First Kiss

Vance's eyes lit up in pleasant surprise as he whipped his head to face Melva who had just kissed him on the cheek. "Am I allowed to take it as a yes?"

Melva could feel her face reddening until the tips of her ears. "Just do it quickly if you want to. It is just a kiss."

She was lying through her teeth. It was clearly not just a kiss for her. This was her first kiss. And she had imagined it to be special. She had had a peek at some wedding ceremonies back in Ichorhold and the married couples had looked so happy that she wondered how it felt like when she had her first kiss.

Getting her first kiss from a werewolf that had turned her life upside down was not something she wanted. But now that she was bound to him, her choices were limited. She was already in a whole different world than what she was used to. He was the only constant that she could hold on to, so defying him didn't seem wise.

'It is just a kiss,' chanted Melva in her mind, strongly wishing it to be true. She convinced herself that this was not a big deal. People kissed all the time. It was nothing special. It was just a gesture of physical affection. A touch that Vance needed to keep on living. She made herself think of this as an act of saving his life.

Even after she was giving her permission for him to kiss her, Vance still did nothing but stare at her, as if searching for signs that she was not willing. She appreciated him for trying to make sure she was alright with this. They were in this together. Both of them were bound to the contract and each had to keep their end of the bargain. There were no other options besides working together, which was what they were attempting to do.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Melva abashedly because Vance had been staring for a long time that she was starting to get nervous. "I told you that I am fine with—"

Melva's sentence was left unfinished because Vance let go of his hold on her hand and cupped her cheeks, causing her voice to die in her throat as he made her look at him. He tilted his head to one side and leaned closer towards her. She instinctively closed her eyes as she braced for contact.

The second she felt his lips touching hers, it was as if her senses were lit on fire. She was hyper aware of everything, every single detail. His hands were gently caressing her cheeks and his lips were moving against hers, urging her to follow his movement. Because of their close proximity, she could catch a whiff of his pheromones that he released, his scent which was as fresh as the rain and as soothing as the forest.

His hands that were on her cheeks slowly moved towards her back, pulling her closer to him until they were pressed flush against each other. He moved her until she was on his lap, straddling him. Wrapping his arms around her back, he embraced her tightly like he didn't want to let go. She felt hot all over and she was weak in his arms. He was kissing her like his life depended on it, which in a way, it did.

Vance finally broke the kiss when they needed to catch a breath. Melva gasped for air as she pulled back from the kiss. She had not realised how out of breath she had been.

She couldn't even remember how she had ended up straddling him. This was so embarrassing. She had been so caught up in the kiss that she was not aware of her surroundings. She was so embarrassed that she could only freeze on the spot.

"That was not so bad, right?" Vance giggled from watching her reaction. He was still holding her in his arms, looking her in the eye, and she was still on his lap. "We can totally do this again. I feel amazing."

"It is not fair that you are the only one who benefits from this," muttered Melva sheepishly. It was her pitiful defence to try making herself less embarrassed.

Vance burst into laughter at her remark. "Alright. What do you want from me? If it is anything I can give you, I will consider it."

She suddenly thought of something as she recalled the new weapons sitting in her chamber. She had not carried them for her hunting session with Corbett earlier because she didn't know how to use them. It was better to ask Vance to teach her rather than Corbett. Somehow, she didn't feel like trusting the cunning man.

"I am not well accustomed with daggers. Will you teach me how to use them, Your Grace? Or are you not good at them as well?" asked Melva, unable to stop herself from taunting him, desperate to retaliate from making her embarrassed. "Perhaps I should ask Lord Corbett instead. He said he is good with weapons."

Melva had only expected to bruise Vance's pride by comparing his skills with Corbett, his archenemy. However, she had no idea that it would go very differently than she had intended.

Vance was growling. Rather than having his pride bruised, the look on his face was like his expression when he had scented her: possessive. "Why are you talking about him when you are on my bed?"

"Why can't I talk about Lord Corbett?" asked Melva curiously, because she still didn't get why he was being territorial when it concerned her. "I am still going to marry you in less than a month. Not him. And I am on your bed. Not his."

She would be his mate, whether she liked it or not. The concern was highly unnecessary, especially when he limited the number of people she was allowed to converse with. She disliked it when he was being overly possessive over her. She didn't like feeling caged and being treated like a possession.

Vance pulled her close to him and embraced her, resting his chin in the nook between her shoulder and her neck, inhaling her scent. "I like it when you admit aloud that you are mine. It is like I am panicking and getting myself burned, and then you put out the fire, calming me in the best way possible."

"Well, you should stop panicking, because I am not going anywhere. I cannot run away from you, Your Grace," stressed Melva to reassure him. She had nowhere to run, anyway. Ichorhold was in another world than this. She did not know how to return there because she had been blindfolded the first time she had come here.

"You think I do not want to?" retorted Vance, insisting her to believe him. "I do, Melva. I have told myself countless times that it is unnecessary to panic when you are not within my sight. However, I am weak when it comes to you. I despise being weak but I cannot help it. I think it is because of the curse."

"Do not let the curse hold you back, Your Grace. You are strong and I have seen how strong you are. I believe you can fight the curse and one day you will overcome it. Then you will no longer need me to provide strength for you." Melva was only encouraging him because she wanted to be free from him.

"I am trying," growled Vance in frustration. Then he whined as if he was physically in pain. "Do not say that, please. You are upsetting my pride as an alpha wolf. We always need our mate by our side. They make us stronger."

"From what I see, you are being dependent, Your Grace. It is not a very good thing, in my opinion," expressed Melva honestly. 

It was something that concerned her as she had been observing the Duke's tendency to hold her hand at any time possible. It had gradually become a survival instinct for him. That must not be a good thing.

"I do not have another choice, Melva," said Vance defeatedly. "If there is a way to get rid of the curse, I will do anything."

And this was what Melva had been wanting to hear from the first second she had stepped into this manor. A chance to bargain for her and Ichorhold's freedom with a way to cure him from his curse.  She saw her chance and she had to grab it. 

She only needed to find out how to break the curse, except that no one knew about his curse. The first step was to find someone who knew about the curse. And then she could think of her plan from there.

"Anything?" repeated Melva, making sure he would not go back on his words.

"Yes, anything," said Vance determinedly. "I doubt there is someone who can find a way to cure the curse. I have been searching for decades and there is no cure for this troublesome condition. If there is someone who can, I will reward them handsomely."

Melva decided to start her search from the legend of the Moon Goddess. Both Vance and Corbett didn't believe in her, but they only intensified her curiosity. She found herself intrigued and she wanted to find out more about her.