. He beat her so brutally that she was no more. Aether found out by letter three weeks later and left the institution. He killed him for what he did to her. He never told us a name. We aren’t to know the name as he said he isn’t worthy of having one.

Aether was punished severely for leaving the institution but as they suspect we will be bond-ties, he didn’t face the severe consequences so many before him have had to face. Death.

And maybe that’s why he looks at her the way he does. That quiet protectiveness. That softness. The same softness he’s never quite extended to anyone else. He’s always the softer one out of us all but not he’s never been like this.

I recall back on all the little moments I’ve seen them share. I’ve known him nearly my whole life, and even when we were boys learning to kill each other for sport, he never softened quite like that, not for anyone. But for her? He holds her like she’s already broken and he’s terrified he might be the one who shatters the last piece.

For this reason and this reason only. I let it slide with Aether. He’s protective over females. He wouldn’t agree at first to the plans we made. I only told him half of the plan. If he challenges me then it will show a sign of disrespect. Challenging each other in private is fine, we are allowed to disagree. Challenging each other in front of someone who’s not from our bond? Unacceptable.

I stand in the doorway to his room and watch as he holds her up in his arm in the bath water. She’s still out of it. She will be until I remove the shadows from her mind. She may still sleep after that. She went through a lot. She’s going to need it anyway.

Aether dips a sponge in the water and then squeezes the liquid over her body again and again. He gently washes her with the sponge, not looking too hard when he goes over her intimate areas.

‘What do you want, Em?’ He asks in a tone which makes me want to stalk over and punch him. We don’t do this. Not anymore.

‘I just wanted to double-check. To see for myself what she is.’ I say and what I don’t say is that I see the way he is with her. I wanted to check because Rune was the one who mentioned how Aether follows her. Maybe he's in love with her.

Rune who has his head in the clouds, noticed this and I didn’t. He also thought I hated her because they had an affair behind my back. Some stretch of a made-up story, but I can see why he put all those puzzle pieces together. They just weren’t correct.

I wish I had known earlier. I’ve spent nearly two years questioning why I was becoming obsessed with a male. Why, if I had to love a male then why it couldn’t be one of my brothers? If I had to love a male then why couldn’t it be a masculine one? Not one who resembles a female. Not a weak male.

I was relieved when I found out. Since she came here I have gone through a lot of females, just trying to find one who could make me forget the thoughts of her. I never had s****l thoughts. They were all intimate moments of us cuddling. Her wrapped in my arms, me keeping her safe, her rare smile and the glint in her eyes when her whole face lights up as she laughs. When I look back at my memories. Clover wasn't a ‘he’ at all. The thoughts were blurred but I swear it was male I saw.

I tried to f**k other females to get her out of my system. I punished her for what I was feeling. Now I don’t think of her as a weak male. She’s a strong female. Too strong. She fights me back. At first, she didn’t sink to my level. She would just leave and ignore me. Then she began to play. The feelings grew. The mouth on her would make my c**k hard. She rose to me and fought back.

Every time she looks at me like I’m the villain, I feel it. That twist in my gut like maybe I am. But I also see the flicker, the defiance, the fire. The way she never bows her head, never really gives in. And f**k, maybe that’s why I want her more. Not because she surrenders. Because she never does.

I always thought I’d have a submissive female. Then I thought I wouldn’t want a female. I questioned the gender of who my mate would be when I found them. Now I want her. I don’t want someone like her. I want her. I just don’t know how long for. How long will we get to play, kitten?

I watch as Aether lifts her out of the bath and wraps her in a towel. He lays her on his bed as he dries her off before placing one of his tee shirts over her head and his shorts rolled over multiple times on the waist. He’s claiming ownership, but I’ve wanted her since day one and I don’t lose.

I walk over and handcuff one of her hands to the bed frame. ‘Is that necessary?’ Aether sneers as he gathers a pillow from the other side and places it under her arm so it’s not dangling in the air. I tell myself this is for her safety, but even I can taste the lie. I just want to keep her where I can see her. Maybe she will need Aether too. I wouldn’t have thought about that before but he thinks of her comfort and her needs.

I think of how she looks when she glares at me, half fury, half pain, like I’ve stolen something precious from her. Maybe I have. Maybe I want to keep stealing it until she has no choice but to look at me and see more than the monster she hates. Maybe I want her to break. Or maybe I just want her to choose to stay.

Maybe she will need us both.

But I already know I won’t want that.