Chapter 39

Jasmine


Hearing the loud crash along with Lucien's alert voice, I ran out of the room in a rush.

Panic taking embedding in every cell of my body as I heard another crash and it was louder than before. Before I could process anything else another loud crash was heard that was so loud that it left the entire floor shaken with its harsh impact.

Luckily, this time I was able to identify where this sound came from.

It came from the hall that was situated on this second floor.

My legs proceed before I myself could, I found myself sprinting in the direction without wasting any time at all.

I reached the hall within minutes, and the disastrous view came in front of my eyes.

It was familiar as the one I had seen yesterday after the havoc Lucien's feral created and left the mess for us to collect and piece back together.

My eyes trailed around the shattered object on the entire place and finally, it landed on Archer, or may I say my gaze git locked with the awakened feral of Archer whose blood-red eyes looked at me as though I was its prey.

And then a  hard weight crashed against me....

It all happened in a second, one second I was standing in front of the door watching the scenery in perplexity, and the next second I was pressed against the wall by Archer with my hands within the hold of his hand and the other one grabbing around my throat.

My eyes widened in horror realization of the situation I was trapped into.

"Finally...." His tone was animalistic unlike his usual one, his fangs were fully ready for attack and then he dipped his head lower.

"Archer....No!" I exclaimed in terror and closed my eyes shut to keep my eyes away from witnessing what he was about to do.

I felt his fangs brush over my skin, my soul already accepting the defeat but then his body was torn away from me.

Lucien had grabbed him and pushed him away from me in such force that left Archer sliding a foot away.

A worried gasp automatically left my mouth.

"Archer....."

"Jasmine you need to go to our room, right now," Micheal said in a hurry but I could not get my feet to work, and ice-coated my insides even more once I saw the blood sliding down Archer's arm, painting the white shirt in the red color of his blood.

Archer stood up, his deep injury was not healing due to his lack of self-control.

And then, he once again ran towards me attempting to pounce but Micheal stopped him.

"Archer, Calm down!" Micheal ordered but the awakened feral within Archer did not let any words reach his ears.

His stare was fixated on me, they did not move even for once.

"Move away from my path, Micheal," Archer spoke, sounding nothing like himself.

"What do you want to do huh? Mark her and put it all to an end?" Micheal shouted.

This time, a sudden flicker passed through Archer's eyes. The senses supposedly coaxed in him but then he pushed Micheal away with all of his force.

Micheal's body hit the sidewall making a loud sound that echoed the entire palace.

I did not know what to do, watching them fighting between themselves in order to stop each other and knowing that I was the reason behind all of these happening...It was just too much.

My hands started shaking vigorously, my pulse rate gradually increasing and my control edging closer to the end little by little like a ticking bomb that might explode and shatter me into pieces.

Just when it seemed like Archer would once again try to attack, Lucien stood in front of me to ensure my safety and my hands flew to clutch onto his shirt holding on to it as though my life depended on it.

But then something unexpected happened, instead of running towards us Archer sprinted in the other direction.

At the speed of the wind, he was gone, leaving a whiff of wind to brush past us as he took off with his super-speed.

I stared at the empty corridor in disbelief, my eyes still digesting what they had just seen.

Lucien and Micheal both released a sigh, but the concern remained evident within them.

"Where did he g0?" I spoke in a rush, "Please, get him back."

"Jasmine...." Micheal tried to speak but my restlessness had gotten too wild to let me even allow them to speak.

"No! You need to go find him, he is so vulnerable right now," My breathing got uneven, the tears gathering in the corner of my eyes, "What if something happens to...No! You need to follow him, go right now!"

"Shhh...Calm down," Lucien cupped my face in his hands, pressing his forehead against mine, "Nothing will happen to him, don't worry. I'll track him down."

Somehow, his assurance had helped my state even though I still was worried as hell for Archer.

The way he took off and how violent he was, scared me. I hoped he would not hurt himself in this haze and if something unwanted happened....no, I could not lose him at any cost.

"Please find him, soon as possible," I sniffled.

" I will," Lucien said and pressed a kiss on my forehead.

"Micheal stay with her while I track Archer," Lucien told Micheal and he nodded.

"I'll be back soon," With that promise to me, Lucien took off. His speed was identical to Archer's, and a whiff of wind brushed me just like the time when Archer had rushed out of the place.

I looked at the empty corridor, the terrifying silence once against taking over the place and my insides.

The dismay remained as though it would never vanish.

Micheal walked closer to me and pulled me in his arms.

Before I even knew I had completely broken down in sobs, "I'll never be able to forgive myself if anything happens to him."

He soothingly rubbed my back, allowing me to cry in his arms and let go of what I had been holding onto for so long.

"You have no fault in it, Love," Micheal cooed, "And I promise you nothing will happen to him, he'll be fine."



*********



Two hours had passed since Archer ran out and Lucien went to follow him.

Because of Micheal's request, I came to the bedroom instead of standing there in the corridor and waiting for their arrival but my worry hadn't lessened the slightest bit during this period.

Each second felt like it was passing deadly slow. If anything it did, was that it g me more worrisome thoughts and reason to worry.

"Micheal it's been two hours, when are they going to be back?" I asked, my stare remaining anxious.

"Jasmine, don't worry. They might be on the way, and Lucien is there. They'll be fine," Micheal assured me comfortably squeezing my hand.

It did not help me calm down at all, how was it even possible for me to relax when I did not have any idea about their whereabouts?

Minutes passed and then I heard the shuffling sound of the lock knob. My gaze snapped in the direction and I saw the door opening before Lucien entered the room and followed by him entered Archer looking seemingly tired and his shirt having multiple holes in it-- It could not be considered a shirt, anymore.

The relief flooded my veins at the sight like ice-cold water had been poured over my burns soothing the pain and injuries.

But all seem to vanish once I finally noticed how many injuries he had.

My body got into motion, and the next minute I ran towards him.

"Archer, you are hurt," I said in a rush, hesitating about what should I really do.

"Jasmine, I..." He tried to say something but couldn't as I cut him off.

"Micheal bring the first aid kit, Please."

"There's no need for this, Jasmine. They'll heal on their own," Archer sighed and before I could say anything the response came from Micheal.

"Archer, if they were supposed to heal they would have by now. And don't forget that your injuries never heal when your feral is awakened." With that Micheal hurriedly went for the kit.

"He's right, these wounds are not going to heal on their own—Not when this much time has passed," Lucien said.

"You need to sit down, Archer. Come here," I dragged him to the bed and made him sit.

Micheal came back with the kit and I took it from his hand, my own hands quickly getting into
motion and nimbly working on opening his shirt and throwing it away.

The wound on his left arm was raw, it did not heal at all just like his other wounds that were much smaller compared to this one.

I grabbed the disinfectant, soaked the cotton swab in the liquid, and began gently disinfecting his wounds starting from the most evident one--On his arm.

A small winch slipped past his lips and I blew on the wound to soothe the burning sensation he might have felt and bring him comfort.

He indeed stilled at my movement, his eyes fixating on me and remaining unmoved for the whole time as I covered the rest of his wounds and started bandaging them.

I dressed the wound on his arm, secured it with the tape, and applied bandages on the smaller wounds that were mostly on his chest and torso.

A small exhale automatically leaves my mouth whilst I saw the sight of blood no longer being there on his body and his injuries all covered up. I took my time looking at his face, reminding myself how lucky I am that he had come back safely.

I placed a hand on his cheek rubbing his stubble, unable to tear my gaze away.

I couldn't have lived if anything such as I had begun to worry happened to him or any of them.

"You should take some rest, Archer," I said softly, and just when I was about to pull away, I found myself being pulled closer by Archer.

His hands wrapped around my waist tightly and he rested his head against my chest.

"We could have lost you...today," He said, his voice was extremely low and suppressed with guilt.

"Archer..." I tried to speak but his voice interrupted me.

"It does not matter if it was my fault or not," He said as though he already knew what I was going to say, "No matter what, even when it is about me not having control over myself, if Micheal and Lucien had got even once second late and I had once sunk my fangs in your skin the action could have never been undone. We would have lost you, forever."

"But nothing happened, I am fine and unharmed. You did not harm me, Archer, none of you did even though you were not in your right senses." I said trying to comfort him, brushing my fingers lightly on his scalp.

"But that does not mean that we will succeed in the next attack, it can be serious and it might affect all of us at once," Archer said and raised his head to look at me.

His beautiful eyes stared deep into my soul. The way he looked at me..... just said that he could not lose me at any cost or under any circumstances.

"Archer..." Just when I was about to speak and come up with my ways of convincing him I was interrupted but it was Micheal who had spoken this time.

"He is right, Jasmine. The blood moon is reaching the stage where we all might face the awakening of our ferals at once and even multiple times a day— Nothing can be predicted, nor we can say how much dangerous it can turn for you and others."

As much as I hated to admit it, it was true that every word he said was right.

After the way Archer lost control, I did not even stand a chance to say anything in this matter let alone argue

"Only five more days are left until it will reach its peak, and these days are going to be the most dangerous and toughest ones ever and this year it has come strong, very strong and as close we are going to be to you the more of risks we'll turn into for your life," Micheal said, his eyes looking at Lucien silently passing a message I felt this sudden urge to know but for some reason I knew, it was not going to remain a secret anymore.

I could get a sense of where this conversation was going but my tongue remained stuck in my mouth so did my legs remained glued to the floor not moving an inch.

"We can't take any risks, Jasmine, so..." Lucien paused, his words collapsing with the exhale he emitted.

"So?" I found myself asking, the dismay shading itself on my words on its own.

"We'll have to stay away from you till this blood moon fades so that we do not end up harming you in any sort of way." Lucien sighed.

My entire body froze just as the words left his mouth, leaving me in a huge dilemma and making me stand on an edge where neither I could take a step back, nor forward.

Tears unknowingly rolled down my cheeks, everything felt like it was going downhill in a continuous manner.

"Jasmine, oh my...what are you crying?" Archer instantly stood up and pulled me in his arms.

I felt Micheal and Lucien hurriedly getting closer to me too, in concern.

When he got no answers from me, Archer spoke again.

"It's just a matter of days sweetheart, then everything is going to be normal like before," Apparently his assurance did not work on me.

"Nothing is going to get better, you don't understand. It feels like everything is getting out of my hands, nothing is certain at this point. First, the arrival of that stupid Fiona, your dad not liking me as your mate, then those dreams, then Martha, and now this." I got too drowned in emotions to realize what I was saying.

"I feel like everything is going away from me and I am going to lose everything....again."

"Jasmine, all we need you to do right now is trust us, Okay?" Archer cupped my face, "And we promise that everything is going to be just as it was, none between us, not the problems, none of these people. It's going to us, only us."

"B-but..."

This time my hand was grabbed by Micheal and I was turned to face him, "Jasmine, no buts this time. All we want you to know is that we can die for you, we can kill for you and we will live for you. All you need to do is to have trust in us, we'll never let anyone come between us or tear us apart. Did you hear me?"

We can die for you, we can kill for you and we will live for you...

What more I could have said when within these few words, they'd promised me an eternity?

I could say anything else, I did not have anything

else to say.

I just stood there, looking into his eyes and letting him see through my soul like always.

"You don't have to worry about anything love, we are here for you... always. This momentary distance will not make any difference, it will pass." Lucien softly spoke taking my other hand in his, soothingly rubbing his thumb over the skin on the back of my hand.

I nodded at his words, finally allowing myself a moment of peace and serenity. A break of seconds to calm my palpating heart and the rush of thoughts that made a mess I couple never solve.

"Jasmine..." Lucien spoke after a bit.

"What dreams were you talking about and what happened between you and Martha?"

Oh no.... So they heard it....

"Oh...it was just some strange nightmare I had— It just made no sense." I spluttered, unable to hide the nervousness in my voice.

As I had thought, they sure seemed to not believe me completely.

"Are you hiding something from us, Jasmine?" Lucien asked the doubt in his orbs made itself evident.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just was overthinking and whilst it was nothing to worry about," I said.

I did not want to give them this news and let them know about this entire perplexing situation until I figured out everything by myself.

They already had so many things to deal with, whilst the blood moon was taking a toll on them.

I did not want them to take more pressure than they already had on them.

"And what happened between you and Martha?" He raised his eyebrows, it was apparent on his face that he was not buying my lies.

"We just had an argument the other day, nothing serious like that. It's just I tend to get worried over small things." I said, trying to make myself sound truthful.

"Are you sure it's nothing serious?" He asked.

"Yes, Lucien. I am sure," I took his hands in mine, using my fingertips to brush over his cold skin.

"Jasmine So here's the thing....We are not going to pressurize you to tell us anything you don't want to but remember if you need anything or have anything bothering you or any kind of thing that you can't share with anyone, We are always here." Lucien said, cupping my face and looking deep into my eyes.

At this point, I wanted nothing other than to hug him as tight as I could and tell him everything I had been dealing with, let them know about the dilemma and all the horrendous sceneries that corrupted the place of my dreams and turned them into nightmares.

But, this was not the right time.

Once the blood moon pass, I will tell them everything, that they deserve to know.

"Can we sleep now? You all are tired..." I gently spoke.

Lucien glanced at Micheal upon my statement, as if he wanted Micheal to deliver the Lucien that he himself couldn't.

"Love, I think I don't think it'd be good for us to be close to you for these few days. We should get moving to the room situated on another side of the Castle."

My brows rose in surprise, the hurtful feeling making its way up to my entire body.

Five days might not be a big deal, but for a girl who had been partially living alone for her entire life and never expected that she'd ever receive the love and adoration from someone....it was a big deal to even think of staying away from those people for even a day.

The indecipherable fear would always remain there.

"Not today, please..." I requested, "You all are going to be away for days, I just want to spend this night together. Please, it's all I am asking for."

They indeed understood my message, they knew I was asking for the closeness, the intimacy, the marks from them that'll help me bear the loneliness for the time they'd be away.

"Jasmine, it's not a good idea. We don't know if we'll be able to control our ferals, you know that during the blood moon we have the least amount of control over ourselves." Lucien began pulling away but I grabbed his hand stopping him from moving away from me.

"Please." It was all I could utter, the mere pleading whimper.

"Jasmine..." he tried to speak but I interrupted

"Please, don't say no." I hugged him as tight as I could as though he'd vanish if I loosened my grip even for a second.

Silence stretched across the room, neither Lucien tried to pull away nor did any of them say a single word.

It was as though in the waves of silence they were contemplating whether they were willing to fulfill what I wanted which they supposedly considered a risk at this moment or decline what I asked for.

Noticing that the hush was not fading away and remained solid seeming like unmoveable secrecy, I pressed myself more into Lucien's body. Resting my cheeking against the chest, getting as close as I could.

At this point, I knew he could feel my loud heartbeats that were thundering against my chest and the urge I could feel.

"Please...." I said once again.

And this was when I finally got a response.

Lucien made me look at him, his hand sliding around my waist and the other one moving to stroke my cheek.

"Okay," He flashed me a small smile and I felt Micheal moving closer from behind and sliding his hand from my shoulder to my fingertips where he interlocked our fingers.

I felt my jaw being lightly grabbed by Archer and then he pressed his lips against mine.

The sparks shot through, a shiver ran down my entire body triggering the goosebumps to appear as I finally got the assurance that tonight was certainly going to be one of the memorable ones,