“Gwydion!”

Calla saw Gwydion’s form move hesitantly when she cried out to him, arms reaching. He looked intimidating, eyes focused as if plotting what he was going to do. As for Aro, Calla felt his hands stop as soon as she called for Gwydion. She whimpered as she heard him start to laugh before her head was pulled back by her hair to look up into his cold eyes.

“Gwydion? The prince of heartbreak himself?” Aro asked in amusement before Calla struggled again, feeling Aro’s hands slip over her breasts, groping her a little. “And yet you are still pure… how interesting~”

“S-Stop!” Calla yelled, eyes blurry with tears as she felt him continue to touch her.

All at once, the trees around them began to move, the branches reaching out and grabbing Aro, pulling him away from Calla. She looked back in horror as the blonde man looked more curious about his situation, arms and legs impaled by the branches and yet not causing him any pain. Aro’s white clothes were beginning to stain red with his blood.

She jolted when she felt arms wrap around her, only to look up to see Gwydion had removed the coat he had been wearing that morning to place around her before holding her close. He was glaring at Aro, who soon gave a snicker.

“Such intensity… and here I thought I was the only one who was a glutton for punishment.” he teased, moving to touch one of the branches that were pierced through his skin before humming. With a wave of his cane, the branches disintegrated into black ash, making Aro fall to the ground. He didn’t step closer to them, however, just calmly brushed himself off before looking a tad disappointed when he touched his bloody clothing.

“You ruined my nice clothes,” Aro muttered as if nothing had happened.

“You heard Marick. You are not welcome here.” Gwydion said darkly, raising his hand which danced with his lovely magic. The trees began to shake again, making Aro glance back at them with a curious expression. While he did, Calla saw the others had moved over, all very defensive.

“You can see this place is protected by wards, Aro. You are outnumbered and have no way to reach us. Cut your losses and leave.” Raven said sharply as he stood next to his brother. Calla looked slightly confused by Raven’s words but her thoughts soon disappeared as she heard Aro give a chuckle.

“Never a disappointment when it comes to you boys,” Aro said calmly, catching Calla’s attention when he flashed her a coy smile. He looked towards Marick. “Fine, I will just send my request once I get home. You remember the location.”

He looked towards Calla again which made the already tense Gwydion hold her tightly. Aro just scanned them a moment before smirking.

“When you drop off my request in the other realm, bring the little lamb. I would love to play with her again.” Aro said in his charming tone once again which made her shiver. She had no idea why, but his words came off as a threat. Even more so as she heard Gwydion give a ‘tsk’ in anger.

Aro just smiled, removing his hat as he gave a bow before returning it to his head, turning and disappearing into the dark shadows of the forest. It would be moments after he was gone when there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief from the group, even Marick seemed less tense. That was also the moment when Calla’s adrenaline began to fade and the pain of what Aro had done set in. Her legs felt like jelly as they gave in, making Gwydion give a sound of surprise as he caught her.

“Calla!” he said as he did, soon scooping the girl into his arms, holding her close. His eyes were wide, seeing the blood from the surprisingly deep cuts on her skin.

“Gwydion, get her inside and tend to her wounds,” Marick said, making the man look in his direction and give a nod. Marick turned to Raven and Blaise. “You two follow me,” Marick added before looking towards the forest. “I want to make sure he’s actually gone.”

Calla didn’t get to see anything more as she was soon whisked into the cottage by Gwydion. She was placed onto Marick’s bed in the front room while Gwydion moved to grab the nearby chair.

“Calla, undo the top of your dress so I can access the wound,” Gwydion said in a surprisingly stern tone. If it were any other time, she would hesitate, thinking this was some kind of plot to get her out of her clothes. However, she knew this was serious and gave a nod, doing as he said as she undid the backing of her dress, pulling it away so it covered her breasts but allowed her to see the full extent of what Aro had done. She shivered, feeling disgusted at the memory of his hands fondling her as Gwydion set the chair before her and sat down. He seemed to scan the wounds on her chest and face a moment before his eyes shot to hers.

He frowned. “Healing this will be rather uncomfortable. May I use my ability?” he asked, making Calla blink a little, clearing tears from her eyes. She just simply nodded wordlessly, at the moment trusting Gwydion to do his job without any other motives.

As soon as she gave the okay, he nodded back, placing his hand over the wound on her chest. His hand began to shimmer with his magic as Calla watched in amazement as her wounds began to mend themselves. She could tell he was using his ability, feeling that slightly stirring feeling wash over like a drug that took away the pain. However, this time he wasn’t adding the bonus of arousal with his touch, making it clear he had full control over what his touch could do.

She tugged her shredded dress tighter to her as she watched him, sniffling a little. “Who...Who was that guy?” she asked through trembling lips. She shivered, once again feeling Aro’s hands on her body. She saw Gwydion’s eyes narrow slightly, still focused on her wounds.

“His name is Aro,” Gwydion said with slight anger in his tone. “He’s one of an elite group of warlocks that Marick also falls into the category of. He’s also known as the Jester.”

“And he isn’t supposed to be in the area.” the sudden voice of Blaise rang out, making Calla jolt as she looked over to see the other three walk into the cottage. Blaise looked back to Marick as the men moved to stand in the room. “What is he doing back here? I thought he was in exile.”

“He was supposed to be, but as a powerful warlock of the other realm, it’s not uncommon that he was pulled out of exile for a quest,” Raven stated bitterly, folding his arms. Marick looked at both of them before his eyes fell on Calla. Walking over, he leaned down to scan her face before looking at Gwydion.

“How are her wounds?” Marick asked. Gwydion didn’t look up but hummed a little.

“I’m almost finished,” Gwydion answered with a trace of bitterness in his tone. “He had placed traces of his magic into her cuts.” Calla shivered at that, looking at Marick who seemed to hold a small amount of concern on his hard-to-read face.

“W-What does that mean?” she asked, her fear returning. Marick’s purple eyes darted at hers again, seemingly staring into her soul as he seemed to be thinking something over.

“I’m not sensing anything… but it would be a good idea to give her an enchanted crystal to wear just to be on the safe side. I wouldn’t put it past Aro to try something.” Marick said coldly, rising to his full height. Gwydion gave a nod as Calla looked between the two.

“Sick bastard,” Blaise growled, to which Raven seemed to agree as Calla caught him giving a slight nod at Blaise’s comment.

Raven’s attention turned to Marick as the man with long silver hair moved to stand by one of the windows. “So what do we do now? You, above anyone, know what would be Aro’s next plan of action.” He said. Calla frowned, wondering if Marick had some kind of past with Aro. Then again, Raven also seemed to know something about Aro as well given how tense he had been and still was.

Marick sighed. “We will have to tread carefully. Aro is like a serpent who waits for his moment to strike.” Marick said bitterly, moving to rub his eyes. “And now that he knows Calla is here…”

The room got quiet, making Calla’s worry grow as she looked at the faces of all the men. It seemed there was something they all understood, something about the danger Calla was in. Her attention went back to Gwydion as he finished up and sighed, His hand moved to lightly touch her shredded dress before getting to his feet.

“Stay here, I’ll get you something to change into,” Gwydion said, turning to leave the room. Blaise watched him leave before frowning.

“I’ve never seen him so tense…” he muttered, folding his arms. Raven gave a sigh.

“Given Aro had his hands all over, Calla. It doesn’t surprise me that he is.” Raven noted bitterly. Calla frowned, blushing lightly at the idea of Gwydion being so worried about her. If the moment wasn’t so tense, she would be happy knowing she was so special to him.

“What does Aro want?” Calla finally asked, looking at the three left in the room. Marick hummed in thought as he looked her way, almost as if he was thinking of how he wanted to explain, while Blaise just looked off angrily. Raven glanced at Marick’s direction before frowning.

“We probably shouldn’t sugar coat it, Marick…” Raven pointed out, making Marick’s expression harden like a stone. The comment surprised her as Marick never seemed like the person who would sugarcoat anything. He was normally brutally honest. However, it seemed that whatever Marick knew, he didn’t really want to go into it.

Marick finally nodded. “Aro is someone who has been attempting to take out this coven for a while now. He doesn’t care much for competition but loves a challenging battle.” Marick began to explain, seemingly trying not to say too much about how he knows so much. “Aro was a part of five elite magicals known as the immortals. I am one of those elites, and so is Madam Coffer. Aro has killed the other two members of that elite group leaving us as the last three immortals. What Aro wants is to fight and kill the members of this coven, mostly out of boredom.”

“However,” Raven cut in with a frown. “He’s not a fool. He knows that a fight against all of us would be a death sentence like it would be with any coven. So he tends to use methods to split the coven up to be able to fight them.”

Marick sighed, rubbing his eyes a little. “Exactly…” Marick muttered bitterly before pulling his hand away to look towards Calla again. “He does that by going after the weakest members first or by finding something that coven cares about to use against them.”

Calla’s eyes widened in fear, it finally clicking. She shrank a little into herself, looking off. “He wants to use me to get to you guys?” she asked, mostly for confirmation. She shivered as she looked up to see the faces of the others who seemed to go hard to read. That meant she had hit the nail on the head. Having the memory of what Aro did to her fresh in her head, Calla could put the pieces together. It wasn’t so much that Aro was powerful, it seems the coven was used to dealing with him. It was the fact that everyone knew that Aro was sadistic and cunning which was the source of danger. She trembled, not wanting to think about what Aro would do to her if he got his hands on her again. Would she be raped? Tortured? Killed? Just seeing how Aro was in the brief encounter she had, she wouldn’t put anything past him as long as it got him the results he wanted.

She looked towards the hall that led to the rooms as she heard Gwydion curse loudly. He walked in, a new dress draped over his arm while his eyes were on something in his other hand. He held a parchment that looked as if it had been tied up with a bow, which now was hanging loosely on his hand as he read over the note. He looked up, an annoyed look in his eyes as he moved to offer it to Marick.

“This just came to my window. You will want to read this.” Gwydion said as he did. Marick took the note to look it over as Gwydion turned to move to Calla. He handed her the dress, his eyes gentle as he looked down at her still seated on the bed.

“Change into this. You can stand behind me while you do if you don’t want to be watched,” he said calmly. Calla hesitated, not sure if she liked the idea of changing before the whole group, but Gwydion seemed to be offering to block the view. She nodded, getting up and handing him back his long coat. Gwydion turned to face away from her, putting on the coat but holding it out to give her more cover as she stood behind him to change.

She heard Marick click his tongue. “Let me guess who it’s from…” Blaise muttered bitterly. “What does he want?”

“He wants 10 vials of death’s kiss potion to be brought to him in the other realm. There is also a quest here to deal with goblins that I’m assuming he didn’t want because it didn’t sound interesting enough.” Marick explained, Calla was unable to see the man’s angered expression but heard him toss the parchment onto the table with the vials. “He’s giving us three weeks to prepare before we head to the other realm.”

Calla froze as she heard that, her eyes widening in horror as she was pulling on the new dress. “Does...Does that mean…” she started, still hidden behind Gwydion.

“That bastard!” she heard Blaise hiss in anger. “He’s doing that on purpose, isn’t he?”

“Gwydion,” Calla heard Marick start only to be cut off.

“No,” Gwydion said sternly. “I know what you are going to order me to do and I refuse.”

Calla turned to look up towards him, still in the process of doing up her buttons. “You of all people are going to refuse an order to have sex? You’re the one who’s been pressuring her since she got here!” Blaise stated more in disbelief rather than an annoyance in his voice. Calla gave a look of shock as she stared at Gwydion. He glanced back at her, seeing that she was dressed, and sighed, putting his arms down and turning to her. The rest of the room was staring her way as well.

Marick grumbled a little. “He gave us a three-week deadline to go to the other realm. Aro is far too crafty to leave you at the cottage while we are gone, even with the wards and if someone were to stay here. He’s not giving us much of a choice.” Marick explained, making Calla frown. He sighed. “I’m sorry Calla, but you know what this means.”

“I’m not taking her tonight just because you would be more comfortable with the knowledge that she’s no longer pure,” Gwydion said suddenly, making Calla look back to him again with a look of surprise. He was serious, eyes closed a moment before turning towards Marick. “We have three weeks. As much as I hate the idea that we have to force this, I promise she will not be a virgin by the time we go to the other realm.”

Calla shifted uncomfortably, looking down before Gwydion continued, “But only when she is comfortable enough to be okay to do so with me,” Gwydion said with a soft, gentle tone. She looked back up at him, her heart skipping a beat. Of all the people, she was surprised to hear him be the most caring about her feelings towards the idea of suddenly having to be intimate. It seemed she wasn’t the only one surprised by his words, even his own brother looked on with surprise.

She smiled warmly up at him. “Thank you, Gwy…” she said softly in return, making his expression become more loving.

Marick clicked his tongue in annoyance again but sighed. “Just understand the longer you wait, the more tempted Aro will be to attack her,” he said bitterly before waving his hand. “Now get out of my area. I will need complete concentration to make the potions he wants.”

Gwydion nodded, offering his hand to Calla. Once she took it he smiled and led her to his room.

Raven and Blaise watched as they left. Blaise folded his arms. “He either really cares about her or he’s feeling guilty about something…” Blaise muttered. Raven smirked lightly.

“It could be both you know…” he pointed out as he turned to leave the room. “He cares about her which is why he’s guilty about something to the point where he hasn’t been pressuring her as much.”

Blaise frowned at that before grumbling, moving to head to his own room.

Once inside Gwydion’s room, Calla sighed, moving over to sit on his bed. She hugged herself tightly, looking off. So much was running through her mind that it was hard to focus on one or the other. She only looked up when she felt Gwydion sit on the bed next to her. He gave a soft sigh, moving one of his hands to clear tears from her face.

“I’m sorry, Calla,” he said tenderly. She just sniffled and looked off. Oddly enough, since coming back from the city, Gwydion hadn’t been as pushy towards her as he had been, even with her reminding him that she was willing to do a little more with him. He was still flirty but something seemed to be bothering him. However, he never brought it up.

She moved to clear tears from her eyes. “I was so scared… that guy… Madam Coffer was nothing compared to him…” she said, shivering. “I...I still feel his hands on me…”

Gwydion frowned at that, moving to pull her into his arms, rubbing her arm. “I could only imagine love… I was so horrified when I saw you in his arms. And when you cried out for me… I knew I had to do something.” he said, clinging to her. “I put you in a lot of danger using that spell. He could have easily done something to counter and who knows what he would have done in retaliation…”

Calla frowned, clinging to him, wanting to be as close to him as she could. In his arms, her memories of Aro’s hands on her didn’t appear.

“Gwy?” she started, comforted by him running his fingers through her hair.

“Yes, love?” he asked with a soft tone as he continued to soothe her. She buried her head into his chest.

“Can I...Can I start staying in your room?” she asked, feeling him pause. She couldn’t see the overjoyed look on Gwydion’s face. The guy looked as if he wanted to cry, but soon got a hold of himself and returned to soothe her.

“...You believe you can trust me enough to start sharing a bed with me?” he asked curiously. Calla sighed.

“Of course I trust you.” She said softly before tugging his shirt. “But even if I didn’t, I have to sleep with you, right? You are allowed to do whatever you want now…”

Gwydion frowned at that before sighing, patting her head. “Not without your permission, Calla,” he replied before moving to gently lift her chin so she was looking up at him. He smiled warmly. “I want your first time with me to be because you want to be intimate with me, not because you feel obligated to do it. Sadly, that will need to be sooner than I had hoped, but my thought still stands.”

Calla blushed lightly, looking up at him. He was being so gentle, so loving. She almost forgot he tended to ruin moments like this by being coy by the time he gave her a playful smirk. “Besides, after our first time together, I plan to go at it like rabbits~!” he purred, making her huff with a deeper blush on her face before she pulled away.

“You are such a lecher…” she grumbled, making Gwydion chuckle and move to kiss her head.

“And you love me for it.” he sang, making her shoot him a slight glare. At least she was feeling better from what happened. Gwydion’s comments oddly helped to distract her from her thoughts of Aro.

It was a tense week and a half that would pass by the time Calla was surprised by Gwydion suddenly slipping a necklace over her head while she was at the dining table. At that time, she had been spending her nights with Gwydion. Outside of kissing and getting comfortable with him sleeping naked, Gwydion was oddly on his best behavior, much to the surprise of the others. Calla was sure that Marick was eyeing her every morning to see if she was still pure. Then again, given how concerned he was about Aro, she was sure Marick was getting stressed out by the upcoming deadline.

She blinked in surprise as she lightly touched the beautiful red crystal around her neck that pulsed with its own energy before looking up at Gwydion. “What’s this?” she asked curiously. He just chuckled with a wink.

“You’re crystal that wards against those with evil intent towards you,” he said happily, making her narrow her eyes at that before looking back towards the table.

“I thought I told you that I don’t believe these enchanted crystals work as you think they do. I have yet to see them repel you,” she muttered. Blaise, who was seated nearby, nearly choked at that comment, coughing on the apple he had been eating while Raven just laughed. Gwydion pouted at them before hugging Calla with a whine.

“You are so mean, Calla!” he whined. “And here I wanted to give you the prettiest crystal I could find as a token of my love!”

“Aren’t you being romantic,” Raven said with a smirk towards his brother. “But what use would something like that have while she is here?”

Gwydion beamed with a wide smile as he let go of Calla and rose to his full height. “For your information, dear brother. I did not give her this necklace with the intention of it protecting her while she is here. In fact, it’s for our date tonight!” he said happily. Calla looked confused as she looked up at him, but blushed.

“What date?” she asked, confused. Gwydion gave a chuckle, flashing her a playful grin.

“Why, the date to the opera of course! Don’t tell me you forgot.” Gwydion said before making a dramatic pose of disappointment. He smirked and touched his chin. “This will be my attempt to fully win your heart!”

Calla blushed deeper but sighed at him. “You’re strange…” she muttered, smiling. He gave her a wink and chuckled.

“I thought I told you that it would be dangerous for us to move about without the others,” Marick muttered, shooting a slightly annoyed look at the theatrics that was Gwydion.

Gwydion pouted towards him. “Well by all means you can join us in the city, but I will have this date with Calla without you all hovering around,” he said, putting his hands on his hips with a childish pout. He waved his hand. “We could even stay the rest of the week at that nice hotel in the city.”

“You were saying that you needed to head into the city again for materials.” Raven pointed out to Marick. He also moved to whisper something to Marick that Calla couldn’t hear. Marick rolled his eyes and motioned him to go away. Marick thought it over before nodding.

“Fine, we can gather what we need to stay in the city for a couple of days,” Marick said calmly, leaning back in his chair. “It might be a good chance to relax before we head to the other realm.”

Calla looked confused by it, catching Raven who flashed her a smile and a wink. It made her feel as if he was plotting something. Gwydion just chuckled. “Wonderful! I shall pack our bags!” he exclaimed, racing off towards his room. Calla watched after him before a thought hit her. She jumped up and raced after him.

“You are NOT packing that dress, Gwy!!” she exclaimed as she did, making Raven and Blaise laugh from the table. Even Marick gave a small smirk of amusement.

“What do you mean separate rooms!” Gwydion whined as he followed Raven up the stairs to the next floor. To be fair, Calla was also surprised to hear that. Ever since she started living with the coven, she had shared a bed with someone. However, Raven seemed to be trying to cause trouble and had told the group that he had gotten rooms for everyone, meaning that Calla would get her own room if she so desired.

Raven flashed a wicked grin towards his brother. “Well, as you said, this trip is only for a date right? Unless you want to admit that you are doing this for any other reason, I am afraid you will be staying in a separate room from Miss Calla. She does still have a chance to be with anyone else, you know.” Raven pointed out in a wicked tone. Gwydion looked as if he had been hit by a brick. He was in tears as he moved to Calla, grabbing her by her shoulders.

“Say it isn’t true, my love! Tell this fiend that you would never pick anyone else!” Gwydion exclaimed. The sight made Calla laugh, a blush on her face. He was being overly dramatic as usual.

“Gwy, you know you are just giving your brother what he wants.” She told him, making the older man pout before being pulled off of Calla by Blaise, who huffed.

“You are annoying,” Blaise said as he dragged Gwydion off towards the direction of his room. Calla laughed as she watched them before turning to look towards Marick who was already stopped at his room. She frowned.

“Marick?” she called, making him look her way. “I know you said it should be safe, but… should we put wards around my room just to be cautious?” She hadn’t left the cottage since her encounter with Aro, and although there hadn’t been news or sightings of the man, she still felt cautious. Marick hummed in thought before nodding.

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea.” He said after a while before giving a nod. “I will place some down once everyone has settled in.”

Calla gave a slight sigh of relief at that, nodding to Marick before moving towards her room. She entered and leaned against the door with a sigh. It was nice being able to get out of the cottage for a change, but she couldn’t deny she had a bad feeling. The deadline was getting closer, and she had denied Gwydion upon his requests to be intimate multiple times. She knew she had to, but at the same time, she didn’t know if she was ready.

Still, she had the date tonight to think about as she moved to put her suitcase down on the bed. She huffed as she opened it, seeing the frilly dress had managed to still get packed. Now it had a note on it telling her to wear it tonight for the opera. She grumbled at that, taking the dress out to look it over. It was a lovely dress, she just hated how much of a doll she felt in it. After all, the last thing she wanted to feel doing their date was that she was his toy.

A blush ran across her face as she set the dress down, moving to run her hand over her body. The last few weeks had been the closest things to intimate she had ever been involved in. Even now she could feel Gwydion’s kisses on her body, feel his hands explore her. She had even spent a night with him completely nude. Her body began to heat up at the memory of him over her, kissing her so passionately. She almost gave in that night, almost letting him have what he wanted when he asked. Calla was then reminded of the look of disappointment he had on his face when she turned him down. She felt bad that she kept doing that, knowing he was almost torturing himself with how aroused he got with no payoff. However, he never said he was upset with her for doing things like that.

She had noticed that Gwydion had a nice scent about him, always smelling of spices from cooking and freshness of flowers from when he tended the garden. That might be what she would miss the most having her own room for the four days they were here.

Calla turned her attention back to the dress and sighed. She had a few hours before the opera started but figured it was probably a good idea to get a bath in and change while Gwydion was distracted.

“Gwydion, wait!” Calla explained as she was nearly dragged by the overly excited man. He chuckled and slowed to a stop as they got to the opera house. People were gathering, moving inside around them as Gwydion turned to her.

Calla sighed, looking up at him. Not that Gwydion ever looked bad, but tonight, the man looked like he could be a prince, dressed in a fancy suit with red accents, a white shirt under the coat, and his long hair up in a loose ponytail. It made her blush a little at the idea of being on a date with such an attractive man. Of course, she wasn’t the only one whose eyes he caught as women of all ages oogled him.

“My apologies, love. I’m just excited to show you an opera!” He exclaimed with an excited tone. Calla just sighed, tugging on the frilly dress she was in. She wasn’t happy to be wearing it but Gwydion had looked so overjoyed when she walked out of her room in it that she couldn’t stay mad for too long.

She looked around, moving closer to Gwydion as she saw fancy people of all ages moving into the building. “There are so many people here…” she said softly, only to look up to see Gwydion smiling warmly at her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here.” He said calmly, offering her his arm. She blushed and took it, allowing him to lead her into the building where people mingled. A good few people looked their way, making Calla look down both embarrassed and feeling out of place. She was just some lowly farm girl who just happened to find a group of warlocks, being let into the whiles of high society was such a strange concept for her.

She heard Gwydion chuckle. “This time they are looking at you, my love,” he said, making her give him a shy look. He smiled down at her. “You look like a princess.”

“I feel like a doll,” she muttered back to him before giving a sigh. She gave him a look over. “If anything, you are the one who looks like royalty.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” a sudden voice said, making both look over to see who was speaking. Calla froze. The woman who was walking their way was a beauty, with long dark hair, and stunningly lovely hazel eyes. She looked to be in her 20s, taller than Calla with a tight black dress on with a slit that showed off her slender legs.

The woman gave Gwydion an interesting look over before her mouth curled into a grin. “I heard the great Gwydion was going to be here tonight and I was interested to see if the rumors were true.” the woman said happily. Her eyes fell on Calla and she hummed. “And with such a lovely pet.”

Gwydion gave a hum, moving towards the woman, Calla frowned as she saw his typical flirty grin on his face. “Well, you were right about the rumor of me being here,” he started before putting an arm around Calla, making the young girl blush. “However, the girl I am with is named Calla and though she is lovely, she is not a pet.”

The woman hummed at that, giving Calla a once over before smiling with a flirty grin as she looked back up at Gwydion. “How sweet, I guess the stories of you being a charmer are true.” She said, her smile becoming more coy. “Are the other stories I have heard about you true?”

Gwydion chuckled at that before giving a hum. “If they are good stories then, of course, ~” he purred. Calla looked between the two. She didn’t like this. Gwydion was flirting with some woman. A woman who had called her a pet, making Calla wonder if the beautiful woman was magical. Frowning, she couldn’t help but look off, clinging to Gwydion’s arm as if she were a child. It seemed to catch his attention as he looked down at her before smiling.

“How about we go find our seat?” he asked, making Calla look back up at him. She said nothing but gave a nod.

The woman hummed in thought before touching Gwydion’s arm. “You should come to find me sometime. I am always eager to see if rumors in our world are true~” she purred to him before winking and moving off. Calla watched her go before Gwydion just calmly led her towards the stairs.

“...She was very pretty…” Calla said after a while as they climbed. The stairwell at this height had very few people on it so she felt they could speak a bit more openly. “Is she magical?”

Gwydion glanced at her before smirking. “Calla, are you jealous?” he teased, making her huff a little.

“N-No…” she said, looking off. Gwydion just chuckled and stopped when they got to the top area, the archway leading to balcony seating. It seemed Gwydion spared no expense for tickets but as to how he got the money, she was still unsure.

“Don’t worry about her, Calla,” Gwydion said calmly, motioning her into the balcony box where two comfortable chairs awaited them. Calla eyed Gwydion but sighed. She had said that she trusted him after all, and this was the date he planned. She walked in, her thoughts shifting immediately to the view from this balcony. She could see everyone below them and the whole stage.

Gwydion chuckled at the look of wonder on Calla’s face before taking a seat. He leaned back, looking pretty proud of himself. “My courting skills are unmatched, my love. I did a wonderful job, no?” he asked with a smile towards her.

Calla blushed but gave him a slightly playful grin. “You might have overdone it a bit,” she said, mostly to see him take his ego down a little. He pouted at that before his smile returned and he gave her a wink.

“I also made sure we were high enough and in a dark enough place so if you wanted to give me your body while we were here yo-” he started only for Calla to give him a blank stare.

“No,” Calla cut him off before looking towards the stage. They were quiet a moment before Gwydion sighed.

“Always such a tease. And here I thought you wearing that cute dress was giving in to my needs.” Gwydion said, however, Calla noted this didn’t sound like he was teasing. She looked back at him and frowned, only for him to notice and smile.

“Teasing, love.” He said calmly before motioning to her seat. “Why not have a seat?”

She just stared at him a moment, not sure if she should call him out on the fact that she didn’t think he was teasing before she moved to sit down in the seat next to him.

“So, um… what is this opera about again?” she asked, glancing towards the stage which was still closed by a curtain.

Gwydion hummed. “It’s a comedy about a constant skirt chaser of a man who destroys his life in a single day and ends up getting punished for his crimes,” Gwydion explained, making Calla narrow her eyes at him.

“So it’s a play inspired by you,” she said before giggling as Gwydion gave his overly dramatic look of betrayal.

“So cold, love,” Gwydion said with a whine before he couldn’t help but smile warmly at her giggle.

The lighting in this area made Calla glow like an angel, making Gwydion’s heart skip a beat as he watched her. She was so beautiful in his eyes and yet, he found himself conflicted. He hadn’t been pressuring her as much, knowing she was under a lot of stress to sleep with him by the deadline, however, every time he tried to get her more comfortable with the idea of being intimate, she always turned him down. He couldn’t lie as to say he wasn’t a bit sexually frustrated by her. He wanted her so badly to the point that every moment he was with her, he wondered what he could do to tip the scales in his favor. After this trip, there would be less than a week left before they had to go to the other realm, time was ticking.

His eyes moved to the crowd below them, soon locking eyes with the enchanting woman he had met in the lobby. He couldn’t deny the woman was pretty, but outside of her offer running through his head, she was just another woman who wanted his attention. He just smiled at her, eyes moving away towards the stage. As much as he wanted to focus on his alone time with Calla, his mind was on the growing need he had for attention. He wouldn’t force Calla into his desires, but he wasn’t someone who could hold off for much longer, especially with how close they kept getting. Perhaps if his mind were a bit more clear, he could wait a little longer for Calla to come around to the idea of making love with him.

Soon enough the play would begin. Gwydion couldn’t help but smile as he watched Calla’s reaction. The girl was so curious and interested in every little thing. It made him hold back a chuckle as he turned his attention to the stage.

He wasn’t sure how far into the play they were when his mind began to wander again, eyes scanning the crowd to catch another sight of the woman from earlier as his thoughts returned. He bounced his leg, eager for a touch of a woman who would be more willing to let him have his way. However, the thought made him frown, remembering what he had done last time. He glanced at Calla, his eyes gentle. She was important to him. She was the only one that meant something to him. So why couldn’t he hold off his desires for sex? Maybe it was an addiction. In a sense, his desires were as powerful as the feelings he sent to others with his ability. It was a craving, a drug.

Finally, he gave a small sigh, shaking his head. No, he couldn’t keep doing this. Calla was the one he wanted to be with, not some easy lay that would only make him regret his actions later. He made up his mind, no matter how badly he wanted attention, he would hold off. Before he knew it, it was intermission, the lights raising.

Calla turned to him wide-eyed and smiling. He couldn’t focus on what she was saying at the moment, finding her expression to be adorable as she talked about everything and anything about what they were seeing. The sight of her smile made his heart race. He just chuckled at her, seeing her blush as he did.

“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself, love.” He said in amusement, moving to get up and stretch.

“Gwy?” Calla called, making him look back down at her. She looked off with a shy smile. “Thank you, for this.”

He smiled at her. “Of course, love,” he said softly, leaning down to kiss her head before standing tall again with a warm smile. “I’m going to go grab a drink. They have a stand on the first floor. Do you want anything?”

Calla blinked in surprise at that but shook her head. “No, I’m fine,” She said before humming. She had a bad feeling again but she didn’t know why. “Don’t take too long, okay?”

He just chuckled and gave her a wink. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” He said before turning and leaving the room. Calla watched after him, frowning. She grabbed her chest, slightly worried about something but not sure if she should say anything.

Gwydion wasn’t a fool. He noticed the look in Calla’s eyes as he left. He sighed, thinking to himself as he fixed his coat. “To be fair, Calla, I wouldn’t fully trust me either.” He muttered to himself. It made him frown as he descended the stairs, pulling his coat closer as he found the stairwell to have a slight chill to it.

Once he got down to the first floor, he noticed a line at the drink stand. It was mostly alcoholic drinks, wine, and spirits that could be bought by the bottle. The wealthy non-magicals always seemed to enjoy everything with a drink. His kind of people. He hummed, wondering if he should get two glasses. Sure, Calla said she didn’t want anything but perhaps he could change her mind. As he waited, he let his mind wander, a perverted little grin on his face as he did. He wondered if he could talk Calla into letting him lick the wine he got off of her sweet skin, already imagining her sweet moans and blushing face, already tasting the mix of wine and her sweet body. It was quite the turn-on for him already. He didn’t even notice the smirking woman next to him.

“You seem to be having a nice thought. Is it about me?” the woman purred, snapping him out of his fantasy. He glanced over before his expression sank. It was the magical from earlier, her smiling up at him with her interesting scan. Oddly enough, as pretty as she was, he felt no desire for her any longer. Still, his personality was naturally flirty so he just smiled at her.

“It was about a woman,” he pointed out with a wink her way before his attention turned back to the shelves of wine. He saw the one he planned to get before looking back at the woman. “Enjoying the show?”

The woman hummed, scanning him again. “I could think of other things more enjoyable,” She said, her mouth twitching into a smirk. She wrapped her arms around his, pushing her chest against his arm. “Don’t you?”

To her surprise, Gwydion gave her a bored look and removed his arm from her hold. He sighed. “I’m afraid I am not interested in entertaining,” he said sternly, fixing his coat.

She narrowed her eyes, giving a hum before she tilted her head. “The prince of intimacy, Gwydion himself, turning away an offer for attention from a woman? And here I thought you lived to satisfy,” she said. She eyed him. “And because of that girl?”

He stepped forward, his turn to buy. “People change,” he said calmly before speaking to the one at the stand, ordering the bottle he was eyeing. The woman watched him for a moment. As he got the wine and glasses, turning to head back upstairs she curled her mouth into a smile.

“Is that so?” she asked, turning to him. “Does that mean your little pet doesn’t know about the last time you were in the city?”

Gwydion stopped dead, face hard to read. The woman hummed, moving over to touch his arm. “I saw you with the other non-magical. So much for ‘people change’ huh?” she purred wickedly. She giggled. “I’m assuming since you didn’t say anything, you would rather not let that cute little pet of yours know of your betrayal. You wouldn’t want me to say anything to her, right?”

Gwydion frowned, looking down with shame in his eyes. He wrinkled his nose, glaring at her. “What do you want?” he hissed loud enough for only the woman to hear. She just smiled sweetly, giving a giggle.

Calla frowned slightly. Gwydion had been gone longer than she had expected. Intermission was over and the play had started again. It made her a bit nervous, but then again, perhaps there was a line for drinks. Still, she sighed, getting up and moving to peek into the hallway that led to the balcony. She debated going after him, her mind already making up the excuse of wanting something to drink after all as a reason why she would be checking up on him.

However, she changed her mind. She wanted to trust him, trust that he wasn’t flirting with the pretty girl he had been talking to in the lobby. After all, he said Calla was special to him. She sighed, moving back inside. However, on the dark balcony, Calla didn’t notice the form of someone in Gwydion’s chair until she was right there.

The light from the stage illuminates the blonde hair of the man lounging back, orange eyes watching the stage. Her blood ran cold, her face losing color but feeling as if she couldn’t scream as she was frozen in place.

“Don Giovanni, huh. To be honest, I wouldn’t have expected this to be the opera someone like Gwydion would take you to see. It would only make what he does more obvious.” Aro said calmly, leaning back in the chair. His eyes glanced her way, seemingly breaking the fear holding her in place as she turned to leave the room. However, he easily grabbed her arms. In one swift motion, Calla was pulled onto Aro’s lap, resting easily in his arm while his cane blocked her only exit. She stared up at him, eyes wide with fear as he simply looked at her boredly. Her lips trembled, unable to scream.

“Y-You shouldn’t be able to touch me!” she whimpered, only to be shushed by him. He hummed, a smile on his face as he leaned back in the chair, holding her in this seated bridal style as he winked to her.

“Not so loud, little lamb. People are enjoying the play,” he said calmly with his wicked grin. She trembled, attempting to push away from him. Still, she found some courage, remembering her necklace. She held it out, glaring at him.

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“I-I’m wearing this! You shouldn’t be able to touch me!” she said, though being quieter this time. She worried about what he would do if she caused a scene.

Aro raised a brow at the necklace before smirking, his ringed hand moved to touch her face with a slight grip but otherwise was rather gentle with her.

“Oh, my dear. You are still so new to magic,” he answered coyly before chuckling lightly. It made her want to whimper. “I was aware you had that on. I saw it on you in the lobby when I had originally tried to grab you.” His eyes fell to her necklace for a moment before sighing. “It is rather bothersome, I will tell you that.”

He looked her in the eyes again with a charming smile. “However, it only works against ill intent. As long as I have no ill intentions towards you, I can touch you,” he said before Calla let out a whimper as his lips were suddenly pressed against hers.

His kiss wasn’t long as she struggled to push him away, but it was controlling, slipping his tongue into her mouth to explore against her will and even chuckling as she tried to bite his tongue to make him stop. He pulled away, licking his lips as she covered her mouth. “Touch you, among other things… all as long as I have no ill intentions. No matter how feisty of a person you are.” Aro nearly sang. Calla wanted to vomit, wanted to scream, and get away from him.

She glared, moving to try and slap him only for him to catch her wrist with ease and pull her arm back to her lap. He hummed, eyes turned to watch the stage. Calla didn’t know what to do, heart racing as she searched for a way to get away. Where was Gwydion?!

“Your name is Calla, correct?” Aro asked after a moment. She froze at that, looking back up at him. He smiled slightly, though his eyes seemed cold, almost bored. She could only imagine what he had been planning to do when he first said he tried to grab her.

“Y...Yes…” she said, a shiver running through her body. He seemed to notice her fear as his smile turned into a more amused grin. He looked back down at her, his eyes dancing with an entertained look.

“That’s a rather nice name. And rather fitting for a lovely girl like you,” he said calmly with a hum. “For a non-magical of course.”

Calla frowned at that. “Madam Coffer said the same thing…” she muttered. That seemed to hit a nerve as his eyes shot to her with annoyance, not at her but at what she said. It was strange to see his normal demeanor flash with such disdain. Then again, according to Marick, Aro was going around killing the others.

His expression shifted back to his calm demeanor once again. “Did she now…” he muttered, eyes moving back to the stage. Calla glanced to the stage and then back to Aro, who looked bored.

“I-I don’t know what you want, Aro. B-But the others are-!” she started only to be cut off.

Aro was giving an amused smile once again. “Are nearby. I’m aware” he said, eyes moving to hers again. He shifted himself a little, holding her close. “I like hearing you say my name, Miss Calla.”

She shivered at that, glaring at him. “D-Don’t get used to it!” she said, trying to sound brave. However, he just let out an amused chuckle.

“I can see why they like you, little lamb,” Aro said with a smirk on his face. “Such a fighter.” His smile became wicked, making her eyes widen in fear. “I’ve never wanted to break something so bad in all my life as I do with your spirit.”

Calla whimpered, trying to push out of his hold. However, she stopped when she saw her necklace give a slight flash, a slight look of pain on Aro’s face. He glared at it before sighing. “Right, no ill intent… how frustrating…” he said in annoyance. He smirked at her. “I’m not used to being on my best behavior.”

She trembled at his smile but was encouraged that the necklace seemed to keep him at bay from hurting her. She bit her lip before glaring at him. She hesitated a moment before clinging to his rainbow vest.

“Leave the others alone,” she said after a while, catching his attention from the stage as he rose a brow slightly at her. She tried to hold her glare, wanting him to know she was serious. “Marick… Marick told me what you are after. I...I’m not going to lie and say I understand your world or that I understand your motives. But...But they are my coven, my family. I won’t let you hurt them.”

He was quiet for a moment before his mouth curled into a wicked grin once again. His eyes showed interest, however, hesitation. He knew he couldn’t act on his true desires while he was holding her.

“I find it rather entertaining that you trust them so much and yet distrust me just as much, little lamb,” Aro said after a while, giving her a look over. He tilted his head. “Do you know anything about the company you keep? The people they have killed, the non-magicals they have used. The only difference between your beloved coven and myself is that I don’t pretend to be what I am not.”

Her eyes widened but she soon glared again. “Y-You don’t know anything about them-!” she started only to be cut off.

“Do you know where Gwydion is right now?” he asked, leaning back. The question caught her off guard as she stared slightly confused before narrowing her eyes again.

“Why do you want to know…?” she asked, glaring. He waved off her anger with a hum. “I’m not going to tell you if-!

“I know where he is, Calla,” Aro said before smirking to her darkly. “I wanted to know if you knew.”

She frowned at that. “He… went to get something to drink…” she said softly. Aro hummed at that before leaning back.

“Is that so…” Aro said, looking back to the stage. “Well, he’s satisfying a need, but I’m afraid it’s not thirst.”

“You're lying,” Calla said, glaring at him. She felt his arms loosen, allowing her to pull away from him. She fell to the ground, before scrambling to her feet again. Aro just watched her in amusement before moving to rest his head on his fist.

“Now, Calla, what would I have to gain from lying when the truth is more amusing?” Aro asked with a coy grin. He looked her over before using his cane to point in a direction. “If you don’t believe me, you are welcome to go see for yourself. He’ll be in a back room on the first floor.”

Calla stared at him a moment before glaring as she turned to leave the room. Aro kept his eyes on the stage, watching as Don Giovanni would be dragged to hell for his crimes. A wild smirk ran across his face before he licked his lips again, Calla’s taste still there. He leaned forward onto his cane, eyes watching with wicked delight.

Calla’s footing picked up speed as her heart began to race. Where was Gwydion? He told her he would be right back! She reached the first floor and looked around. There was no one to be seen, not even at the drink counter. Her heart was beating faster, wondering if maybe Aro was lying to get her alone.

That changed as she heard voices to her left. Looking over she saw the beautiful woman from earlier walk out of the room, fixing her outfit with a satisfied smile on her face. “I have to admit, you exceed expectations,” she said with a giggle, looking back into the room.

She froze wide-eyed when she heard a sigh. Gwydion walked out of the room, buttoning up his shirt, his eyes closed, his expression hard to read. “Well, I do live to satisfy,” he muttered. He glanced over before the color ran from his face, eyes wide.

Calla just stood there, her eyes becoming blind by her tears as she gripped her chest. Her heart hurt. Aro had been right. But why? Why did Gwydion…?

She was a toy. That was all she was to him. A toy that wasn’t giving him what he wanted. She was naive to think she was anything more. She was so hurt that she didn’t even register the fact that Gwydion hadn’t looked happy leaving the room.

“C-Calla,” She heard him call, taking a step towards her. The woman looked over and gave a slight smirk.

“Oops, looks like you were away from your pet for too long.” She said her words hit Calla harder than any wound she had ever received. She turned and ran blindly.

“Calla! Wait!” Gwydion yelled after her, only for his arm to be caught by the woman.

“Gwydion, don’t waste your breath. She’s just a non-magical.” The woman said before giving him a look over, not seeing the dark look in his eyes. “How about instead of chasing your pet, you have another round with me?”

The woman was caught off guard when Gwydion soon slapped her, making her pull away in shock. Gwydion looked at the woman with disgust.

“Calla is not a pet!” He spat at her in anger. “And she is not just some non-magical.” With that, he turned and ran after Calla, wanting to reach her. His chest hurt, hating what he had just done. The only thing he wanted at this moment was to reach Calla, knowing that if he didn’t, he might lose her forever. That was something he didn’t think he would ever be able to bear.

Calla wasn’t sure how long she had run before she ran into an alley and collapsed onto her knees, sobbing. She was nothing to Gwydion. So why did her heart hurt so much? She trembled, picturing Gwydion with that woman.

She heard a sigh before feeling someone sink to the ground next to her. Through her blind tears, she looked to see Aro who was fixing his hat on his head again. He smiled at her.

“I did try to warn you,” he noted. Calla’s eyes widened, getting to her feet to try and get away only to suddenly be pulled back into the alleyway. She was turned around and pulled into Aro’s arms. She trembled but soon just sank, giving in as she clung to his clothing. Her body felt weak, broken. She didn’t care anymore as she just let Aro pull her into a hug. He was nowhere near as warm or comforting, but he was sturdy, which was more than her at the moment as she felt ready to collapse again. She sobbed into his chest as he petted her head and hushed her. She didn’t see the enjoyment in his expression, his sadistic love of her pain.

“Gwydion is known as the heart breaker for a reason, little lamb,” Aro said, leaning in to whisper into her ear. “He’s not faithful. He doesn’t care about who he hurts.” He smirked, holding her against him. “I at least stay loyal to my toys.”

Calla’s body became numb at his words. Fear filled her again. She felt him give a low chuckle. “Take off that necklace, Calla. Become my pet. I promise you will know exactly what you get when it comes to me. Your life will be misery, hell on earth, but I will be loyal to you.” he said in a sadistic tone. Calla whimpered before pushing away from him. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. He just let her go, his smile becoming evil as soon as she was no longer against him. He took a step towards her, making her back up into the wall.

“You can trust me to be what I am. As I said, I do not pretend to be what I am not.” Aro said darkly with a wild smile on his face. It seemed he was enjoying her fear. “I’ll hurt you, abuse you, break you, and make you enjoy it all as I rip away that naivety in you.”

“Get. Away. From. Her.” a dark voice growled, making Calla look over to see a livid Gwydion walk into the alleyway. The look in his eyes was darker than anything she had ever seen before. Even his normally beautiful magic held darkness to it as it swirled around him.

Aro just glanced his way before giving a smirk. “The prince of heartbreak appears. How scary.” He said calmly before turning back to Calla. He reached toward Calla, making her shrink against the wall. However, Calla watched as Aro was violently flung deeper into the alley, hitting the wall of the building hard enough to crack the brick before he sank to the ground.

“If you ever come near my Calla again. I will erase you from this world.” Gwydion said, his words dark, horrifying, and honest. Calla couldn’t help but look at him in fear as he stepped past her to put himself between her and Aro. “She is NOT anyone’s pet nor will I ever allow you to have your twisted fun with her!”

Aro moved to wipe a bit of blood from his mouth as he used his cane to get up. He gave a breathy chuckle, eyes wild with his entertainment. “...Is that so?” he said, taking a step towards him. “I think you just don’t want to share… not that I can’t see why. She does taste very sweet…” His smirk grew as he licked his lips. Gwydion’s power seemed to intensify as Aro was once again blasted back into the wall.

Aro was visibly shaking with giddiness at this point as he rose to his feet again. He laughed maniacally, a smile reminding Calla of a boy in a candy store. He was getting what he wanted. He had angered Gwydion enough to bait him into a fight. Gwydion was in danger.

“Finally,” Aro said with a laugh before he took steps towards Gwydion.

“N-No! STOP!” Calla yelled, moving herself before Gwydion, arms out as if she could do anything to protect him. What she did manage to do was wake him up in time to see Aro disappear, knowing he was attacking. His eyes widened before he grabbed Calla and pulled her to the ground just in time to only get skimmed by a blade of dark energy being swung at them, Aro appearing from one of the walls.

Gwydion let out a scream as he was hit in the back but thankfully wasn’t that seriously injured like he would be if he hadn’t woken up. As Aro brought the blade down towards them, Gwydion countered with his own spell, pushing Aro back.

“Not bad,” Aro said, his excitement growing. However, his fun seemed to end as dark energy moved around him turning into shadow chains and holding him in place. Raven rushed into the alley, moving over to Gwydion and Calla, helping them up.

Blaise stood before Aro, his hands dancing with sparks that moved around Aro but didn’t touch him.

“You knew we were around, Aro. Did you not think we would be here as soon as we felt your energy spike?” Marick asked, not as a question as he moved over to the others.

Aro just chuckled at that, his excitement fading to a tired smile as he eyed each person. “You should know me better than that, dear Marick. I got what I needed out of this,” he said. Before anyone could react, the ground below Aro turned into a dark hole, him disappearing into it with his eyes on Calla. The chains that had been holding him disappeared as he did.

Calla let out the breath she wasn’t aware she was holding before looking towards Gwydion as Raven helped him to his feet. Her eyes widened, seeing the cut on his back. It wasn’t that bad but looked about as deep as the cuts Aro had given her. She was confused. Why did he save her? Her mind went back to seeing him with that woman and she looked off. She just wanted to go back to the hotel.

As they got to their floor of the hotel, Calla passed all of them and moved to her room. Gwydion’s eyes widened.

“Calla, I-!” he started, following her only to be cut off as she closed and locked the door behind her. Gwydion just stood there a moment before the door before leaning to rest his head on the door. Inside, he could hear Calla sobbing, making his heartache. He knew that was because of him.

“What the hell did you do, Gwy?” Blaise asked, making the tall red-haired man remember that the other three were in the hall. His expression was hard to read before he hit the door with his hands, pushing away from it and turning to head towards his room.

“Nothing,” He hissed as he moved to his room, slamming the door behind him as he entered. Blaise just stood there a while before sighing, moving to rub his head.

“He’s such an idiot…” he muttered, turning to move to his own room. Raven and Marick remained in the hall, watching what had just happened before exchanging looks before moving to their rooms.

Three days passed and Calla had yet to leave her room. Gwydion had been pacing the halls during that time, pausing but never seeming to have the courage to try the door to Calla’s room. He felt horrible. He hadn’t slept in days, the normally beautiful man looking ragged and stressed out. He had seen that look on the faces of so many women. So why? Why did his heart hurt so bad now? He growled, rubbing his face as he walked to her door again, wanting to knock. Why did he have to be so weak? His time with that woman was meaningless to him, he should have just told the woman off. He should have walked away. Meaningless sex and it changed nothing. Perhaps he didn’t turn her away because deep down he wanted it. Wanted the attention. He told Calla he would wait until she was comfortable and yet, he had broken her trust completely, and for what? So she wouldn’t find out he had betrayed her?

He sighed and moved away from her door again, looking lost before his arm was caught. His eyes were swollen, and red from lack of sleep as he looked at his brother. Raven seemed to scan him, irritating Gwydion. He knew how bad he looked, he didn’t need to hear it from Raven.

“How about we go for drinks?” Raven said after a while. Gwydion gave him a glare, feeling Raven using his ability. He pulled away from him.

“Don’t you dare try to calm me down with your power.” Gwydion spat bitterly. Raven rolled his eyes at that and just smacked Gwydion on the head. “HEY!” The man said, rubbing his head.

“Enough. I’m tired of seeing you look like a sad sack. Clean yourself up and meet me in the lobby. We are going for drinks.” Raven stated in a rather commanding voice. Gwydion growled at him a moment as he glared before sighing in defeat.

“Fine,” he muttered, storming towards his room.

It took a little longer than Raven hoped but soon enough Gwydion slugged his way into the lobby. Raven motioned him to follow, making the man scowl but move to follow him. Raven gave a small smile, leading the broken man to the tavern nearby. He did take notice that Gwydion seemed to ignore all the women who were looking his way, giggling, or trying to catch his attention.

The two took a seat at the bar, Raven taking the chance to order the drinks while Gwydion rubbed his eyes and leaned against the bar. As soon as they got the first pints, Raven watched as Gwydion downed his in one sitting.

Raven sighed at that, shaking his head. “You must have really messed up. I haven’t seen you beat yourself up this badly since the night our mother died.” Raven muttered as he took a swig of his.

“Can it, Raven.” Gwydion snapped, signaling the barman to get him another. Raven rolled his eyes at that.

“You’re not helping anyone when you are like this,” Raven muttered, looking over his brother. He sighed. “Let me guess. She caught you with another woman right?”

“Shut up,” Gwydion hissed again, downing another drink.

“Well that answers that question,” Raven said with a sigh, moving to rub his head. “As much as we hate to admit it, Gwy, we ended up becoming our fathers.” Instead of snapping at him, Gwydion’s face sank, looking towards the counter with a distant look. He growled before Gwydion moved to cup his head in his hands, rubbing his face.

“I don’t… I don’t know what to do, Raven.” Gwydion said after a while, running his hands into his red hair. He sighed, looking off. “You didn’t see her face… how much I hurt her.” He was quiet a moment before his expression was sad. “I don’t understand why… Why does it hurt so much? I’ve never regretted what I did so much before now. Calla didn’t deserve that… didn’t deserve getting hurt by me. Maybe… Maybe she’s better off with someone else.”

Raven hummed at that, leaning back on his stool as he thought it over. “Naturally,” He said after a while, making Gwydion tense. “We are creatures of habit, Gwy. You knew how she felt about you and yet you still got attention from another. Perhaps you should cut your losses and find another woman.”

Gwydion slammed his hands on the bar and got to his feet, glaring at his brother. “I DON’T WANT ANOTHER WOMAN!!” he yelled loudly, catching the attention of the whole tavern at this point. Gwydion was furious, his fists shaking as he glared at his brother.

“Calla is the only one I want. The way she smiles at me, the way she says my name, her curiosity at everything we do, no other woman has ever made me feel this way before. I’ve never cared about the feelings of a woman like this before. I’m disgusted by what I did to her and I have no way to take it back!” Gwydion yelled, though his voice grew quieter as he continued to talk. His eyes fell to the floor. “I don’t care if she never wants to be with me...I just....don’t want her to hate me...”

Raven just patiently listened to him before he got to his feet. “Then tell her that,” Raven said sternly. Raven frowned, looking over his brother. “She is hurting and no one but you can fix that.”

Gwydion stared at him a moment before turning and grabbing another glass of beer and downing it. Raven seemed concerned at that, watching him as he asked for another. “Sure, Gwy, get drunk. That will help things.” Raven muttered, only to be grumbled at. He downed the fourth pint of beer before getting up.

“Shut up, Raven,” Gwydion muttered, turning to leave. Raven watched him a moment before moving to put money down for the drinks and following after his brother, mostly to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

Back at the hotel, it was starting to get dark out, another day wasted as Calla finally crawled out of her bed. She looked like a mess, her eyes puffy from crying. She had heard Gwydion pacing outside for days, even going to the door a few times, debating on opening it. Still, she hesitated, her heart aching as she was reminded of the night of the opera.

She had forgotten how cold it was to sleep without someone next to her. She didn’t know how many times she had wanted to go to Gwydion’s room, wanting to just go back to how things were. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, take in his scent of spices and flowers she had become so used to. She wanted to kiss him, anything to take her pain away. Calla knew what Gwydion was like. Blaise even warned her that Gwy was a man-whore, a manipulator, and yet she had fallen for him anyway. Her dreams were plagued with the gentle look on his face she would catch when he would tend to plants, the loving look on his face when he would look her way. Surely not all of it had been an act, right?

She worked up the courage to open the door to her room, looking out into the hall. Blaise seemed to be camped out in the hall but he was sound asleep. Not wanting to wake him, she snuck out of her room, slowly walking past him and towards Gwydion’s room. The hall had been quiet for a while and she wondered if Gwydion had finally passed out. She hesitated a moment before raising her hand to knock. However, a sudden sound of voices coming up the hall caught her attention. That was when she saw something she never thought she would see.

Gwydion was scruffy, his hair clearly not taken care of and his clothing messy. He was drunk, even Calla could tell that, and he seemed as if he hadn’t slept in days. Her heart skipped a beat upon seeing him but also a sad thud. He was always so put together, it was strange to see him so broken. Was he really that upset?

He had been arguing with Raven before he paused, his eyes falling on her. “Calla…” his voice said in such a tender, soft tone that made her want to race to him. She didn’t have that chance as Gwydion soon rushed her. She let out a scream as she fell back, the older man now over her.

“Hey! Gwy get off her!” Blaise exclaimed, clearly having been woken up by the yelling. Calla just stared up at Gwydion. It was as if the world disappeared, that it was only her and him as she saw his tired eyes swell with tears.

“Calla, I...I’m sorry…” he said, tears falling faster down his face. “I’m sorry… a-and I know that doesn’t fix anything…” Calla’s eyes widened, just watching him as he broke down. The smell of alcohol was strong on him, making her wonder how much he had.

“I’m a fool, Calla. I destroyed your trust and I put you in danger because of my own stupid desires. I didn’t even want that woman… I wanted to spend the whole time with you.” Gwydion continued, Calla’s eyes softening. He was shaking. “You’re the only one I want! The only one who I hold dear. I adore everything about you and pledge my undying love to you!”

Calla blinked, blushing but growing concern. “G-Gwy, you’re drunk… c-calm down before you say or do something you’ll regret…” she said in a worried tone. Her heart was beating fast, however, wanting to believe everything he said.

She let out a squeak in surprise as the man collapsed onto her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “G-Gwydion…!” she exclaimed, her face hot with a blush as he nuzzled her shoulder.

“I love you...I vow to be loyal to you for the rest of my life…” he said, trailing off as he finally passed out. Calla looked around at Blaise and Raven who had just been standing there watching all of this, wide-eyed.

“H-Help…” she called to them. Blaise seemed to blink himself back to reality before sighing and walking over.

“Now he’s done it…” Blaise muttered, looking at Raven. “Mind helping me put the lump back into bed?” Raven scanned them a moment before shrugging, moving over. Together, the two managed to pull Gwydion off of Calla, ignoring his growl as they did.

“Come on, Gwy. I think you need to sleep this off for the night.” Raven said, helping Blaise as they carried Gwydion into his room and tossed him onto the bed.

Calla got to her feet, watching them before Raven and Blaise emerged from the room and into the hall. Raven passed, looking back into the room before turning to Calla.

“Calla…” he started, getting her attention. Raven sighed, looking back into the dark room. “...My brother is an idiot who thinks with the wrong head… but he has a big heart.” He looked back at her. “I’m not asking you to forgive what he did… but… could I ask you to keep an eye on him tonight?”

Calla frowned at that, eyes softening as she looked back to the broken man on the bed. She couldn’t deny how badly she longed for him, but she was still unsure.

No. She wouldn’t deny her feelings anymore, no matter how much it hurt. His words echoed through her head, making her feel warm again.

Looking at Raven, she gave a nod. “I will…” she said softly before walking into the room. She saw Raven give her a soft smile as if to thank her as she closed the door behind her.

She sighed softly, leaning against the door before fixing her nightdress. She turned to look at the form of Gwydion on the bed for a moment before moving over, climbing in. As soon as she did, however, she felt his arms wrap around her, trapping her against him.

“G-Gwy?” she asked, only to hear him mutter something in his sleep.

“...Calla… please...please don’t leave me…” he muttered, still very much out of it. Calla just stayed where she was, looking into his face as she heard his words. Her expression softened and she moved slightly to kiss him softly before cuddling into his hold.

“I won’t, Gwy… I promise,” she replied, though knowing he probably couldn’t hear her. Still, she smiled softly, just glad to be in his warm hold once more. She soon fell asleep, finally finding the night's rest she had been missing for days.

Gwydion groaned as he was awoken by the lights of the day hitting his face. It was doing nothing for his hangover, his head throbbing. He turned from laying on his back to his side, rubbing his head before he noticed the form of Calla next to him. His eyes widened and he jolted up upon seeing her, panicking that he had done something to her during the night. However, he soon relaxed when he noticed both of them were dressed. As he sat up, he flinched at the pain in his head, groaning again.

“Gwydion…?” Calla called, making the man freeze as he looked down at her. She started to get up, propping herself up on an arm as she rubbed one of her eyes sleepily. She seemed to look at him a moment before a thought hit her. She frowned and got up.

“I’ll get the curtain,” she said softly as she did. Gwydion could only watch as she got out of bed and moved over to close the curtain, the light no longer bothering him. She turned back to him with a look of concern. “How do you feel?”

“Like death…” he answered, laying back down again, covering his eyes with his arm. “What happened last night? I remember Raven taking me out for drinks.”

Calla frowned at that, wondering if he remembered anything that he said to her. “Yeah, you went out for drinks… you were pretty out of it when you came back,” she said softly, moving over to sit on the bed next to him.

He removed his arm to look at her, his eyes seemed so sad. “...You came to my room?” he asked, almost with disbelief in his voice. She just nodded.

“I...I had gone to your room, not knowing you were out. You tackled me in the hall and started to go on and on about stuff…” She blushed softly, looking off.

Gwydion was silent for a moment before moving to sit up, rubbing his eyes. “What did I say?” he asked softly once he moved his hand away from his face. She shifted on her feet, her blush deepening as she looked his way again.

“You pledged your undying love to me… said you were sorry for what you did…” she started, watching his expression move from hard to read to shame as he looked off. It was clear that he still regretted what he did at the opera. “You… You said I was the only one you wanted… and then you made a vow.”

His eyes widened at that, snapping his attention to her. “Tell me word for word what I vowed,” he said, oddly concerned at the news. She frowned at that, thinking to remember what he said.

“You vowed to be loyal to me for the rest of your life…” she said, seeing him pause in surprise. “You are drunk… so…”

He sighed and moved to rub his temple. “Calla, a warlock can’t break a vow they make, no matter in what context it was uttered,” he said calmly, before moving his hand to look at her. He gave a soft smile. “Luckily for me, I am fine with that vow.”

Calla felt her face grow hot as she looked at him in surprise. “Gwy… A-Are you sure?” she asked, her expression sinking to a soft look.

He gave a nod. “Even if you will never forgive me for what I did. I will never touch another woman,” he said calmly, his expression sincere. “I will think of it as punishment for breaking your trust.”

She just stared at him for a moment, her heart beating fast. He had just a pull on her, and what was worse was that she believed everything he said. He was being honest. She seemed to reassure something before she crawled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him as she kissed him deeply. He seemed so tense at first but soon kissed back, pulling her close.

He gave a breathy sad chuckle when the kiss broke, him rubbing her back. “I’m afraid to let you go… I’m afraid this is just a dream and you will disappear,” he said softly. Calla just smiled softly, shaking her head.

“I promise I am not a dream and I will not disappear,” she said softly, touching his face tenderly. “But I don’t mind if you won’t let go…”

He smiled at that, leaning his face into her hand. His eyes looked at her with such a warm, loving stare. Calla couldn’t help but continue to fall in love with him more. She looked off, a lot on her mind.

“Gwydion…” she started, blushing deeply as she looked him in the eye. He raised a brow curiously.

“Yes, love?” he asked curiously, seemingly confused by her expression. She seemed to pause, thinking about what she wanted to say.

“Would you… like to spend the day with me? I, um, I don’t mind if we don’t leave the room…” she said softly. He blinked in surprise before smiling again.

“Were you really nervous about asking me that? Of course, I will spend the day with you.” Gwydion said with a slight chuckle. He tilted his head. “Or is that not the real question you wanted to ask?”

She blushed but pouted at him. Her look soon softened as she sighed. “I...I want to…” she started before shaking her head. Why was she so scared to speak what was on her mind?

“I love you, Gwydion….but I can’t just let go of what you did, you must understand that,” she said softly, making his expression sink but nod. “I want to be with you, in whatever way you want me to be… but before we move forward with whatever this is between us… before I give you everything… I think we need to start with a clean slate, no more secrets… Does that sound fair?”

Gwydion stared a moment before nodding with a smile. “I agree,” he said calmly, rubbing her back. She blushed, shivering at his touch.

She seemed to think a moment before moving to get off him. She got off the bed, turning to him and shyly tugging her arm. “Want to take a bath together… to start?” she asked. She heard him give a chuckle, turning to sit on the edge of the bed before her.

“A bath sounds wonderful…” He said, offering his hand to her. Calla felt her face grow hot again as she smiled softly, taking his hand and helping him up.

Slowly, she led him to the washroom connected to his room. She was about to turn on the water when she saw the tub begin to fill with warm water. She sighed, looking back at him to see his hand raised.

“Show off…” she muttered, making him chuckle, moving over to her.

“Well, I am a warlock.” he pointed out, beginning to undo the buttons of his shirt. Calla frowned when she saw him do that and turned to him.

“May I?” she asked, to which Gwydion looked surprised at her before moving his hands. He smiled softly and gave a nod. Calla blushed softly but reached up to start undoing his shirt. She kept her eyes on his chest, watching him breathing steadily to control himself. Her eyes softened, taking time to trace his chest as it became exposed to her. The thoughts in her head almost surprised her as her heart began to beat faster. Her body was warming up, wondering if she had the willpower to turn him down if he asked for more. If she even wanted to turn him down.

She had been naked with him before, but this felt different. As much as what he did hurt her, she didn’t want to hate him. She wanted to be his one and only, and that thought alone made her heart race as she finished with his shirt, moving to the button of his pants.

She didn’t need to look up at him to know he was enjoying this, getting that by how staggered his breath was becoming as she undid his pants and pulled them down with his assistance. Her face grew bright red at the sight of a particular part of him standing at attention. She bit her lip, wondering how she could turn him on so easily. She heard him chuckle slightly, moving to help her out of her nightdress.

“Sorry love… I’m afraid I can’t control how badly it wants you.” He said, his voice sounding like he wanted to be a bit more playful but was nervous. He must be worried about upsetting her.

Calla seemed to hesitate a moment before slowly moving to take it into her hand, exploring it with her fingertips. She felt him jolt at that, moving to grab her hand.

“C-Calla, I wouldn’t do that.” He said with a gasp, making her look up at him. His eyes were filled with his arousal, making Calla look surprised as she frowned, thumbing the head. “If you keep playing with me, we will not be taking a bath any time soon.”

“I don’t understand how I can turn you on so much… I’m not anything special.” Calla said softly, moving her hand away and turning towards the tub. “I’m just another girl.”

“No, you are not just another girl, Calla,” Gwydion said, surprisingly sternly. He sighed before moving to climb in. He sat down with a blissful hum, enjoying the warm water. His eyes glanced at her. “You have never been just another girl. As to how you affect me, I will never know. I’m assuming it's because I’m attracted to you on a level different from others.”

She huffed at that, but climbed in, moving over him to help undo his hair. “I swear you don’t know how to turn off the flowery words…” she muttered. She shivered as she felt him start to trail kisses over her shoulders while she was working on his hair. “G-Gwy…”

He gave a low chuckle, wrapping his arms around her. “They may be flowery but I am being honest,” he said between kisses. She stopped to grip his shoulders.

“T-Talking Gwy… w-we are talking,” she said in a poor attempt at a warning. The truth was he was getting her all hot and bothered. Her body was starved for his attention to the point where she would give in at any moment.

He hummed at that, looking up at her before giving a smile. “We are talking,” he said calmly. Calla pouted at him before turning around to sit before him. Gwydion chuckled, wrapping his arms around her again once she was situated where she wanted to be. He took in a deep breath, just sitting there holding her silently before his eyes looked off sadly.

“That woman had blackmail on me… I will be honest, I was in a state of wanting a woman’s attention when she cornered me at the drink stand.” He said honestly, just holding onto Calla, not wanting her to run off. “After our last date in the city, when I was given an errand when everyone else left… I had sex with a random girl who kept trying to get my attention at the flower shop. At first, it didn’t bother me, but as soon as I came back to the cottage I began to hate myself for what I did, thinking about how you would feel if you knew.”

Calla was still as she listened to him, her expression off in thought as she took it all in. “I’m known as a heart breaker because I have never been loyal to a single woman. I enjoy sex more than caring about who I was with. That is how it’s been since I was 16 when I started being sexually active. It’s a bad habit, and one I never regretted until I started to get to know you. So when the woman at the opera said she would tell you what I did unless I met her in the backroom for a quickie, I made a stupid choice and listened to her. In the end, she got what she wanted and I was still exposed.” he continued, Calla feeling his arms trembling. He was scared, scared of her getting upset at him.

“I’m not a good person, Calla. In reality, I have always been confused as to why you bothered getting close to me, especially when Blaise told you I was a manipulator and knowing the type of man I was.” Gwydion said, leaning back. “But after seeing your face at the opera, seeing how broken you were… I knew if you gave me the chance I would never do anything to make you look at me like that again. I am not physically or mentally strong enough to handle you hating me… and I don’t care if it takes me hundreds of years, but I will make it up to you.”

Calla waited for him to finish before she let out a long sigh. The idea that he had cheated twice stung but the fact that he was telling her dulled the pain a little. It also made his actions make sense ever since they came back from the city. He had been overly nice like he had been hiding something or making up for something he did.

“And you are sure it was only twice?” she asked after a while. She felt him shift but sigh.

“Yes… twice too many, but yes,” he said softly, looking off. “Could you ever forgive me?”

Calla was quiet a moment before nodding. “You can’t do things like that anymore, right? With the vow you made?” she asked, looking back at him. He looked down at her and nodded with a serious look. “What happens if you break it?”

“I’ll die,” Gwydion said calmly, making Calla’s eyes widen. He frowned at that, moving to run his fingers through her hair. “Vows are a magical bond that has to be honored. It is the only way to hold powerful magicals to any kind of virtue or they will run wild without consequence.”

Calla frowned, thinking over. “How do they work? You just have to say them?” she asked curiously. Gwydion blinked, seemingly more surprised to see the conversation move to this.

“Words hold power when it comes to magicals. To make a vow, we just have to utter the vow we will keep and it becomes real. Not even someone like Aro would be foolish enough to break one. He may be an immortal, but he’s not indestructible.” Gwydion pointed out. He frowned, looking down at Calla as he saw her look off in thought at his words. “You never answered my question…”

Calla looked back at him, her eyes gentle as she seemed to think. “I want to forgive you…” she said honestly, turning to wrap her arms around him. “My heart hurt so badly when I saw you with that woman, Gwy… but… during the three days I’ve been in my room, all I could think about was how much I missed you. Is that…. Is that crazy?”

Gwydion’s look turned from sad to a slight smile as he shook his head. “Not to me,” he said, holding her close. “I’ve missed you too. I forgot how cold it is at night without you in my arms…”

She blushed at that, her heart fluttering as she couldn’t help but smile. She had felt the same way, snuggling close to him. Still, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to fully forgive him for betraying her, but he would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t want to. Especially now that Gwydion had no choice but to be loyal now. He had thrown away his past self to be with her. She wasn’t sure what more he could do as the vow was the highest form of commitment she had ever seen anyone do. She wanted to be his, whatever that would entail.

She buried her face in his chest as she just took in the feeling of his skin against hers. Everything that had happened three days ago filled her mind, making her shiver. “Aro was on the balcony with me… he said… he said that he had tried to grab me but couldn’t due to my necklace.” she began to tell him, feeling the man below her tense at her words. “He found a way around it so that he could still touch me by holding off his darker desires. He held me in his lap and he… he kissed me. I can still feel his tongue down my throat…”

Gwydion’s body twitched below her, meaning that she didn’t have to look up at him to know he was pissed, both at Aro and for allowing himself to have left her alone to allow Aro to do that.

“He asked me why I trusted you guys so much… saying that the people in this coven have killed and used people and that he doesn’t pretend to be what he is not as if as if it is something that makes him more trustworthy, knowing that he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a monster..” She continued, just wanting to feel safe in Gwydion’s arms. Gwydion seemed to take notice of her fear, rubbing her back gently to soothe her. “He was the one to tell me where you were. I think he was hoping he could upset me enough that I would allow him to convince me to go with him…”

Gwydion frowned at that, him staring forward as he thought. “He did have magic laced into his attack on you… that might have been a corrosion spell he had been planning to use. However, it was nullified by the crystal,” he told her softly. She nodded, shivering at the idea of what could have happened if her necklace had been removed. She figured Aro couldn’t remove it himself as that act would count as a form of ill intent.

“In the alleyway he was trying to get me to take it off, asking me to become his pet because at least he would be loyal… I was so scared by the look in his eyes but also… if you hadn’t shown up, I fear I might have gone with him.” She admitted, once again shivering at the thought. As she did, she was reminded of Gwydion’s wound and she sat up wide-eyed. “Y-Your back!”

Gwydion blinked in surprise by the sudden movement before he chuckled lightly. “Love, I have healing magic, remember? I’m fine,” he reassured her, a smile on his face. She blushed at that, looking off before she felt Gwydion kiss her cheek. “But it makes me happy to hear you were concerned about me. You truly are a wonderful soul.”

“I’m… I’m not that special, Gwydion…” she muttered, moving to touch her cheek.

“You are to me,” he said tenderly before lifting his arms out of the water in a dramatic pose. “You are my light, my morning and night, my reason for living-”

“You’re an idiot,” Calla said with a giggle, blushing at the comments he was making, no matter how theatrical he was. He pouted, giving his normal over-the-top reaction to being hurt. She just shook her head and hugged him again.

He soon relaxed, chuckling as he moved to grab some items he needed for them to clean up. “You are so mean to me.” He teased lightly before winking at her. “How about we actually take a bath? I don’t know about you, but I need one badly.”

She gave a nod at that before taking one of the items from him to do the same. Once the bath was over, Gwydion sighed, walking naked out into the other room as he dried his hair with the towel he was using. Calla had hers covering her, smiling as she watched after him.

“I am never going that long without a bath again.” He said, moving the towel to his waist as he walked to his suitcase to take out a brush. He walked to a mirror, beginning to brush out his long red hair as Calla sat down on the bed. She watched him for a moment, a part of her wondering how he managed to keep his hair so well. Her hair was long but not anything like his.

She frowned after a while, a question coming to the surface as she looked him over. “Gwydion?” she started, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

“Yes, love?” he replied, his eyes catching hers. She shifted herself on the bed, holding his gaze.

“What...What are we?” she asked awkwardly, frowning slightly. She blushed softly. “I mean, in the context of a relationship. Are we a couple? I don’t think we ever discussed anything. What kind of a relationship do you want to have with me?”

He hummed, watching her before turning to face her with a smile. “I want you to marry me,” he said calmly before he smiled more tenderly. Calla jolted at that, her blush deepening as she looked up at him. She was so taken aback by that to the point that she didn’t know how to respond.

He just smiled warmly at her. “The relationship I want is to be your husband,” he said again.

“G-Gwydion! I was being serious!” she exclaimed, her face as red as his hair. He chuckled at that, moving over to lean down to her, resting his hands on the bed.

“So was I,” he said softly, smiling warmly at her. “I am yours forever, Calla. And I would like to make that as official as I can.”

“T-That’s such a sudden question, Gwy. Y-You can’t just-!” she started, her face hot from the question and from him being so close.

“Why not?” he asked, cutting her off. He hummed, scanning her face. “You are welcome to turn me down. I am just making my intentions clear. Calla, I want to marry you.” He gave a sigh, shrugging. “In a perfect world, I would like to do that before we were to have sex but well… Nothing about this life is perfect. That is of course if you want me to be the one to bed you.”

Her heart raced, body feeling warm as she looked into his eyes. He was being serious. Nothing in his expression gave her any idea he was teasing or messing with her. She couldn’t picture it, being married, especially to someone like Gwydion. Then there was the second comment about her still wanting to be intimate with him. Unlike the question about marriage, she knew the answer to the comment about sex. Her heart fluttered as she looked up at him before swallowing hard and nodding to him.

“Yes... you would be the one I would… be intimate with…” she said softly, her face a gentle red with a blush. She saw his eyes soften at that with a loving smile to her. Her lips quivered. At this moment, she felt the words on her tongue, the words echoing through her head and heart. She wanted him to ask for her body. If he did, she would be his tonight, her body wanting nothing more than all of his attention. She rubbed her legs together, not sure why she would be okay with him taking her right now, with everything that had happened.

Her eyes widened as she saw him chuckle at her words and start to pull away. Her body moved on its own, catching his arm and making him look back down at her.

“Gwydion…” she started, her heart conflicting and yet knowing what she wanted. He looked at her curiously, anticipating what she was going to say. She wondered if he could tell what was on her heart, wondering if her body and eyes spoke what her desires were. She was sure he knew, perhaps that was why he was waiting for her to speak. Waiting for her to say it out loud.

She locked her eyes with his, clinging to his arm. “Gwydion… t...take me... “ she said softly, seeing his eyebrows raise as he watched her. “I’m ready… a-and it’s not because the deadline is coming up… I want to… I want to be yours…”

The room was still for a moment before she saw him turn to her fully, smiling with a sigh. He leaned down to her again, cupping her face as he pushed his lips to hers again. The kiss wasn’t very long as he broke it and locked his eyes with hers.

“I will only ask you once…” he said softly, moving one of his hands from her face to touch the start of her towel, tugging it lightly. “Are you sure?”

Calla shivered, heart beating faster. Even such a simple touch to her face and now tugging on her towel, she couldn’t resist anymore. Her body wanted him, no matter what was to happen from here on out. She nodded. “Y-Yes…” she said, her own hands finding their way to trace just above the towel before tugging on his towel hem, the towel becoming loose and falling to the floor.

He gave a nod at that, pushing his lips to hers again, this time pushing her to lay on her back, moving over her. His wet hair fell onto her as the long passionate kiss made Calla dizzy with how hot her body was.

She was breathless when he broke the kiss, tugging open her towel to leave them both bare. “I’ll be honest, love… I may not be at my best right now…” he noted, one of his hands running over her tender body and teasing her nipple. She moaned softly at that, her hands tugging on the sheets.

“I don’t care as long as it’s you,” she replied, shivering at his touch. Gwydion gave a breathy chuckle at that.

“You are so sweet…” He said, leaning down to trail kisses down her neck as he took up one of her legs, running his fingers down her leg slowly. It made her shiver, moaning softly as she closed her eyes. His mouth reached her breasts, taking her nipple into his mouth and rolling his tongue over it. She bit her lip, watching him as he tended to both breasts before continuing down her body.

She wasn’t sure what he was doing before she let out a gasp, gripping the bed as she suddenly felt his tongue tease her clit. She shivered, moaning as she covered her face. “G-Gwy, d-don’t, it’s dirty..!” she whined, biting her lip as she felt his hot breath against her womanhood. He began to tease her entrance with one of his fingers.

“Dirty? But we just had a bath, love~” he teased playfully, encouraged by her wonderful moans. He kissed the insides of her legs a moment as his skilled fingers prodded her before moving to slip his tongue inside of her. The girl let out a squeal at that, body growing hot as he flicked his tongue around. The feeling was strange and yet wonderful, making her toes curl as he skillfully sought out sensitive areas.

After a moment, he pulled away, licking his lips as he moved over her again. He chuckled. “The sounds of your pleasure… I could listen to it all day.” he purred in a low voice. Calla moved her hands down, her eyes looking up at him, tears falling as if to cool her bright red face. He leaned down and kissed her head before pulling away. She watched as he lifted her hips, touching the tip of his member to her entrance before locking eyes with her again. She saw him give a loving grin to her before she felt a tingling sensation coming from his hands. Her body trembled with desire, her lust building. It wasn’t as much as he had used last time, but he had said he would use just enough of his power to make it so that it wouldn’t hurt.

Calla gripped the bed tightly, closing her eyes and letting out a gasping moan as she felt him enter her. There was no pain, no discomfort as his hips met hers. Calla’s body was only feeling a rush of pleasure. She felt him grip her hips slightly tighter before he began to move, rocking his hips slow and rhythmically, sending wave after wave of pleasure through her body. His exploration with his tongue made it so that he knew where her sensitive areas were, and he moved to aim for those spots almost immediately, making the girl dizzy with bliss from each thrust.

She panted and moaned, opening her eyes to watch him. Gwydion gave a moan, his motions picking up speed after a moment. His eyes held both love and lust in them, as he caught her stare, moaning low. He leaned over her, his thrusts moving deeper into her.

Calla’s body moved with him, almost as if it wanted more of him. “G-Gwydion,” she moaned, feeling him pick up speed. She bit her lip, feeling her body growing close, a new sensation washing through her. Her moaning picked up, seemingly giving Gwydion a clue about how close she was getting. He panted, smiling as he sought to push her over the edge. She let out a cry, craning her body as she tightened around him, her toes curling as she cried in bliss. Gwydion didn’t stop his motions but slowed his speed a little, chuckling as he leaned down to kiss her.

“Did that feel good, my love?” he asked breathlessly. Calla panted, looking up at him as her body reacted to his deep thrusts. He groaned, leaning down to kiss her neck, sucking on it as he picked up speed again, seeking his own release. She cried out in bliss, wrapping her legs around him and moving her hands from the bed to rake her fingers down his back. As he sought his own release, Calla began to feel herself growing close to her own once again. It seemed he had wanted to give her more than one, him nipping her neck with a breathy chuckle, panting and groaning. In a mix of moans, Calla let out another cry, Gwydion pushing himself as far into her as he could before she felt his manhood twitch, a warm feeling rushing into her. Gwydion rocked his hips a little more before he fell against her, panting. Calla fell limp against the bed, catching her breath as well, her body twitching as she came down from her ecstasy. She smiled, her teary eyes looking up at the ceiling. Gwydion rose after a moment, smiling warmly as he leaned down to kiss her deeply before pulling out of her. He moved to lay on the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms. She snuggled into his hold, wrapping her arms around him.

He hummed in bliss, kissing her head before he used one of his hands to remove a piece of hair from her face. “...Was it what you hoped it would be?” he asked tenderly, making her blush but smiled shyly at him. She buried her face into his chest.

“It was better than anything I imagined,” Calla answered, making Gwydion give a breathless chuckle and rub her back. He closed his eyes, just taking in the tender moment with the woman he loved.

“I’m glad,” he said softly, kissing her head. He held her close, having a feeling the girl was probably tired. “...Marry me, Calla...”

Calla tightened her hug, wanting to be as close to him as she could, craving the warmth of his body. Her heart fluttered at his words. She was his, not wanting to be intimate with anyone but him from now on. She smiled warmly, her smile unseen by the man who held her. “Okay, Gwydion… I’ll marry you,” she said tenderly, kissing his chest before she gave a yawn, wanting to rest if only for a moment.

Unseen by Calla, Gwydion smiled, love in his eyes. His heart beat with joy as he held her close. This moment was bliss. Gwydion had been with tons of women, but this was the first time he had enjoyed love-making as much as he did. It was different, and it was probably due to the fact that he actually cared for the woman in his arms. Her agreeing to marry him was music to his ears. He wanted nothing more than to have Calla by his side for the rest of his life. It was strange to feel this way about a woman. After all, Gwydion had been nothing more than a womanizer. Never in his life did he think he would make a vow of loyalty, nor did he ever think he would want to get married.

He knew Calla had drifted off, making him smile, resting his head on top of hers as he stroked her back lovingly. “I promise you, Calla… I promise I will make you happy for the rest of our lives.”

“Has anyone gone to check on them since yesterday? For all we know, Gwydion dropped dead.” Blaise muttered as the three warlocks waited for Gwydion and Calla to show up. They were leaving to head back to the cottage today and no one had seen either one of the two since Gwydion’s drunk ass had passed out in the hallway.

Raven shrugged, arms folded as he sat at a table with Marick in the lobby of the hotel. “I’m sure they will be down soon enough. They knew we were leaving today.” the black-haired man said calmly. Marick just sat there looking tired, he clearly was long past ready to leave the city.

They looked up as they heard a cheerful voice call to them to see a smiling Gwydion, dragging Calla over. They had at least made sure to grab their suitcases. Raven couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight of the two. In fact, the three seemed to relax upon seeing them both smiling as they got to the table.

“Looks like you two made up,” Raven said with a happy tone. Gwydion was beaming as they stood before the three.

“Oh, we did more than that,” Gwydion sang, making Calla jolt and blush deeply, huffing at him.

“G-Gwy-!” she started, only for Gwydion to grab her and pull her into a hug.

“We are getting married!!” Gwydion exclaimed, overjoyed. Calla blinked in surprise, seeing a new emotion from the three men before them. Complete and utter shock.

Betrayal and Forgiveness. Relationships have increased.

Enter the other realm. Gwydion's story will continue in chapter 19