CHAPTER 17

Larisa couldn't believe her ears, his words cut deeper than a knife and she couldn't seem to get it out of her head but maybe he was right, maybe they were just attracted to each others body because of the mating bond but still, she felt more than attracted to his body, she felt safer with him, felt like she had known him for years and their connection felt real.

Her eyes got teary but she quickly wiped it off, she wasn't going to shed a tear for the devil's son, no way, he was also her mate, but still he made it clear on how he saw her, she was nothing but a mate to him.

She stormed out of the hot tub after drying herself and putting on her clothes. She bumped into Avian on the way, his cold stare and menacing aura made her anger turn into fear as she locked gaze with him.

"I..I'm s..sorry." She stammered but there was no reply heard from him.

"Stop scaring the poor child Avian." She heard Onyx's voice behind her and she felt relieved. She watched the red haired beauty come to sight as she gave a smile to him while he returned it with a stoic expression as he walked out on them, not saying a word. Larisa saw Onyx's beautiful smile drop as Avian left but it soon reappeared as she spoke to her.

"I hope Avian didn't scare you much?" She could hear the worried voice of onyx and she wondered why she cared so much about her. Now that she thought about it, Onyx was like a mother figure, she even had a peaceful aura to back it up.

"I'm fine, thank you." Larisa replied.

"He may look like he doesn't have a heart but he does, he's just too logical about everything." Onyx said and Larisa could see a hint of sadness in her deep ocean blue eyes.

"I see.....Do you like him?" Larisa found herself asking out of curiosity.

"Is it that obvious?" Onyx asked rhetorically as she continued "He's my mate." Larisa was lost for words, she couldn't understand how someone as heartless as Avian was a mate to someone as sweet as Onyx whom he was obviously cold to.

"Oh! Why is he like that then?" She asked with raised brows as Onyx stared at her with her blue eyes.

"Because he's logical, he thinks mating would make him unstable and weak and maybe he's right but i really don't care." Onyx said staring into the dark sky, it was getting dark already and she wondered how long she and Lothaire had stayed in the hot tub but thinking of Lothaire only made her sad.

"Is everything all right?" Onyx asked as she noticed Larisa's expression.

"Can mates fall in love?" She asked, not caring how the question sounded.

"Its unlike human love, its more like an inseparable bond that is stronger than human love, its a bond unlike any other." Onyx patiently explained.

"So they're just attracted to each other physically?" She asked further more, as she watched Onyx's red hair dancing as the wind blew on it and her beauty became even more enviable.

"Its not just the body love, its a connection in a deeper way, mentally, physically and emotionally even spiritually. Its indescribable and the pull is stronger than any other thing you can imagine." She explained and Larisa nodded on the knowledge Onyx shared with her.

"So how is Avian able to ignore it?" She asked inquisitively.

"His will is strong but it couldn't be stronger than the mating bond, I know with time he'll come around...Or maybe not." She replied obviously wallowing in deep sadness but somehow, she still managed to smile.

"I'm sorry." Larisa said, she couldn't imagine what kind of pain Onyx would be going through with her mate treating her like she was insignificant.

"You did nothing wrong, you shouldn't be sorry, its fine as long as I see him everyday, I'm happy." She said with a sad smile on her gorgeous face.

"Lothaire's avoiding me because he thinks that he's going to hurt me." Larisa blurted out and Onyx couldn't help but pity the fragile human even if she was in a more pitiful state.

"Oh dear! Its because you're a human and it'd be so easy to hurt you, you shouldn't take it to heart, he's only doing it to protect you." She said, her words were so comforting and Larisa couldn't even feel sad anymore seeing someone in a much difficult situation comforting her.

"Come on, how about we have dinner together, since both our mates are avoiding us." Onyx said, laughing if off as a joke and Larisa was glad she could actually talk to someone as nice as Onyx.

"Sure." She said as they both left to the dining while a maid served them both, Larisa was served delicious mouth watering delicacies as usual while Onyx was given a wine cup, a bit larger than the normal size and she wondered what the cup was for, until a tray with a knife on it was brought to Onyx which she took as she motioned for the girl's hand which the girl brought forward to her without question.

Larisa watched as Onyx slit the girl's palm with the knife and let the blood drop into the cup until it was filled, then she watched as Onyx tied a band aid around the girl's palm to stop the bleeding, the maid bowed slightly in thanks then left. Onyx caught Larisa staring and she chuckled lightly.

"Sorry about the inconvenience, I prefer it warm." Onyx said apologetically.

"No its fine." She said almost immediately.

Onyx sipped on the blood in her cup and she was pleased with the taste, Larisa no longer watched and continued eating her meal in silence till Onyx broke it.

"There's a soiree among the purebreds tomorrow evening in the palace, you'll attend won't you?" Onyx asked excitedly, she liked parties and little gatherings as long as it was peaceful since she loved socialising with people.

"Oh, I suck with people, I'll just skip." Larisa declined.

"Lothaire's attending." Onyx said with a grin.

"Oh, I guess I'll have to come too." She said and Onyx couldn't help but let out a short laugh making her look even more gorgeous than before with her perfect white teeth in view.

Larisa retired to bed early, she had a tiring day and she closed her eyes to sleep, even though she was still waiting for Lothaire whom she didn't know where he was.

She was already deep in sleep when she felt the bed was wet, she got up and when she opened her eyes to look at it, it was Lothaire in a pool of his own blood with a deep hole in the middle of his chest which looked like his heart was ripped out of it, he was unmoving as if he was dead, 'how could this be possible, she thought he was immortal',a thousand thoughts ran through her mind as fear struck every inch of her body, her blood froze in horror as she looked at the image in front of her, with hands shaking, she shook him hard.

"Lothaire! Lothaire! Lothaire!!!" She yelled his name but there was no reply as tears poured out of her eyes like a river as she continued to scream in horror.

.....

Lothaire shook Larisa to wake her up from her nightmare, she was crying heavily and screaming his name as she curled up in fear and then her eyes shot open. Immediately she saw him holding her in his arms as he cuddled her, relief washed over her but she was still scared and the tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"Its okay Angel, its just a nightmare." He said as he cuddled her tightly and stroked her hair gently, she tried to speak but she got choked up on her words and just kept quiet as she sobbed quietly on Lothaire's chest.

The nightmare was so vivid, she could feel everything as if it was real, the warm blood and Lothaire's cold body as she touched him felt too real to be a nightmare, she prayed inwardly that nothing like that would happen, her eyes felt heavy but she didn't want to close them in fear that she would go back to her nightmare but still, sleep finally defeated her.