Cassius' P.O.V
"Grimm hold him down." Blood splatters all over my face as his hands make large gaping cuts into his torso. I don't bother with it and instead begin walking up to the man we had captured not too long ago.
"Whether your Alpha wants it or not, he will heed my command. If not, I will be coming after him and his pack after I'm through the Easterners." He spits out blood onto the dirt ground making me even madder. It's a show of disrespect. Spitting on the ground close to someone is one of the greatest show of disrespect and rudeness.
I grab his hair and yank it causing him to look at me with a scowl. "Hahaha, you think that means anything to me? You piece of shit." Before I can do anything Grimm lets go of him and punches him square in the face.
"Our Alpha will surely have your head for this!" He spits madly which only makes me roll my eyes. "Here I thought I was actually going to let you live. But it matters not to me, another one of you will try to come and spy on me and my doings. The next person should bring word back to your esteemed Alpha that I will not tolerate such underhanded methods of infiltration and sabotage."
He begins heaving out in exasperation. All my sense of compassion and sympathy had disappeared along with my short childhood. There is no such thing as mercy in my eyes. Lies, dishonesty, and dishonor all are worthy of a torturous death. But I don't care at this moment.
"Grimm." He nods and in a blink of an eye the man's head is no longer a part of his body. I've been crossed too many times to let up now. I can't stand it.
I walk out the room trying my best to wipe the blood off of my face before anyone can see it. "There are three more of them, Your Highness, What do want me to do with them?"
"Kill them and bury them somewhere far away from these lands. They don't deserve to buried with our ancestors. They're a disgrace to this kingdom along with their rightfully born kin." My eyes narrow in disgust.
"As you command." He turns and walks back in the room blood covering his clothes and some of face. I know it doesn't bother him just as it doesn't bother me. Grimm was my father's man. He was like a brother to him. He relied on him to do all this kind of work and here I am now relying on him to the exact same thing.
"Hello my dear sweet cousin." I hear Christophe say in that disgustingly sweet voice of his.
"No."
"I haven't even-"
"No."
"Mmmm~ Someone is in one of those prize winning moods of his again."
I am no mood to deal with him. I swear I will sever his neck from his head if he does not quit pestering me about dumb, little things he could ask any other person about. If he wasn't so close of family to me he would have been dead a long time ago.
"The Council has been talking about your candidates for marriage. Would you like to know who was added in?"
"I can care less."
"I think you would care just a little about this one." I look at him with wide eyes as I see the grin of mischief playing on his face.
". . .Who is it?"
"Cecilia de Camuilla. The third in line to inherit the Camuilla lineage."
I curse under my breath as he starts to laugh. "Married to a Westerner. Wow. The great Cassius and Cecilia are to be wed soon."
"That will be a disaster from the very beginning to the very end. The dumb old raccoons will learn soon enough. They want nothing, but to be rid of us just as we want to be rid of the Easterners." I say madly as I walk through the courtyard shooing away anyone who dared to talk to me right now.
"I say go ahead with it."
I glare daggers as I see him smiling wickedly at me. He wishes nothing but the worst for me and that's completely fine with me just as long as he doesn't involve Pierce into any of this. If he were to find out about Pierce and I. . .anything between us will be gone.
I've never been afraid of losing anything and now I'm nothing but afraid of losing the only person I would give my heart and soul to. I know he is growing to be a sore part and a weak spot to my future plans, but he's worth it. He's the person I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with and I plan on doing just that.
Christophe bends down to get a good look at my contemplative face until I put my hand on his face and throw it away from me. "Don't start with me Christophe. No one is around to see me beat the shit out of you right now. Don't tempt me." I growl causing him to back away. Once some of my bad aura begins to leak into my command he starts to slink away until he is out of sight.
I would kill him if he ever does anything to harm my mate. He is more than capable of doing that. The sooner he leaves the better. That way I can regain my focus and not have to worry about this sort of thing. I never worried about this sort of thing. My eyebrows begin to furrow as I notice where my train of thought is leading towards.
Oh this is getting bad. . .
As I look up I notice where my mind has lead me to. Gabriel's lodgings. I let out a complete sigh of defeat and finally let my wolf win. She has been thinking about nothing but him ever since that moment in room. If anything it was my first kiss.
My first kiss. My first everything and Goddess I wanted so much more. Even though I have a faint idea of what that "more" entails I couldn't care less. He's all I ever could have wanted and so much more. He finally recognized me as his mate and it only deepened the feelings I had already had.
I touch my lips absently as I imagine his soft lips being pressed against mine and the feel of his hands on my skin and I instantly groan. I really need to stop this. But Goddess it felt so damn good.
I smell around for Pierce's and Gabriel's scents but they're fading meaning that they haven't been here in a while. I quickly snap around sniffing around for their recent scents and begin to follow it to an open field not too far away from his keep. As I approach I instantly begin to smell Steven's scent making me turn my head and spot him. He gives me a head nod and focuses back on to the two weres brawling.
The huge, black one toppling over the lighter gold one is none other than my mate Pierce. I smile at this as I see them begin rolling over each other back and forth. Their growling and snarling makes me a bit apprehensive, but I ease up after the look Stevens gives me.
I turn my attention back onto the two weres brawling in what seems to be like a play fight until I smell blood and not just anyone's blood but my mate's. Another waft of the scent of blood hits my nose and this time it belongs to Gabriel. My overprotective nature begins to grow to the surface as I make a beeline towards where they're fighting but Stevens stops me.
"They're just fighting Cassius." I move his hand away from me but he just puts it back in place. "This is how they practice. This is what separates us from them. This. . .ultimately is what we are going to be going against if you continue on this warpath."
I watch them viciously tear at one another's fur, neither one of them conceding or giving into fatigue. I cringe at the very thought of my mate being hurt whether playfully or threatening. He's my mate. Suppressing my whine and displeasure is like swallowing acid. Even my wolf is getting antsy.
"Even in practice they don't practice. Their practice and sparring are nothing more than battle simulations. Their wounds are real. Their blood is real. The pain is real. That sense of knowledge and commitment to what they do is what makes them warriors and champions of the battlefield. In comparison we're nothing but a joke. They will tear us to shreds."
I smell another gush of his blood hit my nose causing my eyes to narrow and my fists to ball up. "I understand that. Can you please make them stop? I don't care if it's just play fighting. I want this to end. Now." I say madly. His eyes narrow with surprise, but he listens to me nonetheless.
"At your command. Pierce! Gabriel!" They pull away from each other and almost immediately does Pierce's gaze find mine causing me to become unbelievably happy. He nuzzles Gabriel's bloody muzzle and in turn Gabriel does the same licking the sides of his shoulders and fur as he does. I feel a tinge of jealousy, but I smooth that over quickly and make my way towards them but, once again, Stevens stops me.
"Wait a moment. They'll come to you."
"Oh yea so you can have them fight to the death? I don't think so." I say angrily. I'm completely mad that he would allow them to fight just so he can show me a point I'm more than well aware of.
I watch the timely change into their human forms. Pierce's is almost instantaneous. Gabriel's, on the other hand, took a little longer. In less than a second their naked bodies emerge and a strong, blush flushes over my face. I'm too blinded by the smell of his blood to even get a good look. Nothing but gashes, scratches, and cuts lay over his torso and around the sides of his neck. It makes me implausibly irate.
I don't care if it was just practice. I do not like to see my mate harmed. Smelling his blood sent my wolf spiraling into panic and aggressive defense. If I hadn't known Gabriel as much as I did, he probably wouldn't be breathing right now. I simmer down as I notice some of my emotion playing on my face. If anything I don't want Stevens to know as well as Grimm.
"Cassius."
I look towards him with a dull expression.
"They're vicious, cold-blooded killers. This just reminds us. . .if they do ever cross us. . .it won't be pretty. Ten of us won't even equate to one of them."
"They would never do something like that."
". . .Trust is easily broken."
"He would never do that to me."
"If you truly do believe that, why won't you tell him who you are already?"
I bite down on my lip and turn my head in the other direction. He's right. I know he's right, but he's my mate. Though we come from different packs his loyalty should be towards me yet I know it isn't.
"You know where his loyalties lay."
"Still I-"
I'm cut off by his forestry scent hitting my nose causing my wolf to purr in pure pleasure. The smell of his blood is all over him which fills me with a bunch of mixed feelings. He stops a couple feet away from me shirtless with some loose fitting pants on. They hugged in all the right places though. I never felt so jealous of clothes.
Before I can say anything Gabriel comes and tackles him playfully on the ground. The cuts and gashes look worse up close making it even harder not to say anything. "Ok off. Off.Off. You two really take sparring to whole other level." Stevens says with some forced amusement.
They both continue to laugh and I just had enough. I go over to them and separate them forcefully myself. I push Gabriel off of him but that only causes Pierce to take both my wrists and lay them on each side of him. "I'm fine."
"You're bleeding everywhere!"
"It'll heal." He says calmly making me incessantly angry.
"I don't care. I shouldn't have to-" I stop myself as I see Stevens and Gabriel eyeing me with so much amusement. They must know I suppose. . . If it's them then it's fine. Who am I kidding no one besides Grimm should know about this.
"Let go of me." I say much more quietly than what is usual. I see his eyes trying to find mine, but I look at everything but him. He lets go of me after a couple of seconds and I know it's only because he didn't want any of his blood to get on my clothes. I know he makes it his goal to do the complete opposite of what I tell him and it gets on my nerves.
I finally find the nerve to look at him after I fall back from straddling him.
"This is just how we practice. No true harm is done. . .well unless someone doesn't concede." He gives me a small smile, but I reply back with a frown. "I can handle my own." He climbs over me making my heart drop to my stomach from pure nervousness.
It took all of me not to pin him down and start cleaning up his wounds. My instincts are yelling at me to do so, but doing that kind of thing will definitely put their doubts to rest and I will not give them that kind of satisfaction.
"If you want I can teach you a few things. . .as long as if your sitter allows it that is."
His words begin to drawl out as my heart begins to drum through my chest. Resisting the urge to kiss him, to feel his skin against me, and finally mark what's mine is truly intoxicating. He should leave soon. . .He has to.
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Pierce's P.O.V
I see him eyeing my lips and my chest like I'm some kind of forbidden fruit he shouldn't touch. I lean in a little closer to him not completely use to the beauty of his eyes. My eyes soon fall on his lips and the urge to press my lips against his becomes overbearing. Instead, I settle with something simple and more obscure. I kiss the side of his neck as if it were his lips. I move away from him quickly before Gabe or Stevens could think anything of it.
"Gabe he doesn't believe me when I say this is how we practice." I say while pressing my thumb against my lips. He tasted delicious just as I thought. No matter where I kiss him at he is nothing but sweet.
"We practice with blood. We battle with blood." Gabe says as if he said it a thousand times.
"Blood is blood unless it is of your kin." I finish off while eyeing Stevens as he brushes pass me to get to Cassius. It's hard to downplay my resentment of someone else touching my mate and being close to my mate, but it has to be done. He has some idea that we are mates, however, he doesn't know for sure and I would like to keep it that way.
Same with Gabriel.
He's not the same. He's not the same man I went out to battle with not too long ago. He is not the same Gabe who would risk anything for the sake of his pack. And I understand. . . I look at the long, deep gash going diagonally across his chest. Though I said it was practice, that gash was made purposely and I know the cuts on me were made purposely as well.
Our priorities are different now and both our loyalties lay elsewhere. He sees me as a threat and now I see him as one as well. We made that pretty clear to each other. I look at Gabriel and he gives me the exact same look I'm giving him. Distrust.
No matter the circumstances, my loyalty will always be for my pack. . .as long as it doesn't involve endangering my little mate. As for Gabriel. . .his loyalties lay here despite everything we have ever done for him. Despite the brotherly bonds that had tied us together since puppyhood. Despite. . .despite the love Tristan holds for him.
He chooses them.
"Pierce." I hear Cassius' voice say making all the negative thoughts practically melt away under the sound of him.
I feel him trying to take down the walls I put around my mind-link, but it's futile. He huffs out causing me to smile. Just because he is my mate doesn't necessarily mean I trust him. I told him my rank hoping he would stop trying to pursue me, however, it only did the opposite. He is not letting me know things I should know. As open as he is with me with his feelings and emotions I find this odd.
"Hm?"
"Can we-"
"You have to go through some applications today Cassius." Stevens chimes in making me instantly become disgruntled. And ever since that day of his spot-on speculation he has been annoying and irritating to be around. He takes every chance he can get to incite my anger.
I really dislike that little prick. I push him away from Cassius and fight the desire to wrap him up in my arms. "You should help me with my cuts. Help me bandage them up. After all I am your guest." He looks at me and a small smile spreads across my face. I knew he would get what I was hinting at.
"No. That's something Cassius cannot do. That kind of work is below him."
"Do not tell him what I can and cannot do. Go away until I call for you." I try my best to bite down my smile but it's close to impossible. He gives one sharp look at Gabe and he nods and walks off in the same direction.
As soon as we are alone together I press my lips against his unexpected ones. He immediately relaxes against me. I bite lightly down on his bottom lip and in response he opens his mouth to me and wraps his arms around my neck. He shifts most of his body weight onto me causing me to hit my back against a nearby tree.
I grin at this ignoring the little pain going through my backside and focus on all the pleasure his touch is giving me. "I don't want you to ever do that around me again. If you care for your friend you'll make sure it won't happen again." He growls at me, but I can only find it incredibly sexy.
"Next you'll probably want me to call you Alpha hm?" I say teasingly while eyeing his lips.
I see a little glint in his eyes as a wide smile spreads across his face. "I would love it if you do." I press my forehead against his unable to go another minute without touching him. "Not gunna happen."
"Yet." He adds in after giving me a small peck on my lips. My head leans to the side just so I can get a better angle. "You're so demanding for someone so small." I plant a couple wet kisses all along the side of his neck causing him to groan.
Of course his neck is a soft spot. . .but I wonder where that special soft spot is. . .
"I'm only small in your eyes." He says practically coming in and out of the small pleasure I'm giving him.
"You're small in a lot of people's eyes." Cassius can be one hot-headed individual. He's unbelievably aggressive, possessive, and controlling. His face, even his body type betrays his personality. I drag my lips up to the side of his face. My hands begin to run through his thick locks of hair. I had to resist the urge to pull it and press my lips against his again. As if noticing where my thoughts were going, he pushes me away from him with shaky breath and all.
I never craved something as much as I crave his body, his scent, his presence. It's crazy how much control I lose of my senses and body when he's around. It makes me feel. . .vulnerable and weak to the primal desires of my wolf.
"Pierce. . ."
I look at him and notice the lust that was there is now clouded with concern and worry. "You're fine. . .if I don't tell anyone about this. . .about us? I don't mean to hurt your feelings or cause any sort of discourse between us because of it."
"I'm ok with it. . .for the most part." Minus the touching and glances I keep seeing people give you. "But this is what must be done until we can afford to do otherwise." I touch his cheek down to his chin and hold it there. He is so unbelievably honest I find it so surprising how dishonest he can be with me. He's my mate at the end of everything. . .
"And if a time like that doesn't ever come. . .?"
"It'll come."
"But if it doesn't?" He asks me again with more resolve to hear a better answer than that.
"What if's. . .they're completely irrelevant right now."
He tries to move even further away from me but I grab his arm. Unlike him, I cannot lie to him. I would like to be around him getting to know him a little more. I wish I could stay just to get to be around him. . . But my responsibilities are beginning to outweigh my wants. I have to go back despite my feelings towards the Alpha I serve. He commands and I obey.
I see him eyeing my cuts now gushing out with fresh blood. Gabe was really meaning to hurt me, that much I can tell, but he should know better than to challenge a soon-to-be Beta. I could have had his head. Having Cassius worry over me like this. . .
"These are only small cuts. I'm used to much worse." I say trying to cool down his rising temper and concern.
"So I can tell. . ."
"I'll go get-" I feel his tongue going up the side of my chest licking my cut clean until it almost instantly heals. He goes on to lick my other cuts dry of blood and wet with his fresh saliva. It took all of me to hold in my moans of pleasure and all I can do is muffle it with sighs.
He moves onto my neck and takes his time with the tiny cuts and in its place a stinging pain begins to form. I sink further into the tree turning my head away so I can give him better access. It's hard to imagine he's never been with anyone with how- A groan unexpectedly escapes me causing me to push him away from me at an arms distance.
Shit. I feel the stirring of my groin, but I manage to keep it under control. The sparks still are raging through my body unable to fully shake off these desirous thought.
"You're mine Pierce." I feel a light pinch on the side of my neck causing my wolf to become overly submissive and lustful.
"I never said I wasn't. . ." I touch my neck and when I look at my hands again I see them covered in splotches of blood.
"You leaving doesn't change anything. You know that right?" The domineering voice he shows everyone begins to disappear under the complete worry in his eyes. Unable to resist the temptation, I grab him up into my arms and plant a long hard kiss on his very soft lips causing him to sigh out into me.
As soon as I pull away from him he covers his lips and looks away from me with wavering eyes. "Cassiu-"
"Your want for me is only lustful and it's understandable. However, I want to mean more to you than just that. I know being so far away from me will only hinder that. You may fall in love with some other man or woman and I cannot bear to see that happen. But I'm not so stupid as to believe it won't."
Oh the worries and assumptions this man has. I go to talk but he cuts me off. "So let's end it here."
My eyes narrow in on him as his eyes fall from mine. "You're the one-"
"I know and it was stupid and utterly childish of me. I'm not saying to forget about me. . .I'm your rightful mate. Your true mate after all, however I won't have you tethered to me knowing your loyalties lay elsewhere."
I cup his face into my hands trying my best to act completely cool about what he's saying. It's the truth and it's about time I learn to embrace it. He is beyond thoughtful. . . My life belongs to Isaac. Whatever he wants of me I'll do. His wants are my desires. A life outside of this is merely impossible.
"I suppose you're right, but my loyalties has nothing to do with you." I may be on the other side of this conflict, but that doesn't change where my. . .where my- where my what? Neverminding that, he's my mate. Something that is as rare as the blood red moon these days. I cannot possibly give him up because of some pack disagreements. Isaac will understand.
"It has everything to do with me." He grabs my hand in his for a couple seconds and sighs. "Leave tomorrow before I change my mind."
"And if I say no?"
"You can't say no to me." He growls at me, but once again I can't help but find this to be extremely cute. He's like a pup baring his baby teeth at me. I bite down on my lip as I see him growing angrier by the second.
"As long as I have a mouth and tongue, I can say whatever I-" He puts his hand over my mouth, but I just go and lick through the creases. Just as I thought he would, he tries to take his hand away. I stop him and continue to lick up his finger.
"Cassius, you cannot order me around. The sooner you learn that, the better." I kiss the tip of his finger and continue to make eye contact with him. Cassius, on the other hand, is lighting up like the trees at the Lunar Goddess Festival. I swear if he gets any cuter I may end up eating him, devouring every last bit of him.
Maybe it's best if I do leave soon.
I can feel the slight tremble of his hand and hear the loud thumping in his chest. An iron taste begins to coat my tongue bringing me out of my short daze. I didn't even realize I closed my eyes until I open them and find myself biting down on his shoulder.
The smell of his pheromones hit my nose making it even harder to let go. I pull away just before I can sink my canines any further into his skin. I lap up the remaining blood until it completely heals over, ignoring the sparks and the sweet fragrance coming from him.
"I didn't mea-"
"It's ok. . .it wasn't my neck. . ." He says completely exasperated. Despite him saying that, he is a shaky mess.
". . .I think it's best if I do leave." I can feel my eyes swimming and swarming into multiple colors signaling my regain or lose of control. Never have I ever felt so weak and out of control as I do now. I always had a good handle on my emotions. . .it's just when it comes to him.
And I don't like it.
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[A/N] Their relationship may be heading towards some rough patches buuuuut there is a whole lotta good too amiright amiright? ^_^ Thanks for reading my lovely readers! Muah! Leave some comments, suggestions, and or critique down below.