Chapter 30: Chapter 30

NIVAAN’S POV

The night grew dark and silent after the ritual was performed. I stretched my arms, letting the cool wind wash over me. I felt like a huge weight had lifted off my shoulders. Now that Emilia and my baby were safe, I could finally relax.

Suddenly Emilia’s tormented face flashed through my mind. The way she had looked at me made my heart twist. But, at that time I was caught in some kind of frenzy. I couldn’t think of anything else apart from getting the blood.

Though I did everything to protect Emilia and my son, I shouldn’t have used force to get the blood. A pang of guilt tore through me and I sighed. I had to apologize to Emilia. Drawing in a deep breath, I made my way to her tent.

After taking a few steps, I sensed a presence behind me. My eyes fell on the long shadow looming over me. My steps faltered and I was about to spin around when a soft hand grabbed my arm. Before I could realize what was happening, I was hit with an intense feeling of being sucked into the vortex.

My head spun and my mind blanked out momentarily. A few moments passed in a dazed state. Then, a soft ringing sensation rose in my ears making me acutely aware of the surroundings.

I was standing inside my tent. My vision cleared eventually and fell on the person standing in front of me. It was Valence. She was grinning at my bewildered expression.

I shook my head before muttering, “It’s been so long being teleported like this… it feels like the first time….”

Valence placed her hand on my chest and spoke in a soft voice, “Everything is so much better the first time.”

Her fingers glided towards the center of my chest and she started unbuttoning my shirt, one at a time. My face flushed and my heart started pounding like crazy. I was so stunned that I stood there like a statue while she took off my shirt. She pulled me closer and rested her head on my chest.

A strange queasy sensation developed in the pit of my stomach. I felt quite uncomfortable like this. I tried to pull away but she clung to me like a koala.

“Oh, Nivaan…. I missed this so much,” she spoke against my skin sending a shudder through me. Her fingers moved towards my belt but before she could do anything, I grabbed her wrist and pushed her away.

Shaking my head, I said in a firm voice, “We can’t be like this Valence. Things have changed now.”

Valence stood on the tip of her toes and tried to kiss me but I avoided her. Her face flushed and she looked at me with a pained expression, “You are joking, right?”

“No, Valence. I am completely serious. I can’t be with you. My mate, she is pregnant with my child….”

“I can totally understand your love for your son,” her voice was tinted with desperation. “I am ready to accept him as a part of our life. You just need to weed out that bitch from your life… I..I will love your son more than his mother.”

Her words jolted me to the core. I had never expected Valence to have such thoughts. I looked into her eyes. There was no remorse, regret, or guilt in them; only a fierce obsession. I took a step away from her, “You have changed… The Valence I knew would never think of separating a child from his mother.”

“Don’t say like that…” Valence gripped my shoulders, closing the distance I had put between us, “This is for the best. What kind of upbringing can a weak, obnoxious woman give your son?” Her lips curled up in a smile, “Between the two of us, we can take good care of him.”

A strong surge of anger coursed through me. Shaking her up, I shouted, “What has gotten into you Valence? Do you have any idea what you are saying?” My eyes narrowed and the veins of my forehead bulged, “I will never separate a child from its mother.”

Valence’s expression grew frosty and her eyes turned into dark emotionless pits. “Don’t worry. I will do that for us. Once your son is born, I will kill her.”

Slap! Before I could restrain myself, I found myself slapping her. My fingers embedded in her fair skin and a small drop of blood formed at the corner of her mouth.

I regretted my move instantly. Licking my dry lips, I said in a guilty voice, “I am so sorry, Vally. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Her eyes turned bloodshot and her arms raised in the air. A strong force hit me and moments later I was hanging in the air, my back against the main pole of the tent.

“How dare you slap me, Nivaan Lovelock! Did you forget who I am or what I can do?”

My eyebrows furrowed. Why didn’t the ring protect me from her magic? I raised my right hand to find that it was missing.

“Looking for something?” Valence said as she moved closer. A smirk spread on her face as she raised the ring in the air. I faintly recalled something being pulled out of my finger during the ritual. I had been too engrossed in the ritual to notice it.

Had Valence been planning this all along? I shrugged off that thought immediately. Valence was probably just upset with the way things are. I was sure that I could make her see reason.

“Valence, please try to understand,” I tried to explain. “We both have changed, I have changed. I have realized that I can’t be unfair to Emilia anymore. Can’t you accept that?”

Her eyes turned a shade darker; the fire of obsession had taken a form where she couldn’t register anything that I said. Her fingers closed in and she sent a surge of power through me.

I screamed out as a wave of electricity send a wave of intense pain through me. F***! She was really out of control.

“You are mine… You will always be mine,” her voice was cold and resolute.

I knew there was no point but I still found myself saying, “Please don’t be unreasonable, Vally.”

“I am unreasonable? You are the unreasonable one. Why didn’t you tell me all this before I performed the ritual to save YOUR son?”

“I was going to tell you but….”

“But, you thought that it is a great idea to use me first.”

Blood rushed to my face and I stuttered, “It’s not like that… I…I…”

“I don’t need your f*****g explanation, Nivaan Lovelock. I want you and I will have you; even if it means killing that bitch and her spawn.”

“Valence!” My voice shook with rage as I continued, “Don’t make me forget everything that you have done for me!”

She crossed her arms in front of her and snorted, “So you do remember what I did for you?” Her expression shifted and her voice dropped dangerously low, “I am sure you remember how Kiara became a poison wolf as well.” Her eyes twinkled, “Don’t you think it is time for her to know about it?”

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. The color drained from my face and my heart went numb. I dropped to the ground with a thud as she withdrew the force abruptly. Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed her shoulders, “Kiara can never know about it.”

“I don’t want to tell her either but my tongue tends to slip when I am upset. It is all in your hands, Nivaan…,” she said before teleporting out of the room.

I stood there like a statue, my hands still suspended in the air. Her words kept ringing in my ears like a loop. No, Kiara could never find out. She would probably break all ties with me if she ever figured out the truth….