redith.
The warm oil still lingered faintly on my skin as I lay sprawled across the silk-lined mattress, limbs heavy, muscles loose, and my mind trailing into quiet.
As soon as dinner ended, I had requested a massage from Azul after walking Xamira to her bedroom first before going upstairs to mine, and here we are.
Azul took special care with my hair, brushing it back until it shimred like real silver in the candlelight.
Kira and Arya worked the knots out of my shoulders, their thumbs digging in just right.
Cora added the faint rosewater scent behind my ears, and Deidra made sure the sheets were freshly drawn, cool against my still-glowing skin.
Half an hour later, I relieved them from their duties.
"I think my muscles are no longer stiff. Thank you for tonight," I said to them. "Good night."
"Good night, my lady."
Their voices, cheerful and soothing, slowly faded as they left the room, bowing quietly before closing the door behind them.
As soon as the soft thud reached my ear, I turned my attention to the only person who was still with .
"Valmora," I whispered, eyes closing as my fingers traced absent-minded lines along my thigh. "Tell about the mark."
Her presence rose like mist curling through my thoughts—slow, ancient, assured.
"For others, the bond might just be for sentint, but it is different for you," she said calmly. "It unlocks a little bit of what you are—a bit of . Until he marks you, you will be fighting way below your potential."
I chewed the inside of my cheek. What she uttered made sense, but there was one important question. "And how exactly do I get Draven to mark ?"
There was a brief pause, like she was waiting for to catch up with my own thoughts.
"You ask him," Valmora said simply. "Or you show him."
I cracked an eye open, lifting a brow. "Show him? What does that even an?"
"You will figure it out."
The way she said it made sothing flutter deep in my belly. I sat up slightly, brushing hair from my shoulder.
"Wait... Are you asking to seduce him?"
Her laughter rolled through my chest like a warm wind over stone.
"You’ve done it before. You will do it again. You think he’s immune to you?"
Heat prickled my cheeks. I wasn’t a stranger to Draven’s hunger—his hands, his eyes, the way he could devour with just a glance.
But this... this felt different. This wasn’t just passion, this was asking him to seal sothing permanent. Sothing ancient and binding.
And he hadn’t done it yet. He hadn’t marked , not even in the heat of our nights.
Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe he was waiting.
’But for what?’ I wondered. A sign? Permission?
Still sprawled across the bed, I turned onto my side and stared at the flicker of firelight playing on the wall.
My thoughts drifted—to the field earlier, to Dennis’s surprise... to how I had made him lower his arm. That power—it had been real, raw and fleeting.
But what happens when my powers are fully awakened?
The idea made sothing coil inside , tight and sweet. I didn’t just want the mark for power’s sake.
I needed it—for myself, for Valmora, for everything that lay ahead.
And... perhaps, just a little, to put Wanda in her place.
That thought brought a slow smirk to my lips. I could already picture it—Wanda’s scowl, her smug posture faltering.
What if I compelled her? Made her kneel, beg for forgiveness... confess the things I knew she’d done?
"Petty?" Valmora asked, the edge of her voice a smirk.
"It’s a righteous course, Valmora," I whispered back.
Because Wanda had tried to sabotage and even heartlessly tried to use a little child to fight .
I sighed deeply and had just settled into the pillows, heart quiet but intent, when my phone buzzed softly on the nightstand.
A small flutter danced in my chest when I saw it was Draven.
I answered on the second ring, the device pressed gently to my ear as I lay curled on my side.
"Hello?" I murmured.
His voice was imdiate, deep, low, and warm. "Hey... I was hoping I didn’t wake you."
"No, I was just..." Lying here, thinking about you. About us. About the mark I’m too shy to ask for. "...winding down."
"I figured you might be tired," he said, "You had your first two-a-day training session, didn’t you?"
A smile tugged at my lips. "Mhm. Dennis is thorough."
He chuckled. "He better be. I told him not to go easy on you."
"And he is doing a good job following your instructions."
His low chuckle from the other end rang in my ears. Then he asked, "How are you feeling?"
I hesitated, considering whether to tell him about the power and the mark Valmora ntioned. But instead, I simply said, "Sore. But... good. It feels good to move."
"I’m glad," he murmured. "You sounded happy. That’s what I wanted to hear."
My fingers curled in the sheets. "And you? How was your day?"
"Busy. Exhausting," he admitted, "but I needed to hear your voice before I sleep."
That made my heart squeeze. I swallowed and shifted on the bed. "When are you coming back?"
He sighed into the phone. "Tomorrow I will be inspecting progress on the Great Wall. Then the day after that, another eting with the Council of Elders and the Alphas of each clan."
"So... not for a few more days." I tried not to sound too disappointed.
"Just three or four more nights, redith. I will be ho before you know it."
There was a beat of silence between us. Then, he asked softly, "Do you miss ?"
I blinked, heat brushing my cheeks. "That’s... a bold question."
He let out a soft laugh. "I’m allowed to be bold with you."
Instead of answering, I rolled over and tucked my arm under the pillow. "Do you miss ?"
Without missing a beat: "More than I should."
I smiled. "That sounds dangerous."
"It is," he said. "And I can’t stop thinking about how you looked that night before I left."
My breath caught faintly, heart tripping over itself. "Which part of it?"
"All of it," he said with that low, velvet voice. "But mostly the part where I almost didn’t leave."
"Then why did you?" I teased.
He paused, then: "Because if I’d stayed, you wouldn’t have left my bed for days."
I laughed, tucking my chin into the pillow, warmth pooling beneath my skin. "You say things like that, and then expect to sleep peacefully?"
"I never promised to make it easy for you," he murmured. "Just promised to co back."
I closed my eyes, letting the comfort of his voice lull . "Alright, Draven. You win."
"I always do."
I rolled my eyes with a sleepy smile. "Get so rest. You have walls to inspect and cranky old Alphas to impress."
"And a stubborn wife waiting to seduce when I get ho."
My eyes snapped open. "Excuse ?"
He laughed softly. "Goodnight, redith."
Before I could form a coback, the call ended, leaving stunned, blushing, and smiling into the quiet.
And for the first ti that evening, I didn’t feel overwheld by what was ahead.
I just... missed him.
Badly.
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