Moon Bound

27

Torn hearts
~
Accalia
~

"You're getting blood on me," Accalia told Lycus with a wince.

He didn't seem to care or perhaps didn't hear as he zeroed in on her face, leering at every angle and spectre of her features.

The initial sensation Accalia felt was the warmth of two hands clasping each side of her face with such gentleness she felt her knees buckle. But now she tried not to fall into Lycus's arms, too scared for him to catch her.

"Lycus, please—" just let me go. Accalia tried to pry her face away from his hands, but he didn't relent, his face swimming closer to hers, his minty breath feeding against her ragged exhales.

They were still in the wood, still surrounded by two dead creatures with ripped apart bodies. Lycus caused one and from what Accalia could find, no remorse crossed his features, only harshness and anger.

"Why did you kill—"

"He was going to hurt you," Lycus growled out, a rumble building in his chest. "If he could come back to life, I'd do worse to him."

Accalia stiffened against his clutches and tried her best to rid herself of the sentences that replayed endlessly in her head. "Don't say that. I understand that's what you are and what you do, but don't say you would do it for me."

Lycus licked his lip and Accalia noticed the drops of blood tarnishing his face. He didn't seem to mind, maybe even marvelled in it.

"Does that scare you, little mate? Me killing or me killing for you?"

Accalia inhaled and again, tried to pull away but that only led to worse measures. Lycus released her, but not before, scooping his arm under her shaken legs and whisking her to his arms and into his chest.

Accalia huffed heavily, shaking away the disbelief. "I'd rather you did neither."

Accalia, even with her heritage and skillset, had never killed a person. She never wanted to, even with nightmares daring her to commit such an act. Her life was tainted enough with bloodshed and battles and she would continue to keep her hands from getting bloodied from taking another's life.

Lycus laughed and Accalia's face flushed from embarrassment. "Not going to happen, darling. Now let's go home."

Accalia's face hardened and didn't bother to kick up a storm to get out of his crimsoned arms that have had years of tearing, breaking and ripping people apart. Lycus had no intention of allowing her to walk on her own and with every step he pursued, Accalia recited the sight of a heart being torn out for her.

"This isn't my home." Accalia had to say and fell into silence.

A part of herself willed to think that the wolf attempts to hurt her, taste her blood and then maul at her insides, may have had worse thoughts if they weren't good enough to satisfy him. Maybe he deserved what he got.

—

Accalia didn't even realise as she fell into a quietness to avoid conversing with Lycus, her eyelids drifted to a close as well.

But she wasn't in her usual space of rest. She woke up in a king-size bed with black silk sheets covering her and the room presented in a palette of dark colours, but the window outshined that. The evening sun gleamed with orange, yellow and red, evading the darkness this room had. But the area beheld a Victorian age to it: brown painted walls, a wide-open window with fitted black curtains and furniture painted in shades of brown.

This would be Lycus's room, Accalia confirmed to herself and recalled when she was last in here.

Sitting up, she flicked her hair out of her face and ripped the sheets off. Right on queue, Lycus walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.