Chapter 204

****My dear readers, I know the book needs editing, but for now, there is too much on my plate. I promise I will start editing once I finish writing it. Thank you for your support. It means a lot to me.

What is he doing here now?

A big lump formed in the base of my throat when I felt his warm breath fanning the back of my neck. He was standing too close to me. My heart was drumming so loudly inside my rib cage. I remember Hector saying that he won't come here, then what he is doing here. My breath hitched when he took a step forward, cutting the little bit of the remaining distance between us. My hold on the edge of the kitchen became even tighter. His rich masculine scent made it difficult for me to take deep breaths. Slowly he moved my raven hair away from my neck. Sparks ran all over my body when his fingers brushed my skin. I closed my eyes, feeling them. His warm breath fanned on my bare neck. It made goosebumps form all over my body. He slowly rubbed the tip of his nose on my bare neck. Sparks! I felt them once again at the mere touch of our skin. What is he doing standing so close to me? My heart kept thumping loudly inside my rib cage. He rubbed his nose at the junction of my neck and shoulder.

There was a bite mark over there. He inhaled my scent deeply. The way he was rubbing the tip of his nose on my bare neck made me feel so many things. So many known and unknown emotions rushed to my heart. I shouldn't feel like this. My heart should not beat fast in his presence. For God's sake, I don't even know him. He was a stranger, and I had not even seen his face, but still, he was somehow managing to make me feel like this. This rush of feelings was so unreal. I shouldn't be feeling like this, but my stupid heart yearns for it. It was scaring me now. I should be feeling like this. I don't know how dangerous this man is, and looking at the hatred Hestia and Helio had for him, he must not be a good person. Yes, he is a bad man, and that's why they don't like him. I should trust them and keep my distance from him. But today he saved you. He saved you from all those demons who were thirsty for your blood. My inner voice spoke, putting me in a difficult situation. It's not the time to think about all those things. I only think you should follow us to keep your distance from him. My inner voice was said in a firm tone, and I decided to follow it. I decided to move away when he suddenly held my waist with his masculine arm. My breath hitched when he did that. My back clashed with his hard chest, making sparks run all over my body. My heart started to thump even more loudly. I once again tried to pull his hand away from my waist, but he made his hold tight. I was panicking at this point. I don't know why. Every cell in my body had jolted up at his possessive hold on me.

“Stay, he said in his firm, dominating voice, and my body went stiff. I stopped protesting. My body immediately followed his command without second thoughts, and it surprised me even more. His face remained buried in the crook of my neck. We stood there like that in the dark. My heart kept thumping loudly. I'm sure even he could hear it. He kept inhaling my scent. He did nothing else, but the tension in the silent room kept on increasing. I closed my eyes when all my emotions started to make me feel so overwhelmed. I don't know why I was feeling like that. I shouldn't be feeling anything. I shouldn't let him hold me like this. I shouldn't have stayed when he asked me to. I just shouldn't, but here I was. My eyes started to turn moist, and I don't know why. All my emotions were all over the place. I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. His intoxicating scent did something weird to my heart. It felt like I was used to emotions like this, but I don't remember experiencing them before. Something major is wrong with me. I don't know what it is, but there is something that is kept hidden from me. I have this bad feeling about it. A tear slides from the corner of my left eye.

"Hera," my name, was taken into a dark room. It broke the trance I was in. My eyes opened immediately, and then I saw a torch lit up to brighten the dark room. Hestia was standing in front of her room with a burning blue flame torch in her hand. “What are you doing standing alone here?” she asked with furrowed brows while looking at me.

“I-I” I was confused when she questioned me like that. I was not standing here alone. He was right behind me. Can't she see him? I turned my head to point at him when I realised no one was standing behind me. My brows furrowed even more deeply.

Where did he go?

How did he just vanish into thin air?

“I-he.” I tried to make a sentence, but nothing came out of my mouth. What should I tell her that I let a stranger hold me from behind? I let him hold me as if I belonged to him. That I was so shameless to let him touch my neck and shoulder. No words came out of my mouth. Hestia raised her brows when I didn't say anything. She walked to me when I stayed silent because I had no explanation to give her.

“What happened? Tell me, why were you standing here in the dark like a statue?” she asked while taking hold of my hands in hers.

“Tell me if something is bothering you. I'm here to listen,” she urged me to talk with a concerned look on her face. I had no words to explain the things I felt and experienced just a second before she showed up. Her amber-reddish eyes kept moving all over my face in concern. I exhale deeply while looking at her.

“I was here for a glass of water,” I told her the reason why I came down.

“I was thirsty, and I had no water in my room, so I came down. I was about to go back to my room when you called my name.” I told her I was more detailed to make that concern go away from her face. She easily gets worried about me nowadays, and I think it's been happening since the day I hurt my head. I still remember how worried she and the priestess were when I opened my eyes after that incident. They were so worried. No worries, I am more scared about myself and my well-being since that day they treated me like a delicate flower. I can't complain because they love and care for me more than they do for themselves. Hestia will, without any doubt, put herself in front of me to save me. I do not doubt it.

“Don't worry so much about me. I'm done drinking water now. I will head to my room,” I told her with a small smile, but her reddish amber eyes still kept looking at me with concern. Her eyes kept moving all over my face.

“Then tell me why your eyes are wet. Why do I see a tear running down from your left cheek?” she asked softly, but it had a firm tone. My hand immediately moved my left cheek, and I rubbed the wetness away. I had not realised that I had started to shed my tears in his embrace. I don't know what kind of emotion he evoked in me to make tears fall out of my eyes. I could still feel Hestia's eyes on me. She was waiting for an answer from me with a valid reason.

“Oh! It's not tears. My eyes are watery because of sleep. I wasn't able to fall asleep so bad. My eyes are tired, but I couldn't fall asleep because of thirst,” I said with a sheepish smile on my face. I hope she is convinced by my explanation. I know how smart she is. She can see through lies, but at once, I hope she didn't. I don't want her to worry more about me. She is tired, too, and she needs to rest, too. Her reddish amber eyes once again moved all over my face. She was analysing it, and it was making me even more nervous. She exhales deeply, looking at my face. She nodded her head in understanding. A smile formed on my lips. She was not convinced, but she still decided to let it go.

“Go to your room and sleep, and if you need water or anything, call me or Helio. You don't need to come down in the dark to search for it,” she said in a firm tone, and I had no choice but to accept it because only then would I get off the hook.

“I will,” I said with a big smile on my face.

“Good night. Now I will head back to my room,” I told her, and she nodded her head. I flashed her full-toothed smile once again before going upstairs to my room. I once again lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. This time I had made sure to lock the windows of my room. I don't want him to sneak inside my room anymore. If he wants to talk to me, then he has to appear in front of me in daylight in front of everyone. I closed my eyes with a determined thought in my head. I tried to sleep, but once again, his thoughts invaded my mind. I had stopped his entry in my room, but how am I supposed to stop his entry in my mind too? The moment I think I don't want to think about him anymore, he appears more in the back of my mind.

His voice, his eyes—everything felt so enchanting and alluring. They pulled me to him like a magnet. Making me think about him even when I'm busy thinking about something else. At the endpoint, he turns out to be the centre of my thoughts. I don't know how he gripped my mind in such a way. It feels like some kind of sorcery to me. Is he some kind of sorcerer? Maybe he is. It explains how he enters and exits my room just in the blink of an eye. He does have some evil powers, and he is using them to control my mind. He is doing it so well because I'm getting more and more curious about him. I have to do something about it. I need to find a way to break this spell upon me before I succumb to his evil plan. I took a deep breath and let the sleep engulf me. Those were my last thoughts before I fell asleep. Even in my sleep, he didn't let me be at peace. I was once again dreaming about chasing him in the dark forest. I was running behind him, chasing him to catch him, but he kept running fast with his long legs. I know how self-sufficient those long legs are. Only because of it was I saved from those demon guards. I kept running behind him barefoot. Shouting and asking him to stop, but he was not ready to listen. Suddenly, we were now standing at the edge of the mountain, and there was no other way for him to run away. I panted hard while facing his back.

“Now you can run away anywhere,” I said with a victory smirk on my lips. I have finally managed to catch him, and no one will save him from me. I took a step towards him to put my hand on his shoulder when he suddenly turned around, and once again, instead of him, there was a lion who leapt over me. I jolted up from my sleep with sweatbands running down from my face. I pulled my hair away from my face. I felt so confused.

“Why do I keep seeing this dream again and again?”

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