My gaze lingers on Seth, admiring his handsome features and feeling my heart quicken with an undeniable desire. I hate myself for succumbing to this. It feels so wrong, yet I can't help but be drawn to him. No! I'd instead mate with Klevon rather than this flippant guy! I need to put an end to this fast!
"I, Kaiya Pitchford, am brea-"
"Wait!" he screams. "Why are you so fast in trying to break a mate bond with me?!"
"I am breaking-"
"I said stop!" he screams as he runs towards me and clamps his hands on my mouth.
A sense of electricity runs through my veins at the contact of our skin. Desire. Just as heightened as I felt with Theo. It is making me angry!
"Oh wow, that's amazing. I had never felt such a desire for a woman. Are you feeling this too, Kaiya?" he asks.
I want to deny it, but something inside me screams out for him. I can feel my heart wanting to burst from my chest with the desire to touch him as if a beast in heat. I grimace. Like I said to Theo, this f*ucked-up mate bond is controlling me again!
"You are feeling it, right?" he asks again.
Suddenly, he pushes me onto the bed and presses his lips to mine. A flame of passion ignites inside me. Unconsciously, I let out a soft moan, blissfully surrendering to his kiss.
"Yes, I feel it too," I admit. He smiles, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip.
Suddenly, Klevon takes him off me and throws him on the floor. "This bastard," he says.
I grimace, seeing my mate being hit. I grab my arm to stop myself from helping him out. Klevon is about to hit him again when Seth's laughter fills the room. At the same time, the door bursts open–Darius, Princess Kissa, and Theo enter.
"Brother!" Princess Kissa exclaims. "I told you that you are not allowed in Pitchford. Why are you here?!"
Seth grins at her. "You are pregnant. It's only proper for me to visit."
"This is not the proper way for a royal to visit!" she scolds. "And besides, I am sure that's not your real reason!"
My eyes go to Theo, and he moves towards me. I am sure that, right now, there is a look of guilt on my face. Softly, he reaches for my face.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
The sting hits me straight in my chest, making me run into his embrace. He smells of ordinary perfumes now, no more lavender. I squeeze his body as I burrow my face against his chest. I don't feel any desire for him anymore, just comfort and a relaxing feeling. It's as if Seth has taken all my desires away.
Yet, I still love him, becoming Seth's lover and hurting him? That is something I cannot do to him. In fact, I still want to be in a relationship with him.
"I came for Kaiya," Seth finally confesses. I shift my attention to him. He groans while glaring at the way Theo's arms wrap around me.
"I can't believe this," he says, running his hand through his beautiful red hair. "First day of the mate bond, and I am already getting jealous."
I purse my lips, and I squeeze Theo tighter as if I am afraid to be taken away by someone else.
Seth stands up before saying, "King Theo, will you please let my mate go? The mate bond is making me crazy with jealousy now. If you don't, I might order Darius to forcibly separate the two of you."
Theo grabs my head and envelops me in his warmth. "You are in my lands, King Seth. I can easily kill you, especially when no one else knows where you are."
I shiver in Theo's arms, afraid that he is serious.
"Although, be thankful that you have become Kaiya's mate. Killing you will also cause her pain."
"W-why are you h-here for Kaiya, brother? I don't understand," Princess Kissa asks, her eyes shifting between us.
"Kaiya and I broke our mate bond so she can copulate with Klevon. But because of that, there is a huge chance that the mate bond will activate between her and whoever is the first king she will lay her eyes on."
"That's why you don't want my brother to visit..." Princess Kissa comments. "And that's why my brother is here."
"Correct! I want to steal that chance," Seth responds.
"For what?!"
"For what? Hmmm, Kaiya is the Alpha Queen. I'd like someone like her beside me."
Suddenly, Darius clears his throat and steps forward. "As Princess Kissa has said in her letters, a war is looming because the Moon Goddess will soon walk our lands," he interjects as if he wants to correct Seth.
"You told them?" I ask Theo.
"It's better to be prepared in case the copulation won't succeed. However, I didn't ask them to come here. I told them to just prepare."
Seth grins and places his hands on his hips. "When I arrived here, it was just a matter of listening to voices to understand what was happening. And so I am here to provide another solution."
"What kind of solution?" I ask.
He meets my eyes and then to Theo. "Before that, as I said King Theo, will you please unhand my mate?"
I move away from Theo's embrace while ensuring that I won't get too close to Seth.
"That's better," he comments. "Kaiya, you need to mark me. We can teach each other how to control minds, which will help you regain your memories. Also, I heard you have new monsters. They are called vampires, right? I heard the servant talking about a certain Inanna?"
"What will you gain from teaching and helping me?" I ask.
"So distrustful," he says, yet he points at his head and says, "Every time you recall some kind of information, historical or not, it will be written down by Orttenburg scholars. Your memories alone will fill up an entire section in my library."
I glower at him.
"How does teaching her how to control minds help against the reaping?" Theo asks. He is still glaring at Seth.
"Hmmm," he mutters. "Kaiya will need to wrestle against the Moon Goddess for control over the werewolves. That needs impeccable control of minds."
"A goddess versus a vessel? Are you hearing yourself?!" Theo turns sharply toward me and says, "Kaiya, you will die! Remember the last time you tried to stop the Moon Goddess from reaping you? You lost all your memories! A few days ago, when she tried to reap you, you need help from Inanna to escape her!"
"Then maybe, I can lose my memories again and be deemed not ready. In that way, I won't be reaped, at least temporarily."
"She tried to reap you days ago and you were not ready for reaping then! I don't think the Moon Goddess cares enough if you are ready or not. You said it yourself. She is getting impatient!"
"At least I will just die! There will be no wars!"
"I'd rather you make love with Klevon rather than completely losing you! I can't suffer from that anymore! If I lose you, I will lose my mind, Kaiya!" he screams, shaking my shoulders.
I hug him again and nuzzle against him, trying to calm him down. "It's better for me, Theo. At least I was useful to you. At least I won't hurt my friends. And most importantly, if I die, the Moon Goddess will lose its chance to walk our lands. She will need to wait for humans to call on her again. She needs to create new vessels."
"Ahm, King Theo," Seth interjects. "My gut instincts tell me that Kaiya might lose all her memories again, but she won't die."
"I am not asking you!" Theo retorts as if completely forgetting that Seth is also a King.
"You might be unfamiliar with it still, but Kaiya is my mate now. So, it follows that I care for her well-being too."
"Humans don't feel the mate bond strongly!"
"I do, though. I can feel this massive lust over her right now. And I am getting angry the more you spend time hugging her."
Both Theo and I glower at him, treating him as an outsider, even if I know he is supposed to be the closest being to me now.
With no more reaction coming from us, Seth grins and asks, "So, should we devise a new plan now?"