All it took was mere minutes for Islinda to make it out of bed, unable to stand being alone in the cottage anymore. The dream haunted her and she needed to calm Valerie too. She didn’t mean to die, he needed to know the reason for her visit and perhaps understand her. Islinda did not like that they were fighting.
"Valerie!" Islinda shouted his name the instant she made it outside, but the sound echoed across the forest with no response.
It didn’t deter her as Islinda made it further away from the cottage, searching for him and having a feeling he went away just to hide from her.
"I know that you can hear me, Valerie! Please just come out, so we can talk!" Her voice reverberated across once more but there was no sign of him.
Suddenly, Islinda felt genuine fear trickle through her at the thought that Valerie might have left for his realm. What if he was more angry than she thought at her actions and he left for good?
By the gods, no!
"Valerie! Valerie! I’m sorry!" Islinda hastened her steps now, her heart now pounding while her chest seized with fear. This cannot be happening.
"Valerie, please -!" She panicked and in her haste to find him, tripped over a root and fell down the bush-woven path.
Islinda moaned in pain when she turned to her side. She was bleeding from the scratches on her arms she had used to shield her face from suffering the attack. Her side hurt as well from the fall, and though her ribs didn’t feel broken, it was painful.
"Islinda!" Valerie’s voice sounded close to her and Islinda wept in relief inwardly. She didn’t know how to feel about the fact he practically ignored her, only to come to her rescue when she got hurt. Nonetheless, he was here, that was all that mattered.
Islinda was not a crybaby but when she saw Valerie, her emotions washed over her, bursting open like a dam. The next Islinda knew, she was weeping like a baby on his shoulder, while he held her to him tightly.
"I’m so sorry," She cried, snot forming on her nose with a bubble. Not that Islinda cared because she explained quickly, "My stepmother chased me away from home. She wanted to marry me off to Ryder and would implore any means possible to do so. I had nothing on me, not even shoes. It was either I died trying to come to you or I went to Ryder."
At the mention of Ryder, a man he had no idea about but got the point already, Valerie’s hand tightened on her shoulder to the point that it hurt, but Islinda did not dare make a noise. She had caused him enough trouble already and could take on a little pain.
Valerie was angry and it was even scarier than when he shouted at her moments ago in the cottage. He gripped both of her shoulders now with a shockingly bruising hold and to be honest, she felt claws on her back. But Islinda was not scared that he would hurt, knowing that the anger was not directed at her. She was more worried about what he would do with the way his body shook with the rage he was trying to suppress.
"I’m going to kill them. I’ll kill them all." Valerie growled out and was up on his feet to go make good on his threat when Islinda hurried after him and grabbed his wrist.
She glanced down at his hands. Fuck, his claws were really out. Islinda lifted her gaze only to see that he was staring at her. He knew she saw his claws. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lower lips nervously while she steadied her breathing.
"I’m sorry, but you can’t kill them," Islinda told him, "The villagers are not stupid. Once you do that, you’re no longer safe here." And as much as she loathed Madam Alice and her children, Islinda was not sure she wished them death. They were family after all.
Valerie did not respond but she felt the moment the fight went out of him. However, her attention couldn’t help but get drawn to his claws again. The size of his claws could really skewer her and to make it worse, her dreams choose that moment to flash in her head. Islinda flinched, her hands balling into her fist as she battled with the nerves.
"Are you scared of me?" Valerie’s baritone roused her from her thought and she blinked up at him,
"What?"
"I said...." He covered the space between them till their bodies were touching and he lifted those claws, studying her reaction, "Are you scared of me?"
Islinda swallowed, she was not going to lie, while she loves Valerie, her sense of preservation still kicked in as a human. What if Valerie loses control one day, would he hurt her in his haze of anger? She was just beginning to understand creatures like him.
"No," Islinda answered firmly.
"Really?" Valerie chuckled and it almost sounded like he was calling her bluff. To prove her point, he traced the column of her neck with the claws, nipping her skin yet not enough to draw blood.
The breath hitched in her throat not just at the threat that he could kill her right now with a pierce of those claws but because she was aroused. Something must be wrong with her head if she was thrilled with this.
Valerie breathed in at the moment and his eyes shone brighter. Islinda had to press her thighs together because she had this unsettling feeling that he just smelled her. Just how heightened were his senses?
His claws wrapped around her neck while the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer till she could feel every part of him - including the sudden bulge in his pants - and the breath whooshed out of her lungs. In a good way.
He pressed his lips to her ear and spoke in a lowered voice, "You are mine, Islinda. Know that I’ll kill anyone in my path to claim you."
Goosebumps erupted on her arms while shivers danced down her spine. This was the first time seeing Valerie being aggressive and it turned her on. She was still trying to digest the information when Valerie yanked her hair tight and crushed his lips on hers, kissing her demandingly while she whimpered against his lips, grabbing his tunic to anchor herself.
The both of them were so busy making out that they didn’t notice the man watching them from a distance. Sure now that his brother saved Islinda’s life, Aldric turned and left.
It was time to conclude his plans.