The Bastard Princess

55.

-HER-

I couldn't sleep that night because I was very mad. I wanted to avenge the humiliation he caused me and also for putting that ugly mark on my perfect skin. I tossed and turned in my bed for almost the whole night.

Before he could wake up, I left the house and headed straight to the temple. All the priestesses were surprised to see me but no one dared to ask me any question when I shot a deadly glare to the youngest priestess.

As per my habit, my eyes would often drift to the woods to see if he had come looking for me yet. I wasn't going back so easily. I had planned to stay in the temple as long as it pleased me. My old room in the sacred building was empty anyway.

After a whole day of work when everyone noticed that I had no plans of leaving, the head priestess approached me in my room. I munched on my fruits while I stared out of the small window that stared straight at the forest.

"Arsinoe," She addressed me with her gentle and calm tone but I could sense her underlying anxiety, "Aren't you going back?" She asked.

"No," I spat nastily, finding my old temperament back. A deep frown climbed on her face after hearing my response.

"Why? You must go to your husband's house or else he'll come looking for you again," She spoke. This made my head snap at her. I was overwhelmed by this strong urge to tell her that Ares wasn't my husband and that the house was a hellhole but I doubted that if she knew any of it, she'd hardly allow me to step in the temple again.

"I don't want to go to him," I grumbled instead and resumed eating my fruits. She didn't go away, although she remained standing at the door watching me pensively.

"Your demeanour tells me that you fought with him but I'd like you to think about your decision. Marriage is about co-operation. You should definitely go back. He must be waiting for you. Do you know how much he got scared..." I ignored her words while I ate my fruits. Meanwhile, she broke off into a long speech on marriage and how lucky I was to have a husband.

Only if she knew the irony of the words that she was speaking.

"ARSINOE!" Ares' familiar voice roared outside the temple. Hearing his voice, instantly lit my insides for an unacknowledged reason but on the surface, I remained unphased.

"He's here for you again, Arsinoe. You must go and talk to him," Edara continued with her Marital advice. Meanwhile, a younger priestess came into my room to deliver the news of his arrival. I noticed that she definitely looked scared.

"He's here again," She spoke with fear.

"Arsinoe, please. Go with him-"

"ARSINOE!" He called for me again but this time his voice sounded closer as if he was inside the temple. To my surprise, the head priestess and the younger priestess disappeared before he stepped inside the room. He looked dirty. I knew he had come straight from the mines to look for me.

"Arsinoe," He gritted as his eyes glared daggers at me, "Time to go home,"

"I am not going anywhere with you," I spat at him.

"Yes, you are!" He raised his voice slightly. The way his jaw was set with determination and the possessiveness that simmered in his eyes, I knew he wasn't going to leave me alone.

"I am not!" I found it as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate my stubbornness as well. He definitely needed to know how adamant I was and he wasn't going to get away without paying for what he did.

He stared me down before stepping closer to me. It took me all the self-control to not flinch when he put his hands on me.

"Don't touch me! You cannot do this!" I resorted to screaming as he took me by surprise. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You're my wife. I can and will do everything that I desire," He gritted while I struggled to get off his shoulder. Although his tight hold on my hips assured that I remain dangling upside down from his shoulder. His words made the situation worse.

I wanted to scream at him and tell him that I wasn't his wife but I was aware of the priestesses hearing us. As he walked out of the room with me on his shoulder, everyone stopped to watch us. My cheeks instantly reddened by the embarrassment that his actions caused me.

"Girls, what are you staring at? Get back to your rooms," I heard Edara speak before everyone scurried away, pretending that they didn't see a scary yet attractive man carry their fellow worker away on his shoulder like a caveman.

I held on to his dirty clothes with my lips pressed in a thin line. I wanted to scream out my frustration and let everyone know how angry I was but I waited till he got into the shadows of the woods.

"I am not your wife," Was the first thing I gritted at him. I felt him shrug as he commented carelessly, "You soon will be," His words were enough to trigger me.

I flipped up all of a sudden, taking him by surprise and affecting his balance. I took advantage of that and punched him on the face before he finally let go of me. Although he recovered from the blow faster than I had anticipated because I was instantly being caught by the arm and pinned against the closest tree.

He held my hands on either side of me while he pinned me with his hips to keep me from moving. His chest vibrated with a growl before his mouth found the exact spot on my neck from last night. This time, his canines scarped angrily against my skin, threatening to draw out blood.

I shivered instantly. He was quick to notice this so he replaced his sharp canines with his soft lips that pressed gently against my skin, almost making me moan at the sparks.

"Stop fighting me, Arsinoe," He told me after pressing a couple of kisses to my neck while I continued with the struggled to get out of his hold.

"Why? Are you afraid of losing?" My cockiness made me question him. A low chuckle from him wasn't what I expected as a response but it gave butterflies in my stomach. This was definitely some sort of spell!

"Let's go home, Arsinoe," He said instead as he let go of my hands and stepped back from me but he was quick to wrap his arm around me.

"Let go of me," I gritted as I struggled to tear his arm off my body but he didn't budge a bit.

"Arsinoe, please," He spoke gently this time as he walked me through the dark and cold woods. A clap of thunder cracked the sky in half before it started to pour all of a sudden.

"Oh goddess," He grunted before scooping me up without any warning and running straight to the house amidst the rain. I clung to him this time as angry droplets of rain beat down on us. He ran fast because in a couple of moments we were back in the house but we were drenched nonetheless.

I leapt from his arms instantly, shivering as I piled wood in the hearth. As soon as I stepped back, a fire claimed the wooden logs. I stumbled back unconsciously while he walked to his part of the house to get some dry clothes.

"Are you going to make dinner tonight?" he asked, turning towards me but his eyes instantly trailed down to my bosom before they darkened. It made me look down to insanely. My white dress had grown transparent due to being wet and it was sticking to my bosom, revealing everything and leaving nothing to the imagination.

"Make your own dinner, you disgusting mutt!" I crossed my arms on my chest and yelled at him before running upstairs.

...

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