C7 A Wretched Feeling

“I agreed to stay by your side for three months, yes,” she acknowledged. “But calling me your woman… it feels weird to me.”

Mikhail raised an elegant eyebrow, and a trace of amusement appeared on his features yet again.

“You… are interesting to me,” he said, his tone not giving anything away. “Is this truly how the mate bond works?”

Cassy really didn’t want to prod further into the mate thing, but she was admittedly curious to know how vampires experienced the bond.

‘Curiosity killed the cat,’ she reminded herself.

Cassy turned away and forced herself to continue eating.

She didn’t have to ask anything, though. Mikhail continued the conversation even though she hadn’t given a verbal answer.

“I wanted you to be my woman because of the mate bond. However, I find such… ‘bonds’ a hindrance to one’s goals and needs in life,” Mikhail said, his expression turning cold again. “If I am correct based on my findings, I will be in excruciating pain if anything ever happens to you. We have acknowledged each other as mates, so we are now bound together for life. From now on, if you get hurt or die, I will be in constant pain. This is something that I do not want to happen, especially at a critical time like this.”

Cassy stopped eating.

“So, it would not do me any good if you left this house,” Mikhail continued. “You must stay here at all times. Here, you are safe and far from any danger. If the public finds out that you are my mate, they will resort to any method to hurt me and use you at the same time. I assume you do not want to be harmed in any way, either?”

Cassy’s eyes narrowed.

Oh, so that was it.

She figured as much, anyway.

Basically, he didn’t want to suffer the effects of rejecting the bond or the consequences of something happening to her, like serious injury or death.

The consequences of such things were something that everyone already knew. The pain of breaking a mate bond or losing a mate did not discriminate. Whether you were a human or a supernatural, the highest level of pain was felt equally.

There were even statistics of humans and supernaturals falling into depression or committing suicide because of the mate bond getting broken.

No matter how powerful Mikhail was, he could never withstand the pain that comes with a mate bond.

That was why he insisted on keeping it. This bond that seemed to be a hindrance to him.

However, he couldn’t force her to do anything either, thanks to the laws set by the Human Council and the Supernatural Council. A human was not allowed to stay in a vampire’s lair for more than three days unless there was genuine consent between the two parties and there was a good reason for it.

And Cassy certainly did not want to stay here longer than the agreed three months, but…

She suppressed the urge to groan.

Mikhail was right. This mate bond was such a pain.

But it was this same bond that had saved her last night…

‘I can’t even understand my own emotions,’ she grumbled internally.

This was so complicated.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Cassy finally said, her tone flat.

Mikhail nodded. “Good. Though the physical attraction is there, I feel no other particular emotion towards you. Feelings are a waste of space. Attachment to a human more so.”

Cassy resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Vampires were indeed heartless.

“However, I will not go back on my word. Whatever you need or desire, just say the word. I can give you anything you want.” Mikhail turned, his back to her. “Except that worthless thing humans call ‘love.’”

When Mikhail disappeared out the door without a sound, Cassy was left alone in the bedroom, mulling over her thoughts.

Love, huh?

A wry smile curled her lips.

Indeed, love was a wretched feeling.

***

A week had passed since Cassy had made this arrangement with Mikhail and considered it her way of repaying him for saving her life.

Mikhail had told her that she needed to stay in this house at all times, which meant that she was practically forbidden to go outside and hang out or something.

Not that she minded. She was an introvert by nature, and she liked to stay at home more often. She didn’t have many friends, she didn’t have a family, and she even quit her job that day. There was nothing waiting for her out there.

This was her new life.

For three months.

Cassy wondered if it would ever go beyond that. It was possible, since they were mates, and Mikhail did not want her to be harmed in any way.

But she didn’t know if she could handle staying with a vampire for more than three months. She would probably go mad eventually.

‘Now that I’m alone all the time, I’m only left with my thoughts,’ Cassy thought as she leaned back against her seat. ‘I don’t know what to do next. Should I try to interact with him?’

‘Oh, god. Hell no.’

It was ridiculous. She, a human, living with a vampire, the bane of her existence?

Vampires were cold-blooded murderers. They killed humans and even fed on them. Vampires were disgusting and had no humanity left in them.

They were too different.

The gods and goddesses were too cruel to decide that humans and vampires could be mated with each other. The very concept was ludicrous!

It was like having a human be mated with their food or drink. It was weird!

“Welcome home, Master,” one of the servants greeted from outside her bedroom door, causing Cassy to snap out of her thoughts.

Oh. He was back.

She was sitting at the desk in her room, reading a book. It was boring here with nothing to do, and she had left her laptop at home.

She had wanted to ask Mikhail to get her things, but he was hardly ever home. He must be too busy ordering his people around and gathering more vampires for his unknown cause or whatever.

Cassy sighed.

These were going to be the longest three months of her life.

She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts when her bedroom door opened to reveal Mikhail standing in the doorway. He didn’t bother to be quiet this time, which meant he wanted her to be aware of his presence.

Cassy stared at him as he approached her purposefully. He walked over, cool and elegant as always, with hardly any emotion on his face.

When he stopped beside her, he looked at her impassively, but said nothing, as if he expected her to be the one to speak first.

‘Fine, let’s humor him,’ Cassy thought to herself begrudgingly.

“What is it?” she asked. “Do you need something from me?”