“Blaise!!”

Almost as soon as the name left her lips, she felt a sudden breeze before being yanked out of Aro’s arms. She looked back, seeing Aro stagger back, Blaise’s fist colliding with the blonde man’s face. However, Aro seemed to counter quickly, using his cane to send a dark spell toward Blaise, knocking him back while still holding onto Calla. The two hit the ground, Calla groaning as she found that Blaise had turned them so he would take the impact with her on top of him.

Her eyes widened, seeing the look of pain in the man’s eyes. “Blaise!” she exclaimed, moving off of him to help him sit up. Luckily for them, the others had moved to stand between them and Aro, who was laughing.

“I guess I should have guessed. Non-magicals do tend to stick together, don’t they.” Aro nearly sang in his amusement, wiping some blood from his mouth. He eyed Blaise with a wild expression. “I admire your tenacity, boy. That was a good hit, even without the use of magic.”

Blaise just glared with a growl as he looked at Aro, a protective arm around Calla. She fearfully looked between Blaise’s dark expression and the amused look in Aro’s eye as his orange eyes locked with hers. She shivered, seeing darkness behind them. This man craved the chance to hurt her.

“This land has wards in place, Aro. You know you can’t do anything.” Raven hissed angrily, Calla noticing that the dark-haired man also seemed on edge. In fact, all of them seemed to have an idea of who this guy was to the point that they were all tenser than she had ever seen them. Who was this guy named Aro?

Aro’s eyes shot to Raven, his expression becoming bored. “You’re no fun,” he muttered before sighing and standing tall again. “Fine, since none of you will entertain me, I guess I will just have to take my leave.” His words didn’t seem to make the air any less tense as he moved to tip his hat. However, he stopped before giving a hum.

“Oh right! How silly of me. I was having so much fun playing with your new pet that I nearly forgot.” Aro said before a wicked grin appeared on his face. It made Calla shiver again, once again being reminded that this man was far more sadistic with his smile than the others had ever been. The man turned more towards Marick. “I placed an order for 10 vials of potent death’s kiss potions. I made it clear you will be the one making it for me and delivering it to my home.” He gave a wink to Marick, making the man’s power flow around him as if showing his anger. “You remember the place, don’t you, my love?”

Marick didn’t reply, but Calla noticed Blaise had turned his attention towards Marick as if wanting to hear the man turn down the job. Still, she could see it in Blaise’s eyes that even he knew that couldn’t happen.

Aro continued, “I am also giving your little coven a quest that I got as I have no interest in diplomacy with goblins.” he said, his mouth curling into a smirk. “I’ll give you three weeks to prepare for your trip to the other realm.”

Those words made Calla grow cold, her eyes widening. Her lips trembled as Aro’s eyes turned to her. “Little lamb, I do look forward to seeing you again,” he said, taking out a card from his pocket and turning to place it into the open knot of a tree nearby. He winked her way before turning. “Let’s have some fun in the other realm together.”

“You son of a bitch!!” Blaise exclaimed loudly, getting to his feet. Calla looked with horror as he did.

“Blaise, calm yourself! He’s baiting you!” Gwydion said sharply as he turned to hold an arm out as if to stop Blaise, making Calla panic as she saw Blaise look as if he was about to rush Aro.

“D-Don’t!” Calla yelled, quickly moving to wrap her arms around Blaise, burying her face into his back. She was trembling, using any strength she had to keep him from running into Aro’s trap. She felt Blaise tense at her hold before he began to slightly relax, though giving a low growl. Aro just turned his head to flash an amused smirk before facing forward and walking into the darkness of the woods again.

They were silent, almost making sure the man was truly gone. Calla’s arms trembled, losing any strength she had as the adrenaline faded. Her body sank, clinging to Blaise for support before finally collapsing to her knees with a sound of pain.

“Calla!” Gwydion exclaimed, snapping Blaise out of whatever anger he had. He spun around wide-eyed before kneeling before her.

Blaise touched the start of the slashes on her body, his eyes wide. “Fuck…” Blaise said under his breath, his hands trembling. Calla looked into the terrified look in his eyes, tears in her own.

“Raven, Gwydion. You two follow me.” Marick ordered, making them all look towards the serious-looking man. Marick eyed Calla, a flicker of anger in his eyes as he saw the scars left by the mysterious blonde man. “I want to make sure he’s gone. We can leave Calla in Blaise’s capable hands.”

Blaise nodded with a stern look, moving to pick Calla up bridal style and walk with her back to the cottage as the other three moved into the woods to scout for Aro.

Once they got inside, Blaise placed her down to sit on Marick’s bed before grabbing the chair and placing it before her, taking a seat. His eyes scanned her dress before he frowned. “Do you trust me?” He asked, making her blink tears from her eyes.

“Of course I trust you…” she said with a slight whimper of pain. He gave a nod before standing enough to lean over her. She felt him pull the back of the dress open, once again having buttons scatter before sitting back down.

She blushed darkly, the dress slipping down to the point where she had to hold it before it would expose her breasts. She didn’t have time to question him as he rested a hand on the now exposed wound before watching the dancing embers of his magic swirl around his hand. Calla felt a twinge of pain but watched as the surprisingly deep slashes began to heal slowly. Blaise’s expression was hard to read as she felt the familiar and warm energy of his magic flow through her. He didn’t have the ability to take the pain away but his presence was enough to make her feel safer than she did before.

Whatever he was thinking about, she could feel his anger boiling over as his magic wavered. Remembering what he had said, she reached out and touched his face. Blaise blinked, clearing his mind of his thoughts as he looked her in the eyes. His expression was a mix of worry, fear, anger, and disappointment in himself before they softened.

“Sorry… I…” he started with a gentle tone. He sighed and shook his head, focusing back on healing her wounds. “If I knew… If I had sensed him at all. I would have never let you…” Blaise growled before trying to calm himself again. “I thought he was in exile.”

Calla frowned at that, just lightly rubbing the arm that was healing her. “Who...Who was that guy?” She asked, her own memories flooding to her encounter with the tall blonde man with the dangerous grin. Blaise scowled.

“His name is Aro.” He answered bitterly. He seemed to be focusing on his task again. “I only know him from stories I hear around the other realm. He’s… He’s a really dangerous elite magical born who treats non-magicals as play things and isn’t above killing other magicals when he’s bored.”

She shivered at that, about to ask more when the door opened and Marick walked in with the other two, grumbled to himself. He walked over to Blaise and Calla, seemingly leaning down to check her slowly healing wounds.

“He didn’t use any curse on her wounds, did he?” Marick asked, his eyes scanning her. Blaise’s expression was hard to read again but he shook his head no.

“Not that I’m sensing,” Blaise said, trying his best to control his emotions so he could heal Calla. Marick gave a nod at that, pulling away to stand tall again.

“One would think that what that bastard did to the daughter of one of the committee members, they would never have called him back from exile,” Gwydion muttered angrily, folding his arms. “If they asked him back for such a simple mission to handle goblins, they are either stupid or insane.”

Marick just muttered to himself moving over to look over the vials on the table. “Whatever their reason, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s around again and has given us tasks we can’t turn down.” He said, clearly not happy about it. He stood tall rubbing his eyes.

She couldn’t help but look at the expressions of the men around the room. They all held a similar expression. Their lives had gotten much more complicated with Aro’s appearance.

Blaise closed the door behind him as he walked in with the new dress for Calla, his mind off in thought. He walked over, handing it to Calla.

“Here…” he said to which Calla nodded, using one hand to take it from him while the other kept her destroyed dress up. She watched him as he walked over to his desk, facing away from her. It surprised her to see him still giving her space, even now that it was known that they had a deadline. Calla’s expression sank, her looking off. Blaise and she hadn’t done anything outside of kissing once in a while and now they were expected to have sex before three weeks was up. She shifted herself on the bed, thinking to herself. Was she even ready to do that yet? Then again, from what it sounded like, Aro was the type to make sure Calla would be there, willing or not. She shivered, remembering the dark amusement in Aro’s eyes when she locked eyes with him. His powers were not based on sight, that was what she took from her encounter with him.

Her eyes fell on Blaise again, wondering what he was thinking. Was he just as stressed about this as she was? Probably not. She thought back to what he had said about him not being the best choice for her first time. Was that why he hadn’t been all that sexual towards her? He was worried about hurting her.

She frowned at that. “Blaise?” She called softly, though he didn’t look towards her.

“Yeah?” He answered, looking something over on his desk. She wondered if he was looking over a spell that would work best if they encountered Aro again.

Calla’s expression softened as her eyes rested on his form. “I… I want it to be you…” she said softly. He glanced back at her, seemingly confused by her words. She just sighed, holding onto her ruined dress. “My first time… I want it to be with you.”

She saw his eyes widen at that, turning to face her, arms folded. She could already see that stubborn look in his eyes before he opened his mouth to say something. That was why she cut him off before he could protest. “Don’t.” She said sternly, enough that she saw him blink before scowling, closing his mouth again. She looked off, her expression serious. “I know what you said. I know you think it would be a bad idea and that I should give it to someone else.” She gripped her dress more, eyes closing. “But I don’t want to give it to anyone else… I trust you… and… and I want to be with you…”

Blaise was silent for a moment before sighing. Calla only looked up when she heard him walk over. She couldn’t help but blush, seeing the desire in his eyes that she caught from time to time. Raven said that it was clear that Blaise was attracted to her and even Blaise had admitted that he wanted to do more with her.

He watched her a moment before he hummed in thought, leaning down to Calla with hands on either side of her. With him so close, Calla’s face grew red as she was face to face with him. Her heart raced as he sighed, his warm breath hitting her face. “Calla…” he said with a low tone, not helping the feeling that ran through her body. She couldn’t stop the quiver in her body with him so close and the tone of voice he said. His eyes scanned the look in hers before he moved a hand to lightly tug on the rags of the dress she was still in.

“...I care about you… a lot. I want to be with you…and I won’t lie, I want you... badly.” he said softly. He sighed and his hand slipped to her skin, stroking the line of her shoulder blade. He gave a slight grumble, his eyes snapping to hers. “However, I think you are foolish to offer it to me. You know I don’t have any way to stop it from being uncomfortable or painful.”

He moved one of his hands to rub his eyes. “I’m used to sex being easy to get for the right price and with women who have been with men before. I’ve never been with someone who wouldn’t know what they are doing.” His expression softened as he moved his hand away to look into her blushing face. “I wouldn’t know how to do this with you where it wouldn’t hurt and… and I don’t want to…” He trailed off before sighing again, shaking his head. “Sex feels incredible. I haven’t been with a woman in a good while and the last thing I want is to ruin your experience with something that is meant to feel so good. You don’t want to know how many times I have wanted Gwy’s confidence to pull you into my bed… it’s honestly shameful.”

He gave a slight smirk, shaking his head. “Hell, the first night we shared a bed, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to sleep with you,” he muttered more to himself but loud enough for her to hear. Calla just frowned, her heart racing as she let him rant. She was happy to hear him say what was on his mind.

She didn’t know what to do. She could feel the tense air in the room when they had spoken of Aro and going to the other realm earlier. No one said it, but she could tell that everyone was stressed with the thought of them only having three weeks to prepare. She had no idea what to expect. Calla frowned her eyes at the conflicted look on Blaise’s face.

“Blaise... “ she started, making him seem to watch her. She felt her body shiver, her mind trying to figure out if she wanted to say what was on her mind. She sighed, looking off. “I know everyone is stressed… I… I want to do what I can to help so… to take care of one of the issues-.”

“No,” Blaise said, cutting her off before she finished speaking, making her blink and look up into his stern expression. His eyes narrowed. “You are not ready to be intimate with anyone, let alone me. I’m not going to let you offer your body before you are ready because it would make everyone’s life easier.” He pulled himself away, scratching his head as Calla looked up at him bewildered.

“But-” she started only for Blaise to cut her off with a scowl, though a blush on his face.

“I said no, Calla. We have three weeks… if you seriously want me to be the one to take you, offer it again when you are more comfortable with going that far.” he said sternly, however, he glanced towards her, hearing her give a huff at that to see her looking to him red face but with a stubborn look on her face.

“I-I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t sure….” she said, she gave a stern look towards him. However, she was ignoring the slight tremble in her body from the nervous thought of it. Blaise just narrowed his eyes as he watched her before resting his hands on his hips.

“Man, you are more stubborn than I am,” he muttered before scanning her for a moment. He gave a huff. “Want me to prove to you that you’re not ready?”

Calla blinked in surprise at that, looking up at him confused by his words. However, he soon gave a ‘tsk’ and slipped off his shirt. He tossed it away before moving to grab Calla’s face and pushing his lips against her. She let out a small squeal at that, him pushing her to lay back against the bed as he deepened the kiss, groaning into it and climbing over her. She shivered, the kiss was intense and needy. She found herself panting, the heated kiss making her feel on fire, her mind growing fuzzy. Her body would tremble as she felt his hands slip from her face to grab her ruined dress. In a swift motion, he tore the rest of the dress open, his warm hands trailing over her exposed body. The feeling made her whimper, breaking the kiss as she turned her head away, her eyes tightly closed. She would let out a gasp feeling his lips move to her neck, hearing him give a low groan.

He growled against her neck. “I’m going to go as far as you let me. Don’t want it, then stop me,” he grumbled against her neck.

“B-Blaise! W-Wait…!” she exclaimed with a slight whimper as she felt his teeth on her neck, him nibbling on a spot and making her shift under him. She didn’t know how to feel, her body feeling hot but squirming uncomfortably at the situation. Calla wanted to give in and let him go all the way, but he was right, she wasn’t ready for this. It made her upset, tears in her eyes. She loved him, so why wasn’t she ready to give him everything? They had never done anything like this before. The way he moved against her body with his slight grinds, the way his hands trailed over her curves and chest, teasing and playing with her, she could feel how badly he wanted her.

No, that wasn’t the only thing on her mind. As he continued to run his hands over her, her mind was on what Aro had done to her. Blaise’s hands on her body making her mind return to the feeling of Aro’s hands on her.

She bit her lip, feeling him push his lower body against hers. He was turned on, she wasn’t that naive to know that as he trailed his love bites over her neck with his slight growls as he explored her body. However, as she slightly pushed on him, he stopped. His kisses on her skin became much more tender before he rose to look down at her. He scanned her face before sighing, moving to remove some tears from her eyes that she didn’t realize that had been there.

“...I love you, Calla… but please. Don’t think that you need to push yourself into doing something you are not ready for. Not for my sake or anyone else's…” He said after a while. She could see the arousal in his eyes, the want he had in his stare but also the restraint. He sighed, leaning in to kiss her tenderly.

She looked upset as her blue eyes met his green ones. “Blaise… I…” she started only for Blaise to sigh and move to get up. She cleared her eyes, sitting up as he got off the bed before tossing the new dress over her.

“Stop…” he said with a sigh as he did. She moved the dress off her face to look up at him. He looked uncomfortable but looked off as if in thought. They were silent for a moment before Calla looked off.

“I want to be ready…” she said with a soft tremble in her voice. She looked back up at him when he gave a sigh seeing his eyes were gentle as he looked at her.

“Calla… it’s not as if we’ve been all that intimate before this… I wouldn’t expect you to be comfortable with going that far yet.” he said calmly, moving to sit on the side of his bed. “Besides, a lot has happened today.” He looked off in thought, leaning back onto his arms. “I thought we would have more time to get to know each other before thinking about doing things like this.”

She frowned at that, moving to sit on the side of the bed next to him. “I’m sorry…” she said, her heart hurt, almost feeling as if she was disappointing him.

He shook his head at that, moving to rest an arm around her. “There is nothing to be sorry about,” he said, making her look up at him. She had never seen Blaise so tender towards her. He really did care about her, that much was obvious. He scanned her face, a blush on his own before he looked off. “I’m willing to wait until the last day before we have to go to the other realm. Take as long as you need. I’m not happy about there being a deadline, but… I’m not going to pressure you into it so… don’t think you need to force yourself to sleep with me until you are ready.”

The rest of the day had been rather quiet as the house seemed to just want to relax after what had happened. By nightfall, everyone seemed to head to bed early, exhausted from the day.

It was the middle of the night when Blaise opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He heard a soft hum next to him, turning his attention to Calla as she slept next to him. In the light of the moon, he took the time to explore her face, turning to face her direction. It seemed she had been crying, dried tears on her cheeks. That made him frown as he lightly reached out to remove any tears from her eyes without waking her. It had probably been a nightmare. She had them from time to time from what he had noticed. Surely, the situation with Aro hadn’t helped those.

Silently, he touched her face for a moment before slowly running his fingers down her body, his own eyes distant. Blaise’s heart beat quickly in his chest, remembering what they had done earlier. Calla had been so stubborn trying to force herself to be ready to give him everything, but in all honesty, even if she hadn’t stopped him with those sounds of fear, he probably wouldn’t have gone all the way with her. He tugged on a few of the buttons of her nightdress, undoing them as his eyes filled with arousal at the sight of her body.

Blaise bit his lip before sighing, silently cursing himself. He hadn’t touched a woman since Calla arrived, not even after they had returned from the other realm on the last mission. Normally he would join the others in getting some attention after a high-stress situation, but ever since Calla had arrived, he had been more focused on keeping her safe rather than his own needs. He couldn’t deny that he was attracted to Calla. She was beautiful, sweet, determined, and brought so much light into their lives. She wasn’t a pushover like he had expected. In reality, she was about as stubborn as he was and once she was comfortable here, she wasn’t afraid to argue and speak her mind when needed. The coven really did help her find her voice, and yet, she was kind and always willing to help out. He was sure everyone thought the same. The cottage had never felt more like a home than it did with Calla here, and she wanted to be with him of all people.

His hand moved down to tug up her nightdress so he could rest his hand on her soft skin, remembering how she tasted when he had kissed her body. He let out a staggered breath but shook his head to try and control himself. He wanted her so badly, wanted to make her his. His own fears made him look off as he pulled his hand away from her. What if he was too aggressive? What if he hurt her? She deserved her first time to be special. She didn’t deserve to be forced to do this, and with his own desires making him needier than normal. Even now, he hated the thoughts in his head. He finally sighed and turned to get out of the bed, sitting on the side of it. Being turned on wasn’t helping. He rubbed his face with his hands before getting up to leave the room, seeing Calla reach for his side of the bed as if wanting to be cuddled even while fast asleep.

He slipped into the hall and towards the washroom, closing the door behind him with a sigh. “This is going to be a long three weeks if I’m gonna lust after her worse than Gwy…” he muttered to himself as he did.

“You want what?” Gwydion asked as Calla had joined him to make lunch for everyone. A few days had passed since Aro had appeared and everyone had been busy preparing, Calla doing what she could to help, but it was clear everyone was on edge for the coming mission to the other realm.

Calla frowned, cutting up the vegetables they were going to add to the soup before glancing his way again. “Yarn,” she said again. “I can knit and well, with it getting colder out, I figured I could make some items for everyone. That and maybe sell a few so I could get my own money.”

He frowned at that. “Love, you know we don’t mind buying things for you.” he pointed out which seemed to make Calla huff.

“I know, that’s not the point. I want to be able to earn money for myself too. I’m a part of this coven, aren’t I? I want to feel as if I can contribute rather than have all of you spend so much on me.” she pointed out, turning to cling to Gwy as she gave him big puppy dog eyes. “Please, Gwy. I’m only asking you because you would know where to get the best crafting items.”

He seemed to shiver at her look but soon pouted. “And here I thought you were asking me because you secretly love me.” he teased, once again making her huff, which only seemed to have his expression change to an amused chuckle. “I’m heading into Rowien today, so I will pick up what you need.”

“Yay! You’re the best!” Calla cheered happily, hugging his arm. He let out a louder chuckle at that, moving to pet her head.

“I know,” he said with a wink down to her before returning to the pot on the stove.

She moved away to start cleaning up the area before her mood changed, looking off. Blaise had been training harder the last few days and even though he said they would start being more intimate to be more comfortable with the idea of making love, it had been like he was avoiding her. Sure, at night they shared a bed and he would cuddle with her or even kiss her, but nothing more. Her heart beat softly, thinking back to the feeling of him running his hands over her and kissing her neck, doing so to prove his point that she wasn’t ready to sleep with him.

“Hey, Gwy?” she asked after a moment, looking back over at him. He gave a hum in response and Calla let out a sigh, looking off. “Is Blaise avoiding me during the day?”

Gwydion hummed at that. “I don’t think he’s doing so on purpose,” he answered after a while. He finally glanced her way as he allowed the soup to simmer, sighing and moving over towards her. “My apprentice is a strange boy. He does things without thinking a lot of the time.”

“He’s been training nearly all day every day.” she pointed out with a frown. Gwydion sighed at that but waved it off.

“He’s worried about the sudden appearance of Aro and the man’s apparent fascination with you. To be honest, Calla, Blaise is probably so focused on trying to get stronger to keep you safe, that he’s neglecting spending time with you. That is how his mind works.” He scanned her a moment before smiling warmly down at her. “Would you like me to swat him and get him to take you on a date? Or maybe I could dress you in one of those sexy and tight dresses to make him hot enough to take you to bed?”

Her face went bright red and she whined. Why did he have to do this every time she wanted a serious chat? “Lecher,” she muttered to which he just waved off her comment before giving her a look over.

“Oh come now. I’m just helping you be stunning for your man. Blaise is bullheaded and stubborn. Honestly, if you were with me and we had a legitimate reason to have sex like removing your purity for your safety, I would have pulled you into bed with me right away. I can’t believe he’s avoiding you when he could be making hot love with you every day, especially with how hungry for attention he is.” Gwydion said as he wrapped an arm around her. “Do you know he hasn’t so much as LOOKED at a prostitute since our return? He’s so smitten with you that he’s ignoring his own urges for attention. I’d be surprised if you can walk the day after you finally let him between your legs.”

“Stop!!” she whined, pushing his face with her hand. He laughed harder, hugging her a moment before pulling away and standing tall.

“I’m teasing, love,” he said, turning to check on the pot again. “But I am speaking the truth. That boy wants you more than anything in this world. Once you are ready to be intimate with him, I know he will do everything he can to make it special and not just because you have to.”

Calla was about to complain again but his words made her expression shift to a softer look, looking down at the ground. “I…I don’t know about any of that,” she admitted softly. She didn’t look up but felt the other’s eyes on her. Calla frowned, shifting on her feet. “He’s…He’s worried that he’s going to hurt me.” She gripped her dress slightly as she kept her eyes down. “Blaise said that he’s nervous about being with someone like me… someone who's never been with a guy before. He says he doesn’t know how to be gentle and has been trying to convince me to give myself to someone else for the first time. But…But I want to be with Blaise. He’s the only one I would ever want to give something so special to.”

“Ah, I see what the problem is,” Gwy said suddenly, making her look up at him with a look of surprise. He gave a warm smile. “You are concerned that even when you are ready, he will turn you down out of his own fears.” He sighed and shook his head. “Like I said, a stubborn boy.” Still, his smile returned and he faced Calla with a witty smirk. “I think I have an idea of how you could get his attention when you are ready to be intimate with him.”

Calla blinked in surprise by that but couldn’t help but give him a wary look. “How?” she asked. He huffed at the look on her face but ignored it for now as he moved over to her, leaning down to her level.

“You will be making money, right? Well, when the time comes that you are ready to give him everything, use what he knows against him.” Gwydion said, Calla, looked a bit confused before he chuckled. “Give him 30 pieces of silver, buy his attention as if he were a prostitute.” Her eyes widened at that as her face flushed with a dark blush.

“You…You think that would work?” Calla asked to which Gwydion patted her head with an amused smile.

“Oh, love, I know it would work. I think he would not only allow it to happen, he might even find it to be a bit of a turn-on.” Gwydion whispered. Calla blushed deeply, looking up at him before nodding.

“O-Okay…” she said before looking more determined than ever to make her own money. “I will have to work extra hard to make enough to sell.”

Gwydion chuckled at that but nodded. “I’ll help you as much as I can,” he said as he turned to open a cupboard. He seemed to pause before grumbling to himself. He closed his eyes to rub them. “For now, go to my irritating older brother’s room and get the bowls he’s more than likely hoarding just to make me upset.”

Calla blinked at that before letting out her own laugh. “Okay, I’ll be right back,” she said, turning to rush out of the kitchen. However, she nearly ran into someone as she entered the hall.

“Woh there!” Blaise said, catching her as she ran into him. Calla blinked in surprise, looking up at him as she staggered in his arms at the sudden stop. He was sweaty, probably from being out training. His green eyes scanned her as he held her in his arms. “What’s the hurry?”

“Raven’s stolen all the dishes again and Gwy asked me to get them back.” she pointed out, although a light blush on her face. Something about seeing him after a workout was rather attractive and she was trying not to make it noticeable.

Luckily, if he did notice her attraction, he wasn’t showing it as he scowled with a sigh. “Sounds about right,” he said, but to her surprise, he didn’t let her go as she had expected. “Hey, um…” Calla tilted her head as Blaise seemed to scan her for a moment, looking slightly awkward. “You, uh, are you busy tomorrow?”

Her eyes widened at that, surprised by his question before she gave a smile. “No, not really,” she said. His mood perked up and he smiled.

“Great!” he exclaimed before that seemed to come off as too excited and he grew flustered. “I…I mean, g-good. It’s about time the others gave you some time for yourself.” He let out a cough before returning his eyes to her. “Well, since you are not busy, would you like to go with me tomorrow? It’s not all that interesting of a task, Gwy just wants me to get some fish. I figured fishing would be less boring if you were there.”

Her heart fluttered at that but she couldn’t help but feel nervous about the situation. “Would it be safe for me to leave the wards?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh,” Blaise said as he seemed to think it over. “The fishing hole I normally go to is a bit away from here but it’s protected. I can have wards put up that will keep you safe while we are there.”

She seemed to think it over again before nodding. “Alright, if you say it's safe, I trust you. I look forward to hanging out tomorrow,” she said, closing her eyes as she smiled up at him. There was a small pause at that before her eyes widened when she felt him kiss her softly, once again looking up at him surprised.

He was blushing softly but kept his normal moody expression as he nodded. “Good, just don’t expect it to be too exciting, alright?” he said, letting her go before moving around her and into the kitchen. Calla blushed as she watched him leave before smiling warmly, touching her lips softly. She turned and started towards Raven’s room once again.

Calla couldn’t help but look around in wonder at the fishing hole the two had appeared in. It was a lovely little location, a deep pond that was fed by a river, even as they sat at the edge she could see the place was teeming with fish. She only returned her attention to Blaise when she heard him start muttering to himself angrily only to be met with the sight of him tangled up in the fishing wire. Calla let out a giggle and moved over to him.

“Need some help?” she asked to which he grumbled more, seemingly embarrassed.

“I’ve got it.” he huffed, far too proud to ask for help. Calla just shook her head.

“Hold still,” she ordered, ignoring his complaints as she started to help untangle him. He huffed but soon stopped complaining as he sat there waiting for her to get the rest of it off him. It took a moment but she finally got it, smiling at him. “See? And here you call me stubborn.”

“You are stubborn,” he muttered before sighing, grabbing the line and stringing up the rods he had brought. “But thanks.”

“Not a problem! What would you do without me?” she said to which he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t start getting cocky,” he said but a smile rested on his face, baiting up the hooks and soon getting the lines in the water. Once he was done, he sighed and leaned back. She watched the lines a moment before her eyes returned to him.

“You know, I could have baited my own hook,” she said, moving to sit next to him. He smirked at that, keeping his eyes closed for now.

“Oh well, next time you will have to be faster than I am or I will keep doing it myself,” he said as he did. She huffed at that with a pout.

“Fine, then I’ll just catch more fish than you just to prove I am capable of doing things myself,” she said with a wicked smirk. He opened his eyes to give a sly smirk towards her.

“Is that a challenge, Calla?” he asked, scanning her face. “Alright, you're on. But if I win, you have to do what I say for the rest of the day!” She pouted at that with a huff but soon looked determined again.

“Fine, but if I win, YOU have to wear that stupid frilly dress Gwy got me,” she said to which he jolted with a surprised if not worried look.

“Damn, I didn’t think you would go for blood in this challenge!” he exclaimed before he narrowed his eyes. “I’m not gonna lose if that is the punishment. I’ll dive in the water and grab fish by hand if I have to.”

She giggled at that but nodded. “Fine, you’re on!” she said as she moved over to her pole to watch it. He just smirked and shook his head before moving over to join her.

The two grew quiet as they waited for the fish to bite, the sounds of running water and nature around them. It was nice being out in nature again and any fear Calla had about being away from the cottage melted away. She knew Blaise would never let anything bad happen to her. With him here, she felt safe, leaning to rest her head on his shoulder.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” she asked after a while. He didn’t move other than to give a small shrug, not trying to move her head from his shoulder.

“Sure,” he replied, wrapping an arm around her.

“Is Blaise your real name?” she asked, feeling him shift under her slightly as if he were slightly uncomfortable. “It just… it’s a bit of a coincidence that it would be your name and your magic just so happened to be fire-based, you know. That’s…That’s the only reason I’m asking.”

“No, it’s not. I changed it after I joined the coven,” he admitted with a sigh. “Many non-magicals who become witches and warlocks will do that as it lets go of the life they had before. Blaise was a name my old crew would call me when I would get angry and start a fight so I figured it was fitting.”

She hummed in thought, taking in the information before nodding. “What is your birth name?” she asked, the area becoming quiet for a moment before he sighed.

“Henry. I was named after my father,” he answered before she blushed as he started to stroke her arm. “But I prefer Blaise. So don’t think you are allowed to just go around calling me Henry, got it?”

She let out a light giggle. “I promise… Henry,” she said only to yelp as he pinched her. She whined with a pout up at him. However, he just smirked, moving to be face to face with her.

“I’m warning you, Calla. I’ll make you regret it if you start getting sassy like this,” he said with a playful tone. It made her shiver at that but her attention was soon grabbed when the pole in her peripheral started to move. She jumped and moved to grab it, growing excited.

“We got one!” she exclaimed, hearing him laugh as he moved behind her to help reel it in.

“Don’t celebrate yet! It’s only caught when we get it on land,” he said, the two working together before soon enough a nice sized fish was reeled in, Calla falling back into Blaise as she laughed and cheered in her excitement. It was rather infectious as he soon laughed as well but moved to take the fish off and place it to be retrieved later.

“We did it!” Calla exclaimed happily.

“Yeah, yeah, just watch the other pole,” he said with a laugh. Calla nodded and did what was asked, sitting before the other pole. Upon his return, Calla had expected Blaise to sit next to her again. However, she soon felt him sit behind her, pulling her into his arms as he held her close, resting his head on hers. She blushed at that but didn’t move, feeling safe in his arms, leaning back against him again with a smile on her face.

“I have a question for you now,” he said softly, making Calla give a curious look. “If you knew then what you do now, during the time you were being sold and all, what would you do?”

The question caused her to pause and think about it. She hummed before shrugging. “I’m not sure if I would have been able to get away, but I think I would have fled as soon as my mom called for me to return to the house for a conversation,” she said before looking off. “I feel so silly looking back on that day. I saw the carriage the lord had sent but for some reason, it didn’t register in my mind that it was there for me. I thought he sent people to find my sister.” She sighed, snuggling against him. “Then again, I don’t know if I’d ever be brave enough to try and outrun the carriage or his men… but… I do know one thing for sure.”

“And what would that be?” he asked, rubbing her arms.

Calla gave a warm smile. “I’d do everything in my power to find you all again,” she said, feeling him stop his motions at that. She rested her head back against him. “This is where I belong. I know that now. My life… My life before this had been so… miserable. I was a child my mother had late in life. I’m a lot younger than my siblings and a girl. I don’t believe I was neglected but I always knew I wasn’t wanted. I thought… I thought my mother loved me at least, but after I was sold, I wonder if her love had always been to make sure I grew to be obedient and marry a wealthy man. I have memories of my eldest brother telling me that I was a burden on the family and that if our parents ever died, he would have sold me to one of his friends or a workhouse. I…I was actually locked in the barn a few times by my siblings. I think in an attempt to just get rid of me… those nights were always terrifying. Of course, when I was found in the morning, my father would get angry at me and the others would never be punished.” She looked off again, feeling his arms tighten his hug. “This coven, the cottage… I love it here with everyone. I was a stranger and yet you took me in, got me things, let me explore, and get to know your world more. Compared to my old life, you all treat me like a queen and… and I don’t know why. I’m nothing special and yet you all act as if I am, at least to all of you. Despite everything that has happened between the situation in the twisted woods and now with Aro, I am happy. I would never return to the life I had before knowing what I know now.”

They were silent for a while before he held her close. “...You are not a burden. Don’t ever think that, okay?” he muttered, making her blush. “If we ever meet your parents or siblings, I’m socking them in the face. I’d make them regret everything they ever did to you.”

“Blaise…” she said softly.

“I mean it!” Blaise said sternly. “People like that… I almost understand why magicals hate us so much. As creatures, we are disgusting with how to treat each other.” He wrapped his arms around her completely, holding her tightly. “No one has the right to make you feel like you are worthless or unwanted. I’ll kill anyone who ever tries to hurt you like that. You…You are too good for them. Too good for us. You didn’t deserve to be treated the way you have been.”

She frowned at that, doing her best to turn in his arms as she sat on her knees. “Blaise…” she said again softly, trying to calm him down. He only clung to her, burying his face into her chest as she wrapped her arms around his head.

“I would have saved you… if I had met you while you were with those people. I would have dropped everything to keep you safe.” he said, holding her close. She frowned at that, knowing that was a lie. If they had been strangers, would he have really gone out of his way to protect her? Still, his words made her heart flutter, wishing that had been true. He finally let out a sigh, pulling his head away from her as he looked up at her. “I love you, Calla. I’ll always love you. And I will protect you as long as I breathe.”

She gave a soft look down at him, her face warm with a soft blush. “I love you too… but… I…I don’t know why any of you have grown to care about me as strongly as you do. What have I done to be loved in such a way?” she asked, her expression slightly sad as she ran her fingers through her hair.

He sighed at that. “I don’t understand why you think you have to do something in exchange for love. If that was what your parents did, that only pisses me off more,” he said, rubbing her back and sides. His eyes were gentle as they returned to her. “I’ve liked you since we went to get mushrooms the first day you came outside. You getting huffy at me was actually fun to see. You didn’t get apologetic when I was being rude, you got snippy. That and… it was nice, having someone around who understood me.” He looked off again. “We were both born non-magical, and both came from poor families. And yet, I had been in the world of magic longer than you, and I had forgotten how amazing magic could be until we hung out together. The way you looked at me when I was performing simple spells to train with… you made me feel so special… so powerful.” He sighed, enjoying the feeling of her fingers through his hair. “I know I’m not weak, but… I won’t lie and say I wasn’t at a low point when you walked into our lives. Juvenile wolves, fucking teenagers, got under my skin and put me in a situation where I felt weak. So when I showed you what magic felt like… and you looked up at me with so much excitement and with such a huge smile on your face… I fell hard for you. You are…the only woman I want in my life. I mean it.”

Her heart fluttered at his words, wanting to cry at his words. She leaned in and kissed him deeply, which seemed to surprise him at first but he soon returned the kiss. He held her close, the two just relaxing against each other as they continued the loving kiss, holding each other. It was after a while that the kiss broke as Calla blushed deeply.

Blaise watched her a moment before he let out a soft laugh and shook his head. “Sorry, I guess I got a bit sappy there huh. I just wanted to tell you how I really felt,” he said, rubbing her back. She just gave a soft smile.

“It’s okay, I liked seeing that side of you,” she said, hugging him. “You always have a way of making me feel special too, you know. But someday, I want to be able to protect you as much as you do me, even if that’s silly in practice. You are important to me Blaise. I want you to be safe too.”

He seemed to watch her a moment before he smirked. “You wanna protect me, huh. Well, I guess I could teach you how to fight so you would be a little more intimidating,” he said, to which she huffed and playfully punched his chest. He laughed at that, taking her wrist before grabbing her and shifting so that she was on the ground with him over her. He sighed, his expression gentle as he touched her face before running his hand down her body, watching her face warm with a blush. He couldn’t help but smile at that, glad that she enjoyed his touch. “You are amazing, Calla. You don’t need to change yourself too much, but if you want to learn things, I’m more than willing to teach you whatever you want to feel more confident and strong.” He smirked with a determined look. “We are above the life we were born into. We’ll show the world just how wrong they were to treat us like crap. I will become a powerful healer… and then no one born poor has to suffer just because some rich asshole determined they were less than.”

She loved hearing about his dream. No matter how much of a hot head Blaise was, he was training so he could help others and that was such an amazing thing in Calla’s eyes. He really was an amazing man. “And I’ll be by your side, no matter what,” she said, seeing him look with a surprised expression before a warm smile rested on his face.

“You better, cause I’m not letting anyone else steal you away!” he said, leaning in to give her a soft kiss but groaning as it broke, his expression changing to a more lust-filled one. Calla seemed hesitant upon seeing it, frowning softly as she reached up to touch his face, catching his attention.

“Are you… nervous about us being intimate?” she asked, seeing him look to surprise before he frowned and looked off with a blush.

“N…No…” he said, although she could tell he was lying. “But… I still stand by what I said. You are foolish to give your first time to me, even though I know you are being stubborn about that.”

She frowned at that. “Would you be okay with me being with someone else?” she asked, his eyes returning to her.

“What? No, but…!” he started before grumbling with a sigh. He sank more against her again as he frowned. “I never said I liked the idea, but I just… I told you, I don’t know how to be intimate with a girl who's never been with a guy before. I don’t want your first time to be uncomfortable or painful.” He tugged on her clothing, lust in his eyes again. “I want you… so bad… But, I love you too much to hurt you, purposely or not. Just… Just give it time okay? We’ll talk about it more when you are ready to even go that far. Maybe you will change your mind.”

Calla frowned at that but he soon got off her, moving to check the rods again. She sat up, sighing as she watched him. “...I’m not worried about you hurting me, Blaise. I know you wouldn’t,” she said softly, seeing him pause at that before sighing, moving to rub his eyes.

“I’m not afraid that I would do so willingly. I just… I don’t know.” he said, as he looked back at her. He frowned. “You are not asking because you want to, right?”

She swiftly shook her head, frowning as she looked down. She did hate that she still was nervous about that. “N…No… I’m just asking…” she said softly. “I… wouldn’t mind doing more intimate things but… I’m nervous about going all the way.”

He nodded at that and returned to the rods. “Good, cause I’m going to keep telling you no. One of these days you’ll stop being so stubborn and listen to me,” he muttered. Calla frowned at that before sighing.

“I think you are the stubborn one,” she muttered before moving over to her rod. He sighed at that but patted her head, making her look up at him.

“I love you. You know that right?” he asked, to which she blushed with a nod. He smiled at that and leaned in to kiss her softly. “Then let's just enjoy our day together without worrying about that stuff. We have a whole day with no one bothering us.”

She gave a small smile at that before nodding. “Right, and besides, when I beat you with how many fish I catch, we’ll see how much you enjoy the doll dress!” she exclaimed, him huffing with a grumble.

“We’ll see,” he said, although she saw a smirk perk the corners of his mouth.

“Can someone explain to me why I came back to Blaise in a dress?” Marick asked with a blank stare as he watched Gwydion, who had been out with him, nearly keeled over laughing, Raven on the floor, and a grumpy Blaise sitting on the floor in the middle of the room in the small dress as Calla was putting bows in his hair.

Blaise’s face was as red as his hair, just glaring at the group, growling in his embarrassment. Calla just hummed as she looked up before smiling. “He lost a bet,” she said simply.

Marick stared at the sight before him for a moment longer before he let out a long sigh, raising his hand to rub his eyes before just leaving the room. “Why do I even ask?” he muttered, as he did, leaving the shenanigans of his coven. It didn’t take long for the other two to join in dolling up the already angry young man but as this was what Calla wanted, he only swung a fist at Raven and Gwy twice.

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It had taken a week and a half with help from Gwydion and questioning from Blaise as to why she was making things, but Calla soon had enough scarves and blankets knitted up to sell by the time the coven had to go into Rowien again. She wasn’t sure how Raven secured a stall for her to sell some items from but frankly, she wasn’t about to ask. When it came to how the coven did things, she would rather be blissfully unaware than know if they used magic on people to get what they wanted. Gwydion had made some trinkets as well to sell, not enchanted of course but lovely all the same.

As she set things out, Calla couldn’t help but feel nervous. She had never sold things before and had no idea what she was doing. “What if no one likes my items?” she asked with a frown only to feel a hand touch her head. She looked up to see Gwydion smiling down at her.

“Don’t worry, love. Your knitted items are adorable. I’m sure we will be sold out in no time.” he said with a wink toward her. “And besides, you have me here as a model.”

She couldn’t help but giggle at that. “Perhaps I’d have more luck selling you.” she teased to which he gasped with a playful hurt look on his face.

“So cruel. You make me sound as if I sell my services. I am simply someone who lives to please.” he said before giving a chuckle and moving to set a few more things down. Calla sighed and moved to sit down, looking around the area as it started to get busy. People had begun to move about to look at what the shops had brought in.

Still, she frowned. “You said Marick sent Blaise to pick up some things at the dock, right?” she asked, hoping that he would not get into any trouble while on his own. The last thing she wanted was for him to get into a fight.

“Hmm? Ah, yes, but he should not be long. I know he wants to be back here as fast as he can. He’s being rather overprotective lately.” Gwy said with a smile on his face. “I don’t think he’d risk getting into a fight if that meant being away from you for so long.”

She couldn’t help but blush at that, about to say something when she felt hands touch her shoulders. It was a sudden touch that made her jolt with a small surprised yelp only for Raven to let out a laugh as she huffed up at him embarrassed.

“Raven!” she exclaimed with a whine only for him to shake his head.

“Sorry,” he said, only for her to scowl.

“No you're not!” she muttered. Raven waved it off before looking over the stand.

“You two seemed to have gotten the stall ready in record time. I’m impressed.” Raven said, moving around where she was seated to look over the items they had set out. “I have to say, we have never thought about selling things in Rowien before, especially to the…” He paused as if trying to think of a nice way to say non-magical without drawing attention. “Good people here.”

“Don’t start, Raven. I only have so much charm. If you foul the place with your bigotry, I will never be able to assist our dear Calla.” Gwydion warned, shooting a wary look towards his older brother. Raven, in turn, returned a bored look.

“I’m on my best behavior. I have nothing to gain from today by being rude.” Raven said before turning towards Calla, giving her a softer smile. “Besides, I don’t think all people are bad. One, in particular, is family after all.”

Call shook her head but gave a warm smile. “No matter what, thank you for getting the stall for us, Raven,” she said. Raven simply nodded with a smile.

“Not a problem, but I do hope you are not selling all of your items.” Raven pointed out as he took up one of her scarves to look it over. His expression was tender. “I wouldn’t mind exchanging my efforts today for one of Calla’s famous scarves.”

“Famous?” Calla questioned with an amused smile before she giggled. “Don’t worry, I made one for everyone. Those are back home though. Do you mind waiting until later in the evening to get them?”

Raven seemed to pause and touch his chin to think it over before giving a smile. “I guess I can wait. Will you give me mine first before you hand Blaise his? I have to have some reason to tease him later.” he pointed out to which Calla just sighed and shook her head.

“Sometimes I find it difficult to remember that you are the second oldest,” she muttered, Gwydion chuckling as Raven just smirked, waving off her comment. “And for your information, I already gave Blaise his this morning. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

Raven seemed to pout at that, folding his arms. “Damn… well, I’ll have to find another reason to tease him,” Raven said before he turned towards Gwydion again. “At any rate, I’ll be collecting items on the other side of the city today. Marick thinks the items you both were unable to find last time might be arriving and he wants me to check. Hopefully, Blaise will return within an hour or so. Do you think you will be able to handle any potential dangers, Gwydion?”

Gwydion frowned at that. “I’m not a child, dear brother. I am more than capable of protecting our dear flower. Be more concerned about yourself.” Gwydion huffed to which Raven chuckled but nodded.

“Very well. I will leave you to it. Good luck.” Raven said, winking towards Calla before he turned and walked away.

It wouldn’t take long to get a few customers, mostly due to Gwydion showing off his charm to women young and old. To be honest, it was interesting to see how well Gwydion could work with a crowd of people. He was attractive and a smooth talker. She couldn’t help being flustered at times. If she didn’t know Gwy well, she wondered how easily he could have charmed her into more inappropriate things upon first meeting him. He really was a prince of heartbreak and it made her wonder if a man like Gwy would ever find someone who he would settle down with. For a man who was such a manwhore, it would have to be someone really special to make him change his ways.

As Gwydion was busy trying to sell some of the items to a group of older rich women, Calla turned to put more items on the counter when something caught her eye. It was a rose of some kind, one with multiple colors that seemed to glow with its own light. It was lovely and she couldn’t help but take it up to look it over. But where in the world did it come from? Just below it, she took notice of a yellow scarf that she had made no longer being among the others but in its place, a small pouch of coins had been set. She was highly confused by the sight.

“Calla, dear. Do we have any more pink blankets?” Gwydion called, turning her attention back towards the man. She snapped out of her confusion for now before moving to grab one of the blankets he asked for.

“Yes, right here,” she called back, bringing it over after setting the flower she had found back on the small pile of scarves she had left.

It would be a little over an hour later when Blaise would wander back into the area, looking more annoyed than anything but at least it seemed he hadn’t gotten into a fight. Calla was the first to see him and she smiled wide, leaving the stall to rush over to hug him.

“Blaise!” she exclaimed happily, making Blaise make a small sound of surprise as he staggered back to catch her, hugging her back.

“Ah! Uh, hello to you too, Calla.” Blaise said, whatever annoyance he had melting away with a smile returning to his face. His smile only grew warm as she looked up at him. There was something about her smile that always seemed to make his day. She was so beautiful. “So how did you make out? Sell a lot of your things?” He had been thrilled when she had offered him the red scarf she had made earlier and was interested to see how many things she would sell with Gwydion.

She was beaming with a smile. “We’ve already sold nearly half our items in the first few hours! Gwy’s really helped draw people over,” she said cheerfully. Blaise couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that. If there was one thing he knew about his mentor, it was that Gwy liked being in the center of attention.

“That’s great to hear, but I’m sure they didn’t buy your things only because of Gwy being a flirt. You made some nice things,” he said with a shrug, moving some hair from her face. It made her blush.

“You are just saying that because I made them,” Calla said to which Blaise just shook his head.

“Nah, I mean it. You are really talented.” Blaise replied with a smile, the two getting into a conversation. However, back at the stall, Raven had returned.

“Ah, so he did return,” Raven muttered, almost impressed that the boy hadn’t gotten into a fight. Gwydion had just said goodbye to the women he had been speaking to when his brother had approached, giving a hum as he turned his way.

“You are back early. Did you get all the items Marick needed?” Gwydion asked with a curious tilt of his head. Raven frowned at that before sighing.

“It seems the wagons that were carrying the goods we have been waiting for had been attacked by bandits. The merchant in charge of the stalls over there was rather distraught.” Raven explained before he folded his arms and looked off. “I was far too uncomfortable to remain in the area so I left.” He glanced towards the stack of scarves before something caught his eye. “Gwydion, come now. I thought we agreed not to try and get in the way of Blaise and Calla’s happiness.”

Gwydion raised a brow at that, looking confused. “Hmm? What do you mean? I haven’t done anything.” he said to which Raven gave him a blank stare before reaching to take up the multicolored rose.

“No? Then why is there a celestial rose here? Only you would go so far as to locate such a rare flower from our world.” Raven said as he watched the glowing petals. “And it's glowing, the sign of someone whispering their deep devotion into its petals.”

“A celestial rose? Raven, please, when would I have been able to go to the other realm to get one? It’s not as if they grow all over the place, only on nights of a full moon and in the fairy kingdoms.” Gwydion explained. It was Raven’s turn to seem confused, narrowing his gaze.

“If it wasn’t from you, then who set this rose here? Surely it wasn’t just anyone and I highly doubt Blaise would care that much about flowers to get Calla this one in particular.” Raven said. Gwydion frowned but suddenly seemed tense.

“You wouldn’t think-!” Gwydion started only for Raven to shush him as the other two walked over.

“Raven! You’re back as well!” Calla exclaimed although Blaise seemed less than enthusiastic about the sight of the other man. Raven hid the rose for now as he smiled at Calla. It seemed she didn’t seem to notice which was what he wanted for now. “With everyone here, we could probably sell out before we know it. Will you help?”

“Of course, dear. I would never leave Gwydion to have all the fun.” Raven said, turning to take up a scarf, setting the rose down, before he casually modeled the item with a wink towards Calla. Blaise rolled his eyes at that while Calla giggled. “Led the way, my lady.”

“You look like an idiot,” Blaise muttered. He only looked over when Calla clasped her hands together and pouted up at him with huge puppy dog eyes. It made him jolt, his face growing red. “No! No, no no! Don’t you give me that!”

“Please?” she begged, doing everything in her power to look as cute as possible. Blaise’s face kept getting more red with his embarrassment, his body trembling. DAMMIT! Why did she have to be so cute?! “For me?”

FUCK! Blaise groaned, closing his eyes as he grumbled to himself, only growing more annoyed as the other two snickered at him. He opened his eyes to glare at them, covering Calla’s face with his hand. “F-Fine… just stop looking at me like that,” Blaise muttered. Calla giggled, moving his hand off her face before smiling up at him.

“You’re the best,” she said, making him mutter more. However, he couldn’t do much as he was soon grabbed by the brothers and dragged over to the stall, him complaining the whole way. The three warlocks started planning how best to sell the rest of the items while Calla watched them with a smile. Her family of warlocks. A lively but amazing group.

She took a step towards them, only stopping when she felt eyes on her, causing her to pause and look around. She didn’t see anyone but could have sworn she saw the flash of something yellow dart away. Still, all it did was make her frown before shaking her head to join the others.

It would be evening by the time the group started to head back, the brothers walking ahead of Blaise and Calla as they talked about different things. Calla had tucked the strange rose she got away in her bag for now as she walked with Blaise, holding his hand.

“What a long day…” Blaise muttered before glancing back towards Calla. He caught her smiling at him and just returned the smile. “What?”

“Nothing,” she answered, although she moved closer to him. “I’m proud of you.” He had told her during the last few minutes of selling things that while at the docks, he had avoided conflict with someone trying to anger him. The fact that he had walked away rather than engaged in the fight had been amazing, making her wonder if what she had been told was true that he was more concerned about returning to her rather than winning a fight.

He gave a slight huff at that but just used his free hand to scratch his head. “You make it sound like all I do is fight people when I come into town,” he muttered before sighing as he looked back at her. His expression returned to a softer look. “But I guess it is a good feeling to get your praise.”

Calla giggled at that but soon just smiled back up at him. “If that’s the case, shall I give you more praise and thanks for all the help you were given today when we get back home?” she asked with a slight blush on her face. During the last week, she had tried growing more comfortable with more intimate things with Blaise. But, outside of kissing, and light touching, he had denied going too far, always claiming that she was not ready. She wanted to do more, her own curiosity about more sexual things wanting her to explore. It was always Blaise who seemed the most hesitant to do more, usually turning her down or leaving the room to do whatever he did when he left the room. So stubborn. She knew he was hoping if he turned her down enough times she would give her first time to someone else.

She watched him perk up at her words, almost as if somewhere, he wanted to do more, even craved her touch. He tried so hard to not show his desire for her. Swallowing hard and taking in breaths to calm himself or even looking away. Even now, she saw the deep desire he had. His will had to be breaking little by little each time. She wished he would stop worrying about hurting her.

“Oh?” he asked, scanning her with his eyes for a moment. “And how would you do that?”

She blushed more, looking off. “I um… I don’t know. Whatever you wanted to do. I’d be okay with that.” she said softly. He didn’t say anything for a while, just watching her before he sighed and stopped, pulling her to a stop with him.

“Calla,” he started, watching her for a moment before he sighed again, pulling her closer. He touched her face, giving her a soft kiss. Upon breaking the kiss, he seemed to allow his lips to linger, feeling her lean in as if wanting more. He bit his lip before he shook his head. “How…” He seemed to pause before grumbling, moving to walk again. “How much did you make from this little trip anyway?”

Calla frowned at that, her heart beating faster. She hated when he did this, changing the subject to ignore his own thoughts. She looked to the bag at her side, knowing the coin purse was in there next to the rose she had been given by someone. “I got a good amount,” she said, as she thought it over. “Gwy thinks I might have what it takes to be some kind of powerful merchant.”

Blaise smirked at that. “Probably,” he agreed before holding her hand tighter. “But if you ever have me model like that again, I’m telling Gwy to buy more of those dresses you hate.” She just whined and pouted at that, making him laugh.

Calla let out a nervous breath as she watched Blaise dry off his hair with the towel. He was only in a pair of pants for the time being, having just finished up a bath after training. Water glistened off his body. It made her blush as she waited for him to finish drying off. Her heart was beating fast at her plan, her hands gripping the coin purse tightly. She swallowed hard before getting to her feet.

“Blaise?” she called, making him stop drying his hair and glancing over towards her, resting the towel on his head.

“Yeah?” he asked, seeing her get up from his bed and move over with a blush on her face. He gave her a look over. “Why is your face red? It’s not as if you haven’t seen me shirtless before.”

Calla huffed at his words with a pout. “Just because I’ve seen you shirtless, it doesn’t mean I can’t find you attractive…” she muttered to which Blaise just flashed a smirk, turning more her way.

“I mean, it doesn’t seem as if it’s that difficult to get you flustered. But it’s cute to hear you say that,” he said with a shrug, making her sigh with a shy blush up at him. “Now, what did you want?”

The feeling of nervousness filled her again, her body quivering and growing warm at her thoughts. She was ready but it didn’t stop her from feeling nervous. It must have been noticeable because he was able to open his mouth to say something before she stopped him. “C….Close your eyes and hold out your hand,” she said. He seemed unsure of that, just kind of eyeing her.

“Why?” he finally asked. Calla whined at that with a huff.

“Just do it!” she stated, making him sigh with a small smile at her face before closing his eyes.

“Fine. But just this once,” he said calmly, holding his hand out. Calla blushed softly as she watched him a moment before taking the coin purse in her hands out from behind her. She looked between it and the man before her before timidly setting it in his hands. The weight of the coins or the sudden placement of the item made Blaise’s brow look at confusion before his eyes opened. He looked perplexed as he saw the coin purse in his hands before his eyes caught Calla’s look again.

“Is this money?” he asked, the look of confusion making his more boy-like features show. It would have been cute if Calla wasn’t blushing with her own thoughts.

“Y-Yes…” she answered though it didn’t seem as if it cleared anything up for him. He moved the bag of coins around in his hand as he looked confused. “It’s…. It’s 30 silver.”

“30 silver? Why on earth are you-!” Blaise was starting to ask before the realization dawned on him. She watched as the look of confusion turned into shock before his face turned about as red as his hair. He let out a cough, looking away from her as he scratched his head.

He swallowed hard, seemingly understanding what she was doing but not sure about it as she moved to touch his face, turning his attention back to her. “Blaise… I..” she started, blushing softly as she locked eyes with him. Her eyes fell to his chest as her fingers moved from his face to trace down his firm body, feeling him shiver at her touch. She took in a breath to seemingly try to calm herself before closing her eyes. “Y-You said that 30 silver is enough for a night, r-right? W-Well, then I am paying for your attention tonight. Now you can’t tell me no…”

They were silent for a while, Calla feeling her nerves taking over as she refused to look up and see what he was thinking. She only did when she felt him touch her head. Looking up, she saw him giving her a soft smile. His eyes were gentle and warmer than she had ever seen from him, making her blush softly as he leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

“...Don’t beat around the bush with me, Calla… do you want just my attention…?” he asked, mostly because he wanted to hear her say what she wanted. Calla’s face was warm as she looked up at him. He moved to run his hand over her arm, tracing down it and causing her to shiver. Her body felt sensitive and warm. She knew what she wanted, to be his completely.

She shook her head, gripping the towel that hung around his neck as she gave him a soft but shy look. “...I want to be yours, Blaise, completely. I…I’m not going to change my mind. I love you…and I want you to be the one I give myself to.” she said softly. They were silent again before he let out a sigh and shook his head. He lightly tapped her head with his fist, making her look up to see him blushing with a small smirk.

“...You’re hopeless, you know that?” he asked before he laughed lightly at her pout. He tossed the coin bag up in the air before catching it and setting it aside. He turned back to her with a serious look. “Are you sure?”

Calla’s expression looked to him longingly before she just nodded as he caressed her face gently. “I’m sure…” she said honestly, her eyes falling deep into his green orbs. He seemed to search her eyes a moment before he nodded. She did notice there was still a wariness behind his eyes, knowing that he was still unsure about being intimate with her. However, he couldn’t deny how badly he wanted her, especially when she was being as cute as she was.

“Good,” he answered simply before he tossed the towel away from him and took her hand, leading her towards the bed.

He took a seat and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. He leaned in, trailing kisses over her body above her nightdress for now as his hands began to pull it up. A groan escaped his lips. “I have to say… it feels a bit strange being paid for sex rather than the other way around,” he muttered against her body, making her hum at the vibrations.

“B-Blaise…” she said with trembling lips, him pulling away to pull her nightdress off and tossing it off to be found later. He took in a breath to let out a staggered sigh, eyes burning with desire at the sight of her body. He ran his eyes over her body before undoing his pants, slipping them off. She blushed deeply at the sight of him, looking off only to return her eyes to him when he gripped her hips to pull her back to him.

She leaned in to kiss him deeply as his hands ran over her body. A quiver was sent through her body as he did, moaning into the kiss. With a strong grip on her hips, Calla gave a sound of surprise as she was pulled onto him, Blaise fell back to the bed and looked up at her. She blushed darker, looking down at him as a smirk rested on his lips.

“You paid me, Calla. So tonight, I’m all yours” he said with a purr in his throat, rubbing her hips. His smile turned to a look of lust as he took in the sight of her in this position. He was already turned on but this wasn’t helping how badly he needed her. “I want you to top me. I’ll teach you how to ride me, alright?”

Calla swallowed hard at that, feeling him against her lower body. The nervousness returned, but not as bad as the first time they had been in an intimate moment. No, this time her body was ready to go farther, ready to be his. She trusted him. She loved him. Calla gave a nod. “Okay…” she said softly, resting her hands on his chest. She took in a deep breath and let it out before lifting herself up, Blaise helping her as he guided her into him.

A sharp pain ran through her body as he entered her but soon enough he was fully inside as her hips met his. She closed her eyes tightly at the strange feeling of him so deep and throbbing. He let out a gasp when she was fully straddling him, the tight feeling of her around him bringing a wave of pleasure he hadn’t expected.

Blaise opened his eyes to look up at her, rubbing her hips. “You okay? It doesn’t hurt too badly, right?” he asked, lust in his expression. Calla’s eyes opened with small tears in the corner but she shook her head, her body warm with a blush.

“I-It did a little at first, but the pain faded,” she answered, finding him rubbing her hips to be soothing. He gave a nod at that, scanning her body as he let out a sigh of bliss.

“Good… now… move your hips… like this,” he explained, closing his eyes as he guided her hips to start moving, letting out a sigh of pleasure as she started her motions. Calla gasped at that as she did what he asked, feeling him moving inside of her.

The room would be filled with the sounds of panting and soft moans as she continued her motions for a while, the two just taking time to get used to each other. However, it wasn’t much longer before Blaise groaned and in a swift motion, Calla found herself under him. His motions were still trying to be gentle but were rougher than when she had been on top. The rougher thrusts made her moan more, gripping the bed as he held her hips tighter.

“C…Calla…” he moaned, eyes closed tightly as he grunted, biting his lip. It had been too long since the last time he had been with a woman and the neediness for release was building to a point that he could barely hold himself back. Her sounds and panting weren't helping other than encouraging his rougher motions.

He finally opened his eyes to look down at her, watching the beautiful girl below him in a sea of ecstasy. His mind was too hazy with his pleasure to notice the small bruises he had accidentally given her, just watching her body react to his motion as she clawed at the bedding.

Blaise grunted again, trying to hold back, but he couldn’t last much longer. He grabbed her legs as he started to thrust with a rough, faster speed. “B-Blaise!” she whimpered, her body craning as he did. He panted with a smile on his face, loving the sound of his name leaving her lips in such pleasure.

He moved harder and deeper, rolling his head back. “Come on, baby. Cum for me, Calla! I-I can’t hold it any longer.” he said, a mess of panting and moaning. He refused to finish before her, wanting to feel her tighten around him and to cry out with her own climax. It wouldn’t be much longer as her cries increased before he felt her tighten around him. He panted with a huge grin on his face, rocking his hips a few times before he too would find his release.

Blaise rode it out with a few more thrusts before he grunted, falling more against her with both arms propping himself up on either side of her. His eyes were closed, feeling a bead of sweat drop from his face and onto her as he sought to catch his breath. He only opened his eyes when she felt her hands on his face. The sight of her looking up at him with a look of love and bliss made him happier than he ever could have imagined.

“Blaise… we…we made love!” she said breathlessly. Blaise returned the look in her eyes as he gave a breathy chuckle. He shook his head.

“...Why must you say such cute things like that?” he asked as his eyes fell to her again. “I love you, Calla.” He leaned down to kiss her deeply, not wanting to be away from her just yet. She moaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him as they held each other close.

He groaned when he finally broke the kiss, his eyes opening to desire again as he looked down at her. He bit his lip. “Dammit, once isn’t going to be enough for me. I hope you weren’t planning on sleeping tonight,” he said before Calla squealed as Blaise pushed his lips to her, grabbing her hips as he started to move inside her again.

“Morning,” Raven called as the curly red-haired man walked sleepily into the dining room. Blaise yawned but glanced towards the table, seeing the three others already there. He felt a little awkward that they were there but soon gave a sigh.

“Morning..” he muttered back, his eyes shifting between the three. Marick was looking over a list in his hand, not giving much attention to anything else. Gwydion was fixing his hair back up into his normal look. It seemed only Raven was smiling at him. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at that. Surely, they had to know. He looked between them again. “Calla’s still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her.”

“Blaise, you better make sure she doesn’t wake up to you not being in that room.” Gwydion soon shot towards him, giving the younger man a serious look over. “She gave you something very special to her. She will think it means nothing to you if you are not there.”

Blaise scowled towards Gwy, his face turning red before folding his arms with a huff. “I know that, Gwy!” Blaise hissed in annoyance. He grumbled, closing his eyes to rub them. “I’m headed back there soon. I just wanted to ask Marick something.”

Marick glanced up at that, seemingly scanning him. “Is that so? What do you need?” Marick asked. Blaise opened his eyes again when he pulled his hand away. He would have questioned how the three seemed to already know that Calla and he had made love, but magicals always seemed to be able to sense differences in energy like that. It was also how they had known she was pure when she first arrived.

“I was wondering if we had any Fellien’s potion in the storage area, or even some low-level pain blockers for when Calla wakes up,” Blaise asked, his face holding a small blush on it as he looked off.

“Still worried you were rough with her, huh,” Gwydion said with a sigh only for Blaise to shoot him a glare, clearly flustered. Raven, however, gave a hum at that, resting his head on his hand.

“Why would you be looking for Fellien’s potion?” Raven asked, his gray eyes locking with Blaise’s green eyes. Blaise gave a huff, folding his arms.

“Seriously? Am I the only one here who has even thought about the possibility of her getting pregnant?” Blaise muttered in annoyance, seemingly confused to see Raven blink in surprise at that. Blaise scowled more. “With how much you and Gwy go around screwing every pretty girl you see, it has never crossed your mind? You both are nearly 30! You should know that by now!”

Both brothers were about to protest, seemingly huffy at Blaise’s comment but the situation soon changed as Marick put down his tea cup with a hum, making the three look his way. Marick seemed to be thinking it over.

“I don’t have any in stock, but it’s not a difficult potion to make,” Marick noted calmly, his purple eyes meeting Blaise’s. Marick rubbed his temple as he thought. “I will go through the vials I have to see if I have all the ingredients I need. If I have everything, I’ll have a few vials made before noon. If I don’t, we may have to make a trip to Hearthside.”

The room grew tense at that, even the brothers not liking the sound of that. “We would have to go there of all places?” Raven asked, narrowing his eyes. “Right at the edge of this realm and the other realm?”

“Not to mention in the middle of werewolf territory. I’m sure they would love to see us again…” Gwydion muttered. Blaise huffed at that, narrowing his eyes towards Marick.

Marick just rolled his own, looking back to his list. “I need more items to finish the death kiss potions anyway and that area is the only location that has the rarer items that I need to make both,” he noted calmly, his purple eyes returning the stare of the others. “With Calla no longer pure, there will be less of a threat to be that close. If we keep our emotions in check and keep her close by, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What about Aro being around?” Blaise asked as he decided to ignore the comment about keeping his emotions in check, the question causing the room to pause again. Marick seemed to stare a moment before sighing.

“... Aro won’t attack if I’m there. He knows better than to pick a fight. That is if he would show up in Hearthside anyway. Ironically, outside of the abyss, he tends to stay away from the darker areas of the other realm unless he has a reason to be there.” Marick explained, though being rather cryptic about how or why he would know that. The others knew not to push the topic. This was the closest they could get to getting information about his knowledge about the world or those in it.

The air of Hearthside was dense and filled with the crisp air of the thick forest around them. The lush area would be pretty if Calla didn’t have the overwhelming feeling of dread as she clung to Blaise’s arm. Marick had warned them to stay close as they moved through the main street, only occasionally entering stores to gather items.

Blaise was tense but was trying not to worry Calla as he took notice that she seemed wary about being in the area. He frowned and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her head. “Are you okay?” he asked softly as the group entered one of the stores with the others.

She looked up at him with a frown but nodded. “Y-Yeah, I… I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I just have this feeling that we are being watched.” she answered. He scowled but nodded at that.

“I get it. We are really close to the other realm. I’m sure you can already feel the difference in the air here.” he said, eyes scanning the people walking around, wary of everyone who glanced their way. This place was a mix of magical and non-magical. However, the magical in this area was exclusive to the werewolf clans that spilled over from the kingdom inside the other realm. He just hoped a selected group of wolves were far away from the area. His green eyes fell to the girl next to him who watched him with trusting eyes. He frowned, just wanting to make sure she was safe while in such a dangerous area. “I’m keeping my eye open, just stay by my side and I’ll make sure we all go home, alright?”

She nodded at that. “I trust you,” she said softly, making him give a soft smile.

“Calla, love, come here for a moment,” Gwydion called from near the counter. It made the two look his way before Calla nodded.

“Coming!” Calla said, moving to join the man at the counter. It left Blaise to keep his eyes on the street again. There was movement in the treeline which had him give it a second glance with a wary gaze, but for now, he just needed to stay close to Calla. He just hoped this would be an easy Ah, who was he kidding? If they didn’t get into some kind of trouble he would be impressed.

“I believe, all I have yet to locate are a few vials of scorpion vine powder and then I will have everything I need,” Marick muttered as he checked over his list again once the group had left the store.

“And where can we find that?” Calla asked, making sure to keep to the others as they moved about. Raven seemed to hum as he thought it over before glancing toward Gwydion.

“You are the plant expert, Gwy.” He pointed out before Gwydion seemed to frown as he thought before nodding.

“Scorpion vine wouldn’t be difficult to find just out by the woods. They are native to this area and can be found on the trees just on the outskirts of town.” Gwydion answered as he returned his eyes to Marick. “As for getting it into a fine powder, I believe you have to roast them first.”

“I can handle that,” Blaise said with a smirk only for Gwydion to flash him a blank stare.

“I said roast, not turn to ash,” Gwydion said. Blaise shot a glare his way for that one. Calla just giggled.

“Hey! That was one time!” Blaise snapped as he did. “I can use a lesser fire spell this time. The last thing I want is to hang out here any longer than I need to be.”

“That is a fair point,” Raven said as he folded his arms. “The longer we remain in the area, the higher the risk of any young wolves wanting to cause problems by picking a fight. I have to agree with Blaise on this one. Let’s collect as many vines as we can find and let Blaise handle the fire part.”

“Once they are where they need to be turned into powder, we can place them in a jar. I’ll handle the powdering of them back at home.” Marick said. It was interesting to see them acting more seriously as they moved about to get things. Calla couldn’t help but admire how well organized they seemed to be. Then again, they were a well-known and powerful coven, clearly, they would need to be a powerful team.

Her attention returned when Marick glanced her way. “Calla, try and remain by one of us while we are near the treeline. I don’t sense any magicals around but when it comes to the wolf clans, they are rather good at covering their energy from warlocks,” he explained. Calla nodded at that.

“No problem,” she answered. She almost caught the small look of relief with her cooperation from the older man, making her wonder if Marick was as wary as the others about being here. Hopefully, once she is used to being around magicals and the other realm, things will not be as stressful for everyone. For now, she was aware that as far as any other magical was concerned, she was the shiny new toy of Marick’s coven. According to Blaise, it would take a while before that would change.

With that, the group started towards the treeline, Calla moved to cling to Blaise as they walked, making the man glance her way but allow her to do so.

“No then, if I were a scorpion vine, I would be… ah! There’s one!” Gwydion said as the group got to the trees. Calla couldn’t help but look at the plant curiously as Gwydion took his time to carefully cut the vine. It was a yellow vine that was barbed and wrapped around a tree like any other parasitic plant, stealing water from the tree it was attached to. As he cut it, he handed it off to Blaise, who waited next to him. “Now remember, one prick of this and..!”

“I know Gwy, it will irritate the skin until it’s powdered,” Blaise muttered with an eye roll. Gwydion pouted at being interrupted but nodded.

“At least you remember,” Gwydion said, turning to locate and cut a few others. They had been fortunate to locate a good abundance of them in one little area. The group had gotten to work gathering what they needed if not a little more just for future use so they had no reason to return to this area for a while. While the others worked, Calla remained next to Marick, watching them. However, she would occasionally feel eyes on her, making her look around.

Marick seemed to take notice of that and sighed. “I’m sure we are being watched to make sure we don’t do something.” he pointed out, making her look up at him. “They would have to be very foolish to try and attack a full coven like this.”

“Didn’t you say that Blaise had issues with werewolves before everyone came back?” she asked, to which he nodded at her question.

“Juveniles,” Marick answered, keeping his eyes on the others. “Around this time of the year, young wolves who are becoming of age tend to get a little antsy to prove themselves or look strong in front of their mate. It’s not unheard of to have them try and fight other magicals to prove themselves. The worst is any young alphas who have yet to take over. They are aggressive, hormonal, and honestly a pest to anyone.”

Calla gave a slight giggle at that. “You make it sound as if you were never been young and dumb.” she teased, making him scowl at her.

“It’s one thing to be naive and young, and another thing to be a pain,” he muttered, as usual, avoiding any questions about his younger years. The man was a mystery.

She looked over when she smelled burning plants, seeing Blaise was lightly roasting the vines in his hand with a small fire in the other. It seemed that he was taking the mission seriously, focusing on keeping his magic under control. When he put his mind to it, Blaise was a highly capable warlock, even Calla could see that. It was nice that he had been working on his anger as slowly as he had been. If anything, it seemed she was a positive influence on him.

It seemed that Blaise felt her staring as his face was growing red with a blush, him keeping his eyes down so as not to be distracted. The sight was kind of cute and made her smile warmly at him.

Finally, it seemed they had collected all they needed, Marick moving over to collect the items and place them in a jar while Raven helped Gwydion down from the tree as the man’s hair had gotten caught during his climb down. Of course, Raven took that time to mock his brother for his choice of hair length when he did.

“There, now we can head back, right?” Blaise asked, looking up at Marick as the man closed the jar and set it in a bag around his shoulder where the other items were. Marick’s purple eyes fell to him before he gave a nod. It seemed even Marick shared the desire to head home, not that he was much of a people person.

“Blaise, help me get your mentor from the tree. The idiot’s hair is all tangled in this branch.” Raven called, making Blaise look their way. He grumbled.

“Of course he did. Why not just cut his hair?” Blaise asked as he walked over. Gwydion shot a dark look.

“If either of you takes a knife to my lovely hair, I will curse you forever!” he exclaimed, making Raven laugh and Blaise roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, hang on,” Blaise said as he climbed up to where the hair was stuck and started to untangle the mess. In the end, he just cut the branches just to get Gwydion down and allow him to pick out the items himself. With that done, Blaise sighed. “Alright, let’s head home, Calla.”

However, he paused, looking to where she had been only a few minutes ago. She hadn’t been that far from where Marick was. Just a few steps away by the treeline. Now, she was nowhere to be found. “Calla?” Blaise called. That caught the other’s attention as they looked his way before looking around.

“Love?” Gwydion called, eyes wide as he searched around them. Raven looked worried but soon looked angry.

“Who could have…? She was just with us!” Raven said as the group looked around. Blaise’s eyes went from confusion to panic. He rushed over to the treeline to look around.

“Calla!” Blaise called before movement in the trees soon made his blood boil. Wolves. Wolves had snuck up, using the trees, knowing that the warlocks wouldn’t sense them if they kept their energy low. He growled and took off into the forest after the movement that he was.

“Blaise! Wait!” Gwydion called but Blaise was far too focused on reaching Calla to hear him. He had made a vow to keep her safe, there was no way he could stand by and think logically about the possible trap he was running into while she was in danger.

Calla struggled against the arms of the male wolf as she looked around in terror. It looked to be about 20 young wolves between the ages of 16 to 23 who all snarled or snickered as she was dragged over. They looked ready for a fight, excitement on their faces as she looked between the different faces of the men and women. She had been watching the others as they moved about to help Gwydion when a hand and arm had wrapped around her, pulling her back against someone. Her eyes had widened as she tried to struggle before she was pulled back through the brush and trees swiftly, trying to scream for the others, who hadn’t noticed she was taken. It was a male who had grabbed her, but he didn’t seem to be the one in charge as he dragged her through the group towards someone in the center of the little camp. It seemed the group had been out here for a few days, the charred remains of a large campfire in the center area with a few tents or blankets resting around.

As she scanned the area, there was something that caught her eye. The orange orb of a walking cane was in the hands of a young female wolf who glared at her as they moved passed. Was that? No, surely they wouldn’t have taken his cane.

However, she didn’t have time to powder that as she was violently tossed to hit a tree nearby, making her cry out in pain before she scrambled to try and get away, only to be grabbed by the larger wolf male. His fingers dug into her flesh as he pushed her against the tree.

“Yep,” he sneered as he sniffed the air. “There is no mistaking it. This is his bitch.” Calla trembled in fear as she looked up at the intimidating male before her. “That fucking firebug will come running in no time and this time the warlocks will not get involved.”

There was a giggle before a female wrapped her arms around the male before Calla. “You know his powers won’t work if he’s made. Why not mull his precious little non-magical mate? If he sees her mangled, he’ll really be baited into a fight.” Calla’s eyes widened at her words, even more so as the male smirked, eyeing Calla.

“...We’ll keep that on the table. She’s a cute little thing. I wouldn’t want to ruin her unless it comes down to it.” the male said. Calla trembling in fear. She wanted to scream, wanting the others to find her. “After the boy dies, I’ll keep his mate for my own pleasure.”

Calla tried to glare at him. “D-Drop dead! Blaise won’t lose to any of you!” she said before her eyes widened as the female attached to the male growled. She swiftly moved to slap Calla hard across the face.

“Who gave you the right to talk to the future alpha that way, you whore!” she yelled, the male grabbing the female and pushing her back.

“Enough!” the male growled, the other wolves looking antsy as they moved about, waiting for orders from the man. The alpha sighed. “Honestly, if you weren’t so willing to please me… just held onto the shiny thing you wanted and shut up.” Calla held her face, the sting of her slap radiating heat as tears fell from her eyes. The male scanned her before smirking, reaching out to pull her to him. “I like the sharpness of your tongue, but keep it up and I’m not holding her back. By a good little slut, will you? I want you to scream for your man.” He gripped her arm tightly, pain running through her body as she let out a scream. He could almost break her bones with how strong his grip was. Tears were in her eyes which closed tightly.

“Blaise!” she cried, trying to get away only for a few of the wolves to laugh, no one caring about the pain she was in.

Suddenly, there was a yelp of pain that came not from Calla but from the female werewolf nearby, making Calla open her eyes at the familiar energy she felt. However, the sight before her didn’t make her feel less at ease. She had been right, the cane the female had been holding had been Aro’s. The cane that had been in her hands was now held out and in the hand of the golden-haired man that stood before her, facing away from the others. She didn’t realize what had happened until the smell of blood hit her nose, making her eyes widen in terror.

The female’s eyes were wide in horror as Aro reached out and touched her chin to keep her focus on him. The cane slipped from her hands with ease. Whatever spell that Aro had done, the outcome was that the paling female had a massive hole through her chest where the orb of the cane pointed towards.

Aro let out a sigh, leaning down to the female. “You shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you,” he said calmly, his words laced with ice that made Calla shiver. With that he let go, the female dropping lifelessly to the ground. A snarl nearby snapped her attention to the alpha male that had been hurting her as he turned his full attention to the sharply dressed warlock that now stood among them. However, the mix of panic on the faces of the werewolves around her was clear. They were pissed but as Aro casually brushed himself off, they seemed to shift on their feet as if trying to determine if it was a smarter idea to run or fight.

“Why you-!” the leader of the group of wolves yelled, his anger building only to get cut off as Aro seemed to turn towards their direction but looked past him to lock eyes with Calla. It was as if none of the wolves were even there as Aro closed his eyes with an exaggerated sigh.

“Little lamb, you seem to have a habit of getting into trouble with magicals,” he said calmly as he took steps towards her. Calla’s body felt cold, not sure what to fear more. The leader of the wolves moved between them with a low snarl in his throat, gripping her arm tight enough to make her make a sound of pain.

“You have no business here! Leave or you will die!” the leader snapped angrily, his words seemed to pull the other juveniles to shift on their feet again but look much more aggressive. Oddly enough, Calla noticed Aro stop but his eyes were focused on her, scanning her lightly before he finally acknowledged the wolf before him.

Aro’s mouth twitched into a smirk. It was clear he didn’t find them intimidating but there was something else in his eyes that she would have explored more if it wasn’t for the fact she was terrified of what was going on around her. It almost looked as if he was silently seething in anger at the sight of cuts and bruises on her body.

“Oh, but you are mistaken. This is my business. You see, I just said that you filthy creatures shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you, especially things that belong to me.” Aro said, twirling his cane before moving to tap his chin with a coy smirk, making Calla shiver as his orange eyes met her blue ones again. “I’m not very good at sharing my toys, including that cute little lamb.”

“What the hell are you on about? This human reeks of that one’s scent! It’s clear he has mated with her!” one wolf yelled, though it seemed that Aro seemed disinterested in whatever he said, which only angered him more.

“So I would say it is in your best interest to hand her over and then I might consider not making you all into a nice fur rug,” Aro said darkly. Calla was more than sure he was being completely honest with his threat. However, it seemed to go over the heads of a few of the wolves, including the one who had spoken up about Calla not being Aro’s.

There were angry growls from the wolves. “Don’t tell us what to do you damn fairy! This isn’t your territory! Leave before we alert the clans!” the wolf to the left of Aro growled. Aro frowned before he just sighed, fixing his hat.

“And this is why I prefer cats…” he muttered before his eyes met Calla’s again with a serious expression. He signaled her to close her eyes as he smirked, raising his cane as some of the more aggressive wolves rushed him. Calla looked terrified but closed her eyes just as she saw the orange orb glow. There was a scream of pain and cries of agony before Calla felt a hand take hers and she was pulled into following someone.

She opened her eyes as she heard loud howling from in the distance to see Aro pull her into his arms, turning just in time to dodge an attack by a fully shifted wolf that stood about the same height as a timber wolf. Calla let out a cry of fear, clinging to Aro as he raised his walking cane to send a blast of dark energy toward one of the multiple wolves that circled them.

“Calla!” a voice yelled as a fireball hit a wolf headed towards them, causing the wolf to let out a shriek in pain. Blaise rushed over, eyes widening at the sight of Aro. “What are you-?!”

However, the conversation was cut short as Aro sent a dark spell past Blaise to take out a wolf behind him. “A little busy,” Aro said calmly. Blaise growled before turning to cover Aro’s back as the other wolves circled them.

“Blaise!” Calla exclaimed, tears in her eyes as she saw his energy flair. “I-I’m sorry! I tried to scream when I was grabbed but-!”

“Are you hurt?” Blaise asked, using the fact that his magic was fire-based to keep the wolves at bay for now.

“N-No… I-!” she started before she was cut off.

“She has multiple cuts and bruises on her body from what I saw briefly,” Aro stated calmly, though sounding slightly disappointed by that. Blaise shot him a glare as Aro raised his cane to attack another wolf that charged through the wall of fire. Aro smirked at the glare and shrugged. “I figured I would say something before you thought I did something. I’m not one to take credit for other people’s work.”

Blaise growled at him before focusing on the danger around them. “Shut up, Aro,” he grumbled, to which Aro just smirked with a wink down towards Calla.

“You would think he’d be a bit more grateful,” Aro muttered towards her, making Calla give him a slight scowl, only to soon look fearful as she hid her face into his chest as a wolf lunged at them. She heard a yelp of pain before feeling Aro shift on his feet, meaning that the wolf had been taken care of.

In a swift motion, Calla felt him take off his coat and tossed it to blind one of the wolves before touching his shirt with his cane. She watched as it shifted, the backing seemingly disappearing much to her confusion before his eyes locked with hers. Aro smirked at her reaction.

“Hold tight~!” he said as he wrapped his arm around her. With a scream, Calla wrapped her arms around his neck as he jumped up into the air to dodge another attack. However, before she would have expected them to fall to the ground again, her attention was grabbed by a flash of light. Opening her eyes, she looked up as he wrapped both arms around her before a look of shock and awe filled her expression. Delicate, and brightly colored butterfly wings flapped gracefully, keeping them airborne as a smirk seemed to dance across Aro’s face. The sight seemed to catch Blaise by surprise as well though the man didn’t have the luxury to keep his eyes off the wolves for too long. A loud howl echoed through the treeline, making Blaise let out a curse under his breath. The wolves had just signaled an attack to the nearby clans, meaning that they were about to get into some serious trouble.

Aro’s eyes glanced in a direction with a slightly annoyed look before his eyes returned to Calla’s, his smile returning. His hold tightened before he smirked, looking back towards Blaise who was still keeping the wolves back. “I’ll leave the rest of this to you,” Aro said, Calla’s eyes widening and a cold feeling sweeping through her. Blaise’s eyes widened as he turned towards them.

“Aro!” Blaise growled just in time before Calla had to hold tight as the feeling of a fast breeze whipped around her. She opened her eyes to see Aro seemed to be flying off with her. Her eyes widened before she started to struggle.

“N-No! Let go of me!” she exclaimed, only to hear Aro laugh at that.

“You wish for me to let you go? I would look down before making such a demand,” he said. Calla looked down only for her eyes to widen in fear at the sight of how high off the ground they were. Instinctively, she clung to him, trembling as she whimpered. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked up at him.

“A-Aro, please! Please don’t leave him to die. W-We have to go back!” she cried, hating she was pleading with a man who clearly didn’t care. She heard Aro give a hum at that, weaving through the trees.

“He’ll be fine. The boy is far too stubborn to let me fly off with you. If anything, he’s probably already taken out half the forest and is on his way in our direction.” Aro said calmly before something seemed to catch him off guard. One of the wolves had jumped into the tree and jumped at them. Aro let out an angry sound of pain as the two were knocked from the sky, moving himself to keep Calla from hitting the ground as they fell. She let out a scream, clinging to Aro as they finally rolled to a stop but Aro grunted as he hit a tree hard. “Damn… mutt.”

Calla’s eyes widened in terror as she struggled to get up, hearing a growl from the wolf as it got to its feet. She panicked, looking at the wounded Aro and the wolf. “W-What do I do? What should I do?” she said in her fear, tears falling from her eyes. Aro grunted, attempting to get up, but he had oddly taken most of the hits on the way down from the trees and ground. Calla looked around frantically before her eyes fell to the walking cane nearby. She trembled as she got to her feet, facing the wolf as she stood between the approaching man as he shifted to his human form and Aro. The male wolf let out a snicker. It must have been a sight, a non-magical girl trembling, crying, and trying to look as if she would be able to do anything to stop him or even protect the magical behind her.

“You’re brave, I’ll give you that, girly…” the wolf said with a dark grin on his face. He took deliberate steps towards her. He sniffed the air before licking his lips. “Perhaps I’ll keep you rather than kill you. The scent of that warlock will leave you after a few nights of me making you my whore. You’re pretty enough that no one would question it. I assure you, wolves fuck a lot harder than that boy could. You can fight me all you want the first few times. It won’t take long before your body craves me having my way with you.”

She tried her best to glare at him, taking a step back. “D-Drop dead! I’m no one’s whore!” she exclaimed, only for the wolf to laugh at that.

“Good, I’m gonna love breaking that spirit. Now I see why the Abyss dweller is interested in you.” The wolf laughed. There was a chuckle from behind Calla as she hadn’t noticed Aro had used the tree to get to his feet until she had backed up against him. The sight seemed to piss off the wolf as he growled at the sight.

“A special little lamb, isn’t she,” Aro said before reaching around to take hold of the cane in her hands. “Too bad you’ll never know.” Calla’s eyes widened at that, feeling the flow of magic around her like it had been with Blaise during training. Water, she had to feel as if she was surrounded by water. Calla closed her eyes tightly, feeling his power flowing through her and into the cane. Aro’s power was incredible, even with this, she could feel how much stronger he was as an elite. Wave after wave of his power flowed around her as she heard the wolf let out a scream. She didn’t want to see what was going on, just keeping her hands on the cane. The waves of power soon stopped and Calla’s legs trembled as she refused to open her eyes, barely able to stand as she fell back against Aro. The area was silent and no one seemed to be moving.

“...Interesting…” she heard Aro mutter as if something had surprised him. She sniffled, opening her teary eyes, about to look up at him before she heard someone call for her.

“Calla!” Blaise’s voice called. She looked up to see him running towards her, a glow of red on the horizon. Had he burnt down the forest to reach her?

“B-Blaise!” she cried out, about to pull away only to be stopped by Aro, holding the cane against her and leaning in to whisper into her ear.

“You keep getting more interesting, dear.” he purred into her ear, making her blush deeply and shiver. “I left you something in that tree by the cottage. If you need to reach me for any reason, feel free to reach out.” She was spun around before squeaking in surprise as he placed a deep kiss, dominating every inch of it before pulling away.

“FUCK YOU!” Blaise yelled as he attempted to hit the blonde. Aro laughed at that, dodging the attack before giving a bow.

“Maybe later~!” Aro sang before turning, the extent of his wounds showing. His clothes were torn, his wings damaged as they disappeared. He was bruised and bloody, which had a part of Calla worried about him. Aro gave a half-wave. “Bye-bye now!” With that, he disappeared.

“Blaise! Calla!” a voice called. Blaise growled but moved to hold Calla close.

“We are here, Raven!” Blaise called, Calla looking up at him before seeing the others rushing towards them. Marick seemed to scan the trees as if looking for something, almost as if he knew that Aro had been in the area.

Gwydion rushed to the two of them, looking more like a panicked father than anything else. “You’re both wounded! What happened? Let me see?” he said frantically as he seemed to poke and tug at both Blaise and Calla. Blaise growled and swatted him away.

“Not now Gwy! If you haven’t noticed, the damn forest is on fire.” Blaise said, holding Calla closer to him. Raven just sighed at that, looking towards the encroaching red sky of the burning lumber.

“Yes, we saw. Great work, Blaise… the council will love this report of this one.” Raven muttered, Blaise about to protest before he was cut off.

“I can sense Aro’s magic in the area. If anything, they will blame him for this mess.” Marick said calmly, his purple eyes falling to Calla as he scanned her slightly. A strange look was in his eye, one of curiosity, but nothing he was going to address right now. “For now, let’s head back to the cottage. We have what we need.”

The others nodded at that, all not willing to stick around for any reason at this point. Surely the wolves would ask for blood for what had happened, ignoring the fact that the juveniles had been the reason behind the attack to begin with.

It was on the approach to the cottage that Raven seemed to pause. “Marick,” Raven said after a moment, making the others stop to look back at him. The dark-haired man had a serious look on his face. “We should move the cottage to the other realm.” Calla seemed surprised to hear that, eyes wide as she looked between the two people in power within the coven. Raven’s gray eyes narrowed at Marick. “I know we have discussed this in the past, but with Calla with us now and with Aro aiming for her, relocating the cottage to the estate land would be the best way to keep her safe.”

“I agree,” Marick said, almost as soon as Raven finished. His answer must have been a shock as Calla noticed the look of surprise on everyone’s face. Marick’s expression was calm as he nodded, turning to head inside. “I’ll send a formal letter to the council tonight to combine our estates. As soon as we get the permits, we leave.” With that, he walked in, leaving the four others watching after him.

“I…honestly didn’t expect him to agree so fast,” Raven said before he sighed and shook his head. He turned to look towards Blaise, looking between him and Calla. “While Marick and I deal with the logistics of the merger, Calla and you are welcome to stay at the estate. Gwy, you bring them there tomorrow.”

“W…Wait! Are you sure?” Blaise asked, taken aback as he looked towards Raven. Raven just smiled and waved it off.

“Just don’t break anything while you three are there on your own.” he teased, Blaise grumbling at that but nodded, the group soon following Raven back inside the cottage.

Calla groaned as she awoke the next morning. It felt different, waking up not only in the other realm but in a different home. Raven’s estate was stunning, the guest bed that became Blaise and Calla’s room was soft and comfortable. The estate felt like an extension of the cottage but it didn’t change the feeling of being in a new place once night fell.

She turned over to see the still asleep Blaise next to her. She couldn’t help but smile, leaning in to kiss his cheek before pulling away. Not wanting to wake him, she slowly got out of the bed, pulling her nightdress back on. She gave a small yawn as she moved towards the mirror in the room to brush out her hair. As she did, she took notice of the love bite on her neck, blushing softly as her fingers moved to touch it. Blaise was always so careful with her that she was surprised that he had even gotten so into last night to give her a mark. She was glad, meaning he was getting more comfortable with sleeping with her.

Turning to head towards the wardrobe, Calla paused, feeling a strange feeling inside of her. She made a confused face, looking down at her hands. She felt an energy flowing through her body, though a lot fainter than that of Blaise’s power. Still, it made her confused and slightly afraid. That fear only grew as suddenly a white light began to glow from her hands, strange energy flowing around her.

“B-Blaise?” she called, looking as the light became glittery sparks that danced around her whole body. She heard him give a groan and the sound of the bed creaking as he began to sit up.

“What?” he called, still not fully awake. Calla’s eyes were wide as she turned to him, her hands up as the sparks of energy flowed around her. Her blue eyes met his as he suddenly went from tired to wide-eyed.

“What….What’s happening?” she asked with fear in her voice.

Calla’s relationship with Blaise has increased.

The other realm and other secrets await! Blaise's story continues in chapter 20.