"I saw you in my dream. Bright as a sunny day and smiling like a morning flower which had just bloomed. I knew you were mine and when I told my mother. She confirmed you were indeed my mate." Siroos smoothly told her but his eyes held this forlorn look.
In reality, he never wished to find his mate, knowing what a difficult life she would have to live. He had chosen the path to walk alone.
Cassandra bent her legs and crossed her arms over them. His words warmed her heart and even mesmerised her that he had gone to seek her out.
She asked, "How did your mother confirm it?"
Siroos had taken some cleaning herbs combined in a liquid and was now rubbing them in her soft hair as he explained.
"She came from a mage family. Although her magic is not very strong, she can make premonitions and sometimes prophecies. The gods whisper to her at times, revealing their secrets or what they need to be done."
His dexterous hands moved slowly and delicately. It wasn’t easy for him but he wished to be as gentle with her as possible.
"Ohh! So she is like a Soothsayer of the pack?" Cassandra wondered aloud.
"Yes! You can say something along those lines. My mother possesses wisdom none of us truly understand or possess and she is always right. She told me who you were and where to find you." Siroos poured some cold water over her hair to rinse out the cleaning liquid.
"And why did you hide your identity when you came to claim me?" Cassandra inquired further, tilting her head forward so her hair would be rinsed easily.
"I wished to see if you would even fit into my pack. A fragile princess wouldn’t have cut it. Besides, I wished to see the kind of person you were and how you treated a slave. I got my answer when you tried to break those chains with your bare hands. Thinking the mere silver chains could hurt me. Silver does nothing to me," he explained with amusement dancing in his voice, remembering the incident.
"I thought you would have found me too soft. I can’t stand cruelty. And I was shocked when you broke out of those chains so easily and believed you were a jerk for making me go through all that effort." Cassandra huffed, crossing her arms around her wet chest. Her chemise clung to her, outlining her breasts.
Siroos’ laughter rang out like a musical symphony and filled their wash area with it. His hand reached out to her chin, gripping it, he turned her to face him. Picking up the wet strands of her hair, Siroos tucked them behind her ear. His rugged hands held her face in a comforting grip.
The hardness of his face had simmered to tenderness for he gazed at her with so much adoration and affection.
"You are too soft and precious. Delicate like the flimsy wings of a butterfly and yet you are strong in your morals. Even without an ounce of magic you didn’t back down and assisted me in defeating the enemy. You stood against your father and sister. I am proud of you Cassandra. And even though life will not be easy in my pack, I know you will survive all hardships. There is a reason you were chosen to be ’Mine’."
His amour-coated words dripped with his unfiltered regard for her.
Proud of her?
No man had ever been proud of her. All she had ever endured was insults and silence of the men in her life and here he openly declared that he was proud of her.
"You are?" She hoarsely asked, her voice quivered as if a deep well of emotions inside her had been stirred by his words.
"Yes!" The pads of his thumb lovingly rubbed the soft skin under her eyes, and he could feel the low exhale of her breath and the slight quiver of her tempting lips. The lips he wished to claim and mark as his.
The question was did he deserve that? Will he be able to hold himself back?
"Thank you for believing in me," Cassandra said in gratitude.
She knew she had her work cut out but his words hit home, ’There is a reason you were chosen to be mine.’ She was the one needed to keep him grounded and not dwell in madness and murder his way to everything.
"One more question," Cassandra spoke again, seeing him lost in her eyes.
"Ask." Every passing second was intoxicating him more. Anything she would ask, he would give to her.
"Do you have magical abilities as well? That blue halo that kept covering me didn’t seem like Lotus’s charm or to have come from the sword."
A roguish grin graced his lips. He knew she was smart and understood she must have pieced it together. He tried to be subtle with his magic but she knew.
"Yes, I have defensive magic because of my mother’s side. I can form a shield or create a barrier," Siroos explained and Cassandra’s eyes widened in amazement.
He chose to defend her with it and she wondered to what extent his power went. The more she learnt the more drawn she felt.
"You are different. A shifter and a mage, that’s a very rare combination."
"I am hardly a mage," he tried to laugh it off. Letting her face finally go. There was another ritual he needed to perform and they were running out of time.
"More than me, anyways," Cassandra answered with a sigh and stood up. The water dripped from her wet chemise, it clung to her soft skin, making her pert nipples peek out.
Siroos did the same; the water splashed, and Cassandra willed herself not to stare down.
"Never down-talk yourself, Malakti. Magic is not everything, this is." His index finger pointed to where her heart was, and his throat went dry seeing the wet cloth clinging to her beautiful, dripping body and her round breasts with pink nipples poking out like pearls. He wanted to tear the thin fabric away and plop them inside his mouth.
Cassandra observed how his eyes had turned into pots of molten honey and where he was staring. Warmth cascaded down her spine and she wrapped her arms around her chest.
"Ahm! Give me five minutes and I will meet you outside." Her eyes unintentionally dipped, and she saw his huge bulge, tenting the dripping cloth he wore around it. Cassandra squeezed her eyes shut; she didn’t wish to fantasise about his erected rod.
The wolf howled.
The lion roared
The dragon growled.
No one wanted to leave, they wished to see the beautiful body of their mate but that was something Siroos couldn’t afford at that time.
"Of course!" He breathed out in anxiousness. Grabbing a dry cloth from the table, Siroos walked out, giving her privacy to change and join him for another ritual he had planned.