CHAPTER 92

Larisa shot her eyes open in the middle of the night, as she panted heavily, heart racing hard against her ribcage after the horrifying nightmare she had and she gulped hard.

She felt Lothaire's strong arms already wrapped around her small body as he cuddled her tightly, stroking her hair as usual and her she breathed out in relief when she felt his warmness.

The familiar warmth being exuded from his body, calmed her nerves down and in a minute, her heart returned to it's normal pace and her breathing stabled.

He stroked her hair till finally, she dozed off into slumber as she was not fully awake yet. The rays of the sunrise peeked through the velvet curtains, waking her up from her half peaceful sleep.

She grunted as her eyes fluttered open, she realized the empty side of the bed that was beside her, with Lothaire nowhere to be found, she wondered where he could have gone off to so early in the morning.

"Good morning sleepy beauty."

She heard the mischievous voice of Anne ringing into her ears and she shrieked in fear, while pulling the covers over her body, with face flushed in embarrassment.

She whipped her head to where the voice came from to see Anne seated on a couch beside her, she was startled by her sudden appearance but she was flushed red because she thought she was still naked.

Her nerves that had skyrocketed in embarrassment, calmed down when she felt the fabric of the clothes she was putting on rub against her skin.

She realised Lothaire must have clothed her before leaving which made her sigh in relief.

"You startled me, what are you doing here?"

She shot her best friend a suspicious look as she queried her.

"Lothaire told me to keep you company, in case you woke up but he didn't tell me where he was heading to." Anne explained but still, there was a mischievous smile curved up on her lips.

Larisa raised her brows questioningly as she stared at Anne.

"What?" She finally blurted out when her friend shot her a teasing look with the mischievous smile still glued on her face.

"I get that feeling, you thought you were still naked, right? After your erotic night...I heard your moans and screams from my room, on the other corridor..." Anne drawled with a teasing expression and a naughty grin on her face.

Larisa's big hazel eyes widened upon hearing her friend and her cheeks flushed hoy in embarrassment. 'Everyone in the Castle must have heard her!' she screamed inwardly in embarrassment.

She heard Anne burst out in a hysteric laughter and she sighed, knowing she was just bluffing and didn't actually hear a thing.

"I'm just kidding, I didn't hear anything, I guess the walls are soundproof." Anne said as she nodded thoughtfully.

Larisa could see Anne smiling and teasing her but she knew all wasn't well, she could see her blue eyes not as bright as they usually were.

"Are you okay, Anne?" She asked with a worried expression as she stared into her friend's blue eyes.

"I'm fine..but since you're being so persuasive, then fine,I'll talk." Anne said with a flat tone and Larisa stifled a laughter that threatened to burst through her lips as she lowered her head.

"You told me about breed mates right?" Anne paused while Larisa nodded, motioning for her to continue with eager ears for what she was about to say.

"Yeah, well I think Zion's my breed mate..."

Larisa's lower mouth touched the floor as her eyes widened in disbelief. The news being broken to her was indeed a stupefying one.

"Wait a second! Zion, is your breed mate? Do you feel the thingy?" Larisa shot her questions and the girl nodded vigorously, tucking a stray blonde lock behind her ear as she smiled meekly.

"Yeah, I felt it, the pull was strong and irresistible, unlike anything I've ever felt before, but there's a problem..." Anne trailed off, a glum look worn on her face as she spoke.

Larisa pushed her body forward in curiosity of what the problem could be.

"He's avoiding me, I don't know why but it seems serious. It's like he doesn't want to even look at me, it's so obvious he wants me but he's being a dickhead about it."

Anne's explanation made Larisa's brows knit itself in worry and obvious displeasure. She had always known him as a bubbly natured someone but after Onyx's death he seemed to change drastically.

She wondered if he didn't want to bond with his breed mate because Onyx's death had left him traumatized and maybe, he was afraid that the same fate might happen to him.

"Don't blame him, he's probably just afraid that you might die and leave him in eternal pain, so he'd rather not form an unbreakable bond with you than go through that pain."

Larisa explained to the best of her ability and Anne seemed thoughtful about it as her blue eyes stared aimlessly at space.

"That's just a load of shit! It's definitely not the reason, besides, Hela could give me immortality too when Lothaire releases her, right?."

Anne blurted out with a frustrated expression.

Larisa's stomach churned as Hela's name was being mentioned and then her mind drifted back to her vivid nightmare that made her want to curl up and hide under a carpet.

She could still hear Hela's dark, forbidding voice as she promised to give her a taste of death. Her toes curled and her lips quivered as she relived her nightmare in her head.

She shook herself inwardly as she repeated the mantra in her head that seemed almost useless 'It's not real' but her subconsciousness said otherwise.

She closed her eyes tightly, exhaled and inhaled deeply before opening them again.

"Larisa.." She heard Anne's voice bring her back to reality.

"Yeah."

"You seem lost here, are you okay?" Anne asked in a worried tone and she hurriedly nodded her head but when she thought about it, why was she pretending to be okay?

She could tell Anne about her predicament, at least it would be easier to go through it with her best friend and lover by her side, continuously supporting her.

"Actually...I'm not okay." She confessed, making Anne's brows twist in displeasure as she got up from the couch to sit beside her on the bed, wounding one arm on her shoulder in comfort.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Her tone was soft and gentle, like a mother about to give a listening ear and comfort to her child.

"Hela is trying to possess me and kill me...and there's nothing anyone can do about it since she's attacking me through the spiritual realm. They said the only way to prevent it is by strengthening my mind and not letting her feed on my fear..."

Larisa explained but Anne didn't say a word, she was dumbstruck by the new findings, she didn't know what to say in such situation where a goddess of death was unfailingly after someone.

"...But I'm scared, it's terrifying, her presence...I can feel her, she's like a cloak of death, wearing itself on me, I feel like it's hunting me to kill me...and no matter what, I feel like I'm going to die..."

She choked on her words as she spoke, hot tears pouring down on her cheeks with quivering lips as she shuddered in fear.

Anne cuddled her while squeezing her shoulder in assurance that everything would be fine, but will it?

"I'm sure Lothaire would find a way, you don't have to be scared, he won't just sit by and watch that crazy goddess kill you, so cheer up and be brave, hm?"

Anne tried to support her with her comforting words and it seemed to work as she heard her sobbing die down.

She felt like Anne was right, even though Lothaire couldn't do anything then, she knew he wouldn't just sit and watch her die without doing anything, with that, a light of hope shone in her.

But what could he possibly do to save her from the fury of Hela?