Mate bonds.

"You..are..not..my..type."

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

His words kept ringing in her mind over and over again.

Huh?

"I have enough women who sneak their way into my sheets at night. Gladly, ready to warm my bed. I have no doubt that you haven't tasted the pleasure of what lies behind the doors of a man and a woman. To simply put it... I don't fuck inexperienced women... It's a pain.."

His hair, black as midnight cascaded in untamed waves shimmered under the dim light of the inn.

The inn when she explored it few hours ago before the incident was surprisingly empty besides few women she saw that served in skimpy dresses that were made not for the purpose of sheltering their bodies rather the exact opposite.

She remembered how stunned she was at the beginning when she saw the maids that helped her take her bath, purposely lowering their bodies to show their cleavages and walk with slow paced steps, seductively swinging their hips around him. Sending interested gazes at him, filled with excitement.

She thought she was being overly concious but when she noticed he didn't spare any lingering glance at them rather seemingly bored. She didn't quite register it in her mind.

But now, it only dawned to her how true his words were.

"As for any work besides that...I have more than enough men that are ready to do whatever I say at the wave of my hand... Even if it meant killing themselves at that spot for my cause. So kitten you are quite...useless in both regard. When the time comes... You can leave after the job is done."

She was supposed to be delighted by his words. Excited to ask when she could do her tasks and leave.

Motivated even.

But the taunting words he whispered to her ear. Whirled up her emotions to prove to him how wrong he was about her.

He lifted his head. The white fox mask still on his face.

She wondered whether it disappearing when he lowered himself to her neck had anything to do with his powers.

Her mate seducing her at one moment then dumping her blood cold was ruthless. To top it more he was cheating on her.

Rusts.

What was running in her mind nowadays?

He wasn't really hers. He made no commitment. Though he was her mate, he was unaware of it. To him they were literally strangers. He supposedly saw her as any human.

A rabid monster meant to be exploited.

It was simply logical.

So why was she so pissed off.

If things wasn't more annoying than it should be, she was finding it harder to control her emotions.

Probably from the lack of social interaction for an entire year. Afterall, Sirae wasn't exactly a person. More in the lines of a spirit.

It was a relief she didn't cry so easily as she erupted in anger.

But no one has been able to trigger her lack of control like he does.

Not that she remembered. But her gut instincts told her all she should know.

She once again internally cursed the mate bond in what seems like forever.

'You are now feeling so sad about his lack of interest in you?'

A chuckle sunk into her hearing. Her eyes enlarged in shock.

Could he hear her thoughts? All of it since the very beginning?!

The golden eyes that stared down at her, calmly. Had no noticable emotion to confirm her suspicions. Calming herself down aàa bit. Though she didn't immediately drive out the factor of the mask hiding it.

She then recognized the voice admist her panic.

Sirae!

'Yeah..Yeah. Missed me?'

'How in the hell?! Where were you when I woke up from sleep since all this time?!'

She communicated back to her as they shared a mind link, extremely curious. When Hazel discovered Sirae could hear her every thoughts in the darkness.

She was paranoid and disliked that very much. Until she found out they could create mental barriers against each other. After the first few months of constant practice she got the hang of it.

Only establishing a mind link when she didn't want to speak aloud.

Which came in handy in situations like this.

Sirae greeted her in silence instead.

'Sirae?!'

'Oh relax a bit.. I was resting so you couldn't access me. You controlling your Fox powers means that I was waking up.'

Sirae explained materializing in their mental space. A white massive fox that stood gracefully appeared with an apparent black markings on her forehead. They seemed thicker than the last time Hazel saw them.

Hazel appeared in there too. Leaving her body to fall unconscious on the outside.

She couldn't deal with the stress of confronting her mate now. She would do that later when the tension dies down a little. Especially how keeps feeling guilty of what she did that landed herself pinned on the wall.

She glared at the crafty fox that grinned at her, exposing deadly canines that could snap a weak human in one bite. Sirae's attempt to act cute failed...

Miserably.

Hazel stood with her hands in akimbo and her eyes half closed in derision.

"I almost died because of you!!"

She yelled.

"What do you mean?"

The ethereal-like white fox yawned closing it's eyes in practiced tiredness. But Hazel wasn't fooled especially when she knew how powerful it was as if the moment. One of the eyes popped open. Sighting Hazel still glaring at her, she sighed.

"It wasn't intentional. I couldn't control the effects of the vast amount of power we both used. It toke a tool on our souls not to mention that the presences of your mate is eating up your essence at a faster rate because of how powerful he is. If you don't mark him soon at this rate you might die from something as simple as essence starvation."

Hazel wasn't too surprised at the development. She did notice herself weaker around him and dumber. According to one of the classes Sirae taught her in the darkness about Mating laws. If the marking ceremony isn't followed up on the first meeting of the 'victims' as she liked to call it. The essence between both of the foxes will be drawn by each other. Because of how greedy the mate bond truly was. Because the essence taken by each other was a state of reminder to obey the flow of nature.

Or more of a warning.

If you thought of it too much like she did.

Since it was more of like a one of a hundred to find one's mate. Though some foxes tend to move out of order by mating with other foxes that weren't their mates.

So because of it the mate bond was somewhat cruel.

The only way to stop the phenomenon was to either reject the mate which consequences were dire to the Fox's soul so wasn't much of an option or stay far away from their mate and depending on the strength of the Fox's mental state until total engulfed with longing and run...

Utterly mad.

Hazel shivered.

Because her mate was a human she would be the only one at the receiving end until she marks him.

Damn the creator of mate bonds.

She has a lot of things to curse at the shitty god responsible for her predicament.

But for now she had to find a solution.

"So why exactly did you almost die. I couldn't quite see it because of the mental barriers. Care to explain?"

Hazel sighed turning away while lifting up the barriers in her mind. Memories of what happened few hours ago rushing in like a hurricane...

"Erehmn.. I stink.."