Chapter 20

Nuriel walked into his quarters. She was in there, he could smell her scent. Actually, he had caught hints of it all over the house. Which meant she had gone off exploring again. 

He went straight to his sleeping chamber and there she was, on top of his bed reading the book he had handed her earlier. She looked up for a second when he walked in, but then went straight back to the literature as if she had not seen him. 

He concluded that she was still upset with him from earlier on. 

Cursed gods! 

It had not even been a single day yet and he had already ruined things. But he had learn from he mistake and he would take things slow from now on. 

It would be wise to give her time to process everything on her own. 

"I apologise... I should not have acted the way I did and you are right to be upset, " he said as he looked at her. He wanted her to gaze up from the book and give him a chance to stare at her lovely eyes. But all she did was flip through the pages silently as if he was not even there. 

He let out a defeated breath and headed for the washroom. 

But then he stopped and slowly turned around. 

He took slow steps towards the bed and took a deep breath in. She turned to him as if he had gone mad but he couldn't care less. There was something else in her scent. 

He leaned in closer such that he was inches away from her and took in another long breath. His suspicions were confirmed. 

Kael! 

The reckless angel had marked his Doseth with his scent. It was unmistakable. Innocence and danger coated in a sweet vanilla fragrance. 

All the Council members had distinct scents which were all branded to his senses. 

And by marking Flame Kael had basically tagged her as his. He felt his blood boil. And the feeling to hurt someone overtook him. That someone being Kael. 

" What are you doing? " Flame asked as she turned to glare at him. He could not just go around sniffing people like that. And the moment she looked at him she gasped. His eyes were doing that strange glowing thing again. 

" Are you okay? " The question went again her policy to ignore and shut him out but this seemed like a serious enough issue to break her resolution. 

Nuriel knew that Kael just wanted to mess with him. As the youngest member of the Council the angel had always gotten away with his ridiculous pranks and comments. But this was crossing a line and Nuriel would make sure he payed. 

" That bloody angel! I'll kill him for this! " he roared as he turned to go and find him. But then Flame jumped off the bed and stood in front of him. 

" Hey! Where are you going? " She asked. Putting out her hand to stop him from moving. 

" Move aside m'eudail! " 

" Not until you tell me exactly where you're going and who you're planning to kill, " That was definitely a statement she never pictured herself saying. 

" Kael, now move aside, "

Just as she had thought. She knew he had done something but what could it be to get the angel so riled up. 

" What has he done? " 

Nuriel was not thinking clearly at the moment. All he knew was that he had to find Kael and teach him a lesson. One he would never forget. 

" He marked you! And now I'm gonna teach him not to mess with other people's mates! "

Flame studied her hands. What did he mean? Kael had not marked her in any way. She tried to explain it to the agitated angel who had managed to walk around her. 

" He marked you with his scent! " He explained as he strode off. She tried sniffing her hands and hair but she honestly couldn't smell anything. 

" Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit too much? " She hurried to match his steps. Then she ran ahead of him and leaned against the door. Preventing him from opening it. 

" Come on, he was probably just joking, " Which would explain why he was smiling so mischeviously when he walked away. Just wait till she saw him again. 

" I do not give a bloody care! You are mine and he is well aware of that! " He said it with a stern expression. Intent on making her understand that fact as well. His eyes boiled into hers and she shivered. 

" Do you hear that m'eudail?...... Mine! " he repeated more firmly. Almost growling out the word. She probably ought to be scared but she was not. 

Kael, that fool! Just what had he gotten her into?

But she knew that if she did not calm the angel down, something bad would happen. So it would be better if she put all her issues aside and dealt with the matter at hand first. 

She swallowed, then she slowly reached out and placed her hand on his chest. It was covered in a light silk like shirt with a small row of buttons at the neckline. 

Nuriel stared at her hand. She had touched him of her own free will and it felt.... right. 

" Listen angel, " she started off slow. As if she were calming down a youngling from a tantrum. " You're mad. I get that... but trust me when I say that violence is not the answer, "

Flame had zero clue of what she was saying. She had been sent to anger management classes as a teenager and that was what the instructor used to say. It never really helped or made sense back then but she decided to give it a try. 

And judging from the look he was giving her, the angel didn't understand her either. Telling a guy who had spent centuries fighting that 'violence was not the answer' was not the most intelligent thing. 

" If you don't move aside, I will make you, " he said and Flame stretched her arms wide against the door. 

" What if we make a deal.... You'll let Kael be and in return, I'll.. "just what could she use to persuade him? She thought about it for a while. 

" You will tell me what you were doing locked up in that institution, " he suggested. He had not forgotten about that and he had been planning on taking her again later on. 

She wanted to refuse his offer. Even asked him to ask her anything else. But he had already made up his mind.

" Fine then! I'll tell you, " she gave in and he took a step back. His eyes still glowing. 

" Go take a bath, I can't stand another males scent on you, " he instructed as he looked aside as if to prove his point. He also made a mental note to permanently mark her as his. 

                          💮🌼💮🌼💮🌼

" Won't you eat? " Nuriel asked Flame. 

They were both seated at the dining area. And she had her arms on the tables surface with her head propped on top. Dressed in another of his shirts. This one a plain black. 

" I'm not hungry, " she said weakly as she kept her gaze fixed to the side. She could not believe that he was making her do this. Forcing her to relive a past that awarded her with nothing but pain. 

" Nuriel pushed the plate a few inches towards her. 

" At least eat a little, "

" I said I'm not hungry! " she repeated harshly. Nuriel knew that she did not want to talk. And if it were up-to him he would not make her do this. But he had to know. And he was certain that if he did not push her to talk now, she would never open up about it again. 

Which would in turn make it impossible to get her to trust him. 

" Fine then, " he said as he pushed the plate aside. 

Flame hated this. She had actually started to enjoy being in that place. She still did not believe what the angel had said about her being his chosen. But with that aside, it was a rather lovely place to be and everyone seemed nice. 

She could feel the angel waiting for her to begin. So she closed her eyes and travelled back to that night when everything had changed. To those memories which even she had not visited in years. They seemed so distant that she barely even remembered them. 

eight years back,...

" What were you thinking taking her in! she's nothing but trouble! "

Fifteen year old Flame listened as her current foster parents argued. She was at the top of the stairs spying on them through the railing. Her foster mom was shouting. Probably wanted Flame to hear every word she said. And she was. 

She was used to this though, it was the third time that week that they had argued about her. And it was only Tuesday. Jackie, her foster mom, was mad that Flame had left the lights on the front porch on.It was always petty things. Just the previous day she was furious because Flame had allegedly, ' given her attitude'.Which was a strange accusation considering that they never even talked. 

Jim, her foster dad, was not better off. All he did was drink whenever he was out. And then he would come home late at night and drink some more before he gained the strength to march up the stairs and take his frustration out on whoever he set his eyes on first. And for some strange reason it was always Flame. 

She was the eldest of the Foster kids there. And she did not care whether he hurt her as long as he let the others be. She felt responsible for them.