Chapter 78: The Bond

My lungs couldn't fill with enough cool air as I heaved, lying defeated by my adoring lover.

"Tired?" Alijah chuckled, sitting by the edge of the bed.

I growled, and his playful tone was no better, as he was still slightly panting from what we had just done. However, unlike me, he could go longer if he wanted to. The look in his eyes made me feel so warm and glad to be alive to see it.

Why didn't I notice how much you loved me before? I guess I can be a little dense.

"Not a chance." I huffed, turning away from him.

It wasn't in me to admit defeat. However, in reality, I would probably have passed out if he had kept going. I slowly sat myself up, only for him to draw me towards him, meeting me with his lip for a sweet, quick kiss. He pulled away before I could deepen it, picking up his clothes from the floor.

"Dinner should be almost ready. Are you hungry?" He asked.

Dazed, I nodded before noticing the mess I had made on my bed. I felt my eyes twitch as my jaw dropped.

Oh… Crap… I can't burn it up this time!

My expression caused Alijah to laugh, leaving me ticked off. There was no magic to fix the mess I made.

"This is serious!" I pouted, getting off the bed as my foot got caught up in the sheets, causing me to tumble again.

He caught me before I hit the floor, leaving me clinging to him like a monkey. I was a klutz. However, this time, it was mostly his fault, too. My legs were jelly even if I hadn't caught onto the fabric.

There isn't really an ounce of god slayer in me. If I killed one before, it was by pure luck at best.

"Hey, careful. It's no lava, but a fall will still hurt." He cackled, helping me up as I pressed my lips against his nape before nibbling him, quelling his laughter.

"Stop being mean to me!" I mumbled, puffing my cheeks as he kissed my cheek and rolling his eyes.

"Hah, what do you mean by that? I'm being very nice to you right now. I'll even bring the sheets to the laundry before the maids or anyone else sees it." He smirked as I quickly melted in his gaze.

"Okay." I smiled as he brushed his lips against mine.

"Go shower, love. I'll join you soon." Alijah reassured me.

"Wait… You already know your way around?" I tilted my head, remembering how I got lost as a kid at the manor.

Heck, I still get lost in Cerberus headquarters.

"Of course, I'm a quick learner, love." He smirked, tapping my bum to get me to move along.

"Okay," I mumbled, realizing Alijah already knew the manor like the back of his hand.

Huh… It's really been two months, hasn't it?

The only things I could remember clearly after making it to the clearing were when the elf stabbed her and when she called herself an angel of death. Yet, I couldn't entirely tell if it was real or fake since I was delirious from all that blood loss.

Even though I wanted to tell Alijah, who was dressing to take the soiled sheets away, I couldn't say a single word when I saw his face.

Will he believe me? Will he care? Ah… He loves you, Rem! Get it together, girl!

That final thought caused me to slap my cheeks, only to get a weird look from Alijah. A soft cackle escaped my lips as I adjusted my gown and rushed out of the room before he could ask me what was wrong. Ultimately, I was still a coward.

The emotions that had plagued me for longer than I could remember would be harder to shake than I realized. Even though he chose me and said he loved me, I still struggled to embrace it.

Wait, did you choose me? Or was it a spur-at-the-moment thing? No… No, Alijah did choose me! He told me, so I need to believe him! I need to stop thinking he doesn't want me or that he's better off with someone else!

I struggled with my thoughts while I ran into the bathroom.

Why am I such a mess?

Then again, these feelings that I had carried with me wouldn't all vanish in one go. Even though my wolf had shown me how much he loved me.

Why… is it so hard to believe?

In my haste to get into the bath, I didn't look to see if anyone was using it. Instead, I ran into the room, only to crash into someone soon after. For a moment, I was stunned, but whoever I tackled to the ground was light enough to fall under me.

At least it wasn't a brick wall, but it was one and an angry one, too.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Vera snapped, prompting me to get off her instinctively.

The towel that covered her had fallen, exposing her fair skin and fantastic goods. This girl only had one flaw: a scar on her right shoulder, which I had caused when we were younger.

I'm… worth it? Certainly nothing like hers... Arg… Snap out of it! Alijah just made love to you like crazy! I can still feel the warmth dripping out of my— Focus!

"Sorry!" I apologized, flustered because of the thoughts swirling within me.

Her eyes appeared to twitch as she crossed her arms. I had walked into the lion's den by mistake. Ruzgard was right next to her, too, staring at us both. Unlike Shade, this pup always gazed at me as if I were a pest since my last violent encounter with his other half.

"You never fucking change! Always a fucking handful!" She continued to follow me while I tried to ignore her by attempting to leave the bathroom, but she grabbed onto my arm.

"I'm talking to you, Rem!" she chided.

Damn it, you never fear me. Why is that? You know I'm unstable, but you still… treat me the same as always.

When I was younger, Vera and I argued about her friends and how she shouldn't listen to them. At that point, they were asking for numerous favors, and it felt like they were taking advantage of her. So, I tried to reason with her, but she turned it into something else entirely.

I mean, I guess I was jealous of you, but all I wanted back then was for you not to get hurt.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to her. "Vera, stop. I don't want to hurt you."

She shook her head before hugging me tightly, not caring that she was almost bare. Then again, we were sisters, twins, though her hug was warm.

"Then don't hurt me and listen to me! You stupid brat! Do you know how worried I was?!" Vera suddenly declared.

I didn't know how to react to her anymore.

"Vera?" I mumbled her name as she kept me close to her. Even though I had almost attacked her the day before, she held me with no fear.

You never did. Even after I…

"Alijah's right. Fuck!" Vera cursed, releasing a sigh.

"Look, I… am sorry for going off on you before. I was scared, and I'm still terrified. I don't want to lose you again!" she squeezed me.

I tried to worm my way out of it.

Oi… did you break?

This wasn't like her at all. I remembered Alijah and her talking before.

Is this what they…?

"But… I thought I was annoying." I mumbled.

She frowned soon after, as if I had hit a nerve. She was trying, but I wasn't making it easy.

I never did.

"Yes, you're annoying, but you're my infuriating little sister that I love! If I'm not harsh on you, then who will be?! You need to know that wasn't okay!" Vera clarified, holding me at arm's length.

Instinctively, I sighed, gazing down towards the floor.

"I am only… minutes younger than you, Vera," I grumbled.

I know I'm the runt of the squad.

"Look, I don't care! Why didn't you tell me you were going off in that plan of yours?!? Do you even know how angry it made me? Why didn't you depend on me!?" Vera heckled me.

"Because you would have told Mom, and she was already against it," I answered.

She grabbed me by my cheeks, squeezing them in her hands. I had never seen her so fired up before.

"I… would have tried to help you! You stupid idiot! I knew this whole time how you felt! I didn't even tell Mom about you glowing every night! You were meeting him, weren't you?!" Vera announced, leaving me shocked.

How… How did you know? Did you read my journal?!

"You knew?" I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.

If she knew then...

"Yes! Stupid! I knew when I stumbled upon your absurd journal the night I woke you up with that silly nightmare." She started.

Oi… then why…

"If you knew, why were you so against me?! You even helped me do the spell!" I snapped, clasping my hands onto my chest.

I felt a sting as Ruzgard eyed me down carefully. He would protect Vera, that much I knew. One slip was enough.

"Because it was too dangerous! I didn't know with certainty that Alijah was the one you were meeting with. Not until you went missing, but... forget it. Just never go off on your own again! Please don't leave me alone again. It's too lonely without you!" Vera answered, tears streaking down her cheeks.

Eh? Did I hurt you, too, with my recklessness?

"I… am sorry." I apologized, gazing away.

She drew away from me, shaking her head.

"You stupid idiot. I thought you would be there always, and then one day you were gone! How dare you leave me like that?!" Vera questioned.

She wouldn't let me speak, though, not while she knew all that would come out of my mouth were empty apologies. She knew I would have done it again if I had to.

"Don't apologize, do better!" My sister scowled, hugging me again.

At first, I was reluctant to respond, but the moment I did, I felt a rush of happiness. My sister had never shown me this type of affection before. However, it wouldn't last long. Seconds later, I hurtled into a large pool of water.

In our manor, we had stalls for showering and large tubs for bathing. The moment I made it back to the surface, Vera was laughing at me as I growled at her. Alijah had done something like this, too.

"Why?" I grumbled at her.

My clothes were drenched, along with the rest of me.

"Because you deserve some type of punishment. That wolf won't give you any. Mom and Dad won't either, and neither will our brothers, so it falls on me to do so." Vera rolled her eyes. "I would have a better chance at finding gold before they say anything bad to you. So, don't get full of yourself because I forgave you a bit!"

Ah… You…

I couldn't help but cackle because of her.

"Vera, I love you." I simpered.

She huffed. "Unfair, don't look at me like that."

A soft sigh left my lips as I went to the edge of the large bath. This would probably be my only chance to ask her why she was so weird with Alijah. She dressed as I tried to find the courage to ask her.

"Hey… do you like Alijah, Vera?" I asked straight up.

She turned to me with her lips curled downward and nasals flared like I had said something nasty.

"Why do you ask?!" Vera scuffed, fixing her clothes.

"I know you." I breathed.

Instinctively, she dropped the charade and sighed. "That wolf only has eyes for you, Rem. It makes me happy that he loves you so deeply. I think I can trust him with you. A bit, though. Just a bit!"

Ah… you're dodging it.

"But do you like him, though?" I repeated my question.

"No, I would never be attracted to his nature," Vera assured.

Why doesn't that sound right? If you only knew how easy you are for me to read. After all, I did spend twenty years gazing at you to know.

"But you are, aren't you?" I didn't back down.

She would usually put on a beautiful show to strangers, but to people she liked, she would be herself. Even with the last boyfriend, Ryker's son, she put on that charade.

I wonder what happened between them, but is it my place to ask?

"Rem, I don't want secondhand goods from you. Plus, he is bound to you for life now. No one will ever steal him from you, sis." Vera reassured.

Bound to me?

"What?" I mumbled, unable to follow along with her.

"Alijah didn't tell you?" she asked, cocking her head.

My wolf hadn't said anything about how Midnight affected him, and I never asked, either.

"If you die or are separated from him for too long, he'll perish. Midna bound both your lives forever." She added, shrugging.

Her words felt like a hit to the gut, causing nausea to build up as I felt all the warmth drain from me.

"Even when you two die and are reborn, he'll be bound to you, forced to find you in every life." Vera continued as I bit my lip.

No… This can't be real. I… can't…

"Alijah's yours for eternity."