The Darkness Within

31 - Emotion Filled Morning

Lucienne woke up slowly, noticing the warm body that she held close to her own. She didn't need to open her eyes to know that it was her mate in her arms and the memory of Ciara joining her in the middle of the night made a smile spread on her face and a purr rumbled in her chest. She couldn't help but cuddle into the female beside her, and instinctively nuzzled her mate's neck just like Ciara had nuzzled her own the night before. She didn't mean to do it, and she wasn't sure how Ciara would feel about having Lucienne's scent on her, but at the moment she was just happy to be able to hold the other female like this. Letting someone at your neck was the highest sign of trust among supernaturals and until last night, Lucienne had never let anyone at hers. It had been a wonderful feeling to have that trust in the newborn Goddess and she briefly shivered at the thought.

Then she began to think about the female's other actions the previous night. Lucienne hadn't known the female had that in her. Most of the time Lucienne had known Ciara, the other Goddess had been in some form of emotional turmoil. First, they had met and the female had panicked, going so far as accidentally activating her powers and teleporting out of the room and proceeding to have a breakdown from being too overwhelmed. Second, they had gone to meet with Ciara's mom and the female had been extremely nervous from that encounter. Third, she had been kidnapped and when she came back she had been on the verge of death and obviously traumatized. Ciara always seemed to be this somewhat stoic figure, except for the rare moments between Ciara and the werewolf twins and between Ciara and Lucienne herself. In fact, she was blown away every time the female smiled, surprised she could even still do so. Ciara's laugh never failed to put a smile on Lucienne's face and it was a rarity she treasured and held close to her heart.

Yesterday, however, she could feel the iron will within the female when Lucienne was being threatened. The Goddess of light had been truly surprised by the ice in Ciara's emotions so cold they burned- just as much as Lucienne's own fire did- as the female held that witch's throat, almost killing Arytha. Just thinking about it made Lucienne's mind spin with how far the female has been willing to go for her sake but she was mostly happy to find that even without the recognized mate bond Ciara felt just as protective as she herself did. Ciara was perhaps a little more violent in her actions. But when it really came down to it Lucienne had been blown into a fury that was world-ending when Ciara had been taken and had almost been ready to attack the witch for the insults she was making to Ciara as well. Supernaturals were more animalistic in their actions anyway, Ciara's reaction was a perfectly normal and acceptable one for mates, power-bounds, family, and friends fighting for someone they cared for whether the emotion was platonic or romantic.

In her arms, Ciara started to stir a bit and Lucienne opened her eyes to look at her, mentally cataloging everything about the feisty female. Black hair that, in goddess form, seemed to flow like living shadows sprawled around Ciara's head, some of it getting in her face and rising and falling with the female's breaths. Their entwined legs let Lucienne know that the female wasn't wearing any pants beyond her underwear, and with her eyes, Lucienne could see that the female wore only a black tank top as her shirt. That gave Lucienne a good view of the female's thin frame. Although she couldn't see below the female's collar bone thanks to the covers, the fact that Lucienne was holding Ciara in her arms allowed Lucienne to feel that the female's individual ribs were protruding unhealthily. Ciara's muscle mass had been the one thing before she was kidnapped that added some weight to the dark-haired female's frame. Now, after over a month of abuse and disuse, that muscle was gone too. But, her mate had been eating and that immortal blood in her veins was helping to put on some weight. Compared to a few days prior, Ciara's body had lost some of its angularity, her collar bone was less unhealthily prominent, and her ribs protruded less.

Ciara stirred again, a sleepy purr mixed into her awakening grumble. Ciara burrowed impossibly closer to Lucienne, making it so that Lucienne could no longer trace the swirling black marks on Ciara's skin with her eyes. Once she was comfortable again, Ciara's face held a small smile and she joined in with Lucienne's purring although the sound was less consistent due to Ciara's state of half-awake and half-asleep.