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Chapter-86. The veil
[Raven]
"Where have you been all this time? I thought you left," I addressed Nyssa, walking towards the entrance of the council hall with Asher.
Asher entered the hall while I stayed back with Nyssa.
She glared at me. "What kind of boyfriend are you? Your girlfriend was missing for over an hour and you didn't even care to stalk her? What if I was kidnapped or something bad happened to me? We are in a political war zone, after all." I narrowed my eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"First, if you were ever kidnapped, Nyssa, I'd be worried about the kidnapper and second... what's up with that temper? Got your heat?"
Scowling, she hit my arm and I could feel the grievance in her touch. My laughter died on my lips as her eyes flared, burning with something darker.
"I want you to look at me, Raven!" she said, and I nodded slowly, scanning her.
"Oooo-k... and?"
Taking a sharp breath, she hit my arm again-harder this time. "Seriously Raven? You see no difference in me?"
I squinted my eyes, peering at Nyssa with utmost concentration.
"You grew a tail!"
"NO!" she growled.
"Boob job!" I said with utmost confidence.
"Gross, no!" she snarled.
"New... hairstyle!" I said, and she punched my arm with every intention of cracking my bones.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
"I changed my fucking clothes, Raven!" Nyssa hissed. "You really never notice. You don't even care."
"Tsk!" I clicked my tongue. "Nyssa, I-I noticed. I was just teasing you. These new clothes look great on you. But why did you change your clothes?" "There are three Luna candidates now, Raven. This isn't about just looking great. It's about staying on top. One mistake, and I lose everything," she said.
I saw Viella earlier. She was probably in the same clothes as she was wearing before. Does that mean... Nyssa changed her clothes for that omega? I broke into laughter.
"Stop laughing!" Nyssa snapped, her eyes tensing up. "Do you really think this is a joke?"
"Come on, Nyssa. Lowering yourself to compete with an omega?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "What happened to your standards? You don't need to feel so insecure because of... an omega. Your pure alpha blood is enough to overshadow her mere presence."
Nyssa stared at me blankly.
"Yet somehow I disappear every time she's around you," Nyssa's low voice trembled as she held back her frustration. "And even when she's not around, you're always watching her; stalking her. She haunts-your phone-your computer-your butterflies... your eyes."
I shut my eyes, letting out a mocking sigh. "Nyssa, please."
"I hate the way you look at her!" Nyssa stepped closer to me, holding my gaze. "Like you're obsessed."
Her words pressed down on me, making my stomach twist with emotions so foreign, I didn't even bother to acknowledge them.
"You were never like this. Not with the other brides, not even with me," she whispered, with tears lining her eyes. "I'm scared, Raven. I won't let her steal you from me."
I stared at Nyssa as she tried to hold back her tears, but failed.
I reached out and wiped her tears. Her words sounded ridiculous and delusional. However, I couldn't bring myself to laugh or even fake one.
"Xanthea is just a toy. Once I steal her from Asher, once she breaks, I'll end this game. She's just a temporary thrill, but you are permanent for me. So..." I lifted her chin and leaned closer to her lips. "Don't get jealous, babe."
She held my wrist, her grip possessive as her body arched against mine. "Then prove it..." she whispered, her lips inches away from mine. "Prove that you're mine, not hers." Her breath, warm and heavy, lingered too close. "After the meeting ends, be with me. Spend the night with me."
For a brief second, the idea of pulling away crossed my mind. But I couldn't fathom why, so I masked it off with a smirk instead. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I closed all the gaps between our bodies.
"As you wish..."
***
I slouched back in my seat, one leg crossed over the other as my eyes lazily scanned the hall.
The jury were slowly taking their seats in the shadows of the balcony with Isagi.
Asher was having a chat with beta Draknor. The alpha committee had stayed back as well. This was going to be a significant moment in our pack's history, after all.
Rage and humiliation burnt Viella as she took her seat. She clearly didn't want to be here, but she, too, understood the gravity of the situation.
The soft hum of inaudible murmurs hung in the hall, occasionally pierced by the groans of the elder impaled on the chandelier above.
I tapped my fingers against the armrest, watching his agonized body writhe in pain. His cries for mercy had reduced to pitiful whimpers. This was the dark part of being an immortal.
Being an immortal wasn't always all about roses and daisies. One wrong decision, one misstep and an immortal's life could turn into an eternal suffering.
Just like this elder, who was now reduced to a grim ornament of punishment. Until Ezra decided to spare him, he would stay in this state forever like a decorative item for this hall - setting an example to never challenge an Alpha's authority. The door creaked open, drawing my attention away from the elder.
Ezra entered the hall, all eyes turning in his direction.
I thought he would come with Xanthea. Stupid, he should have talked to her before the meeting.
Not my problem if he makes a fool of himself. I warned him already.
As he neared the dais, his gaze flicked upward to the elder stuck on the chandelier. Without a word, he waved his hand.
With a loud shriek, the infested chandelier flew out of our sight into the infinite darkness of the ceiling.
Don't tell me he did that to impress the omega.
The thought crossed my mind - Xanthea, with her wide innocent eyes, would be horrified to see a man strung up like a decorative piece. She might even throw up.
The image of her pale, disturbed face brought an amused grin to my lips. It would've been entertaining to watch.
"How thoughtful," I muttered as Ezra took his seat beside me.
"I want everything to be perfect when she's here," Ezra replied, exhaling like he carried the weight of the entire council on his shoulders.
I sighed, shaking my head.
"The meeting will begin in a minute," Isagi announced. "I request everyone to settle down."
A sudden gravity enveloped the hall. The elders and jury sat in stiff silence. Asher walked to his seat beside Viella, but instead of sitting, he stood frozen, transfixed.
Ezra's gasp caught in his throat as he slowly, almost absent-mindedly, got up from his seat. His gaze remained locked in the same direction as Asher's, as though the world around him had ceased to exist-
I widened my eyes as the doors opened, and the entire hall dimmed, fading away in an instant.
No words were spoken, yet it felt as though the figure stepping through the entrance had cast a spell, trapping me in a poisonous web, leaving me too paralyzed to look away.
At first, I didn't recognize her. The woman who strutted into the hall wasn't the meek omega I knew.
She was...
s.org for the full experience
My pulse quickened.
Why is her presence so heavy?
Why is it suddenly so painful to breathe?
What is this?
Xanthea's every step was deliberate, her walk corrupted by a dark, erotic elegance that dared the stalker. Her three piece black suit sculpted her figure with every crease and shadow intensifying her allure. The sleek, tailored cuts showcased her long legs as she strutted, her head held high, with a confidence that warned of the perils lurking beneath those clothes.
However, the actual treason was committed by her defiant, fearless eyes when she lifted her gaze.
I ran my fingers through my hair, brushing back the strands that obscured my view of her lips, parting sensuously behind the black, translucent veil that concealed her face from the nose down.
Something exciting sparked within my veins and it wasn't just my blood running wild.
The veil flowed with the rhythm of her breaths, drifting inches toward and away from her lips in a tantalizing tease. An insignificant piece of fabric had created walls so high around her she seemed unreachable. That veil transformed her from someone ordinary into something... more. Mysterious. Untouchable.
My jaws clenched at the surge of breaths in the sheer breathless moment.
Every inch of her body screamed that she had come prepared for the worst; that breaking her would be formidable.
I leaned back in my seat, pressing my knuckles against my lips that curled into a subtle smirk.
In reality, I was far away from her, but in my thoughts, I was just inches away from wrenching that veil off her face and claiming those sultry lips like a trophy-shattering the unbreakable aura she had created around herself.
To ravish the body that appeared so holy... so far out of reach. To strip her naked and have her vulnerable body against mine as I defile her with my sin.
However, the instant our eyes met, for a fleeting second, I was consumed by a fierce desire to trap her gaze in the cage of my eyes and never set it free.
Although she carefully controlled her expressions, when her gaze landed on Nyssa and Viella, the corner of her mouth tightened.
Her eyes stayed on Nyssa more than they dared to seduce mine and slowly her gaze skimmed to Ezra and then to Asher until they landed sharply on Viella as a glare. A gaze that made a gorgon demon squirm in her seat.
Asher contemplated Xanthea through her possessive scrutiny that tightened around him like invisible shackles. There was complaint, questions and a flicker of pain in her eyes when she averted her eyes and finally lowered them as she stopped near the dais.
Her presence settled over the hall like a heavy, intoxicating fog.
Spellbound, Ezra walked towards her through the aisles, his eyes knowing no other destiny, no other destination.
My brows tensed up as he approached her. I shifted in my seat, curling my fingers into a fist as I reminded myself to breathe again.
I swallowed, feeling an unexpected rush of something I couldn't comprehend when Ezra stepped closer to her. Whatever it was, it twisted in my gut, leaving me more unsettled than I wanted to admit.