chapter 7

Chapter 8

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Elijah

I stormed out of the castle my control slipping as I rushed for the forest. I let out a growl, half me and half the beast within me. Fucking Mariah. She was messing with my mind, I had never felt such a need for another person as I have felt for her. It was supernatural. The feelings I had for her were unnatural. Her scent lingered around me and drove me mad as I tried to escape it. It was the smell of her innocence, a smell the seemed to multiply the second I touched her. 

The wetness that pooled between her legs told me how ready she was. The way she whimpered and moaned told me how badly she wanted me, she wanted us. The way she said our name made us mad with lust. The beast tried to take over, or at least he tried to take control of my conscious, but he had only ever gotten that right once.

Anger began to bubble in my gut and took deep breaths as I tried to control it, control the emotions I was feeling. The stronger the emotion, the stronger he got and the more dangerous it was to let him takeover. After I had calmed down enough to let him have access to my conscious, he took over and ran wild through the forest, but never further. Only in the forest. I would never let him go any further. He was too unpredictable, too cunning and too dangerous. 

I returned to the castles hours later, the sun had set and it was late evening when I walked up to my sisters bedroom. I smirked to myself as I raised my hand to knock on the door and then opened the door very slowly, giving her more than enough time to hide that cat she thought I didn’t know about. As I opened the door I saw her standing by her closest door with a guilty smile across her face.

“Brother Eli. What are you doing here?” she asked with a nervous giggle. I almost laughed myself at how poor her acting was, but I remained strict. “You know why I’m here, Lyla” I said crossing my arms as if I were upset. She pouted and looked down at the floor before rushing to her bed. She climbed in and got under the covers, I moved to sit beside her.

“You know what I said about speaking to anyone but the maids I’ve assigned to you.” I said glaring down at her, this isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation, the last time she spoke to one of the gardeners and I caught him trying to lure her to the forest. She sighed and nodded her head. “I know, but I really like Mary” she said dejectedly, “Can’t you assign her to me like the others.” She pleaded with big eyes.

“Do you really think I would after your performance today?” I asked her and she sighed again, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I’ll tell Mary it was all fake and that I was just acting to gain her sympathy.” she said with a sad begging voice. I shook my head, “It’s fine. I don’t care. I’ll assign her to be your caretaker and she’ll be moved to your floor tomorrow morning” I agreed rubbing her head before standing up to leave, I had hope that maybe Mariah could help to calm her down

“Misbehave again and you will be punished, severely.” I warned her as I walked out the door, “and Lyla… ”

 “Yes Eli?” I looked back and have her small looks of disapproval. “You can take that cat out of your closest. It’s cruel to leave him there” I said before walking out of her room and back to my own. It had already been 3 hours so I had expected Mariah to have left already, she should have left already. But I was shocked to see her fast asleep on the couch, a book in her hands as she let out soft puffs of air. 

I walked toward her carefully, trying to control the slight anger I felt towards her still being here. She isn’t allowed here, she should know her place. I was ready to throw her out of my room and out onto the passage floor, but something stopped me as I got closer and my heart went soft for the girl lying before me, the girl who 8 felt the urge to call mine. My girl. 

It was a strange sense of belonging, like she belonged to me, she belonged in my arms, she belonged in my room and on my bed. I don’t know where the feeling came from.

I picked up the book she was reading and was surprised to see she was reading about the Rossetti family history, about the beasts that were the first born sons in my family. Like me. I watched her carefully as I picked her up, the contact between us lighting a flame inside of me that only she could quench. The beast purred in delight, also pleased to be so close to her, but why? I wasn't sure, but I had soem thoughts about it. 

I placed her on my bed and pulled the covers over her, making sure she was as comfortable as she could be before I pulled off my clothes to take a shower. After my shower, Mariah was still asleep her soft snores assuring me of that. I pulled on a our of pyjamas bottoms before climbing in beside her, her body falling naturally against mine.

I had never shared my room with another person before, it was either a quick fuck on the couch or in my office, but my bed was always kept clean, until Mariah. Since the very first day I had let her into my room, I let her stay while I slept in my office away from her.

But now, with her in my arms I had already decided that this I where she would stay.

I fell asleep fairly quickly, I barely remember closing my eyes. Jsut the feeling of having her close to me out me at ease, and the stress of leading a whole country seemed to fall away. 

" The next morning I still felt the weight of Mariah in my arm and her soft form between my arms and against my chest. My cock hardened at the feeling of her body against mine, she was so fucking addicting. 

I got up and walked to the bathroom to shower again, the beast protesting against leaving our little Mariah all on her own. The way we felt toward her was slowly becoming more and more worrying with each passing day, she could be seen as our weakness, she could be targeted because of our uncanny lusting for her. The butler and the maids already gossiped about her affiliation with me, the rumours would spread quickly to all parts of Europe if I ever made her mine. 

I heard the floorboards creaking as I got out the shower and knew Mariah was awake. I expected her to have fled by the time I came out of the bathroom fully dressed, but to my surprise she was still sitting on the chair as I walked out.

I stopped and stared at her, waiting for her to say something, anything really… but she sat quietly, reading through the book as I waited for her to speak. Eventually she looked up at me, an underlying tone of fear in her eye as she spoke.

“I-I know what y-you are” she said ever so softly that if it weren’t for my enhanced hearing, I would have missed it.

“I know what half your soul is”.