Fated Manor

Chapter 4

It was dark once more when Lyra opened her eyes. A heavy weight settled on her waist, and a feeling of safety she had never known filled her. She snuggled deeper into the warmth with a content sigh. A rumble behind her brings her back to reality, swiftly. She launches herself out of bed, blanket in tow, and her back pressed against the door.

Bringing the blanket had been a good idea at first, but now there's nothing between her eyes and his gloriously naked body. He was still lying on the bed, but he leaned up on a pillow with the arm that was on my waist thrown behind his head. His eyes were still a bit sleepy, and he had a lazy smirk on his lips.

“Put some clothes on,” she snarls out at him. He raises an eyebrow, and chuckles at her in response, “now why would I do that, that doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I can think of a lot of fun things we can do, and I have to say they're all better with us both naked.”

“We need to talk,” she grumbles, “and I am absolutely not doing it naked.” He lets out a sigh, and pouts a bit, “c’mon little fox, let me just give you one orgasm and then we can talk about whatever you want.”

“No, and no means no, so get f*****g dressed,” she spits through gritted teeth, before grabbing her bag and rushing into the bathroom once more. She slams the door behind her and releases a sigh. She sets about getting dressed in a matching set of black lace underwear black flowing mini-skirt with chains and buckles decorating it and a red corset with black lace detailing. Exiting the bathroom and taking care to not look at the man whose eyes trail her.

She grabs her hair brush and her curling wand and sets about taming her hair into loose curls. Applying some mascara and red lipstick before she packs away her belongings.

Unable to ignore him any longer she turns to face her fated mate who thankfully followed direction and is wearing the wrinkled clothes he came in. He sat on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees as his eyes remained glued to her, filled with lust.

“So…” she trails off, uncertainly, “what's your name?”

“Matthias,” his deep voice responds simply.

“So, Matthias, where do we go from here,” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. He furrows his brows, giving her a thoroughly confused look, “what do you mean? We're fated. We begin our lives together.”

“So, you're going to give me the grimoire and we can move on with our lives, perfect,” she says with a clap of her hands. “Let's go get it.”

“No,” Matthias' blue eyes turned stormy, and there was a lethal quality to his voice that struck fear in Lyra.

“What do you mean-,” Lyra begins. “No, Lyra. What were the words you used, no means no?”

“Oh, so you're punishing me because I wouldn't put out? How old are you again, because I'm not interested in being with a child,” Lyra grits out, clenching her fists.

“Naive little girl. That grimoire has the power to destroy the entire world, and you want me to give it to that power hungry monster in exchange for some p***y? I have protected that book for millenia, and that duty is more important than even our bond ,” his voice was even and devoid of emotion. Matthias didn't need to yell to intimidate, his cold blank stare took care of that.

“Ric isn't the kind of person who is out to destroy or upheave the world. He's a good man. What is this, jealousy? I'm almost 300 years old, of course I've had s*x Matthias,” she quips with an eye roll, a bit of her irritation leaking in. Matthias stares blankly at her, his eyes searching hers.

With a clenched jaw he grits out, “the answer is no Lyra, and if you try to steal it, I won't hesitate to stop you at any cost. Now stop behaving like a child, and let's return to the manor.”

“So you'd hurt me, you'd hurt your fated mate to protect some dusty old book,” Lyra questions blankly, a feeling of hurt and betrayal swirling in her stomach. Matthias stares at her for a long moment, and then looks away as he says, “without hesitation.”

Pain filled Lyra. She hadn't ever hoped for a fated mate, but to have found one and to know an inanimate object was more valuable than her safety to him? It was too much for her to bear, and without any conscious decision, like an addict seeking a fix, she removed her emotions from the equation.

“Lyra?” Matthias’ voice filled with concern, obviously noting the change in her demeanor, but it didn't reach her. Lyra was free from the shackles of emotions, and she had every intention of reveling in it.

Without warning she moved. With a quick strike of her fist straight into Matthias’ nose, Lyra didn't wait for him to recover from the shock. She began laying into him, strike after brutal strike.

“Lyra, f**k, stop this,” Matthias shouted, trying to block and dodge without hurting her. Lyra didn't feel an inclination to respond, and in a flash, snapped his neck causing him to drop to the ground like a rag doll. Without a glance back, backpack in hand, Lyra left the hotel room and off into the shadows.

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“Boss! Matthias! Wake up,” a familiar voice sounded in his ear accompanied with violent shakes. Matthias let out a groan of pain, it felt like he had been hit by a truck.

“What the hell happened here,” Matthias grunted, rubbing his neck desperate for some relief from the stabbing pain.

“I was hoping you'd be able to tell me that,” Alex said, crouched over him, his features filled with concern. Matthias waves him off as he sits up, and recalls the moments that brought him here.

“I f****d up,” Matthias says simply.

“Well I figured that much out. Last I heard you were on your way here to claim her and I find you two days later with your neck snapped,” Alex responds.

“She asked me to give the grimoire to Alaric, I told her no, she kept pushing, and I told her I'd do whatever it took to stop her from handing it over. She got this far away and detached look, and she attacked me,” Matthias informs him dejectedly.

Alex stares at him for several long moments, “so, you didn't tell her why you won't give it to him and decided a better idea would be to threaten your fated mate? The one person you're supposed to cherish above all else… and you decided threatening her would be the way to go?” Alex gives him a look like he's officially reached a new level of ignorance.

“When you put it that way, it does sound pretty bad,” Matthias responds sheepishly. Alex rolls his eyes, and offers you a hand to help you up.

“It appears she has turned off her emotions,” Alex says casually as he helps Matthias get steady on his face. Matthias’ eyes snap to Alex in shock, “what? What do you mean she turned off her emotions?”

“It means there's literally a trail of bodies from here back to Freisa. I sent Brody behind her to clean up the bodies, but Matthias she's already killed at least 20 people. Women, children, the elderly… there's absolutely no discrimination on who she kills like she has been since she left Greece. Your girl has patterns, and that pattern is saying she's flipped it off,” Alex looked at Matthias with concern. Our goal right now is to collect enough information to bring Alaric to trial, but it's been a slow moving process. We don't have the time or resources to spend on hunting her. Everyday he's out there is another chance he has at getting his hands on the grimoire.

“I can't just leave her out there waiting for the council to catch wind of her escapades, Alex,” he responds hesitantly. “Especially with her turning it off because of me.”

“We don't have the manpower here to give you any help with this. I'll ask Mabel if she has any she can spare, but I doubt it,” Alex says sternly, running his hand through his hair.

“Don't worry Alex, l'll track her down myself,” Matthias says darkly, as he strides towards the door. “I'll bring her back, and together, we'll protect the grimoire from the likes of Alric Riker.”