For a few seconds, the world ceased to exist. Or was it for eternity? Lorelei’s heart probably continued beating, although she could swear it had stopped a while ago. Blood apparently still flowed through her veins, despite her suspicion it had all turned to ice the moment her foot had stepped over the threshold. Judging by the muffled clamor around her, there were other people present, but she only faintly registered them. All Lorelei could see was a singular monstrous being on the floor before her that was flailing between the chaotically-strown prayer pillows - an amalgamation of naked skin and clawing limbs; of thirsting lips and gnawing teeth.

Its guttural moans etched themselves into her ears.

Its savage, coital stench mixed with the fragrance of incense and wax candles, and assaulted her nose.

The light of the candles contoured the two entangled bodies, gleaming with the wetness of sweat and lust, emphasizing every detail and imprinting it into Lorelei’s eyes.

Every undulating move of the wretched heap of flesh before her, every touch, every thrust, every spasm, burnt itself into her memory. Again. And Again. And again!

Finally, a triumphant roar and a shrill scream split the air at the same time.

All of Lorelei’s senses blanked out for a moment. Someone shook her, but she didn’t respond. Her vision darkened. Her throat felt raw and torn and she realized she was still screaming, although the last sips of air should have long escaped her lungs. She sucked a short breath, but the second scream remained clogged in her throat.

What was the point?

Someone grabbed her shoulders, but she violently tore herself free and ran away.

To where?

She had no clear thought. It just needed to be far away from them.

Her feet took over the control and brought her to her cell. As she slammed the door behind her, it felt like she was finally able to cut herself off from that horrid nightmare. And yet, every time she closed her eyes, she saw them.

Pricilla’s face - half-hidden by her wet, messy hair. Her lips - parted, allowing her moans to escape freely. Her arms - wrapped around the neck of the man devouring her. Her legs - clamped tight, accepting every powerful thrust. Noah’s thrusts!

Lorelei almost threw up. She clenched her teeth and whimpered, wishing for the memories to seize.

They didn’t.

Noah’s face - strained and twisted, carrying the hungry snarl of a predator. His muscles - bulging like knotted ropes and twitching with pent-up desire. His sweaty hair - falling over his closed eyes. His hands - desperately grasping at Pricilla’s hips, guiding and pulling them closer. His body - drenched yet vigorous, plunging deeper and deeper into Pricilla’s embrace. His deep, gentle voice - now reduced to the grunts and growls of a randy animal.

Lorelei swayed, her knees almost giving out. She dragged herself to the sill and climbed into the narrow window niche. There, curled up and hugging her knees, she rested her head on the faceted glass and finally allowed herself to cry.

Alas, the tears couldn’t wash away the images. Time stretched into an endless loop of repeating nightmares. And every time, a new detail popped out - vivid and disturbing. The way Noah’s muscles tightened when he arched his back. The nail marks on his sides. A smudge of Pricilla’s rouge on his neck and lips…

As time passed, Lorelei’s tears dried out and her sobs died down. She just remained sitting and gazing into the day-turned-night by the storm. The hail rattled on the roofs and stone pathways, and the broken pieces of Lorelei’s heart fell with them, shard by shard.

Finally, Lorelei rubbed her eyes and stared sternly into the window’s reflection without turning around.

“Your presence is neither needed nor welcomed right now.” Her voice rang hollow.

“I know you don’t want to see me, little bird,” said Neli softly, remaining perched by the door. “But I believe you do need me.”

“No. I don’t.”

“You’ve been crying for almost an hour.”

“But I no longer am.” Lorelei bit her lips and huddled deeper into the window niche. “And even so, what help would you be?”

“We could talk-”

“I have nothing to say!” Lorelei spun around and shouted, interrupting the old Marzbanati.

“Please, child. Let us talk. There must be a mistake…”

“Unless you are blind, we both saw the same thing.” Lorelei’s lower lip trembled as the memories of Noah and Pticilla burst out again and threatened to drown her.

“That…” Neli tried saying something, but her voice trailed into silence.

This made Lorelei snort while her eyes stung. Naturally. Words were powerless before facts. Excuses were needles before the truth, no matter how much it hurt and how implausible it seemed. Noah and Pricilla had…

Just at that moment, a loud clamor erupted in the corridor.

“No! Stop! You aren’t thinking straight!” Duncan’s muffled pleas came from behind the door.

“Move!”

With a bang, the door swung on its hinges and a very distraught and disheveled Noah stumbled into the room with Duncan trailing behind and Lucas’ blond head peeking from behind the door frame. Lorelei could see the water still dripping from Noah’s hair, leaving wet stains on the ill-fitting gray shirt he had messily stuffed in a pair of oversized trousers. Despite his dark complexion, a red mark was still visible on his right cheek, which, in combination with his blood-shot eyes, wandering gaze, and untidy appearance, made him look like a pub brawler after a drunken night.

When he took a step forward, his gate was shaky and swaying, but nevertheless, he continued until he stood two paces from the window.

“L-Lorelei…” Noah cleared his throat without daring to look her in the eyes. “I’ve come to talk.”

There was no answer.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Please, Lorelei! You need to hear me out. We need to talk…”

“I have nothing to talk to you about,” she hissed and pierced him with her gaze, while internally the only thing she wanted to do was to run away and find a place to cry her heart out.

“Lorelei, listen to me, it isn’t as it seems.”

“Everyone, get out,” she squeezed through her teeth.

“I know what you saw…” Noah took one small stride forward. “I know how it seemed! How horrible it must have been for you.”

“Get out!”

“Please, Lorelei, you’ve misunderstood… None of it was ever my intention.”

“Just leave me alone!”

“Give him a chance to speak, little bird.” Neli stepped forth, gently placing a hand on Noah’s shoulder, and threw Duncan a sad glance before looking back at Lorelei. “Don’t let this fester and eat at you. If you don’t talk it out now, it will only get worse.”

“I said out! All of you!” Lorelei jumped from the sill and stood shakily before them, her eyes glaring daggers.

“Lass…” Duncan coughed and stood on Noah’s left. “No. Duchess, please, I know it’s difficult to separate reason from feelings in this case, but this time you need to listen-”

“Merhek!” Lorelei balled her fists. “I know that none of you actually respect me as the Duchess to follow my orders. But today, just for once, you will respect me as a human! Leave my room! Now! All of you… except the Duke.”

It took everyone a second to comprehend her words before they bowed and silently retreated. With the closing of the door, Lorelei and Noah remained alone.

“So, what more do you need to tell me?” asked Lorelei dryly, trying not to look at Noah but rather concentrate on a crack in the wall over his left shoulder. “Or do you think I’m blind and deaf? Are you going to deny what happened?”

“No,” whispered Noah and lowered his head.

“Then what?” Lorelei giggled, but it was a hollow and listless sound. “It simply happened in the spur of the moment? It was just a little coincidence? A sudden little moment of lust? You, taking my sister under the roof of a church!”

“No!” Noah’s fingers combed shakily through his hair. “I… don’t know how to explain it…”

“Then why waste time trying to explain what doesn’t need explaining? I might be a fool, but I’m not stupid! You should at least give me this much credit.”

“What? Fool?” Her words seemed to hurt and confuse him, but his reaction only made her angrier.

“Yes, I know I was the biggest, most oblivious fool in the world!” Lorelei stepped in, close enough to see her reflection in his huge pupils. “I was an idiot to agree and follow your plan. But I did my part…”

“L-Lorelei…”

“... I pretended to be the good-for-nothing wife for you to scold before Father and Pricilla. I agreed to help you charm Pricilla, even wrote down some of her and father’s weak points so that you and Willam could exploit them…”

“This has nothing to-”

“... I lowered my head and allowed you and them to trample all over me, in order to make you look like the ‘poor husband, unhappy with his dull, meek, infertile wife’! And for what? So that you could snoop on what my family was plotting? You said it was all a play!”

“It was!”

“Then why did you have to sleep with Pricilla!” Lorelei screamed at the top of her lungs.

“It wasn’t my choice! There was-”

“Not your choice?” she laughed at him. “Gods! And when I thought you were different!”

“What do you mean?” Noah stiffened and his brows drew together.

“What do I mean? You know well enough what I mean.”

“No. I don’t.”

“You slept with my sister!” Tears blurred Lorelei’s vision as she shouted. “And you rather enjoyed it, didn't you? I saw it all! Did you have to sleep with her? Wasn't flirting and showering her with attention not enough to play your game and get your precious information? Or was she just too appetizing? A beauty she is, our Pricilla! Enough to turn any man into a wild dog, as it seems.”

“How can you say this!?”

“I can! I saw you two behaving like rabbits in heat! It didn’t seem to me that you suffered much, especially considering the end…”

“Enough!” roared Noah, making Lorelei flinch. “You can’t even imagine what I went through! You are just lashing that sharp tongue of yours, without caring for the truth!”

“The truth? I have eyes! Should I pity you for bedding my sister!?”

“That’s enough!”

“Or should I pity you for interrupting your pleasure prematurely? Did you want to give it another go?”

“Shut up!” Screamed Noah and took a step forward, driving Lorelei back towards the wall. “How can you say such vile things about me?”

“And what wrongs did I say? Don’t tell me Pricilla forced you into it?”

“And what if she did?”

“Hah!” Lorelei glared at him with a crooked smile. “The Beast of Norden forced by a weak girl? Why do you even try to make such excuses? Just confess you followed the call of your nature!”

“The call… of my… nature?” Noah mumbled and swayed. “You… You think… I willingly did all… that?”

“How could a man resist such a wo-”

“I see…” His low, rumbling voice interrupted her, forcing shivers down Lorelei’s spine. “My nature. That’s how you see me? Despite all my efforts? Despite everything we…?”

Noah held his head and giggled like a madman.

“All my damn life, I’ve tried to prove the whole world, to prove myself, that I’m no monster. But it seems all was for naught. Even to you… I’m nothing more than a lustful, perverted beast! One that indulges in every woman that stumbles upon his way.”

With each passing second, his expression became colder and colder, and his words turned into poisonous hisses. He began closing the space between him and Lorelei until her back pressed against the rough stones.

“So shouldn't I just stop pretending to be human and embrace my nature? What do you think, Duchess? With you in my reach, what am I to do as the deprived monster you so naturally see in me?”

“N-no! P-please…” His low timbre resonated with every fiber of Lorelei’s body, dissipating her previous anger and replacing it with the horror of resurfacing nightmares.

“Should I follow your vision and take you here to satiate my cravings?” Hissed Noah through clenched teeth. “After all, that’s all I’m capable of, aren’t I? And who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy it just as much as I do?”

There was no place to run! His massive frame blocked Lorelei’s every move. His strong arms pressed against the wall, and she was completely encased between them. She shut her eyes instinctively and lowered her head while her whole body shivered.

Noah’s breath tickled her ear.

“If I were to force you here, it would be the most horrible experience for you. But if Pricilla forces herself on me, I should count myself lucky? Because I am a man and you are a woman, Duchess?”

Noah’s warmth suddenly disappeared. Lorelei’s eyes ripped open. He was standing back at the door with slumped shoulders and disheveled hair. And although his face was calm and expressionless, Lorelei had a feeling that he was hurting more than she had ever seen him before.

When he spoke again, the threatening notes were completely gone and only sadness remained.

“I thought… I hoped that at least you could see me differently. Especially you. But it seems I was too naive and greedy.”

“My-”

“Goodbye, Duchess.” He didn’t lower his head but instead stared Lorelei straight in the eyes. “You were right. There is no need to further explain the truth you have witnessed. I will respect your choice. And you were also right about another thing. I did enjoy my time with Lady Pricilla. I enjoyed it just as much as you did yours with Master Argente.”

A pained smile stretched his lips and he turned around to leave.

But before his hand could reach the handle, a strong tremor shook the room, followed by a blood-curdling screech.