[~♠CORAL♠~] The sight before me seems unreal. Unbelievable. But the more accurate term would be, shocking. And to think I'd ever see him wear such an expression on his face. I was struck with an overwhelming sense of disbelief as I watched the colour of Rune’s orbs glow fiercely with every second I stare up at him. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen him wearing such an expression on his face. He looks livid and wild and so ready to shred the person that I'd bumped into. His expression makes my skin crawl with a strange feeling but not the bad sort. And my gaze doesn't leave the side image of his hardened face, too spellbound to speak that when he turns to me and his eyes catches mine, I forget, for a brief moment, how to breath. Rune’s eyes were so intense, they hurt to look at but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to take my eyes off him. Then they soften, his fierce gaze moulting as soon as they meet mine. “Are you alright, Cor?” He asks, the harshness in
[~♠CORAL♠~] It was a reflex action on my own part but soon enough I realize my action when I feel Rune tense up from my touch when I hide behind him. He looks down at me from the corner of his eyes and watches me with slightly wide eyes and I make to move away from him but he willfully wraps an arm around me. His action surprises me but I don't move from my spot and I fluster myself by breathing in his spicy scent mixed with the soothiness of earth. His body relaxes and for a second I thought he seemed delighted before a cold, predatory look coated his features again as he faced Regent again. I follow his gaze to meet Regent’s brown eyes. There's a wide look in his gaze as he reads my face and I pray he doesn't recognise me. Their gaze made me uncomfortable and I'd always dreaded it since the night of my eighteenth birthday. Shock. Disgust. Envy. They didn't have to say anything because their faces showed a ridiculous amount of their thoughts. I saw it all that night. And m
[~♠CORAL♠~]After that ordeal, Rune returned to order.And by that I mean, he went back to how I'd told him to act before we left for the market; distant and quiet. I couldn’t quite understand why, since he’d already crossed that line when he stepped in when I bumped into Regent.Somehow, it made me feel a little… I don't know… sullen.But it was what I wanted… wasn’t it?I looked behind me, the space seeming too small for comfort. I still felt uncomfortable, knowing I was out in the open to everyone’s curious gazes. And I catch a glimpse of his tall, lean frame towering over a girl who seemed to be up in his face and holding out something to him.My forehead furrows with a frown and my steps falter. His gaze is trained to her or rather, the thing in her hands… whichever it was. And when she turns a little to the side, her face appears behind the curtain of her dark brown hair and she smiles up at him while speaking.I know Rune is good looking; his pale skin is incomparably smooth an
[~♠CORAL♠~] “Welcome home, Princess.” Damian greets at the entrance of the house, the corner of his mouth tilts with a smile, the very ones that reflect in his eyes. His body hulks the entrance as one of his hands rests against the door frame and the other one rests unto the handle. Before I can react, Damian’s fingers brush against mine as he takes the bags from my grasp and swiftly pulls me into his embrace. His hand encircles my waist and the warmth of his palm seeps into my clothes, sending a sudden shiver down my spine as he draws me closer. His chest presses against me and I inhale his familiar scent, a rich blend of vetiver; woody and earthy, rooty and citrusy with a hint of leather and smoke. His scent reminds me of a crackling campfire and the uninhabited wild, like the deeper parts of the forests, one that leaves me feeling overly overwhelmed and heady. My heart quickens from the sudden invasion and a feeling like unease flutters in my stomach like a bird trapped in
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]“You scared her away.” Rune’s voice breaks through the cords of my mind and my jaw clenched at his words, my eyes closing as I try to control my heavy breath. I could hear the laxed taunt in his voice even though I know that it isn’t a deliberate act, I can’t help the irritation from leaking out of me.“Don’t you think I’m clearly aware of that.” I snap at him, turning my head to his direction.Rune has that glazed look on his face that he’s always wearing and I feel a sudden urge to smack it off his face. But he just shrugs, “Didn’t think so.” He says and starts down the hall, his hands dug into his pockets. I want to punch him so bad. Could he not treat me like an idiot…My arm still rests against the wall, where my mate had slipped out from and I stand upright, turning to the direction she’d run off to. I click my teeth with my tongue and scold myself. What the hell was I doing? I was going to ruin the plan of winning our mate back if I can’t control my emotions.I’ve
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]“Don’t mess this up, Damian.” Raegan’s voice taunts the space within my mind as we all left the dining room and heady towards our rooms. He seemed to have sensed my edginess, his eyes had a knowing glint in them, as though he knew where my next stop was going to be and it wasn’t my bedroom. I mentally groan, face-palming myself before taking a deep breath and releasing a heavy exhale. My hand clenches around the handle of her bag; the one I’d earlier taken from her upon her return and I raise my other hand towards her door, it balls into a fist as it closes in on the wooden door. My fist hovers for a moment before connecting to the door.A few seconds go by without an answer and I think she’s probably fallen asleep already; she might have been more tired than I realise. She was out for most of the day.I linger at the door for a few more second before letting out another sigh; a broodish feeling washing over me as I start to turn around but my feet immediately comes to
[~♥CORAL♥~]I dry my hair with a towel as I stroll out of the lavatory connected to my bedroom, my silk dress robe hangs loosely on my body, secured together by the rope around it. My feet patter on the wooden floorboard as I walk towards my bed where my dress is already lying in wait for me. I smile when I see it’s one of my favourite dress; Aga must have picked it out when I went into the bathroom to take a bath— I was getting old for her baby treatments and even though she’s minimised her efforts because I nagged about it, she’d always attend to my personal routine once in a while. She was relentless. Dropping the towel on the edge of my bed, I pick up the dress and head to my dressing mirror at the corner and stand in front of it. I pull the dress in front of me, admiring the smooth, soft pink material of the tunic, off-the-shoulder dress when from my peripheral vision, I catch sight of a small, delicate package atop the vanity area of my dressing table. I turn towards it, drop
[~♥CORAL♥~] “I was looking for you,” I tell him but my gaze lands back to his workspace. “What are you doing?” “N-Nothing… You don't need to worry about it.” He stutters, his body shifting to put up a block between his desk and myself. I frown, jolting my head upwards at his obvious lie. If it wasn't important he wouldn't have hidden it from me in the first place. “Why did you come? Did you need something?” He asks, attempting to distract me from the thing he was hiding and for a moment I almost get ensnared by the sway of his words. My mouth opens to respond to him but shuts close soon after and I give him a pointed look. “What is it?” I repeat my earlier question. “What?” “What you're crafting. What is it?” “It's not important.” He responds, his hands latching onto the back of his neck and his arm moves from the slow, rubbing motion. “It has to be if you're covering it. Why are you covering it? You never hide your work from me.” “That's because… this one's really… specia
[~♥CORAL♥~]Reagan's breath catches in his throat soon after the words leave my mouth. I flush with embarrassment and quickly throw my gaze away.I can't believe I just said that.Reagan's touch on my cheek has me looking back up at him. He must think I'm a wanton female for that utterance. I stare into his eyes and catch the pair of ice blue orbs flash into a smoking silver.“Do you… really mean that?” His voice is a deep baritone and it sends a shiver down my spine.Did I? I wasn't even sure why I said that but now, I'm just curious to know. My heart is thumping so hard against my chest and I fear it might leap out any second from now.I slowly nod, my gaze drifting to his lips before slowly trailing back up. His intense gaze was watching me intently before falling to my own lips. “Are you sure? He asks, “I don't want to push you…” the hunger in his eyes flares and he looks as though he's fighting his control.Damian had the same look in his eyes too. It's the same look that says h
[~♣RAEGAN♣~]“Why are you angry?” My little moonbeam demands as she follows me into the house, her foot plattering in the hallway as she tries to catch up to me.I glance at her over my shoulders, momentarily catching her bright green gaze hot on me. My lips curl up with a little smile before returning my gaze to my path.“I'm not angry.” I tell her. She doesn't buy it though, I could feel the doubt oozing out of her small body walking up behind me.“Lies!” She rebukes, calling me out on my bullshit and she was indeed calling me out but truthfully, I wasn't angry, not exactly. “You definitely are. I saw it in your eyes earlier.”I sigh, stepping into the living room. She follows. “Why? Why are you angry? Is it because I was practicing with Damian at the courtyard when you told me not to?”Her question has me confirming my thoughts about earlier with her and Damian out in the yard. So she was indeed practicing combat behind my back, that sleezy bastard, I was going to deal with him la
[~♥CORAL♥~]Damian groans lowly the moment my fingers touch his taut skin. His eyes closing and his head hangs even lower, hovering over mine as his lids clenches and unclenches. His nose flares, his low groans turning more animalistic and strained as though he was having an internal battle.It made me a little worried seeing such displays of emotion twisting up his face. I didn’t know if he was in pain or something. Am I causing him pain? Is it because I’m touching him? I didn’t like it. I didn’t like seeing him look this way.“Don’t do that. Don’t stop.” Damian says, catching my wrist with his hand when I attempt to remove them from his skin.“But… I’m… causing you pain.” I counter and try to free my hand from his grip but it locks like a vice around my wrist, trapping my hand against his chiseled abs.His chuckle is deep and exotic, I want to fall into the trance the sound caused inside me. “The last thing you're causing me is pain, sweet girl.” he says, his voice strained with som
[~♥CORAL♥~]“Raise your arms a bit more, lower your hips to steady your stance, that's good, just like that, keep it that way, your fist has to bear the weight of your strength…” Damian instructs calmly even though I'm trying my hardest to land a decent and possibly hard hit on his large body. He blocks them all and still has the gall to instruct so well!As Raegan had said he would, he'd instructed the instructors for my combat training class to sit me out of participating. They couldn't defy their Alpha.Raegan worries too much. It was barely a wound and it healed pretty quickly too. I could properly use my hands because of the pain medicine I was given but it's not like I was dying or had a fatal disease. He didn't have to withdraw me from practice.Five days have passed since my bruise and I'd secretly asked Damian to practice with me. He was much obliged to but with the condition that I rest a bit more, for two extra days, making it a week, to heal. Now we're at the courtyard at
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]“You're so mean.” I stare down at my mate to see a pout puckering her sweet lips.“Whatever do you mean, sweet girl?” I ask, letting a smirk curl up my lips.She looks up at me, her eyes flashing with a coy smile. She's finally gotten used to the name so now it doesn't bother her anymore when I address her by it. Then they turn solemn, almost like she's trying to scold me silently.“You know what I mean.”I did. But I love teasing her. The thrill her expression causes is a medicine I've gotten addicted to. Even when I don't want to, I just can't help it.I flash a grin, “I apologize, sweet girl. I just can't help myself when I'm around you.”I hear her breath catch in her throat just as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “You're not sorry at all,” she narrows her gaze at me.I can't help the chuckle that slips past my lips at her acute accusation. “And you don't think I'm going to forget about your sudden intrusion into school today.”“I wasn't intruding, sweet girl.
[~♥CORAL♥~]I let Damian drag me off the training ground, mostly because I'm still reeling from what just happened.Raina had tried to seriously hurt me and Damian had stepped in. He'd protected me. My heart felt afloat with the feeling of both fear and relief, it still does, the aftermath effect is still strumming around in my chest.Damian leads me behind a building. There's a bench resting against the surface when we round the corner and he pulls me down gently to sit on it before lowering his height and kneeling with one knee to the ground. His face is a mess of worry and… distress and his gaze fervently runs up and down the length of my body in fluid movement.“Where exactly does it hurt?” He asks, pulling up the sleeves of my shirt past my elbows, he carefully lifts my left arm to his face, inspecting closely.“Here.” I respond, using my other hand to motion across the length of my forearm. “All of it… hurts.”Damian's ember orbs flashes a glowering red and a snarl shapes his f
[~♦DAMIAN♦~]She won. My sweet girl won the spar. It was a little surprising because I knew her opponent was a lot stronger than her, she’d surprised me with that move she pulled.I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face the moment it happened.I've been beating myself up about stepping into her fight and breaking it off the moment her body hit the ground but I know that would only cause trouble for her.My girl was already trying to carve out her own part through her circumstances. I didn't want to be the new source of her agony. I never want to experience the hurt and broken heartedness of my mate ever again. She is the most precious fucking thing to me and bringing her joy is the only thing I'd live to do from now on.The instructor has just declared her the winner and there was a surprising alarm of cheers at her victory even though this was no more than a practice session. I was so fucking proud of her and all I could see in that moment was her.Wanting to get to my mate t
[~♥CORAL♥~]When my body hits the ground, my world spirals for a moment. Raina's movement had been so quick and her attack was sharp and concentrated, knocking me to the ground within a second. I barely saw her coming. Much to my dismay. She proved her strength when her body settles on mine. My hands though, had shielded my face on instinct, though it didn't ease the pain that spammed my body at the moment it made contact with the hard ground.Dust gust around us before it finally settles and I look up at Raina. A smug look paints her face and she's smiling down at me like she's just won.“Ha! This is going to be so easy.” She snarls wickedly, her smile turning into a mischievous grin, her eyes shining with sheer diviousness.And somehow, my gaze finds Damian. His arms are folded against his broad, black clad chest and so is the rest of him—built like a warrior king. His demeanor is stoic and fierce but I don't miss the way his hands clench at his sides and the very subtle flex of hi
[~♥CORAL♥~]The moment my gaze locks with warm ember orbs, I feel the air around me shift with an electrifying sizzle, for one, because Damian is here, as our supposed instructor and he smiles, waving at me like a child that's just found his mother in a crowd.It hinders my attempt at hiding my presence—though I wasn't succeeding much in that area either, my red hair makes me stand out like a sore thumb.The other, because there’s suddenly an uproar of excitement bubbling from the girls and the boys but most especially, the girls and very extremely, from Raina.My gaze cuts off from Damian, landing on Raina. She’s not looking at me this time because now she has her gaze solely fixed on Damian and I swear to the moon goddess that I can see the moon-struck hearts in her freaking eyes and I’m flushed by a wave of violence at her shameless ogling at my mate.“Quiet!” One of the instructor’s voice catches our attention again, this time, it’s the black haired one that speaks up, his voice h