61:The nightmare is over.

61:The nightmare is over.

Two figures sat on the grass, gazing at the stars. Ten steps away from them was a lake filled with algae. The night was peaceful, just quiet except for the hooting sounds of owls and other nocturnal animals.

Alaris leaned his weight on his right arm, and instead of gazing at the stars like they had intended before coming, he gazed at her with eyes filled with affection.

"Why is Kaden after you?" Alaris asked, his deep, calm voice breaking the silence between them. He didn't take his eyes away from her; he watched as she slowly took her gaze from the stars and set it on something in the dark distance.

"As the most powerful man on earth, I expected you to know already." She said, shrugging her shoulders, and Alaris's lips curved.

"You are right, but I truly don't know. That was why I asked. " He answered, his voice calm as ever. If he wanted to know why, he wouldn't even break a sweat.

"Besides, what is wrong with hearing it from the horse's mouth?" He joked, his lips twitching, and Athena rolled her eyes.

"He was my mate." She breathed and shut her eyes. She licked her bottom lip and squinted her eyes as if getting rid of the horrible memories of that night.

"But he rejected me for another woman. Her name is Elena." She added and slowly gulped, her throat suddenly burning.

"He didn't let me go after rejecting me. He wanted me to open my legs for him every night while he fills my womb with his seeds... " A low growl rumbled at the back of Alaris's throat. The thought of another man parting her legs and penetrating her made his eyes turn deep amber and his teeth grind.

"I was locked up in this small room. I barely saw the outside world. It was just eating, bathing and torturous dry sex." She drew in a sharp breath and swallowed hard. The muscles of her jaws hurt, and she exhaled loudly, rubbing her finger against her nose.

Alaris sat up, his face blank. He felt a string tugged in his chest, and a numb pain coursed through him; it was as if he could feel her pain.

"The routine continued for two years...." Her breath became heavy and her lips trembled.

Alaris drew closer and placed his hand on her back and gently massaged her shoulder.

"Then I escaped and ran into Galire." She whispered and sniffled, and Alaris gently pulled her against his chest and mumbled next to her ear.

"Shhhh... say no more."

She gulped loudly, shut her lips and just let the tears flow freely. She didn't realise she had been harbouring such enormous tears in her

"It's over now. You are safe with me," he told her, his words reassuring, and she blinked away tears; her heart felt like there were bubbles in it.

After minutes of silence, tears and comfort, he held her shoulder and made her face him.

His eyes pierced into her dark moist ones, and they just remained like that for what seemed like eternity. Her heart raced in her chest, and her stomach knotted and unknotted.

"The nightmare is over. You are now in Eldradragon. No harm will come to you. I will protect you." His thumb brushed away tears from her cheek, and she found herself leaning her face against his palm and inhaling his provocative scents.

"He cannot harm you anymore. If he dares, I will burn his soul and that of his pack to ashes." His words were firm, sounding more like a vow, and Athena couldn't help the tears that brimmed at the back of her eyes.

He leaned his face forward, his nose brushing against hers, and their breath mixed.

"You are mine to protect," he mumbled, and his mouth gently captured hers in an affectionate kiss.

She gulped and shut her eyes close, allowing him to nibble and suck on her lips

.

She arched her chest forward and held his face before kissing him back, tasting his lips and earning a growl from him that almost drove her insane. She nibbled on his lips again, and her heart fluttered, cheeks flushing redder when he growled back in approval.

He laid her on the ground and skilfully kissed her slowly and sensually, making her wrap her second hand around his neck, pulling him closer for more.

She felt a ticklish bite on her inner thighs, and she rubbed them together, suppressing a moan that was begging to escape. His hand travelled down her neck to her chest before cupping her firm breast, earning a gasp from her and then a moan when he fondled it and caressed the hard nipple in circular motion through the fabric.

He repeated the sensual movements, and his lower body gradually ground against hers, stimulating pheromones and sensual desires that made her want to open her mouth and cry out loud.

His hand fondling her breast suddenly moved away and travelled to her legs, slipping under her gown and finding its way upward.

She suddenly broke the kiss and looked away, chest rising and falling heavily.

Alaris's hand paused, and he gazed at her with hunger in his eyes. He wanted her, more than she could imagine.

He swallowed hard and pulled away his hand and adjusted her gown before rolling away from her to lie on his back.

"I will wait until you are ready," he said, his voice hoarse, and Athena inhaled quietly, her throat almost burning. She had seen the look in his eyes. The hunger in his voice made her stomach dance and her thighs wet.

"Can I go for a run?" She asked, changing the topic to a less awkward one. Her voice was raspy, and Alaris took away his hand from stroking his hard dick, and his eyes flashed towards a nearby bush, and his eyes caught something.

"No." He answered, his voice disapproving, and he sat up, alerted.

"It's not safe." He added, not taking his eyes off the dark figure hiding in the bush.

Athena gulped and gently rubbed her hand on her arm. Didn't he say she is safe with him? What changed?

"It's getting cold. Let's return to the palace." Alaris told her. He stood up, and after a while, she stood up and wore her shoes.

Alaris swiftly picked her up, and before she could react, they were in his chamber already. He placed her on the ground and plucked a strand of hair from the corner of her head.

"Good night, lying wolf," He kissed her forehead and watched as her eyelids closed and her body slouched in his arms.

He tucked her into bed and turned off the lights before vanishing into thin air.

He appeared at the back of a figure hiding in the bush. He placed his hand on its shoulder, and the figure screamed aloud, turning to face him, but when their eyes met, every muscle of the young man's body refused to move.

"Who do you work for?" Alaris asked, his red eyes piercing into that of the baffled man who had shit his pants and peed himself.