Chapter 10

Elek

She follows Mátyás out the door, and I take up the rear. The position gives me a perfect view of her bubble-shaped ass. Her back is completely exposed, showing off her creamy, unblemished skin. The black material dips low enough that it reveals the dimples of her lower back. She's not only going without underwear, but she's braless as well. I don't know whether to thank Ysabel or curse her for putting Kiara in this outfit. Knowing her, she did it on purpose to fuck with us.

Once we're out of the hall, Mátyás and I stand on either side of her. A sign that we will always protect her, but our motives aren't completely selfless. Whether she realizes it or not, we're corralling her right where we want her.

Her shoulders are pressed back as she does her best to keep up with our long strides in those heels that make her thick legs appear to go on forever. Images of her digging the points of those heels into my shoulders as I fuck her have the seam of my pants tightening. It will happen. And soon.

She only stumbles a few times as we continue to walk through the hall. If she had as much of that wine as I think she did, then I'm surprised she's still standing. Her posture is stiff, but I can hear her heartbeat accelerating the longer she's in our presence. She has yet to trust us, but her body craves us. It knows that our fates are intertwined and destined for eternity. It's her mind that needs to catch up.

Her gaze darts around, committing everything to memory. There's no mistaking her intentions. She may be playing nice right now, but I know better. I can read her thoughts on her face as if I could hear them. She isn't just beautiful—she's calculating and cunning, as well—our perfect match.

We take her down a different set of stairs than the one she's been using with Sebo while we were sleeping. That little change in direction throws her off balance, and I'm glad. We wouldn't want to make things too easy for her. Where's the fun in that?

That dark head whips around as her green and blue eyes narrow. "Where are we going?" It's the first time she's broken the silence since we convinced her to leave her room and accompany us.

"We're showing you around as promised." Mátyás keeps his gaze forward as we take the last few steps.

We walk past the small library and continue to the main reason for our little outing. Later, she can see more of the castle as a reward for coming to terms with who we are.

I follow them into the Great Hall and wait while she absorbs her new surroundings. Our history spans millennia, and there's lots to take in.

"What is this place?" She watches her step to avoid getting caught on one of the divots on the stone floor while staring at the tapestries.

"Our home," I emphasize the first word, attempting to push my point.

"Wow." Those almond-shaped eyes widen as she takes it all in, stopping at the images that tell our story. She takes her time studying each one like a scholar student, causing a sense of pride to wash over me. Knowledge is power, and she's ravenous for it. Her pulse quickens when she stops on the images of the Fallen mating with the daughters of Eve. Those petite fingers of hers tremble with the need to touch, to put into solid form what her mind is having trouble comprehending. The story she's seeing laid out before her is as old as the world itself, minus a few important details mankind doesn't need to know.

We stand silent, watching in fascination as her mind struggles to match the pieces of our puzzle together. Dangling it out in front of her like a forbidden fruit may have been cruel, but she's made it clear she won't believe a word that comes out of our mouths. Sometimes, seeing is believing.

Sable hair fans out across her back in waves as she slowly moves down the row of image after image, making sure not to miss a thing, and my fists ache to have those strands wrapped around them. When she reaches the end, she remains silent as if she's gone into a trance. Energy pours off her, but the bond isn't complete yet, and neither of us is privy to her emotions.

"Did you bring me in here to feed more bullshit stories?" When she spins on her heels to face us, red colors her cheeks as her pink-painted lips press together in a firm line. It's not the reaction we hoped for, but we were prepared.

"This isn't some bullshit story. It's a map of our life. Our history on how we came to be." My hands clench into fists at the insinuation that we are an abomination, and our history is a tale we've spun for our benefit.

"Then why did you bring me in here?" She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her tits closer together, and cocks out a hip.

"For you to see for yourself that we weren't lying to you," Mátyás steps closer to her. "We may be many things, but we would never do that to you."

"No!" She puts her hands up to stop him and shuffles back on her heels toward the door, putting more distance between us. She'd have thrown him through the nearest wall if we didn't have a protection spell around the castle and surrounding forest. Her hands are shaking as her mind and body war within themselves to come to terms with her fate. "You're lying." She shakes her head, refusing to believe us. "You have to be lying." The hurt in her voice makes my own ache. Her coven will pay for making her feel this way.

"We are the only ones that have never lied to you. Your so-called coven was using you for their own gain. They were offered great power from Kesabel in exchange for your care, but they were willing to let you die to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. You must believe us." I clench my jaw and fight to contain my anger.

"I don't know what to believe. My whole life, all I've ever been told is that you're nothing but monsters who prey on the innocent." She inches closer to the door, but we stay put. Any movement will spook her more. She's too worked up and a little drunk to think clearly, and the last thing I want is for her to do something foolish.

"I don't care what you believe. Deny it all you want. You're ours, and there's nothing you can do about it." Mátyás's face hardens as he steps right up to her. He's all out of patience with her. It's killing him to fight the beast inside who wants to claim what belongs to us. It may have only been one day for her to come to terms with who she is, but it's been a fuck of a lot longer for us. We never deny ourselves, and she will never understand the toll it's taking on him to wait. Which is why her spitting his gesture of goodwill back in his face will backfire.

"We'll see about that." She slams her knee up, hitting him in the dick before turning and running out the door into the narrow hall as best she can in Ysabel's heels.

Mátyás grunts as he falls to the ground. I wince at the anguish on his face. Even as tough as we are, that is one of our vulnerable spots. He won't let this little stunt slide without punishment, and I almost feel sorry for her.

"How much of a head start should we give her?" I watch the space where she was, listening to her steps as she struggles to reach the front door. We've instructed the others not to interfere, so this part of the castle should be empty save for us.

"Let her make it outside. It'll give her some faith that she might have beaten us." Mátyás's body is rigid as he fights his baser instincts.

When we hear the front door open, my body vibrates with excitement, ready for the chase. She made it outside a lot faster than we thought she would, but it doesn't matter. She's still fucked.

Mátyás hasn't moved. He's still on the ground, holding his dick. His tension is bleeding into the air around us.

"What now?"

"She thinks we're monsters." His icy gaze holds mine as a storm of emotions brews behind those eyes. "So, let's show her who her mates really are. What kind of monsters she's going to be in bed with." He grins as his fangs come out.

"Time to go hunting." I nod, my own beast itching to play.

Her words cut him deep enough. Add the injury she gave to his ego, and even I won't be able to save her from his wrath. Now, she'll be our prey, and when we're done with her, she'll beg for our forgiveness on her hands and knees.