Chapter 24: That I Am Yours

Zephyr rushed to her and caught her in midair, causing her to collapse on his body, "Inara?" he mumbled, "You cannot also die," Inara stared at him and smiled faintly, "The thought of him dead is so heartbroken," she remarked puffily. Her gaze shifted to Yivanne, who was crying uncontrollably.

"Can I summon a physician? Or…, "I'll handle it; I can't let her die, but first her bleeding must stop," Zephyr concluded, rising to his feet and taking Inara in his arms, Yivanne following behind.

—

A guard rushes to Basil with a joyful grin, whispers something into his ear, and Basil finds it beneficial to smile, "She's now a widow?" Basil giggled, and the guard nodded in approval, "This is the right time for you to marry her, because the King is already supportive of your marriage,"

"Fear not, she's soley mine!" Basil blurted out with pride and boldness, a cheeky look on his face as he envisioned what it would be like to have her on his bed, screaming his name!

—

Basil came inside his room; he had instructed the guards to drag Inara inside before he arrived. He discovered her seated on the floor, rather than on the bed, "Why are you sitting down on the floor?" he inquired calmly, but she did not respond, "Wasn't I talking to someone here?"

"And if I refused, would you beat me or make things worse, Basil?" Inara cried out in wrath, which surprised him, and he furrowed his brow on her, as if confused about some serious things, "Did you just yell at me? I can't believe the almighty bitch wife finally has the guts to yell at me,"

"You killed him, and now you're longing for your brother's legal wife. He had just been dead for twenty-five days, yet all you could think about was using force to take everything he owned. I regret to disappoint you, Your Highness. I will never be one of those ladies who are constantly willing to be on your bed; I would rather die than lay low," Inara sadly proclaimed, and Basil grinned in surprise.

"Inara, you are not smart enough, you will certainly become mine. I want to feel you, and no one will stop me from getting access to your thighs when you become pregnant with my seed; not even him if he rises from the dead," Basil yelled, "You have always been mine, Inara," and then dragged her over to the bed. He shoved her into it, and because of her wobbly legs, she fell down on it.

Basil pounced on top of her like a hungry man; in his sexual period, he wanted to trail a kiss down her neck, but she spit on him. That doesn't stop him from trying to kiss her while aggressively gripping her hands. A knock caused him to came to a halt on his motive.

"I apologize for the awful disturbance, Your Highness, but the King needs your attention," a servant remarked, "You may leave," he yelled almost instantly, giving her a hard meaningful glare before getting down and leaving.

Tears streamed down Inara's cheeks as she recalled being almost raped by him. The last time this happened, Alexander was there to save her, but he wasn't anymore.

"My husband, please do not keep me waiting too long. I'm waiting for your return, and I believe in you," she sobbed. No one would ever tell her she'd lose him so soon, and nor she would had believed.

King Gael welcomed the Crown Prince heartily and instructed the guards lurking around to provide them with some solitude, which they dutifully obeyed, "Father you sent for me, any problem?" when Basil asked after he was properly seated, King Gael pushed a note forward to him.

"It will be sorted, Father. When would my wedding be held? I wished to marry her sooner, the sooner the better," he replied, "She's still regarded a widow; you can do whatever you want to her before the marriage. She'll have no choice but to become yours because you desired her; all you have to do is force her," King Gael stated sinisterly, causing Basil to smile gently.

"You're smarter like your Mother, Basil, no one would ever know about his death if not because of you,"

—

"Yiv?" Zephyr yelled after looking for Yivanne in Inara's room but couldn't find her. He noticed some phrases scribbled in blood in a paper, 'You wouldn't want to see her die, right? I will be waiting for you, Demon.' Zephyr vanished instantaneously and reappeared at the witches' cult. It couldn't be from his Mother, then who is it?

A figure emerges to him, and as the person approached, the mightiest witch, Irish, smirked devilishly at him, "So, you came, Demon? I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly, "Where is she? What have you done to her? Let me see her," Zephyr yelled, his voice full of rage and terror.

"She's doing quite well, but that doesn't mean I won't kill her if you hesitate to comply with me," Irish chuckled as she turned backwards and began walking away without telling Zephyr that he had to follow her. When they reached a dark dungeon, Irish cast some spells that teleported them inside.

Zephyr became increasingly enraged when he saw Yivanne trapped with deadly witch spells, which might make her possess Irish's witch power if it is not destroyed soon, "Why are you punishing her?"

"No, I'm not; I was just using her to get what I wanted. She is also a witch, therefore having my witch powers would be easy. If you're willing to give me what I want, in exchange, you'll get her. But if you fail, I'll kill her immediately," Irish said, directing her gaze to him, anticipating a faster response.

"Which's what?" Zephyr inquired, Irish glanced at Yivanne's comatose body and crossed her fingers, "You undoubtedly knew that he's still alive, I want him here within two days, "He's been dead for the past days, why did you still believe he's alive?"

"Because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't die just yet, you probably pretended he was dead because he wanted you to or to avoid some unexpected complications. Whereas, you must choose between him and her," Irish stated, as Zephyr moved an inch closer to her and laughed demonically.

"Do you think I'll fall for your tricks? I'll never betray a friend as you did to your own daughter, witchhead. You do not deserve to be a Mother," Zephyr responded with a blank expression, Irish backed away in disbelief.

"She has always deserved it; she caused everything, and I have always deserved to be her Mother. She's a traitor, "You're well aware that she loved him, so why did you make them suffer? Even if the man she loved did not love her in the way she expected, you could have let her die rather than rescue her because you will always be regarded her enemy. You are not worthy of her love; what sort of Mother are you? One who destroyed her daughter's happiness out of hatred? One who has never felt the urge to be addressed as a 'Mother' by her daughter? Or…., "Shut up! I did not force her to let him seduce her, and finally fell pregnant; nor did I ever ask her to fall in love with him, "Have you ever asked her if she wanted to accept the Fate you wished for her? Have you ever questioned her if she actually doesn't want to be with him? You never did, but instead ruined her life. You wrecked her life to the point where she couldn't get it back, even if she gave up her soul for eternal pleasure!" Zephyr yelled, his eyes burning red as he said each syllable.

"To obtain her, you must murder me; I will never allow her to become a hateful witch like you! She would live her life in excessive delight rather than misery," he added, appearing before Yivanne's comatose body, he disappeared quickly before Irish could injure him.

—

"You may make use of something else, perhaps my towel?"

"No," Yivanne objected instantly, causing Zephyr to roll his eyes, although not in a hostile manner, "Why? You think…, "I can't use your towel because it's personal; I'd rather wear this cloth instead," she stated gently, "I didn't complain; your dress isn't good anymore; wearing it after bathing would cause you to lose some of your beauty; I'm sorry to say that. Simply go ahead, Yiv,"

"Weird," she mumbled, barely to his ears, but he heard it, "It doesn't seem weird, you're my mate afterall," Yivanne moved away without responding. She returned quickly with his towel wrapped around her entire body.

Yivanne, feeling awkward and apprehensive, stepped onto the bed, "Goodnight," she mumbled in a dreamy tone, but almost immediately she felt his arm around her waist, pushing her closer to him and forcing her to face him.

"I do not feel asleep with you half naked around, Yiv," Zephyr said hoarsely. Yivanne arched her brow in surprise and concern, "I'm sorry, I'll go sleep on the floor instead, "I didn't mean it that way, and I don't want you to hate me either, thinking I'm only interested in your body. But I won't be able to resist you for long," Zephyr stated, and Yivanne merely nodded.

"My lady, how is she doing? I feel like I haven't seen her in a long time; how did I get here? I couldn't recall…, "Yiv, you don't have to strain to remember how you came here; Inara is fine, but she hasn't recovered from his death. Everything will be resolved soon, okay?"

"Okay. I missed her so much; I wanted I could calm her heart at times, but I failed to eliminate her pain," Yivanne muttered, Zephyr patted her affectionately and smiled passionately at her, "I'm glad to have you as my mate; you're courageous. Inara would always be grateful to you for everything you've done for her. You have a good heart, too, "I'd like to learn more about being your mate. Tell me all I need to know,"

"I am a Demon with demonic powers, and I have longed to see you for thirty years. I had given up hope of meeting you, but when I did, I was overwhelmed. Perhaps my long-awaited days did not go in vain, "Am I so important to you?"

"Yes. Though I haven't finished our bond since you aren't ready yet, but you're always a part of me," Zephyr remarked, looking up at Yivanne and seeing her crying, he was saddened and grieved knowing why.

"You don't need to cry, Yiv. I don't blame you; nothing happens without a reason, "But I should be blamed. If I was actually meant to be yours, I wouldn't be pushing you away; instead, I'm literally pushing your happiness away. I will never run away or hide my feelings again; I will stop hurting you, "Do you feel the bond?"

"Is it called 'bond'?" she inquired perplexedly, "Tell me how you feel whenever you're away from me," he demanded with an anticipated look, "I always feel someone dear to me is in a torrent, and I always feel the desire to quench it, but at the same time I'm terrified. Is this something to do with me being your mate?"

"Are you still afraid of me? Do not be afraid to tell me, "No, I was terrified at first, but now I'm not; I'd rather be with you all the time, "I'm pleased you aren't; my type are harsh, but we never hurt our other half. Can I smell you? When I recognized your scent, I couldn't resist it,"

Yivanne offered a cautious nod, but Zephyr immediately claimed his lips on hers and kissed her hungrily. Their lips moved in unison, and they wished this could end sooner. Zephyr spotted Yivanne groaning in the middle of the kiss, so he reluctantly pulled away from it and turned elsewhere.

"I want to see your eyes," she demanded weakly, but he shook his head negatively, "I look really scary, it wouldn't be pleasant if you saw it, "I promise I won't be scared of you after I see it," she said calmly, Zephyr turned his gaze at her, and she saw something really terrible that made her want to deny her words.

"Are you scared of me, Yiv?" Zephyr questioned, as tears streamed from her eyes, "They burn because of me, right? I could see how you struggled to contain yourself, even if you were covering it. Am I making you feel bad?"

"No, "Yes, I am, which is why you need to mark me as yours tonight," Yivanne asserted firmly, causing Zephyr to lift his eyebrows with shock, "You know about the 'mark claim'?"

"Yes. I want to feel our connection; will you allow your Demon claim me as his? Or, better still, mark me as 'yours'?" Yivanne concluded, peering deeply into his burning red eyes, and Zephyr stood immobile, wordless.

—

Inara sat in front of the mirror, staring intently at the glass; her palm traced over her severely damaged neck as a result of Basil's sexual assault on her. She wiped it off with a handkerchief and applied some treatment oils to her wounds.

She was ready to leave the room when she heard the voice "Wifey?" her thoughts was filled with eagerness at first, but as she realized how upset she was, she chose to ignore the voice, "Wifey?" Inara angrily looked forward and saw the person she expected, "I don't want to see you again, just leave me alone," she murmured calmly, but Alexander moved closer to her.

"Forgive…, "I will never forget or forgive how you made me go insane. Why did you vanish? Why do you have to pretend to be dead for a full twenty-five days? You….," Inara felt her body drawn into his, and he threw his arms around her waist, saying, "Wifey, I'm sorry; I truly mean my words this time. Hurting you was never my intention," he apologized, hugging her even more closely.

"It's not as if you loved me; harming me wouldn't matter to you. I don't want to admit it, but have you ever loved me for a second?" when Inara didn't hear a reaction from him for minutes, she drew away from the hug, "I was only curious to know how you feel about me, I didn't mean to…, "My heart does not beat for you; rather, my entire body wishes to reciprocate those emotions. I love you, wifey, from the depth of my heart," Alexander said, as Inara's eyes expanded with joy. She grabbed his hand and brought him to the bed, "So, my husband, I want you to announce to everyone that I'm your wife," she smiled, "Why?"

"To let them know that I am yours, especially your mistresses. Will you do that? I won't…., "Why not? As long as it makes you happy," he said calmly, smiling, yet he sensed her frowning slightly, "Do you have another request? What is it?"

"I want you to ask my parents to release Yivanne to you, not as a slave, but as someone with her own freedom, "You want me to beg your parents?"