Zephyr ●
I swear people take me for a joke. They underestimated me and took my kindness for a weakness. Give them an inch and they take a whole fucking mile. I gave her a chance to do what was right for her but she still chose to be dumb.
Maybe I was being too lenient with people, maybe they thought because I had my mate back everything was all rainbows and sunshine. I think they took me for a joke that has to be it.
Here I was thinking people still respected me because they bowed before me, but behind closed doors they probably saw me as a laughing stock.
They forgot, they forgot who I was and who I still am.
Leaning forward in the chair, I rest my hands on my knees staring down at the unconscious woman in front of me as she starts to stir awake.
She raised her head to look around the room and once she saw me her lips wobbled slightly. I took in her features, disheveled hair, torn clothes and some nasty purple bruises on her arms and legs.
She hoisted herself up, struggling as her hands were bound behind her back by metal cuffs that were connected to a long chain. She took notice of this and her head snapped to the side then back to me and her face twisted in rage.
"What is the meaning of this?" She seethed between clenched teeth.
"I should be the one asking the questions." I sighed leaning back, rocking my legs as I continued to watch her fuss against her restraints.
"I did nothing to deserve this!"
I stared at her blankly, it was truly amazing how bad people are quick to play the victim when their bad deeds are finally catching up to them. Maybe one day I'll be playing the victim too but until then.
"Where were you?"
Her eyebrows dipped and she opened her mouth to talk but I asked another question.
"Where were you when you left Oridian?" She paused, staring off into the distance. Right now she was running through all the different excuses she could give. When she found one her eyes lit up and she shuffled over to me.
"I was with Kian, he wanted me to spend a night with him and I agreed. We went back to Thanatos." she said, staring up at me with pleading eyes.
I know you were with him, you're always with him.
"Really? You're having an affair with Kian?" I asked and she nodded.
"How does your mate feel about that?"
She looked at me with eyes wide, a deep frown crossed her. She kept quiet so I spoke again.
"It is truly amazing how you all let Elarian control and use you. You know you're disposable to her and yet still you choose this life for yourself. She gave you a mate as she does all, and you locked him up at the bottom of Thanatos for what? You are weak and useless."
Her eyes snapped to mine, filled with tears as she tugged on her shackles. " You know what's funny?"
"Oh, humor me."
"You thought that getting rid of him would guarantee you a spot closer to me, you thought for a second that getting rid of koa too was the way to win me over. Your pathetic attempt has just cost your life. I hope you realize that."
She hung her head low, her shoulders bouncing up and down. Then she thrusts her head back and a sadistic smile stretches across her face.
"You know she'll send more people, you get rid of me and someone else will take my place. Someone with the same purpose."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't it require blood for someone to take control over Thanatos, meaning the next heir would be your brother?"
Her smile slipped off, her mask cracking ever so slightly.
"I don't have a brother."
"Right." I dragged
"You don't have a brother because you locked all of them inside a prison so no one knows of them right?" I inquired.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. " she feigned ignorance.
What happened to the oh so mighty woman from a second ago?
"You don't? Maybe this will drag your memory." I said, and on cue, Rhys shoved a tall, lanky man inside the room.
Getting up from the chair, allowing him to sit in front of his mate, I placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You know Z, you could've hurried your big speech." Rhys mused, and I glanced at him.
He tilted his head to look at me, smiling the tiniest bit.
"Recognise him?" Rhys asked, his voice returning back to the ice cold one as his gase moved to Morana.
"N-no." Morana stammered, lowering her gaze to the floor. I never expected her to answer truthfully, but there were ways of getting the truth from people.
Pulling out a knife out of my side, I grabbed a fistfull of the man's hair, yanking his head down and aiming the blade at his throat.
Morana's eyes widened the tiniest bit, and I wasn't surprised at the small reaction. She locked the guy up. Of course,they hadn't developed any form of bond for me to use as leverage.
I didn't need any more leverage against her, though. After today, she'd be six feet under.
"Where were you?" I asked again.
"You think that will get me to talk? Try again." she said in a mocking tone.
Nodding my head at her words, I dragged the sharp silver blade across his neck, watching her reaction as the crimson red blood ran down the knife.
Even though she wasn't mated fully, I knew she still felt it. The twitch of her eyes told me what I needed to know.
"You are right, this won't get you to talk but I knew you had some part in Koa's disappearance years ago,-" I removed the blade, walking over to Morana and crouching down to her level.
I sighed loudly, placing the knife against her cheek and her jaw clenched. "I'm sure you know the saying, an eye for an eye?"
Tracing her jawline, I found a set position for the knife, which was underneath her chin. I used the blade to force her head up to meet my eyes.
She didn't act like she was scared, but the rapid pounding of her heartbeat said otherwise.
"Koa was a brat and so is Mizuki, you needed- you need a real person in your life to show you that not everyone was a pushover like those two little bitches you called a ma-"
I swiftly pulled another blade, jamming the weapon in her thigh. She hissed in pain, eyes filling with tears as she stared at my hand on the blade.
"Inflicting pain on a woman is not what I dabble in to be honest."
Pushing the blade deeper, my eyes locked in on hers. "What did you do to him?" I asked softly.
She looked between my eyes for a second before she replied. "I-I didn't do anything-" I twisted the knife and she howled in pain.
"I-okay! I injected him." She confessed through harsh breathing.
"With what?" I demanded.
"I don't kno-" I removed the knife from her thigh, before plunging it into a different spot.
"Wrong answer."
"I swear!." She insisted and I tapped the other knife under her chin twice, before standing up leaving her there crying.
"Please, I really don't know."
I looked at Rhys who kept a firm gaze on Her. The corner of his lips tugged upwards as he looked at her groaning in pain.
"He might be against violence towards women but I'm not. Especially when those women deserve it. " He voiced walking over to her and she started to shuffle backwards.
"No! I told you what I did!" She screamed in fear as Rhys stood above her.
With one swift motion Rhys lifted his foot, pulling it back and then swinging it forward across Morana's face.
My eyes squinted as she was launched to the side, her head meeting the concrete floor. She staggering as she tried to lift herself.
Once she was uo she turned to face Rhys, spitting blood on his thick, black boots.
She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. "I didn't kill your brother. He chose his fate just like you will choose yours -" her eyes moved over to me. "-I was only ordered to deliver your little mate to her. Elarian tells us nothing of her plans for the future. I have done nothing."
"You took her side, therefore your standing against me, and those who stand against me is my enemy. You are my enemy, and you threatened him countless times, and countless times, you've walked away freely. This is not one of those times." I told her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the tears to fall down her face.
"I am not the one who is going to kill you, nor will it be him." I said and walked over to the door, pushing it open.
Morana's face drained of all colour when she saw who entered the room.
"I've never liked you."
"R-Rhea?"
Rhea smiled tauntingly at Morana and stepped around Rhys to stand directly in front of her.
Morana shook her head as Rhea stroked her cheek.
I took that as my sign to leave, and so did Rhys, we walked out the room as screams echoed.
They were loud, and by the sound of it, it was painful too.
“What do you think she's doing?” Rhys asked, leaning against the wall with one foot up on the wall.
Shrugging, I pushed my hands in my pockets. “What she does best.”
Despite her happy and bright personality, she had a different side to her, a side she let's no one see. A person who can see your fate and take it away, too.
When the screaming came to a halt, the heavy metal door was pulled open, and a pale Rhea stepped out.
She held onto the wall for support as she pushed herself out of the room.
Taking a step forward, her knees buckled, and she lost her balance. launching myself forward to catch her the same time Rhys did we both grabbed her by the arm holding her steady.
“You got her?” I asked Rhys, and he gave me a firm nod, then picked her up bridal style walking away.
She would be fine after she went home.
Fish out of water does not last very long.
After going back to the palace, I decided to check on Mizuki.
It was getting harder and harder to leave his side day by day. It was either him leaving the palace grounds to do something stupid or Eros complaining and worrying about them.
I reached for the door knob, but I paused when I heard an overly dramatic groan inside the room.
“So how was it?” A soft voice asked.
Mylo.
“I don't know, I have nothing else to compare it to, so I don't know if it was okay but it was nice. Enjoyable.” Mizuki's overly sweet voice said.
“What do you mean it was okay? I've seen him, and he's hot. If he wasn't him but still him, I would've begged to be damaged by him.”
Mizuki started to laugh, and a small smile unknowingly grazed my lips.
“Damage you? That's a bit extreme.”
“I forgot you're young.” Mylo said in a playful tone.
“You're not that much older than me, you know, seven years isn't much.”
Rhys preferred older omegas, good for him.
“If you say so, anyways, it was your first time you can't expect him to be all beast mode of you.”
Oh?
“I didn't say that was what I wanted, I just wanted it uhm-you know.” He trailed off.
Oh.
Here I was thinking that he would've appreciated my kindness and willingness to put his needs before my own, but instead, he's bad mouthing me.
“Yeah sure-hey why are you doing?” Mylo's startled voice came through the small crack of the door.
“You have a tongue piercing?”
“Yeah?”
“Wow, you're that freaky, huh?”
“What?” Mylo laughed, and Mizuki followed afterwards.
I loved it when he laughed. It was melodious, and I could listen to it for hours and hours on repeat. He was perfect, and I couldn't believe it for a second. I thought he was Koa. He was different in every way, and I was happy to say I get to see those differences each day.
“Sir,” my head snapped towards the left. My eyes made four with Oz’s.
He stood in all his round glory with a smug look on his face, which made me drop my smile that I had no idea I was even sporting in the first place.
“What?”
“Your presence is needed.” He said, and I waved him off, pushing Mizuki door open to reveal myself.
“Zephyr, you're here.” He beamed, hopping off the bed and rushed over to me when I stepped into his room.
His small friend also got off the bed and smiled sheepishly at Mizuki, stepping around us to leave the room.
“How long have you been out there?” He asked timidly.
“Why?”
He chuckled nervously and shook his head, his curles swinging from left to right. My eyes followed the movement, and then I looked back at him.
“No reason.” He said, still shaking his head, completely on instinct and against my will, my hand raised to touch his hair.
Eros, I swear.
“What are you doing?” he smiled up at me.
I have no clue whatsoever, I just wanted to touch his hair, I guess.
Placing his hand around my wrist to stop me from twirling the strands around my fingers, I looked at him, and he brought my hand down to his face.
He used both of his tiny hands to hold my hand and started to play with my fingers.
“What are you doing?” I asked curiously.
“Where were you?”
“I was with Rhys taking care of Morana.” I told him the truth.
Lying to him will only cause problems I had no time to deal with.
“Why? what did she do?” he kept twiddling with my fingers.
“You know it wasn't a dream, right? the reason you woke up vomiting blood.” He looked at me, tilting his head the slightest bit to the side, confusion edged on his face.
“How?”
“They took you, not for long but long enough. You did hear her voice. She gave you something and an injection, but I don’t know what It was.”
“But why would she‐I did nothing to her.”
“I took care of It.”I assured him and hesitantly he started to nod his head.
He did not question me anymore, accepting a vague response to his question.
“You were with Rhys?” He changed the topic.
I hummed and pulled away from him, walking to the bathroom.
I had a room of my own but I preferred his, I hardly even sleep in my room anymore, and when I did I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he asked me to move in with him and I said no.
I practically stayed here, though.
Mizuki followed me into the bathroom, closing the toilet and sitting down on it.
“You should talk to him.” I said.
They might never have a bond like Rhys did with his brother, but I still believe he wanted to form some kind of friendship with Mizuki.
“I think I will.”
He was getting braver by the day, I wondered how he was before coming to Oridian before I met him.
“Mhmm.” I got into the shower, turning the water on, letting it cascade down my back.
Mizuki never left the bathroom. He just sat there quietly waiting for me to come out, and just because of that, I made sure to spend longer than I needed to in there.
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