His Lycan Princess | 18+

Truce

The Vilskansser mansion loomed ahead, its massive form casting shadows that seemed to swallow the sunlight. The windows, like dead eyes, stared out into the day, the gothic architecture giving an eerie beauty to the abandoned structure. Ivy crawled up the walls, embracing the mansion in an odd depiction of nature reclaiming its territory.

This place, once a prison in my eyes, now stood as a sanctuary. The relief of returning here safe and sound surprised me. Bane carried me up the front stairs, and we approached the main entrance. The double doors, weathered by time, creaked open with an ominous sound as we entered. The air inside was heavy, filled with the weight of secrets and echoes of the past.

"You can put me down now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

He hesitated, concern etched on his face. "Are you sure you can walk?"

"I will manage."

Reluctantly, he let me down, and I stumbled, my weary body struggling to find its footing and to support itself.

"Careful," he offered his arm to help me stand.

"Thanks." I pulled away, but he didn't seem ready to let go. He looked for a way to keep our contact. His touch lingered on me. His hand rested on the side of my face, thumb gently tracing the bruise on my cheek. His rough fingers were oddly tender on my skin. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"A little," I admitted, suddenly conscious of the wounds, bruises and vicious bite marks that adorned my body. I was aching all over, yet this wasn't my biggest concern. There was something else I desperately needed to find out. "How did you find me in the Mistbound Forest?" I questioned, pondering the mysterious power that led him to me. Was it luck? Was he that good and skilled a tracker? The forest was a vast and deadly labyrinth of treacherous mist, monsters and danger. Surely luck and skill wouldn't be enough. Was it something far greater than all those things that had led him to me when I needed him the most?

"The matehood," he suggested. "Our bond is something intangible but undeniable that connects us.."

Inside the mansion, I moved slowly, muscles aching, ignoring the protests of my body. "How does this work then?" I pointed at myself and at him, as if some invisible thread had binned us.

"The mark on your thigh is a seal to our bond. After fate brought you to me as my chosen mate we became one. You're mind and I am yours. We are connected in ways that words cannot begin to describe. I could sense you in the forest. Your feelings and your thoughts created something like a thread that unraveled behind you. It was all there, fear, desperation, agony. And it was all you. Like a spectrum or an aura, like a scent that belongs to you and you alone. I followed it and it led me to you. You could probably do the same for me if you tried." He thought about it for a moment, reconsidering, regretting. "Not that you should. You should never, ever get into the forest again. What were you even thinking dashing into the Mistbound Forest all by yourself? It’s a hostile place, cursed, unlivable for a human. Everything that lurks there wants to either kill, eat, or f**k you."

Kill. Eat. f**k. Hmmm.... I crossed my arms, covering my bare breasts as I spoke. “Sounds a lot like you then,” I retorted with a bitter edge. I had to make a stop. Leaning against the wall, I let my back rest as exhaustion crept in. I was too weak, too tired. All the running, the fighting, all the blood loss from the vampires' lethal kisses had deprived me of my last remains of strength. I could barely stand up.

His expression shifted, caught off guard by my boldness. "I wouldn't–" he paused, struggling with his own internal conflict. "I wouldn't harm you," he finally affirmed.

"Wouldn't you?" I challenged, skeptical of his intentions despite his words. He had attacked me, he had forced himself on me mere hours ago, yet his regret was evident, like he couldn't believe he had ever tried to do such vile things. I hesitated a moment before forgiving him. It was too fast, I knew it, but his remorse seemed sincere to me.

"It cannot happen again," I warned.

"It won't."

"Bane, I mean it. Do not let it happen again. No matter what."

“Celine, you do not need to be scared of me,” he said softly. “Nor of anyone else, so long as I am with you.” The amber in his eyes was glowing again, like melted gold in the forge, turned into something solid, unbreakable and eternal. “I promise you that,” he said. “Do you believe me?” He almost begged for trust, pleading.

"I do," I admitted.

“Good,” he sighed, he looked relieved.

The wall supporting me was the only thing keeping me up, giving me courage to say what came next. "But," I continued. “You should be scared of me.”

He didn't understand what I meant. He couldn't have. He thought I was kidding, or that I was referring to something other than what I actually did. “I am, my lady," he said with a smile. "You gave me a big scare before in the forest. I was searching for you like crazy and all I could find was your agony, your fear. It was unbearable.”

“I don’t mean that.”

His expression went from jesting to worried in a blink. “What is it that you do you mean then?”

“I–” I stuttered. “I tried to kill you. At supper. I almost did it. A drop or two more of the death berry juice and I’d have you dead and gone. Forever.”

His dark brows were knitted together in confusion. "You- you poisoned my drink?" Bane sounded incredulous, disbelieving. Hurt.

I pressed my lips together, regretting my words but knowing I had to voice this dark secret. There was no way we could continue with such a heavy regret festering in my heart. "I laced your wine."

"Why?"

"I told you why. I wanted to go home."

Fury radiated from him. "I have been betrayed before, and there's nothing I hate more than betrayal." He punched the wall next to my head, a display of anger so potent that it left a small crater behind. Stone and cement crumbled to my feet, and I silently thanked fate that it wasn't fragments of my skull. I had truly infuriated him this time, and the need to defend myself surged. "It was never my choice to be chosen for you, you know?" I snapped. "To be banished into the forest, forced into some weird, supernatural bond with a monster. All I ever wanted was to be with my family. And what did you answer when I begged you to let me go? You couldn’t let me go. Oh, and most importantly, you didn’t want to! It was cruel. Heartless," I added.

"That was a mistake," he said, still angry, still panting, withdrawing his hand from the damaged wall. "I apologize."

I swallowed hard, a lump of regret forming in my throat. "I apologize too."

"But I still cannot let you go," Bane declared, struggling to regain his composure.

"What? Why not?"

"It is true what I said before. Once a Lycan takes a mate, their fates are bonded, and they are to live as one until destiny is fulfilled," he explained.

"And what's your destiny?" I asked, desperate. "What will it take for me to return to Slevoria?"

"No man knows his destiny until it reveals itself to him, Celine."

"And what about my destiny?" I questioned. "Don't I have a purpose of my own?"

"You do, but it’s interlinked with mine. Our destinies are one, and we are going to discover what is meant to be for you and me together. You need to have patience, and you need to have faith."

"Fine. But don’t force yourself on me again," I insisted.

"Fine. But don’t try to poison my drink again," he accused.

"I won’t," I assured him. "I'll go for your food next time."

"Celine!"

"I'm kidding! You're safe with me, big guy."

He seemed calmer now that everything was out in the open. Normal. "I guess this means you and I just made a truce, love," he offered his hand. I took it and shook it.

"We did. We have a truce."

The tension in the air dissipated.

"And now what?" he asked, his tone holding a hint of playfulness, like he was ready to explore our... bond again.

"I could use a bath," I suggested. I was bloody, dirty, tired. "And you could use a bath too. You stink!" I shook my hand before my nose, teasingly trying to banish the imaginary smell. He didn't stink; he smelled of the forest, of grass, and earth and rain—something primal and alluring. Something I didn't want to acknowledge because I was attracted to him, to how he smelled, how he looked.

"Let’s go," he said. My mind hesitated at the prospect of sharing that intimate space. Were we going there together? To the bathroom? Were we going to... share it? We had seen each other naked, touched each other, felt each other. And yet, the thought of bathing, of vulnerability and closeness, of hot water slipping down our naked bodies, of the steam enrapturing us, pulling us close... startled me. It stirred conflicting emotions within me. I didn't know if I was ready for it.

But he was. He leaned down to pick me up in his arms, but I protested. "No, I can walk myself there. I don’t need you to–" I stumbled, and he swiftly lifted me over his shoulder, tossing me on it. Laughter bubbled from his chest.

"Come 'ere," he said, ignoring my protests.

"No! Let me go!" I screamed, punching his back. The mixture of defiance and enjoyment was evident in my voice.

"Shh," he said. "Shut up, woman."

And, despite myself, I did. I held my mouth closed. Because I was too tired and too weak to walk myself anywhere. And because I enjoyed the sound of his laughter filling the old mansion, and the feeling of his big, warm hands on my ass. I wanted them to touch me everywhere.

All at once.

I couldn't wait for them to do so.