C10 10

Slipping into a robe, Arthur used his hand to comb his messy hair backwards when he heard something from his room. He had come back not more than twenty minutes ago and met his mate already asleep.

At least today she slept on the bed instead of the couch, although he usually moved her to the bed whenever she slept on the couch. His head snapped to the door of his closet at the sound of something clattering.

Was Amelia awake? Alertly, he quickly rushed into the room and as presumed, she was awake.

He was about approaching when he took notice of the heart shaped glass container which was completely shattered on the floor, little chocolate bits on every side.

Did she throw it? He frowned.

"You don't like it?" He asked softly, taking steps closer to the bed but when he got close, she got off the bed and backed away.

He frowned genuinely confused but when he went further and she repeated same thing of backing away, his frown deepened. Why was she suddenly acting repulsive to him.

Did something happen?

"My love,"

"Stay away from me," Amelia said, and Arthur was more than confused.

What she usually did was ignore him and had recently stopped resenting whenever he tried to touch her, so for her to say something like this, he knew maybe something was wrong.

"My love..”

"I said stay away,"

And just then, he smelt it, the ugg and tack scent of that damned soul.

He knew he caught a linger of his scent earlier but hadn't paid much attention but now he could smell his scent clearly, and the fact it lingered all over his mate didn't sit well with Arthur.

What had he done to his mate.

Not minding how she tried to find a way to avoid him, he moved closer but halted when he noticed something was going on with her.

"Amelia." Quickly, he grabbed hold of her stature which subsequently lost consciousness in his arms.

××××××××××××××××××

In front of a pool which had lights illuminating from each side of its ends and angles, sat a man on a white mounted bench, a wine glass in his hand. The bright colored lights of the lamps on each of their posts casting a fine hue to his lucent white hair.

A smug smile cornered a side of his lips as he watched a black wolf charging towards him, its fours crushing the green grass beneath its paws, but just when it would launch at him, it transformed into the frame of a man.

The transition at which this was done was as smooth as the bark of an egg shell.

"Care to join for some wine?"

"What did you do to her?" Hostility could be sensed in every inch of Arthur's voice but Oliver only clicked his tongue at the manner to which the man disregarded his hospitable offer.

"I did nothing," he replied taking a sip from his cup which contained of a liquid too red and thick to be called wine.

His response seemed to annoy Arthur as a low threatening growl erupted from his chest.

"I believe you're not a child anymore, you remember your curse, don't you?" Oliver asked.

"Or do you think I'm the only cursed one around here?" He said tilting his head to the side to have his hair fall slightly against his face.

One could call him a beautiful Devil if they dared.

Arthur frowned, he knew what Oliver meant.

"You know you can't force her to be with you, I just fastened some processes for you" he twirled his glass letting the red liquid stain against its sides.

"The more she hated you, the more risk it'll be for her, or have you forgotten already, how long has it been, a thousand years? Two thousand years? He chuckled.

"She's human," he said when he heard what Arthur was thinking.

"She's meant to hated you, she feels no mate bond remember?" He sipped his glass once more.

"If you plan to get her the right way, first step you'll have to take is letting her go." he watched Arthur's eyes turn dark at his words and he laughed, mostly at himself.

Letting her go.

He laughed again.

A blind man leading another blind man.

How funny.

He laughed even more but then his laugh died down in a silent sigh and his eyes turned distant in a saddened haze.

"You don't know how lucky you are, you don't know."

××××××××××××××××××

"Amelia!" Arthur watched in horror as his mate collapsed once again in his arms.

He had been stubborn and not taken Oliver's words into consideration but after two days, now he began to see how crucial this really was as each time she awoke, she would be weaker or worse than the last.

That damned soul.

The morning sun light caressed gently against Amelia's face as she awoke. Its touch was so soft and warm, it felt almost like someone was caressing her cheek.

Her eyes quickly snapped open and as suspected, Arthur was right beside her, looming over. She felt slightly repulsed for some reason but before she would scurry away, the words which left his lips made her still.

"Do you still want to go home, my love?"