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Nicholas watched her, completely mesmerized. Utterly enraptured. Enchanted by the vision that was his mate. His sweet little moon. His moon rose.
So delicate and incredibly sexy she looked, sleeping on his bed like that. Lost to the world. Her nude body barely covered by those silky white sheets haphazardly wrapped around her. Her caramel curls spread around on the pillow like a beautiful halo. Resting so peacefully, with her lips mildly parted open as she slowly breathed.
He would've painted her, had he had the time. That was how enchanting she looked right now, with that corner of the sheet clutched against her chest, hanging so dangerously low on her lush cleavage, threatening to slide further down and reveal those rosy nipples. The rest of was it wrapped around her waist and trailing further down on her body like a sexy dress, covering only that leg underneath her and her sweet little pussy, the rest of her bare. Her hip. Her round ass. Her thigh. Her long and beautiful leg.
He found himself yearning to taste her once again. Damn. He would've jumped right back in there with her had he not been plagued by such a pressing matter. He would've ridden himself of those slacks and that shirt that he was currently buttoning up, and then slide right back in there with her. He would've held her like he yearned to. Kissed her lips. Caressed her skin and then woken her up by shoving his tongue deep inside her.
Fuck. He almost groaned out loud, feeling his cock straining in his pants. Getting so painfully hard once again as all that he could think about now was those sweet little mewls of hers. That unique and incredible feel of her wrapped around him. He'd fucked her seven times in a row before she passed out from the exhaustion, but it still wasn't enough. It will never be enough, now that he had known what it felt like. What it felt like to be with her, have her in his arms. His soulmate, his destined one. He wanted to have her forever, all rules and obstacles be damned. He didn't care that she was human. He would fight with all of the gods just to keep her alive and safe, right next to him. She was his. His bride. His gift. And he had every intention of keeping her.



He stalked down the hallway, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Letting the palace guide him towards his destination. To the god that he wished to see. And soon, he was heading straight towards a set of intricately designed french doors, leading right outside. Into the night, where a beautiful garden was laid out. Decorated with glowing flowers and vine-covered archways. Burning candles littering the sides of his path, and a subtle scent of sage and rosemary.
He simply followed the trail and soon, his gaze fell on the figure sitting behind that small and round silver-clad table. Flipping tarot cards with her delicate and symbol-covered hands.
She was as pretty and ethereal as he remembered her. His fellow sister. With luscious and dark green forest hair falling down her slender shoulders. Heart-shaped face and big blue glowing eyes. Ivory pale skin. Black symbols drawn on her chin. Her forehead. That ever-present headwear resting atop her head, designed to resemble a halo, with sharp spikes and moonstones.
"Blessed be the moon," he softly said with respect upon approaching his old friend, his gaze automatically trailing up to that giant white glowing orb that hung in the sky behind her. Always behind her, like a protective parent. A fierce guardian.
Like himself, she was also a daughter of the moon. A child of the night, created in her honour. To serve and praise.
"Blessed be the moon," Hecate quietly answered in return. Her glowing eyes remaining trained on her cards as she continued to flip them over one by one with her sharp and long black nails. Completely unbothered by his presence. His vampiric state.
He took a seat in the empty chair sitting right in front of the table. Watching her. Taking but a moment to enjoy seeing his fellow sister again after such a long time, under the moon's watchful gaze. Their creator's protective light.
"What do you need, Nyktos?" She asked, plain and simple. Her voice devoid of any emotion, as ever.
His gaze lowered to those iridescent golden symbols drawn on the tarot cards, jaw clenching upon remembering why he was here right now, instead of lying next to his mate. What he had come to confess under their creator's presence.
"I need to kill Mephistos. I want to kill that charred piece of shit,"
He had made up his mind, and there was no way of changing it. He wanted to destroy Mephistos, make him suffer for all that he did to him. For hurting his mate through him. For trying to take her away from him.
He'd been so stupid, and so incredibly blind until now. He'd tried to deny it for so long. He'd lied to himself, so pointlessly insisting that Diana didn't mean anything to him. That his mate was nothing to him, and that he could go back to what he was before her after dumping her here, in the land of the gods.
He thought that he could never fall for her. A delicate and fragile little mortal like she was. But then he'd almost lost her twice. Both times by his own mistakes, his own hands. He realized right then and there how much she meant to him. How utterly smitten he was. And after holding her in his arms like he did last night, after getting a taste of that piece of heaven hidden within her, it was safe to say that he was head over heels. Utterly enraptured. And he would do anything to keep her safe. Even leave her here around those assholes roaming the palace whilst he went on his suicidal mission.
Hecate's ethereally glowing gaze finally rose to peer back at him at the sound of that, her expression though remaining as impassive as ever.
"You can't. Not without getting your godly grace back first," her black-painted pouty lips barely moved as she spoke.
"You know that if you, or any of us tries to kill him first before you get them back your shadows will be lost forever. And you will remain a vampire, forever banished from the gods' realm and fallen from the moon's grace," she flatly informed him, right before her gaze fell back on her tarot cards.
"Fuck," he cursed out loud. He'd suspected as much, but hearing it spoken out loud sounded even worse now.
"Fuck indeed," she tonelessly repeated in return, resuming to flipping her cards.
"Although it shouldn't be hard, now that you have found your mate," she took him by surprise by saying that, Nicholas' brows knitting together as he watched her flip another set of cards. Tracing her gaze over three of them in specific.
"You've already fulfilled all the conditions. You're mated, marked, and she's in love with you. All you need to do now is drain her of her blood," she pointed out, equally emotionless, with her index finger gently touching each of those three cards, one by one.
Nicholas' insides twisted so unpleasantly at the sound of that last sentence, thoroughly repulsed by the idea of hurting Diana. His precious little moon.
Wait. Did she just say marked?? How the-
Shit. The bite. That small little bite she'd inflicted upon him back in the forest. Before arriving here. He could even feel it tingling now, in that certain spot on his back.
"No. That's not an option," he vehemently refused.
"She's human. She doesn't have any powers. She'll die if I do that," he argued, watching his fellow sister pin him with her glowing stare once again. A mildly interested look making its appearance onto her usually stony features.
"What do you know... turns out that there's still a spark of life in that dead and dark heart of yours after all," she commented with a tilt of her head, her voice though still coming out so flat and dead. He simply regarded her in return.
She swiftly went back to her cards, dully mumbling,
"I'm afraid that I cannot help you then, Nyktos,"
Of course. Not that he'd expected her to, anyway. He was only here to confess his future crime after all. Maybe even beg for her to protect Diana in his absence. Keep her under her care, within the safety of her temple.
"There are currently only two choices drawn out for you by the fates. Kill your mate or lose your godly powers forever," she said after flipping two more cards, effectively making him lose any hope of ever getting to feel his shadows again. His power.
He couldn't. He wouldn't. He would rather drive a stake through that black and dead heart of his like she'd described it to be. There was no arguing over that. Diana was not to be harmed. No matter the circumstances. He would find another way. He needed to. Anything but that. He would rather die a hundred times than harm his mate. His sweet and feeble little mortal.
His Diana...his moon. His sweet little moon rose. His gaze rose to peer at the celestial god that his own mate had been named after, a sinking feeling settling within him. Taking but a moment to mourn the total and irreversible loss of his godly grace. His beloved shadows. He was tired. He only wanted to be in the arms of his mate right now. To hold her, and kiss her. Forget about all this, if only for a moment.
So he rose up to his feet, about to bid his fellow sister a pleasant night like always and then be on his way back to his quarters, where his mate was, probably still sleeping.
"Oh. Wait."
He paused, curiously peering down at his sister. Watching her flip one last card.
"Oh wow..." she softly uttered, both watching those golden symbols and depictions in the tarot card swirl around, twisting and changing continuously. Describing various different things.
"What?" He pressed, shifting his gaze to peer at her for a fleeting moment before returning it to the shifting tarot card. It wouldn't allow him to read it since he didn't have his godly gift anymore, but he could definitely tell that the divination addressed him. He'd recognized his own symbol within the array of shifting signs.
"Please tell me," he implored upon noticing her hesitance, his gaze shifting to peer at her again. Watching her focus so intensely whilst reading the card.
"There appears to be a third one. A third choice, and it's weaving itself as we speak," she quietly uttered, at last, her glowing eyes still closely following the golden shifting symbols.
"What is it? What does it say?" He pressed again, so desperate to know. He wanted to know if there was any real chance left for him to reunite with his shadows. A choice that didn't involve harming his own mate in the process.
Her eyes glazed over, that glowing blue swallowing up her pupil completely as she intoned in that ancient voice of hers gifted by her ancestors.
"Bind her. Bind her to the god's lifeforce,"
What?
"God? What god?" He curiously asked, so entirely lost now. What was she talking about?
Her black and sharp nails landed on the card, twisting it at an horizontal angle on the table. She inched closer, her black brows furrowing as she continued to closely follow the swirling symbol.
"Wrath...no. Wait," she absently mumbled out whilst struggling to read.
Wrath?
"War... Huh..." she corrected herself, still looking so confused. Staring at the settling symbol.
"What? Please tell me what it is!" He pressed again, looking at his fellow sister with nothing but hope and desperation.
Her gaze lastly shifted to meet his. Her glowing eyes peering between his.
"It shows...Ares. It's about him,"
His brows immediately shot up to his hairline. What?? What the fuck!?!
"But...I don't understand. What does Ares have to do with anything?" She questioned, looking genuinely confused now. It was truly a sight to see. His fellow sister, his usually all-knowing and stony sister, puzzled by a mere reading.
"I do," he quietly uttered after a moment. Reminiscing that little interaction between him and the god on duty upon their arrival here. The way that he'd looked at his mate, blatantly requesting for an audience with her in private. Fucking twisted bastard.
"He's seen her. He saw her upon our arrival here," he explained, his jaw clenching with anger upon thinking about all that. That selfish asshole. He must've felt that bond between them. That explained his sudden and inexplicable interest in her. It must've triggered that innate thirst for destruction within him. That need to unbind what was bound. He was the god of war after all. The first of the firsts. A primal.
"So? I thought that he hated humans, what does that have to do with anything?" His sister innocently questioned with a raised brow.
"Not this one, apparently. He seemed quite interested in her, that vicious motherfucker. In fact, he's even requested an audience with her. Alone," he snarled, his temper rising. Fuck. He needed to calm down before he did something stupid and offended his creator without even meaning to.
"Well, interest or not, the stars show a possible positive outcome as a result of them crossing paths," she insisted, gaze lowering back on the tarot card. Watching it swirl a little more before settling once again.
Nicholas bristled, so thoroughly vexed by the idea. Absolutely not. The gods would have to tear him apart limb for limb before he let that crazy asshole anywhere near her. He would rather renounce his birthright a hundred times.
He blew out an exhausted sigh, his gaze returning to his fellow sister, quietly watching her focus on her cards once again.
"Thank you, my dear sister for your kindness and patience. I will take my leave now, my mate is waiting for me," he softly said with a slight bow of his head, earning himself one in return.
"Blessed be the moon," he said, hearing Hecate utter the same thing in return. He then turned around and went on his merry way, so eager to return to his mate. The owner of his black heart.



Sweet and gentle sounds of birds singing reached Diana's ears as she slept, slowly lulling her awake. There was a slight breeze also caressing her skin, along with the potent aroma of flowers and...coffee.
Her brows furrowed a little, stretching out her limbs so vigorously as she finally peeled her eyelids open. Brightness. There was so much sunlight brightening up the entire room, bathing it into a delightful morning glow.
She looked around her, noticing that she was lying into a normal-looking bed now, with pillows and satin white sheets. So different from that lounge bed that she'd...
She could feel her cheeks heating up so furiously now upon reminiscing exactly what she did with Nicholas on that lounge bed. On the grass-covered floor. Against a wall nearby. She quickly grabbed a pillow from right next to her as all those graphic images were now flashing through her mind, making her feel so giddy. And equally embarrassed.
She pressed the pillow against her face and then let out a loud squeal into it, unable to contain her excitement and bashfulness. He'd seen her naked, again. She'd seen him naked. All of him. And what he did to her with that...that...
She let out another squeal into the pillow, squirming a little on that bed.
She could sense now that her body was still a little sore, and her kitty as well. And there wasn't any piece of clothing covering her. Only the sheets.
She threw that pillow away and sat up, noticing that indeed she was still completely naked, those silky sheets wrapped around her so haphazardly.
She suddenly felt that gentle breeze caressing her skin once again, tracing over her bare back and shoulders, so she instinctually turned around to peer over her shoulder.
She let out a small gasp, her green eyes growing wide with amazement upon noticing what laid just a few steps away from the bed.
There was a set of white french doors where a wall used to be, wide open and with gauzy sheets fluttering in the wind, offering her such a spectacular view at the world outside.
There was a green and lush valley stretching downwards, as far as the eye could see, with trees and flowers and so many vibrant colours. A fairytale land indeed. And it was so beautifully illuminated by the morning sunlight.
She couldn't help but smile, mesmerized by the sight. And as soon as she felt that alluring aroma of coffee once again, her head instinctually turned to the side, her gaze falling on the small and round coffee table sitting right next to the bed. Holding a nice and finely-designed porcelain cup filled with hot and steaming coffee.
"Thank you," she quietly uttered to whatever entity or kind of magic there was into those walls that did this, grabbing those sheets to her chest before shuffling closer to the edge. To where that table was situated.
She then reached out and grabbed the cup, eyes closing as she inhaled that delicious aroma. And after a gentle blow into it, she took a small sip, sighing with contentment.
"Can I please also have something to wear, perhaps?" She tentatively asked after a moment, gaze trailing to the ceiling. She had no idea to whom or what she was supposed to talk to, but it was worth a try.
"I'd rather not. I happen to enjoy the current view,"