Chapter 32: Chapter 32

By the time they were back into the palace, water was still dripping down from her clothes. She looked worn out but equally excited. She smiled gratefully at him and Lorcán couldn’t take his eyes off her. How she looked so fresh with her hair sticking around her face and the exhaustion he could point out on her face. “You should get changed, he pointed out when he found her staring down at her now drenched and sticking gown.”

She looked up at him with a pout on her lips, “I don’t have any clothes, and staying like this until I dry off...”

He shook his head and drop down the things he was holding. “That can’t happen, you know. Come.” He delicately held her wrist and began to walk, she was smiling at him. He was dripping too, but he didn't seem to mind that he could catch cold but her. He pushed open a gigantic door and no matter how much she wanted to control herself, she couldn't restrain herself from the gasp that escaped her lips.

“This is way too beautiful...” She said breathlessly, “And exquisite!” She added. She knew that the palace they lived in Zinambra was so huge and large but she had never seen such enormousness. She wished when she came here the people in this palace were still alive, how would it have been? She had never been to a place so enormous like the Elfnour palace, utterly majestic.

He smiled and released his hold on her hand, “Hopefully, just like everything remains the same, I hope this too.” He moved past her to what looked like a closet. She would have said it was a closet if not because this looked so enormous to have house some clothes. He yanked it open and Aranya wasn't sure if her lower lip didn’t touch the ground.

“What in the world, Lorcán?!” It truly was a closet! Filled to the brim with gowns she had never set her eyes on and she wished she could wear them all at once. He turned to look at her with a chuckle and she was certain the amusement she was seeing in his eyes was due to the gobsmacked expression on her face.

“This is my mother’s room, and here, it’s her closet. I think her size will fit you, she wasn’t too big at the time, try it on?” It was more of a question and he watched as she took a tentative step toward him. He watched her, each step she took was filled with excitement, tentativeness and what he couldn’t point a finger at.

She stopped beside him and reluctantly ran her hand over the intricate design of the first gown close to her reach. “I can’t...” She whispered while she shook her head, “It’s your mother’s clothing, Lorcán.” She turned to look at him with a serious expression on her face, “Let’s make out a fire, Lorcán, it’ll dry me up.”

He didn't wait for her to say another word when he turned her back at his face and began taking off her gown, she shrieked. “What do you think you’re doing?” She tried to turn to face him but he already had her gown showering down her shoulders.

“What does it look like I'm doing? You’re going to wear one of these clothing, they can stay here for over a thousand years but nothing will happen to them and they have no one to wear, and one thing I'm certain about it, Mother will be more than excited to share her clothing with you. So,” he slightly turned her os she could face him with a smug look on his face, “Will you get into one of these gowns yourself or I'll do you the favor, Aranya?”

She gulped down a lump in her throat and from the look in his eyes, she knew she was damn serious about everything. “Can I get some privacy?” She lifted one eyebrow and for a split moment, Lorcán saw the fire flicked in her eyes. She might’ve not noticed that it was coming back already, that she was going back to her old self and he didn't want to tell her to raise her hopes high because what if Betla was testing them?

“Two minutes.” He said and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Aranya rolled her eyes absentmindedly and moved over to have a closer look of the whole closet, which left her mouth opened. She got out of her gown leaving her with only the flimsy inner dressing she had, which hid nothing in particular considering how wet everything was. She kept on rummaging through the closet because she couldn’t choose one of the amazing gowns.

And just when she had settled on a deep red colored gown that had a slight off shoulders with an intricate design that will make one drool, he reappeared right in front of her and she didn’t know when she screamed and got down, holding the gown over to her chest. “Lorcán! I didn’t call out that I was done!” Her hair was beginning to dry, she wished it was already dried, she would have used it to cover her face.

He chuckled and used both his hands to lift her up, and no matter how much she wanted stop him from doing that, today, as she didn’t have any fire in her and her knees had already gone weak, she couldn’t. He was lustfully staring at her and she rolled her eyes, “I need to wear something, Lorcán.” It sounded off like a whine, as if he had stopped her from doing what she should do.

“You can do that, have I stopped you?” She rolled her eyes.

“Not in your presence, can you excuse me?” She had totally forgotten in what clothing she was and that she had taken the gown off her chest, leaving her almost naked in front of a hungry man like Lorcán.

He took a lustful step toward her with his eyes fixed on her whole body and while she tried to take a step back, he caught her in his arms, and a proximity with him was what she didn't want at this moment because she didn’t know how she was able to control herself all these while. She got lost in his eyes, the look he flashed her and his hands that were slowly caressing her skin. No one had ever seen her like this today, not even Betla! Well, except when she was young.

“I think I need to kiss you...” He began but she didn’t give him the chance to complete his sentence when she lifted her feet and coalesced their lips. A moan escaped his lips and Aranya held him as tightly as she could.

He deepened the kiss and she gave more way by slightly parting her lips and invited him in. He kissed her as roughly as a man had never kissed her in her life and she enjoyed every bit and piece of this kiss. It got to the point that they couldn’t stand and in one flick movement, they were in his room, on his bed and Aranya had never appreciated magic like she did today. He rolled her over and hovered over her while they stared at each other’s eyes.

“You promised me, Aranya.” His hands were over her boobs and she could feel the heat that was radiating through her body with his half naked body over her. She lazily closed her eyes and opened them again.

“What have I promised you?” Her breath nearly stopped when she felt him sucking her nipple and she held tightly onto his head, pulling him closer as she moaned loudly. “The baby, yes, I do.”

He looked up into her eyes with his eyes swarmed with desire. “Will you?” She could only nod her head at him as she pulled him closer and kissed him harder, hungrily exploring his body. They were both naked and she could say their bodies were on fire, “I’m a virgin...” She blurted out, and at first he looked as if he didn’t comprehend what she said until he stopped his exploration and stared into her now red eyes.

“This means...” She nodded her head with a smile moving over her lips seeing the look of excitement on his face. “Oh my god, I love you so much, Aranya!”

They both got lost in the lust filled world, and Lorcán was trying to claim his possession on her when something struck. A fire as heavily as they had never seen one in their lives. It struck them so hard that they had to be separated and surged through Aranya in full force. It felt as if it was burning her body and Aranya began to howl as excruciatingly as she had never howled in her entire life.

She rolled down and fell on the floor, her body mercilessly changing to her wolf form and she cried out bitterly! Lorcán was only staring at her, for he too was struck with the fire and there was little to nothing he could do. She kept howling, the strength of the howl and the fire that burnt her body was deafening and blinding, and before he lost consciousness, he could see that she had turned into her wolf form with the fire still burning her but there was something more, from her head to the midriff, she looked like a wolf, but from there to her tail, it was more of a panther’s body than a wolf. Weakened by the fire and what was in front of him, Lorcán lost consciousness not being able to know whether it was a wolf she had turned into or something else.

*

She slept so well, or maybe she had that amount of sleep because she was so exhausted? But when she woke up, freshen up and got to the living room of the suite, there was only one person there, where had the rest left to? “Katharina?” She called out sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

He quickly bowed down as a form of greeting, “I hope you slept well, Your highness. Your maids and the other guards had proceeded with the journey two days ago now, King Bhaltair ordered that we stay here and wait for him, he’ll take you to Belrynna himself.” She stared at him, taking a toll on herself by herself to make a sense out of what he was saying or stare at him face to see if she was seeing right.

“What? You mean I slept for two days or what? And also, aren’t you the King himself?” She could remember this face, I mean, how could she forget? It was the face she saw the day she got married. Those lips, they were the lips she kissed after she accepted to get married to King Bhaltair.

He bowed down again, “I was the one that made you sleep this long, due to His Highness. He will arrive today, and will explain everything to you.” She was just staring at him, not being able to believe what he was trying to explain. When he said he was the one that made her sleep for two days, she didn’t faze. Even a small child knew the magic tricks to make someone sleep for even a year. But what she was seeing right now, the face! Wasn’t he King Bhaltair?! What was happening? It only meant one thing, and she didn’t want to believe what it was.

She palmed her face exasperatedly and took a step toward the sofa, “Who are you?”

“I'm his closest and most trusted guard.” He didn't look up at her even once, since when she walked into the living room.

She hissed internally, what game was he playing? No, not him, but King Bhaltair. If he wasn’t King Bhaltair then who was? “What is your name?” She still couldn’t wrap her head around this.

“My name is Xanth...”

She cut him off, enraged, “What are you if you aren’t King Bhaltair! And how the hell were you the man I saw the day I got married to the King!” Instantly, she hated this guy. He might be the King playing some risky game on her, but she didn’t care. Whoever it was, she hated him and would do that until her last breath. What the hell was this game?!