Chapter 23

Gideon threw himself on his knees and grabbed the front of my dress. His eyes were all misty as he looked deep within my own.

“Princess Cressida!”

The colour in my face drained. I swatted the man’s hands and tried to brush him off as I moved back. The two other men were staring at him, then at me, and eventually bent one knee and bowed their heads.

Xander had taken some steps back as well. I sensed through our mate bond that he was as shocked as the man kneeling in front of me. I hyperventilated, and Diana quickly grabbed my arm and dragged me back inside the house.

She sat me on the loveseat of the main room and removed the layers of winter clothes I had on. She then put a kettle over the fire to boil some water. I tried to unbutton my dress, but my left hand was not complying with the action I was ordering it to do. My fingers were shaking, and they felt numb.

“Damn hand, why can’t you just do what I want!” I half screamed at it. Tears were spilling down my face.

I heard shouting. The men seemed to argue outside the house with Xander. My worst fears had come true; my identity was exposed. Xander would surely leave me now that he knew who I was.

The door slammed open, and Xander came to find me, Leo, and the three men following closely behind.

I saw a maid rush toward the entrance to close the door. Once she came back, Xander looked at her with an alarming gaze.

“You,” he pointed at the maid, “I want all the staff out of this house immediately and do not come back until I say so.”

She curtsied and ran to the kitchen. There was a house in the back of the yard that housed all staff members. I heard people talking and saw two maids and two footmen pass, going towards the front door. I assumed they would go there until they would be allowed back in.

“Sam, John, sweep the place and make sure everyone left,” Xander ordered. “Leo, please go in your room.”

The two other men with Gideon went their separate ways and looked through the entire house. When they came back, they simply nodded towards Xander. He raked his hand over his black hair, ruffling them the way he did when he was anxious.

His eyes were black, and they only did that when his Lycan side was agitated. Was he mad? His silence was almost torturing me.

Xander recomposed himself, took a deep breath, and asked the killing question, “Are you Princess Cressida Cardinal?”

I searched his face, hoping to see something that would give me a sign that he wasn’t angry, that he wouldn’t leave, but his face was blank.

I opened my mouth, and the words caught at the back of my throat.

Diana stepped in, breaking the line of sight I had with Xander and the other men.

“That’s enough. Don’t you see what this is doing to the poor girl! You are all acting like brutes.” She snapped at them and placed her hands on her hips.

“I’ll make some tea so we can all calm down, and when she’s ready, she’ll let us know,” Diana said matter-of-factly.

Diana shooed the men towards the kitchen and took my arm to lead me upstairs to my bedroom. She helped me remove my dress and slip on something that would enable me to breathe correctly. Diana then took a wet cloth, placed it on my forehead, then moved it down my neck and shoulders, cleaning the sticky sweat plastered along my body. She braided my long hair and left, only to return with some lavender and chamomile tea.

Once I had nestled in my room, she closed the door behind her without a word. I listened to her footsteps going down the stairs to rejoin the others.

I just sat there, frozen. What would happen to me now?

I moved to the corner of the wall, sat on the floor, back pressed against the hardwood surface, and rocked myself. I needed to calm down. The last time I did this was when I was captured and sold as a slave. I would spend the first few nights like this, backed in a corner and wishing to wake up from this horrible nightmare.

After some time, the floorboards creaked at the entrance of my room. I brought my knees to my chest and hid my head between the folds of my nightgown. I didn’t want to see anyone. I was ashamed. The reason I was so scared of how people would see me—Cressida, was because I thought I had been a coward. I hid while my father’s people were murdered. I continued to hide while magic wielders and shifters were hunted down and slaughtered. I didn’t deserve anyone’s services or loyalty. I wasn’t a princess; I was weak.

The door opened and closed. I felt someone sit down near me, and a pair of muscular arms grabbed my underarms and brought me on their lap. I knew it was Xander because the person smelled like the forest, and the mark on my shoulder was throbbing. He stroked my back with his fingers, lifted my braid to hold my neck, and pressed me closer against him. My breath hitched, and I buried my face in the crook of his neck.

We sat there for seconds, minutes, maybe even an hour. Xander said nothing. He just held me and tried to comfort me. I knew that eventually, I would have to confront my past.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He whispered. There wasn’t any angriness in his voice, only genuine concern.

“I thought you would leave me.” I choked on the words. Saying them out loud made the possibility even more real.

“Now, why would you think I would do such a thing? You know what you mean to me. I couldn’t leave you even if I tried. You are a part of me.”

Xander lifted my head and pressed his hands on each side of my face.

“I love you, Ida. Ida—Cressida, it makes no difference to me. I am madly, truly, deeply in love with you, with all of you.”

I gasped at the press of his tender lips to mine, and I embraced them with an opened heart. What did I do in this life to deserve a man as compassionate, fearless, and devoted as him? I had been so afraid of losing him. I deepened our kiss and welcomed his exploring tongue.

I repositioned myself on top of him, squeezing my thighs on each side of his body. I could feel my nipples hardening as my breasts brushed his chest. My hands were in his hair, tugging it lightly. I could feel my undergarments dampened with my need for him. As if to reciprocate, I felt Xander’s hard-on press under me.

Never leaving my mouth, he hurriedly undid his pants and freed his member. He then slid his hand under my loose-fitted fabric and pulled hard on my underwear. They ripped, and cool air hit my sensitive area. I bunched up the material of my garment and lifted myself over his erection, then forced it inside me. I groaned at his size and felt my channel stretch to accommodate him.

My left hand fumbled as I tried to unbutton his shirt, so instead, I ran my fingers over each button, popping them out and tearing his shirt open.

He had placed a hand on the floor behind his back to steady him, and his other hand went to my hip, allowing him to thrust more into my core. None of our movements were gentle. They were wild and raw. It was as if we were claiming each other all over again.

My head rolled back at the sensation of Xander pumping faster, chasing his release. I felt a sudden urge to bite Xander’s shoulder just as I hit climax. My bite had been strong enough to draw blood, and it made Xander stiffen in surprise. My skin tingled, and I noticed the tiny specks of blue energy softly floating around me. I breathlessly moaned against his wet skin and felt his arms go around my ribcage, holding me tightly in place as he slammed in me one last time. I could feel him twitch inside while hot liquid ran out between my legs.

We held each other, panting until I tasted the metallic tang of blood and quickly detached myself to look over what I had done.

“I–I’m sorry!” I was shocked to have done such a thing. “I don’t know what came over me!”

There was a low rumble in his chest, and he patted my back soothingly.

“You marked me. It won’t stay on my skin since you are not a shifter, but usually, this is how it goes. Each mate marks the other. It’s different when your mate is human, though.” He casually said as he brought me closer to him in an embrace.

“I’ll be fine in an hour or so. Don’t worry about it.”

I was a bit relieved to hear that. It had not been my intention of hurting Xander, much less to bite him so fiercely. I pulled away the collar of his shirt to inspect his wound, and sure enough, it had already scabbed, but the colour of it was wrong. It was not pink, like new skin forming over an injury; it had a blueish tint, strangely the same colour as my magic energy.

“Is this normal?” I asked with concern.

Xander furrowed his brows and got up to inspect the bite mark in the bathroom mirror. His mark was very similar to mine, except it turned pale blue—almost glowing, whereas mine was moon-white.

“I don’t understand. I think you truly marked me! But that’s not possible since you’re not a shifter.” He looked at me with worried eyes.

“What are you?”