CHAPTER 155
CHAPTER 155
SELENE
The cottage door had barely clicked shut behind me when Darius moved.
He crossed the clearing in two long strides, his powerful frame cutting through the misty air like a shadow given purpose.
Before I could even draw a full breath, his arms wrapped around me—strong, cool, and impossibly gentle.
He pulled me flush against his chest, one large hand cradling the back of my head while the other splayed possessively across my lower back, as if he needed the contact to convince himself I was real and still his.
He buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply, breathing me in like I was oxygen after centuries underwater.
His cool lips pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, then another, softer one between my brows.
“Everything okay?” he murmured, voice low and rough against my skin.
I tilted my head back to look at him, still catching my breath.
“She’s terrifying,” I said with a small smile.
“And sarcastic as hell. She called you a jealous refrigerator.”
Darius groaned — a deep, ancient sound full of long-suffering exasperation — and tightened his arms around me.
“I hate that witch,” he muttered.
“Fuck...I was standing out here losing my mind thinking she might pull some voodoo bullshit and turn you against me. She fucking hates me, Selene. The woman would probably hex my dick into a cactus just for the fun of it. For a second I actually pictured you walking out of there calling me a bloodsucking parasite and throwing salt at my feet.”
I let out a soft laugh, pressing my cheek back against the hard plane of his chest.
“I was gone barely fifteen minutes, Darius.”
“Fifteen minutes of pure fucking hell,” he said without hesitation.
His arms tightened again, almost bruising in their possessiveness, though his touch remained careful.
“Every second you were in there with that venomous old hag, I was imagining all the ways she could poison you against me. All the ways she could use that sharp tongue and ancient grudges to drive a wedge between us.”
“Fifteen minutes, Darius. Fifteen. Not a lifetime. Not enough time for Morgana to enroll me in ‘How to Hate Vampires 101’ or to reprogram my personality with a cursed PowerPoint. Unless she’s secretly discovered a branch of fae neurology called ‘Instant Betrayal 101,’ I’m fine.
Look, she’s venomous and she has a PhD in sarcasm, but she doesn’t have a fast‑forward button for people’s hearts."
I tapped his chest, grinning.
“She can sneer, she can insult the entire fae line, she can invent new ways to be petty — but rewrite me? Convince me you’re the villain with fangs? Please. She’d need a PowerPoint, three lighting cues, and at least one interpretive dance. And even then I’d probably side with you because you fold towels nicely.”
He huffed, but I felt the tension in him ease just a little.
“And for the record,” I added, tilting my head up so he could see the full force of my unimpressed expression,
“I may not know how to use my powers yet — at all, really — but I’m pretty sure I’d notice if a witch tried to turn me against my own mate.”
I poked his chest.
“I’m half‑fae, not half‑potato.”
His lips twitched.
“And honestly?” I continued, voice dropping into a dry, mocking drawl,
“If Morgana did try something, I’d probably set her curtains on fire by accident and then apologize while still burning the place down. So trust me — she’s not turning me against you. She’s too busy roasting you to my face.”
Darius groaned again, the ancient, dramatic kind that said I have lived a thousand years and this is my burden.
I smirked.
"Relax. Breathe. Stop picturing me throwing salt at your feet and start picturing me throwing a potted fern at Morgana’s head instead. Much more satisfying.”
His hand slid to the back of my neck, thumb brushing my skin.
“You throwing a fern at Morgana’s head is not calming. It’s… disturbingly attractive. And also exactly the kind of chaos I expect from you.”
He leaned closer, forehead almost touching mine.
“For the record? If you ever do throw a plant at her, I’ll be right behind you. Holding a bigger one.”
A laugh slipped out of me, but it died quickly when he pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, dark eyes intense and searching.
“I know it’s ridiculous,” he murmured.
“I know you can handle yourself. But the thought of you being out of reach, even for a moment…”
He exhaled slowly, thumbs tracing gentle circles over my back.
“It drives me insane.”
The bond pulsed warm and steady, carrying his raw, protective need like a heartbeat under my skin.
I could feel the tension still coiled in him — the shadows just beneath his surface, ready to tear the world apart if anything touched me wrong.
I tilted my head back to look up at him, smiling softly.
“She’s sarcastic and mocks everything that breathes, but she’s fine. Really. She didn’t hurt me.” I shrugged.
“She mostly complained about how hopeless I am at being fae— ”
His jaw tightened, but I kept going.
“But I managed to unfurl a leaf.”
I held up my fingers, pinching the air.
“A tiny one. Like… the magical equivalent of a pity sneeze.”
His eyes softened, gold flecks catching the light.
“And honestly?” I added, lowering my voice conspiratorially,
“She looked at me like I’d personally insulted her ancestors by existing. So trust me — if she wanted to turn me against you, she’d have to get through my sarcasm first. And that’s a fortress.”
His lips twitched — the beginnings of a smile he tried and failed to hide.
Then he cupped my face with one cool hand, thumb brushing my cheek with a tenderness that made my heart stutter.
“I’m proud of you,” he said quietly, voice carrying centuries of weight.
“It’ll take time, but you’ll get there. Your power is waking up, Selene. Slowly, maybe, but it’s there. And when it fully rises… you’re going to be magnificent. I can’t wait to see it.”
He paused, a slow, wicked smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. His eyes darkened with a mix of mischief and something far more dangerous — pure, unfiltered excitement.
“Though… maybe next time you’re in there with her, you could ask your spark to grow something specific for me,” he murmured, voice dropping into that velvet tone that always sent heat curling low in my belly.
“Like a nice, thorny vine wrapped around Morgana’s favorite chair — tight enough to make her regret every sarcastic word. Or perhaps a discreet little patch of poison ivy in her favorite pair of boots. Nothing lethal, of course. Just… mildly inconvenient. A small reminder that the jealous refrigerator has friends in high — or rather, growing — places.”
He leaned in closer, eyes gleaming with boyish, almost feral delight at the possibilities.
“Think about it. You could make her garden grow backwards. Turn her precious herbs into something that sings insulting limericks at her. Or grow a nice, judgmental bouquet that withers dramatically every time she insults me. The power is yours now, love. We could have so much fun with this.”
I stared at him, torn between laughing and pinching him.
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, unable to hide my grin.
“You want me to use my newly found wild fae magic for petty revenge against the witch who’s helping us? That’s your grand vision? Not healing, not defense, not anything useful — just weaponizing houseplants because she called you a refrigerator?”
Darius’s smirk widened into something downright devilish.
“Exactly. I’ve waited centuries for someone to finally put that witch in her place. And now my beautiful, powerful mate can do it with a thought. How could I not be excited?”
I shook my head, laughing softly as I rose onto my toes to kiss the corner of his wicked mouth.
“You’re impossible. And petty. And I’m apparently in love with a man who holds grudges longer than most empires last.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me flush against him.
“Only for the important things,” he murmured against my hair.
“Like protecting my dignity. And my mate’s right to grow whatever the hell she wants — including revenge flora.”
I melted into him, the bond humming warmly between us, night and wildlight twisting together in perfect, chaotic harmony.
Three days.
We had three days.
And somehow, with a sarcastic witch, two bickering immortals, and a ridiculously possessive vampire who wanted me to weaponize houseplants…
I thought we might actually survive them.
Roxy made a loud gagging sound.
“Oh gods, they’re doing the whole ‘soft romantic moment’ thing again,” she complained.
“Xander, quick—stab me in the eyes before I lose my lunch.”
Xander grunted, still looking vaguely embarrassed from his earlier confession.
“Leave them alone.”
“Never,” Roxy declared cheerfully.
“This is prime entertainment. Darius is one step away from writing poetry about her unfurled leaf. I can feel it.”
I laughed softly against Darius’s chest, but he didn’t loosen his hold. If anything, he pulled me closer, one hand sliding down to rest possessively on my hip.
He leaned down, lips brushing my ear so only I could hear.
“Let’s go. I need some alone time with you.”
The low, velvet rumble of his voice sent a shiver racing down my spine.
Heat pooled low in my belly at the promise hidden in those words. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without sounding embarrassingly eager.
Darius didn’t wait for my reply.
He simply took my hand and started leading me away from the cottage, toward the thicker part of the forest where the trees grew close and the mist hung heavier.
Roxy’s voice followed us, loud and unrepentant.
“Oh sure, just abandon us here! Go have your dramatic vampire makeout session while we sit in the dirt like peasants. Rude!”
Xander muttered something that sounded like “good riddance,” but there was no real heat in it.
Darius ignored them both, his grip on my hand firm and warm through the bond.
We walked in silence until the voices of the others faded completely and the only sounds left were the soft rustle of leaves and our footsteps on the damp ground.
He led me deeper into the forest, away from the cottage and the prying ears of immortals.
The trees grew thicker, older, until we reached a hidden rocky outcrop.
A narrow opening led into a small cave, its entrance half-covered by hanging vines.
Far enough that even immortal hearing wouldn’t catch us.
He stopped just inside the mouth of the cave and turned to face me.
The dim light filtering through the vines cast shadows across his sharp features.
His hands came up to frame my face, thumbs stroking slowly over my cheeks as his dark eyes searched mine with raw intensity.
“Not only did I miss you…” He pressed his forehead to mine, breath cool against my lips.
“My dick missed you too. So fucking badly I was half-hard the entire time you were in there with that witch.”
A startled laugh escaped me, but it quickly melted into a shaky exhale as heat pooled low in my belly.
“Darius—”
He didn’t let me finish.
His mouth crashed down on mine, hungry and possessive.