Chapter 11: The Wedding Night part 2

"Let me give you a massage then, Dear Husband. It has been a long day." She said seductively as she patted the bed for him to sit beside her.

Grudgingly, Daimon acquiesced and sat on the edge of the bed. He was tired and tense from the long day and the never-ending stream of revelers eager to obtain his favor.

Rowena began working the tension out of his neck and shoulders. She hummed a soothing tune as she did so. With sure firm strokes, she used her skills to ease the aches in his muscles.

Slowly, he began to relax. He groaned with pleasure as she stroked his arms up and down. Her nimble fingers danced over his skin igniting a fire within him with every stroke. Then she began kneading the knots from between his shoulder blades.

"If you lie on your stomach, I can massage your back better" she murmured temptingly. He could feel her warm breath tickling his ear. It felt strangely pleasurable. His pleasure turned to surprise as she took his earlobe in her mouth and gently nipped it. As she pulled away, her tongue snaked out and licked around the outer shell of his ear.

He jerked away in shock but couldn't deny to himself that it felt good.

"You must get some rest." He said gruffly. "It's been a very long and eventful day for you."

He lay down on his stomach with his face turned away from her to end the conversation. He tried to sleep, but her proximity was driving him mad with desire and need. The smell of her skin, the sound of her breathing, everything was stoking the feelings within him that he'd never had trouble controlling before.

Rowena chuckled to herself. 'So, this is the infamous Beast? More like a tame, yet frightened puppy.'

"As you command, My Lord." She said. He thought he detected a hint of mockery in her voice, but he didn't challenge her.

She wriggled up against him on her side with one leg draped over his leg that was closest to her, effectively nestling her leg in between his. Her luscious body molded easily to his side as though she were made for him.

His desires warred within him. He wanted her to go away before he lost control. However, he really wanted her to stay as it felt so amazingly perfect.

As a result, he slept fitfully that night dreaming of her sweet flesh. At first, he tasted her as a lover would. But then, the Beast awoke, and his teeth and claws tore her apart.

Terrified, he awakened and tried to bolt out of bed in one swift movement. However, as he was entangled both with Rowena and the sheets, they ended up falling on the floor in a heap.

Rowena, so rudely awakened, reached out to touch him as she tried to understand what was happening.

"Don't touch me!" he ordered. His voice came out in an odd, strangled cry.

Hastily, he attempted to untangle himself from the sheets but only succeeded in pulling Rowena on top of him with her full breasts in his face.

He pulled her off of him quickly and scrambled away from her as fast he could. She started to laugh until she noticed the look of terror on his face and the fact that he was pale and drenched with sweat.

"What is wrong, Dear Husband?" she inquired politely as she sat back down on the bed. She understood that she needed to give him some distance.

"Nothing." He said hastily trying to regain his composure. He'd never known such terror as he had felt when he ripped her apart in his dream. He knew what it felt like to rip a person apart with his claws and fangs in reality. And that was exactly how it felt in his dream. He'd never had such a realistic dream or nightmare. It left him shaken and disturbed.

"I have business to attend to. I will send the maids to dress you and serve you breakfast." He said as he swiftly dressed.

"Wait!" she called after him. He turned to see her grab his dagger that he had foolishly left on the nightstand.

Before he could even question what she was doing she grabbed the knife and stabbed herself with it.

­_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In a secret dungeon of an unknown prison in an undisclosed location, a young man was tied up and hanging by his wrists. He was being interrogated by a creature that was neither human nor beast, but some hybrid combination of both.

"You have the stench of Celestial about you" the creature said wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Faint, yes, but entirely unmistakable."

Its voice was bestial with low rumbles and hoarse rasps that no human could make. Despite this, it appeared to have no difficulty speaking the human tongue and the prisoner could easily understand him.

It grasped the man's chin in his clawed hands and looked him deep in the eyes. The creature began to laugh, but it was such a raspy guttural sound that it could hardly qualify as such. "Typical Celestials. They enjoy spreading their seed, but don't know how to prevent it from taking root. And they don't tend to the fruits that are produced as a result."

The young man said nothing. He did not even flinch when his chin was pinched hard with clawed fingers. He met the creature's gaze without fear, but he said nothing. Not even a sound escaped his lips.

The creature grinned, revealing fangs and sniffed the young man's neck again. It took a deeper whiff this time, its nose lingering alongside the man's throat as if checking his pulse. Despite his vulnerability, the young man kept his gaze and his heartrate steady.

"Of course, you're mostly human. That foul odor is quite distinctive. But, along with Celestial, there is a trace of something else that I can't quite place."

The creature appeared to be thinking about something. However, the young man still did not make a sound.

"Perhaps you are unaware of your heritage?" It was more of a statement than a question as though the creature already knew the answer and did not need confirmation.

"What I do not smell on you is fear. Very strange for a human; even one with the blood of other realms."

Again, the young man refused to reply with either sound or movement.

"You're no fun." The creature said exasperated. "But you are quite interesting. I wonder if I can figure you out by taking you apart?" He flashed his sharp fangs again, but the young man did not flinch.

"Enough!" a stern voice warned from the shadows above them.

The creature dropped his hand and shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway. You'll be dead soon enough." He said as he turned and left the prisoner he'd tried to interrogate.

'That's what you think.' The young man thought. He watched the creature leave, presumably to join the voice that had stopped his interrogation.