The sound of gurgles and crunching travelled to my ears as Morpheus gently placed his warm hands against my waist, heating me up through the thin fabric of my pajamas that were definitely ruined.

Tiny, soothing sparks bounced off his hand as my shirt accidentally pulled up to reveal a sliver of my goosebump covered skin, and he happily slid his thumb over it. Slowly, he began to lift my body until he was able to roll me into his strong arms with one around my back and the other under my legs, he made sure to keep my aching arm steady at the right angle.

Just for now, I thought weakly, my tired mind and body collapsing at his touch, I'll relish in the mate bond.

Through a stuttering, heaving, bubbled set of words, Morpheus was surprisingly able to understand exactly what I was saying. "It hurts, it hurts real bad," I cried lightly, sinking into his arms and pressing my face into his fit chest. "I think he bit me? Did he bite me? Why did he do that?"

It didn't come out correctly. I could barely make it out myself, and I was the one who said it. But, the loud ringing in my ears and the steady force of a hammer pounding harshly against my forehead was enough to make me deaf for the moment. Almost unintelligible, faint, 'it urts, it urts real bhad. Tink e bit me? Id e bite me? Why did e do dat?'

My arm throbbed. My wrist itched.

I tried to just breathe, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths, but my lip quivered violently and my nose was sniffling constantly. A mess, I am.

My head lulled to the side, sending a shooting pain across my temples, and I closed my eyes for a brief rest. I could hear Morpheus' every step, the sound of his footsteps treading on twigs and rustling through leaves. But, at the very back, was the gurgle. It was quiet, barely there, and yet after hearing it, it became all I could notice. Becoming my focus. It sounded like someone drowning, chugging down mouthfuls of water for it to keep coming back, like there was no catching a break.

As much as I really wanted to ignore it, I felt as though I needed to see what and where that noise was coming from. And so, slowly, I pried my eyes open and straight away they snapped towards the sound.

There he is. He laid flat on his behind, staring at Morpheus' retreating back as Morpheus carried me away, the look of jealousy etched onto his decreasing features. His opened mouth was filling up with blood, he tried desperately to swallow it back down, but it kept spewing up like a fountain. He coughed, and gurgled, and choked. Gradually, my line of sight shifted until it was directly facing his chest to reveal a large, bloody, and ripped open hole. Dark red liquid overflowed and spilled over the sides of the wound, the wound that'll get him killed. His pale skin ripped open by a harsh force, his ribs cracked and snapped for access, and his lungs torn to shreds. And, in the very middle was an empty space where his heart was pulled out and squished into tiny pieces with a hand stronger than the one he had on me.

Chunks of his organ was sprayed back at him, congealing into droplets against his twitching face, splattering on the nearby ground and feeding the soil.

There was only one belief in my mind, he deserves it.

And, the woman? Still there, her body small and thrown off to the side as though she was unimportant, discarded. I was left with the guilt of surviving, why did no one save her?

The urge to vomit was overpowering, and as soon as I looked away I found myself leaning over and throwing up my guts, on top of Morpheus' moving feet. Acid dripped over his black boots, easily sliding off. He instantly stopped in his path. Not caring, I wiped at my mouth with the back of my good hand and leaned into his chest.

I felt his lovely lips place a kiss against my forehead, and he whispered ever so softly, "Sleep now, my mate."

Before we could even make it back to his territory I had fallen into sleep's caring embrace, and drifted off to a peaceful slumber with not a single dream had, just a simple time skip. And, as I was passed out without a care in the world, Morpheus continued striding towards the pack house until he made it to the front door. I didn't have to be awake to know the curious and excited stares he must have endured as he sauntered in with his signature smirk. During the moment of him taking his first step up the stairs, the sudden jolt of him planting his foot and all the weight he was carrying onto the board eased me awake. I waited, eyes sealed shut as I noted the way he walked up the thousand sets of stairs as quietly as he possibly could, and then being extremely gentle he placed me on his bed.

Sinking deep into the soft cushion, my body indulged in the fine fabrics that I was showered in. A hum of approval escaped my lips as I curled up like a kitten. The sound of Morpheus moving to the connected bathroom was loud enough for me to follow him without opening my eyes, but I knew he was still in sight because there was no click of a closing door.

My waist curved in as I turned on my side, my hip poking up into the air as I squinted my eyes open to watch him through the doorway, and he did leave it wide open. My arm ached slightly and a tingling sensation was the only hurt I was left with, and although I knew I should, I couldn't bring myself to look at it quite yet. Morpheus' hands hung down at his sides, his bare arms tan and unblemished, until my eyes traveled down and spotted his dominant hand. The blood spread from a thin layer to a thick, caked on coating that dried to his wrist, and palm, and fingers. Red, the colour permanently scarring my mind as a reminder of who he is. Somehow, he is always connected to it.

Violent. Barbaric. Ruthless.

Morpheus barely took a glimpse at himself in the mirror, only glancing down at his stained hand with pride. Then, when he finally looked at his reflection, our eyes connected.

My breathing hitched at the look in his captivating eyes. Wild. The deep green colliding with swirls of black. A small, knowing smile tugged up at his full lips as my nerves spiked. With a shaky voice, I asked, "Who was that?"

"His identity doesn't matter to me," he replied, not really answering the question, and I rolled my eyes in response.

Crackly and trembling was my speech. "Well, do you at least know what he was? Not that I'm an expert or anything, but he didn't seem to be a werewolf, or a witch. But, could he be a rog-"

"No," he interrupted quickly, shaking his head with a laugh. Soon the sound of flowing water joined our conversation as he flicked on the tap. "He is not a rogue. You're right about him being neither werewolf nor witch."

"Why won't you just tell me?" I asked, and out of my growing frustration I threw myself backwards on the bed with a dissatisfied groan. My arm spasmed because of the pressure placed on my elbow at the landing. Thankfully, the immense pain was gone as soon as I lifted my arm up, dulling down to a slight ache as a tingling sensation erupted instead. My body once again vanished into the thick covers on his bed after I wrapped up and cradled my bad arm, feeling nothing but soreness all over my elbow. I let out a pitiful whisper of distress, "A strange man just bit me, and now my arm hurts. What if he poisoned me?"

"You're not poisoned," he reassured me as I watched him wash the dried on blood off his arm, rubbing soap and water harshly against his skin. Rushing as he dried his hands off.

"He was obviously on something," I complained, speaking almost like a cartoon chipmunk as I mocked him. And, then I remembered the other one he had in the forest. A lump quickly grew to the size of a baseball in my throat as the image of her body laying cold in the dirt as though she was worth a single penny popped into my head. "And, the other wo-"

"You don't need to worry about anything. I will handle it. And, she's already been dealt with." He was now leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed, and his head tilted slightly. I took this moment to finally inspect my wrist, to see two puncture marks swollen and red. My eyes widened as I stared at them, hypnotized by them completely, not even noticing how Morpheus made his way from standing in the bathroom to leaning over the side of the bed. The feel of his fingers pushing a stray curl away from my face made me jump out of my skin, the mate bond electrifying me.

All of a sudden I was a school girl with a crush as my cheeks heated up, growing nervous with each passing second as my heart began beating violently in my chest. Don't know why, not like there's an overly attractive male who claims I'm his soulmate looking me up and down as though I'm a chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream plopped on top. To avoid any further embarrassment, like, come on, Emery, you're better than this, I kept talking. "What will happen to her?"

He hummed, a deep sound practically echoing off the walls, "If she's human she will be given to the human officials, but if she's not then I will be letting the council take care of her. But, as of right now, she will be taken into my custody."

I pulled up my elbow, almost thrusting it into his face, and stupidly questioned, "Is my arm broken or something? It hurts."

Morpheus treated me as though I was just a tiny, lost, baby rabbit as he inched forward, little by little, and very careful not to send me running off. Strange. Gradually, his hand wrapped around my forearm and he held me in a grip that was strong, but not dominating. He stretched out my arm to get a good look. All I need to say is no, and he would let go. "Your elbow is bruised, not quite swollen. But, be careful with it, okay?"

The feeling of my arm being twisted back was just a memory, now it was only uncomfortably sore unless bothered. I nodded along before quietly saying, "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I thought that you were safe." His eyebrows scrunched together as he frowned, staring straight into my wide eyes before he turned the conversation to me, "Why did you go onto unmarked territory?"

"It was the safest place I could think of," I answered honestly, wholeheartedly believing my words.

"Couldn't you have went back into town?"

"And, what? Risk bringing you?"

"Am I that bad?"

"Don't you realize what you did?"

"Of course, I've had plenty of time to reflect. But, you must know, my mate, they weren't very nice to me either." Morpheus had managed to lean in closer, testing me with our proximity, and I stupidly fluttered my eyelashes as my lips parted and my breathing turned breathy. My poor, poor heart, riddled with the pull of the mate bond.

That shut me up for good. Staring up at him with sad eyes, he had no face of remorse, no feeling of sorry. Slowly, he ran his fingers along the side of my face, gently caressing my cheek. He spoke again, "Do you hate me, Emery?"

"I want to," my voice cracked, "I should."

"I'm glad you don't."

The air was too warm, my clothes dirty and sticking to my skin like a peel-off face mask. My eyes flicked to the bathroom as I thought, I need a shower.

"Tell me." I sounded demanding for a moment, but how could I be? I was so quiet. Still traumatized by the man in the woods and facing the one who was currently playing with my heart strings. "What is he? I can take it."

Morpheus turned around before sitting on the bed, leaving me to stare at his back muscles as they moved while he leaned forward with his head down, locking his hands together. "Do you know anything about vampires?"

Um, they're extinct?

"How old are you?" I blurted out.

"Not that old." He glanced over his shoulder at me, sending the butterflies in my stomach haywire at the sight of his breathtaking smile. "Sometimes, not everything from the past is told as it actually happened."

"Can you explain?" I asked while starting to sit up, my skin beginning to burn and itch uncomfortably at his words. "Vampires haven't existed since-since forever. They've been gone long before you were even born. They're myths. They're not real anymore."

Morpheus didn't bat an eye, "Before the war between humans and werewolves, there was the war with the vampires. The war that was meant to kill them off-" I sat up with my legs tucked under my knees, and he took the opportunity to lay back with his head resting on my thighs, the action intimate yet right, "-but, there was no real winner."

💕