(Author’s POV)
Alaric swept Myra off the floor and carried her to her bed in bridal style. Not for a second did he take his gaze off her face. She was sleeping peacefully, without a care in the world. Forgetting in whose arms she was snuggling in. A serene calmness on her visage struck a chord within him. He placed her with rare yet extreme gentleness on her bed.
Out of the blue, she mumbled something again, but it was too incoherent to understand. Even with his superb hearing abilities, he still couldn’t.
"What did you say?" he said while leaning towards her to hear what Myra was trying to utter. Their sudden closeness, her lingering breath, and her tranquil expression, everything made it hard for Alaric to restrain himself. But he knew he had to control.
As he was staring at her without blinking, she mumbled again, "I can’~t ... I can’t." Her face scrunched as if she were twitchy.
"You can’t what?" he inquired, his expression etched with concern.
Myra narrowly cracked her eyes open, glanced at his worried figure and murmured, "I can’t sleepppp~ ...... like this~ ... I want to~ .... want to take a warm bath. Bathe me ... umm~mm~ ...... I want you to bathe me."
Alaric was stupefied. He pursed his lips together tightly, gulping his saliva down hard. Her request threw him off, or you could say, it was more like a command.
She started protesting, "I want to bathe~ ... I want to batheeeee~ ... Warm~ ... warm bathe, warm~ warm bathe."
She tried to get up, but Alaric firmly pressed her down, "Okay, okay~ ... I will help you~ ... so, don’t make a fuss and lie down quietly." He had no choice but to comply with her words.
Myra gave him a bright, childlike smile, which was followed by a carefree chuckle. She then patted his cheek, "Gooooood~ boy. Oopsssss~ .... No~ .... you are not a boy .... Hahaha~" She then patted both his cheeks and ruffled his hair, "You are a wolf sooooooo~ ... Gooood wolfie~ .... Ahaa~ ... that’s more like it. Now~ .... Bathe me~ ....."
He was bewildered by her words, once again, not knowing what to comment. The Myra he had always known, this person right in front of him, was behaving nothing like that. But he didn’t dislike this side of her in the least.
As he was in his own world, Myra compressed his mouth with her fingers and started laughing, "Hahahhaha~ .... you now loo~k like a f~ish. A bulky, handsome puffer fish. You look good even with a pout. Shooo~ .... Cute, my dear fishy. Come here~" she approached him to give another kiss.
Alaric got flustered. He got up at once and went straight to the bathroom to get her a wet towel.
As he opened the faucet to wet the towel, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His clothes were thoroughly wet and dishevelled. His lips were red and swollen thanks to the rough and passionate kiss he shared with Myra a few moments ago. His hair were messy and so was he himself, a complete and total mess.
A sudden realization dawned on him as he muttered to himself and to his wolf, "What the fuck ... am I even doing here? Playing house? Damn~ ... I came here to confront her, to ask questions, but I just~ ...." He looked at the towel in his hand and threw it aside. "If I stay here another minute~ ... I will go insane. I need to go out of here. This is all Alex’s doing. Yes, it is all because of him."
Alex remained silent. He was in no mood to argue. He was just so happy that he had finally found his mate back, that she was safe and sound. He was content that he was in Myra’s presence.
Meanwhile, Alaric came out of the bathroom and was about to depart the same way he had entered. He reached the window when he heard a loud thud sound in the background. His steps halted automatically. When he turned around, he found that Myra had fallen off her bed.
Stretching his neck, a tiresome sigh escaped his mouth. He walked back to her side, looked at her figure, who was still rambling something and partially sleeping. He then picked her up, placed her in the middle of the bed and kept two pillows on both sides to make a barrier, as if she were an infant.
Myra started pulling at her gown. The stones on it were rubbing against her skin, making her uncomfortable as well as itchy. Her actions were rough and harsh, leaving a few scratch marks on her neck as well as her shoulders. Seeing this, Alaric held both her wrists in a firm grip and pinned them down above her, commanding, "Stop it, will you?"
Myra struggled against his grip and murmured in pain. She was trying to break free, "L~et .... go. I feel icky. Ummm~mmm." A frown appeared on her face.
"Stop protesting, or you will hurt yourself," he warned her.
When the zipper came undone, he swiftly took her dress off. Though his eyes were still tightly shut, his cold fingers came in contact with Myra’s soft skin. A painfully lustful grunt left his mouth.
But he still maintained his cool and dressed her up, buttoning her nightgown all the way to the top. Then, wrapping her body in the quilt, he dashed out of her room, jumping out of the window.
Myra, oblivious to what had just happened, slept like a log. After a very long time, she slept without any nightmares, without a hint of anxiety.
____________________
"Why did you call for my presence, queen of demons?’ a rough, gravelly voice uttered.
Elisa couldn’t help but shudder at that commanding voice. With a strained tone, she knelt on one knee and said, "I need your help, my king."
"And~ ... why should I, the might King of Hell, help someone like you? Aren’t you the one who wants to usurp my throne, my position?" the voice scoffed, mocking her. "At least, that’s what the rumors in hell say."
Elisa clenched her fists and defended herself, "How could I dare to even think like that? They are just some nonsense rumors from the gossipmongers trying to create a rift. You are the one and the only kind of Hell, the majestic, Ramiel."
He was pleased to hear Elisa’s words and see her being so subservient like that, "That’s more like it. Tell me, what do you want?"
To Be Continued . . . . . .

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