13 Chapter 12:

Vivian's POV-

"Can... can she even speak?" I asked as I tried to take my eyes off the body with frostbite covering almost every inch of her skin. It's doubtful it didn't travel underneath her clothes either.

"It doesn't matter if she can or not, I've got something that can project her thoughts," Ivy shrugged her shoulders as she moved around one room of many within the caves Ivy claimed.

Since it's outside of Cole's territory, he didn't say anything when Ivy led us through the forest to her little hideout. If I was an idiot I would've ignored the attitude she's been carrying around since we got here. When Ivy had questioned why Cole was even coming with us, I had to talk her into letting him. But then when he admitted to calling Leomaris over? Ivy hadn't looked at me without a glint of irritation since.

I guess I'll talk to her about it when we're alone.

"You two, get back. The energy of the stone can zap yours away, which in turn will ruin the jewel," Ivy explained as I stood by her, ignoring the questioning looks I was getting from Cole and Leomaris as they backed up against the farthest wall.

Thanks to being around Ivy so much, I've already become immune to a lot of simple magics. Only because hers has rubbed off on me so many times.

Plus the demon magic sleeping in my body is a natural deterrent when going against creatures like witches.

Ivy walked toward a shelf that had a bunch of little gems that lay on a blue velvet sheet, each of them with their dim glow of color. Her perfectly manicured electric blue nails hovered between a purple and pale blue jewel.

It took her a few seconds before picking the blue one with an unsatisfied look in her eyes before going toward the frozen witch. The woman was making grunting noises of displeasure but she's been doing that for a while now. Especially when I had poked her in the ribs earlier.

When Ivy mumbled a foreign language into the stone, it began to glow brighter before she put it next to the stone already on the woman.

'You stupid psycho bitch! Aggh! Goddess, this burns!' The voice spoke out and I raised my eyebrows, always amazed by the magic that Ivy has up her sleeve.

'Ivanna the witch of the red river! You're a terror and a plague everywhere you go! Thousands will die and millions have already died by your hands! And the rumors that you're working with a demon are true?! Have you truly gone insane?!'

As the woman began throwing out curses everywhere, my body shook with giggles, enjoying this but then I couldn't hold it in. My laughter ran through the walls of the cave despite the door to this room being closed.

"Gods, she doesn't like you," I let another bout of laughter escape my lips, not being able to help myself.

'A demoness... what kind are you? Are you the kind that will sneak into my dreams and steal my soul?' The voice held a hint of mockery.

My body was moving before I could stop and within milliseconds I was kneeling eye to eye with her slightly curled body.

"I can be anything you want, I can do anything you want... all you need to do is make a contract with me," I presented her with the options, doing my best to not laugh.

'Oh goddess, please protect my soul from the terrible beings who wish it harm'

And then I started to laugh again, taking a few steps back and looking at Ivy to see she was holding in her amusement with a smile.

A thickly muscled arm gently wrapped around my waist, pulling me against Cole's hard chest and bringing me to the back of the cave with him.

"Let's not distract her," He had bent to whisper into my ear, the warm fan of air that was gently blown against my neck stopped the fit of laughter.

"Mm..." I couldn't help but turn over in his hold to put us chest to chest.

Touching him just feels amazing, gods the way we're perfectly molded together... we'd feel even better without any clothes.

That moment of vulnerability we'd had between us seemed to have made me want more. And not from anyone but Cole himself.

"Pick me up," I didn't mean it as I feel I've been this bold with Cole before today. When he bent down to put his arm right under my ass and easily lifted me, I couldn't help the surprise I felt. This is the first time he's indulged me.

Not sure how to respond to his compliance with my demand, I laid my head down on his shoulder and stuffed my face into his neck.

"Who sent you?" Ivy asked as she began to look around, I hadn't noticed how smooth the floors to the caves were until she started rolling out a white little table that was near the shelf of gems.

'As if you don't know the witch council is hunting you' The sarcastic voice responded but you could hear the worry as she watched Ivy bring the rolling chair toward the metal bed she was currently occupying.

"Right... different question: Is the witch council working with Valentino?" That question made me do everything I could to keep as much tension out of my body. I don't need Cole to think I react every time Valentino is mentioned. Which I technically do.

He doesn't need to know that though.

'Yes... fuck! What the hell is this stone?!'

"Oh, a question I can answer. Well, it's a mind stone and unfortunately a lot of witches these days aren't given the mental training we had once received. If I have a question for you, you'll naturally think of the answer because you're considered weak," Ivy explained, unwrapping a black tool pack that had one too many sharp tools.

That isn't going to be good.

'What... what are you going to do to me?' It wasn't a question for Ivy.

Which she knew as her pretty little blonde head turned slightly to look at her pray, moving up and down the woman's damaged body.

"You're not a young witch by any means if you know even one of my titles. I believe it means that you were around when the witch council would dissect live witches and place suicide bombs in them if a specific subject was triggered," As Ivy spoke, I couldn't help but look up at her with what I realized was sadness when both Cole and Leomaris gave me an expression of shock.

I said nothing, just watched as the injured witch's fingers twitched and she whimpered.

"I'll heal you... and then I'm going to dissect you to find the bomb and take it out. I've got plans with it of my own... don't look at me like that. You act as though you think I wish to do this," Ivy walked farther into the room toward a slightly opened door, opening it up to a little bathroom so she could wash her hands.

'You're a monster...'

No more than the ones you work for...

"You make it sound as though you think all I want is to cause pain. Aren't you the one who went out of your way to attack someone you saw was marked for protection? Any time I have to do what needs to be done, it's because you've all decided to walk right in front of me," Ivy looked annoyed as she looked for the best tool to use.

I've heard Ivy talking about the bombs before and how she had almost bled herself out when she was forced to cut herself open to find it. The witch council put the bombs in different places for each witch to make them difficult to remove.

Leomaris surprised me when he pushed himself off the wall and confidently walked toward Ivy. I moved my head a bit to get a better look. It was Cole's large hand lifting to gently keep me from lifting myself up. The gentle pats that followed made me just want to purr as I tried to get closer. If that's even possible.

Well... it is... if we were to just take each other's clothes off.

"He's one of the few dragons that went to college for medicine and even went on to be a doctor for a few decades," Cole explained, his chest rumbling against me despite how soft he was trying to talk.

When Leomaris walked up behind Ivy, gently tapping the middle of her spine for her attention. I couldn't help but smile when she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"I can assist you with this, if not do it for you," Leomaris offered to her, giving a small gesture of his hand toward the tools and the witch.

For a moment Ivy watched him cautiously before letting out a sigh, looking between Leomaris and the frozen woman. I couldn't help but yawn out, using my hand to cover my mouth. The dim lights of the room are giving me some sleepy vibes.

"Fine you can do the whole thing but I'll guide you through it, if you knick the spell the wrong way it'll go off," As Ivy spoke and Leomaris picked up a scalpel, I could see the relief that made her shoulder's sag.

If I cared enough for the human anatomy, I would do it for her but unfortunately, I wouldn't know anything but how to keep her on the edge of death for some time. Ivy doesn't like having to do the dirty work but our lives are filled with violence so I do my best to be the one who does the bloody jobs.

I try to be the shield but in moments like these, I'm forced to just sit and watch. Though it seems that as Ivy spoke softly to Leomaris as they leaned over the woman, she had someone able to support her.

"Do you want coffee?" Cole asked me, almost making me jump from how quiet it feels like it's been.

Hell, I'd rather just fuck this man until I pass out but even if he were to let us get that far, I'd probably fall asleep before anything happens. That's how sleepy I am. Even though I ate, the amount of demon magic used is physically exhausting me.

If we could... ugh, this sucks.

"Mm, no I'd rather go to sleep," I replied and couldn't help my eyes from widening when we started to move toward the door that led to the hallway.

"We'll be in the house," He explained before either Ivy or Leomaris began to operate on the witch.

Still, I didn't expect to be out in the hallways, and then within moments right outside where the cool air felt good against the fires created by our touching bodies. I hadn't realized the burning heat until now.

He's being nice to me... and I want it to stop. We're supposed to be enemies but if Cole keeps going out of his way to treat me otherwise, I'll get the wrong idea. Even now, the walls I've had between us are starting to crumble as we walked quietly through the woods.

"What's happening, Cole?" I asked him, not daring to look at him in worry that I'll show emotions I'm not trying to give away.

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd be less confused than you are," He chuckled but his arms around me squeezed a little as if he was worried I would run away from him.

Honestly... a loud voice in my head was feeling some type of how we're acting. After that kiss, that amazing kiss, I can feel how comfortable I am with him. We shouldn't be allowing ourselves to divulge ourselves in a fire that could burn us whole.

In all the years I've been alive, I've never felt like this.

I should be able to tell this man to put me down so I can walk away from this weird connection that came before the blond bond. It's just being enhanced by it.

Cole easily opened the door to the quiet house but I could hear the sound of a movie playing. It got louder as we went upstairs, a clear sign it was Oriness. We went to the first room next to the stairs.

My room.

It took everything I had to toss out the knowledge that he could smell me just as how I could smell his forest scent followed by a smokey smell. Which only seemed to make me want to keep my face against Cole's neck.

Maybe I just need to get back to disciplining myself before I fall into this obvious trap.

I'll fall for the man who rules over an entirely other species. A man I can't have. They'll just keep me for their own use and when they've starved me enough, toss me aside.

Just like Valentino... no... no, not everyone is like Valentino. Not everyone is so terrible as to chain their child up and toss them into the darkness.

Right now, even though I lost to Dexter, Cole is bringing me to a place I can relax. Father would've ensured I'd been physically punished for such a failure.

It's why I had once ensured that losing hadn't been an option.

When he placed me to sit at the end of my soft bed, I put effort to support myself as Cole stepped back.

Just like I do.

"I need to take a shower..." I mumble to him while standing up and automatically walking toward the drawer, taking out some underwear and silky pajamas.

Without waiting for an answer, I walked into the lightly decorated bathroom and closed the door. He knows where the front door is. Once the hot water was spraying I took my time to undress, upset with my current state.

Don't start, Vivian, you know it won't end. You'll just end up feeling more depressed than you usually do.

So I stepped under the water, letting out a sigh of relief as it beat against my skin. Even though I'm not in pain, I can still remember the echo of what had once been there. Grabbing the orange blossom soap to start cleaning myself, I looked down to see a lot of blood spilling down my arms and legs.

I almost let the soap fall at the sight of the dried blood on my hands started to wash away. There had been far more going on in my fight against Dexter.

Dexter...

'You're mine! When will you learn?!' His voice echoed in my head as I could practically see the vampire in front of me. The memory of his thumb rubbing against my neck only strengthened the hallucination.

So close... he'd been so close to biting me... forcing a connection on me.

It was the soap in my now warm eye that snapped me out of my thoughts. I'd washed up everything only to blank out at some point and come back with conditioner dripping into my eyes.

With a sigh I washed everything off, trying to get rid of the memories playing in my head. I couldn't help how my face scrunched up, my eyes watering as if to cry but nothing dropped. Nothing fell to express the emotions that seemed to refuse to wash away like the soap.

My past... why does it have to haunt me so much? I was a victim half my life and yet, the things I've had to do in order to survive... the people who have died for this so-called freedom.

With the water off, I snatched the towel from where it hung to quickly dry myself off before stepping out on the soft gray rug.

Gods, this world is tiring.

I'm so sick of this place and I don't care how many times Nyx tries to reassure me that things will get better, I've lost my faith. At this point, I only do things to protect us and if she asks that I don't kill, I won't. As long as it doesn't interfere with our survival plans.

All I want is to breathe another day where I don't have to worry about what the next horror of the day is supposed to be.

Once lotioned up, I pulled on the red lace panties before taking my time to pull on the silky pajama shorts and tank top. It only took a moment to moisturize my hair before putting all of it into a braid that fell down my shoulder.

It was opening the door to the sight of Cole laying face up on my bed, his shoes kicked off on the floor and the muscle in his arms flexing as they were behind his head.

He had never left.

Already the frustration of the situation was starting to grate on me as I felt the instinct to just crawl all over him. This sexual tension between us is aggravating. I've never had to hold back before.

"Cole... what are we doing?" I asked him the same question from before, needing an actual answer this time.

Taking my time to get to the end of the bed of dark red silk covers and sheets, I almost hesitated when he patted the empty spot beside him. Still, I found myself walking toward the bed.

It was a large bed that even Cole's tall height had extra space. Not wanting to seem scared of the man, I bent myself down onto the mattress. Just as I was about to crawl toward the spot, Cole suddenly snatched me up until I was practically straddling him.

Those pale green eyes were glowing as that intense stare had golden specks in them, it felt as though someone else was looking at me. If it wasn't for his usually rounded pupils turning into slits, I wouldn't have known it was Cole's dragon.

"For now we'll sleep and the days after tomorrow... we'll figure out what this is between us," It was firm but it still sounded like a suggestion like any other idea would be fine.

But I couldn't think of one.

A small nod in agreement to his plan and Cole was pulling me down to lay beside him. It was strange how comforting this is.

Having a large body wrapped around me, pulling me tightly against him as his heat enveloped me. Of course, I could feel something large and hard against the middle of my back but I found myself content with laying here.

I've had supernatural men who survived a night with me try to cuddle with me like this but it always felt suffocating.

Yet... here I was, fighting to keep my eyes open to dwell in this moment longer.

It was the soft kisses he placed from my temple to my cheek that seemed to lull me to sleep.