31.

Her arms remained wrapped around her bare knees as she sat over the mattress with her back pressed against its soft and semi-crescent headboard, resting her forehead against her knees and refusing to raise her sight from her lap as she could hear movement somewhere in the room.



She slowly breathed, revelling into that single moment of peace and closing her eyes as her mind carried her back to those moments with Emerick, her heart warming at the memory of the feel of him, his sweet scent and those soft lips...



She pushed out a sigh through her nostrils, a strong sense of longing tugging at her very soul as she realized how much she actually missed him and that she just wanted to be with him now...



Free, and with him by her side, protecting her and keeping her warm at night...



"Madeleine,"



She shivered at the sound of that masculine voice, mistaking it as Emerick's for a fleeting moment before quickly remembering exactly who was in the room with her.



She refrained herself from making any acknowledging gestures, secretly thinking that maybe if she would remain still for long enough then he would just go away somehow.



Sadly, that didn't happen.



"Come. You have to receive some nourishment or you will start losing consciousness and get sick," She heard him gently say from somewhere close to her.



"Good," She flatly mumbled back, stubbornly refusing to even throw him a glance as she remained in the exact same position.



"Madeleine," He warned, his tone a little bit graver before she felt that small tingling over the skin on her leg.



"Would you please stop touching me?" She all but growled, raising her head to throw him a menacing glare.



"You know, I could always sedate you and make you obey," He calmly said as he looked into her anger-filled eyes, seemingly eager to stir her some more.



"Right, 'cause that's what you always do, don't you? Drug people so that they could do whatever you want," She retorted.



In less than a second, she found herself pressed against that headboard and with her knees spreaded either side of his waist as he held her trapped in his lap, his hot breath fanning over the side of her neck as his hands firmly held onto the headboard either side of her body.



"I could do it right now. I could sink my fangs into you and turn you into a lifeless and compliant object right here and now. There are so many things I could do to you, and you wouldn't even be able to lift a single finger to try and stop me. You can't even begin to understand my power, Madeleine, and I am fairly certain that you never will," He whispered into her ear, feeling her fast pulse and that raggedy breathing as she remained completely still.



"Luckily for you, that is exactly what keeps you alive and well right now. My naturally-inherited intelligence and excellent ability to understand human nature, amongst other species,"



He gently wrapped his hand around her fragile throat, slowly coaxing her to look up into his cold galaxy eyes as he lightly pushed up against her chin with his thumb.



"Because if I were to think like one of your underdeveloped human fellows you would've already been just an empty host, tortured into submission and with my heir growing inside of you,"



He spoke, his thin lips so close to hers as he peered into those wide and fearful earthian eyes, just starting to feel that peculiar and hot sensation pressing against his resolve and towards a certain extent.



His gaze unintentionally flickered over her small and pouty lips, suddenly deeming them so oddly appealing as he could feel a craving to taste them, just like he'd seen her doing with the BloodHound's mouth.



*What is this?*



He wondered, for the first time in his long lifespan failing to find a pertinent explanation, his breath hitching as he could feel his member suddenly becoming stiff and ready for penetration on its own.



*What in the seven skies?*



He shot up faster than the little earthling could follow, his general appearance entirely disheveled and alert as he stared at the little female as if she were some sort of dangerous oddity of nature, noticing that pink coloration in her pale cheeks whilst her pulse increased its tempo into her body, her stress levels still rising as she kept her gaze averted.



How? How was it possible? How was she doing it?

How could she take control over his body so easily?



Her. A feeble little earthling.



With Lyra blood.



Madeleine sat over the mattress, her heart pounding as she purposely kept her gaze averted from the large and intimidating alien standing right next to the bed, still shaken by his scary behavior and the feel of that pressing against her nether regions, mere moments ago.



Even though she did not look, she could feel the burn of that intense gaze trailing all over her, making her tremble with fear as she did not know what to expect next.



Was he going to hurt her? Did he want her to give herself to him right now?



"I-Aaahhh!!" She suddenly screamed in fright as out of nowhere, he darted forward and took ahold of her, hoisting her up in his embrace before she could say anything or even properly react for that matter.



However, as soon as their skin made contact her body shivered, shocked to feel something entirely weird and warm inside of her as he held her close, her palm resting over the middle of his bare chest whilst his arms supported her weight from under her thighs and back.



What did he do to her? Why was she suddenly feeling like this?



She wondered as she timidly rose her gaze and peered into his starry eyes, her cheeks quickly heating up at the sight of their intensity, failing to even notice the moment he started walking as he moved so smoothly, like a feline in the dead of the night as his steps seemed so light for a male of his size and strength.



Madeleine remained quiet as he carried her through the palace, scared that if she would speak or move she would somehow trigger an unwanted reaction from him.



She was already affected as it was, from what she'd seen him do to Meoni mere hours ago.



She did not need to try and poke him some more, to see what happens.



She unconsciously shivered as she thought about that pounding into her the same way it did with Meoni, her hand clutching tighter against the back of Elias' neck and thus involuntarily drawing his attention towards her.



"What is going through your mind, sola?"



She abruptly startled, stupidly blinking a few times as she rose her sight again to look at him, her blushing cheeks and wide eyes betraying her.



"N-nothing," She quickly blurted out, suddenly feeling so trapped in his arms as she unwillingly started to fret and squirm, desperately searching for an escape.



"Hmm...I believe I've already told you that I do not tolerate liars," His tone became a little more stern as he spoke, causing her to feel more and more scared.

And before she even knew it, her breathing quickened along with the drumming of her heart, slowly giving in to instinct as she started fighting even harder and harder to escape until she somehow managed to slip from his arms, her knees and palms making contact with the floor with a dull thud. And without so much as even throwing him a single glance she clumsily rose onto her own two feet and took ahold of both sides of her long dress, dashing into a fast sprint.



Small sobs made their way past her lips as she struggled to hold in her tears, lost within the confinements of her own spiralling mind as she aimlessly ran through corridors and salons, her bare feet slapping against the smooth texture of the floor as she ran as much as she could.

She did not care where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get as far as possible away from him.



That big and utterly terrifying creature that was following her, probably already plotting creative ways to hurt her.



“Nno…” She let out a louder sob, her hand letting go of the backside of her dress to cover her mouth as she cried with squeaky and loud hiccups, soon starting to feel the effects of overexertion into her poorly-fed body as her muscles started to hurt, her breath coming out in short and uneven puffs.

And before she even knew it she was already kneeling over the floor, one hand pressing against the nearest wall for support whilst the other balled into a fist over her thumping heart, her head spinning as she struggled to regain control.



Suddenly feeling a hand wrap around her arm and pulling her upwards, she let out a loud and petrified scream, vainly trying set herself free again as her bare back touched the wall behind her, feeling the warmth of two big hands holding her shoulders pinned against it.



"No! No please!" She begged whilst still struggling against those two hands, her clouding vision barely making the outline of Elias’ face.



“Nno! Please let me go!”



“Madeleine, please breathe,”



“No! Let go of me! I don’t want you touching me, I don’t want you to do to me what you did to Meoni! I don’t want you anywhere near me! So please let me go!” She feebly cried as she fought against him.



“Just breathe,” He insisted, moving his body even closer to hers and thus making her cry and struggle even harder, just until she was on the brink of losing her consciousness again as black spots started dancing in her vision, making it harder and harder for her to keep fighting him. And just after a few more tries her knees gave up on her again, making her fall straight into his awaiting arms and lastly feeling that stinging pain in the side of her neck before everything faded to black.