Moonfire Bride: The One they all betrayed...till she awakened

There was no sound of chirping birds, or the caressing morning air, or the soft glow of the sun when Della opened her eyes.

Her body instinctively shifted around the bed, searching for something...or someone rather. As she moved around, it quickly came to her notice that she was actually... without doubt, on Malachi’s bed again.

By habit, she jumped off it.

The ache between her legs flared, and she yelped softly then looked down at herself.

Naked. She was...naked.

And... just like that, the events of the night before came rushing back to her. Her face burned red, and then she slapped a palm over her mouth in shock.

She and Malachi had spent the whole night...

She looked down at the bed again. It now carried a mixture of both their scents. How could they have...?!

Della sighed, wishing she wasn’t feeling so giddy and excited inside. The mate bond had been a major catalyst for what happened last night, and they both knew it. Now that it was daytime again and there was enough distance between them, the hate and anger would take root again.

Speaking of daytime, Della’s eyes moved to the window. It was barely open, not enough to see clearly. She opened the window, and realised a moment later, that it was almost sundown.

Her eyes almost popped out. She slept the whole day??!

There was something about jumping back on that bed and sleeping for the rest of the day because if she was being honest, it was probably the first time in her life she’d gotten that much sleep.

Then again, the ways of being a servant had become part of her blood so before any rational thoughts could settle, she had already slipped on her gown and rushed out of the room like she was being followed.

She headed straight to the Workrooms, running past whispering servants all around. She noticed the gossip and fear wasn’t particularly directed at her today, and had just gotten to the large door when Mara walked out.

”Della,” She called.

”Mara,” Della halted, and they stared at each other for a second. Della hadn’t gotten the chance to thank her for what she did at the Sovereign Moon Ceremony, and also... walking into the shed before Garett could go any further.

”I...,”

”Investigations are still going on, and right now, it’s more serious than ever,” Mara said quietly, ”Please refrain from doing or saying anything that would make it seem like we are friends, or that I’m on your side. I’m not on anyone’s side,”

”Oh!” Della didn’t know what to say to that, but she couldn’t blame the servant. She was also trying to protect herself, ”Okay,”

Two other slaves pushed the door open and walked out, whispering between themselves, ”Rogues?” The first one asked, ”What does it have to do with Cordelia’s death?”

Della froze.

”It doesn’t. But they’ve been gathering around the Forest behind the castle more lately, sniffing around. Maybe they are looking for something?”

”Looking for what, exactly? It’s not like someone is buried there underground. Maybe someone is controlling them?”

”No normal wolf can control mindless wolves. I doubt that’s the case,”

Their voices got lower as they kept walking away, till Della couldn’t hear a thing anymore. Rogues were gathering in the forest? A bad, creepy feeling gripped her heart. Malachi’s wolf was being held down there!!

”I might have misheard,” Della feigned a tight smile, ”But I think I heard them say Cornelia is dead? The head seamstress?”

”She was assassinated this morning,” Mara confirmed, ”Which brings me to my report. The Alpha has ordered that you should be transferred to the Healing wing effective today,”

”Are you coming with me?”

”I know nothing about Medicine,”

”But I also...,” Della paused, recalling the time her remedy had saved his life, ”Alright, then. Thank you,”

Mara nodded once, and then she went back into the Workroom.

Della turned around and began heading to the Healing wing. If she remembered correctly, the head of it was a grumpy woman who hated her, and her daughter...was a little nice.

Why did Malachi even transfer her again? Or is it that he just likes tossing her around the whole place?!

”Tch!” Della hissed as she kept walking.

She was pretty sure she had almost reached a corner, but then there was a swift intake of breath and in what felt like two seconds, Della saw herself standing in a...room.

She froze, then looked around her. From the furniture to the bed to the designs carved into the ceiling and floor, she was more than sure that she was in the chambers of someone important.

But how did she—

Wolf speed!

”There’s a bath ready in there,”

The voice made her flinch, and she whirled around and saw Alpha Cassian standing there, leaning on the door.

His hands were crossed, and he looked way too relaxed after what he’d just done.

”You... brought me here?” She asked, then looked around again to make sure she hadn’t knocked her head into something while walking and was now hallucinating.

”Yes,” He replied. The shirt he wore came without sleeves, and his large muscles kept bulging with every tiny movement of his.

She kept her eyes on his face.

”Why?” She demanded, ”I...I can’t be here. I have to get to the—”

”With his scent reeking off you?” Cassian arched a brow, and Della finally looked down at herself as though she would be able to see the scent coming out of her.

Cassian pushed off the door and started to walk towards her, his silver eyes softly amused, ”You don’t have a wolf, so you cannot sniff it,” He stopped in front of her, and she had to look up to see his face, ”Now, let me see...,” His hand came up to her face, and Della’s body froze once again the moment they came in contact.

Cassian saw the reaction, and his eyes lingered on her slightly flushed look for one more second before he continued what he was doing.

He added pressure, forcing her head to slightly tilt to the side so he could expose her neck properly. He did the same thing to the other side, before he grabbed her face and fixed it back to its position.

His lips twitched to laugh at her silly, surprised expression.

”He didn’t mark you,” Cassian nodded, ”Good, that means a good and long bath would get rid of most of his scent on you,” He pointed at the door in the corner again, ”Now, go and have one because you continue walking around the castle smelling like that, unless you want the whole castle to know that you and the Alpha... became intimate last night,”

She finally snapped out of her trance, ”No!”

”I thought so,” Cassian didn’t step back, and didn’t look away from her, ”The bathroom is right over there. Half an hour should be enough to get rid of his scent, and you’ll get to enjoy a very, nice bath. You can thank me later,”

Della knew she should step back, but she narrowed her eyes at him instead, ”Is that...all?”

”What do you mean?” He blinked.

”You are saying you don’t have any plans of doing something else to me?!”

He took a step back from her, looking slightly alarmed by her words. Then, his expression twisted into something else and he burst out into laughter. She watched him laugh so openly like he was the happiest person alive, then he shook his head atop it, ”Why would I do something to you? Have you noticed how skinny you are?”

”What?” Anger burst through her, ”I’m not that skinny!”

”Well,” He brought a hand to his chin, humming softly under his breath as his eyes gave her a once over, ”You do seem to have some meat in the right places, especially your butt, but unfortunately, I love my women thick everywhere!”

Now she was regretting why she questioned his kindness, ”Uhhh,” She didn’t know what to say. She felt awkward as hell, ”I shouldn’t have doubted you. You’ve...helped me a great deal. Thank you for the bath!”

Della scurried to the door before he could say another word.

A bronze brazier burned quietly along one wall, and fresh linen towels, thicker than ordinary cloth, rested neatly folded beside the bath. The room smelled of herbs, warm stone and faint cedarwood.

At the centre sat a large bathing pool carved from a single block of dark stone, deep enough to soak in comfortably. The scent of different fragrances, and even healing herbs filled the air.

Goat’s milk

Lavender

Chamomile flowers

Rose petals and Mint.

It had all been added into the water, giving a slightly red colour. Plus, it looked inviting as hell.

Della almost turned back to decline his offer, but she couldn’t resist. When else was she gonna be blessed with an opportunity like this? To bathe like nobles do? Plus, she hadn’t taken her bath in two days.

She pulled off her gown and hung it close to the towels, then walked up the the tub and slipped one leg inside.

It was hotter than she expected, and burnwd her skin especially the open bruises. But once the burn subsided, the water and herbs caressed her skin so gently.

With that, she allowed her body to settle into the water completely. It stung for a few seconds, then a sigh of satisfaction fell off her tongue.

This right here, was another form of paradise.

The fragrant water seemed to carry away more than dirt. Every ripple that brushed against her skin stole a little more of the exhaustion weighing on her bones, until her body felt impossibly light, as though she might simply drift away if she stopped thinking.

She glanced down at the water surrounding her.

Warm.

Gentle.

Peaceful.

A tiny smile found its way to her lips before she even realised it, ”...So this is what a real bath feels like,” she whispered.

Then, without thinking, she leaned her head back against the smooth stone, closed her eyes once more, and simply allowed herself to...exist in the moment.