The Taste of Seduction

Taking advantage of that fact that Marcus was distracted by the crowd, Atlas surged forward and connected his fist with Marcus\' jaw.

He grunted in pain as his head was rocked to the side, and blood shot out of his mouth. The crimson liquid splashed onto the ground, staining it with it\'s filth.

"She is not your anything!" Atlas roared, rearing his fist back to strike him again.

"She is mine!"

Marcus growled, turning his face back to Atlas, he wiped the blood off his mouth, and in a blur he was in front of Atlas.

"You fucking dare to hit me?!"

He grabbed Atlas by the neck, his eyes turned an intense silky red as his fangs came out quickly and he gave an evil, intimidating smile.

"I\'m gonna enjoy this." He stated in a low guttural voice as he started to choke Atlas.

Atlas tried to fight him but there was no way that he could overpower a century old royal vampire.

He gasped for air and grabbed onto Marcus\' hand while struggling.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, something unexpected happened.

A bright purple ball of light exploded from somewhere to his left and hurdled straight for Marcus.

His eyes widened and he turned his head, but he was too late…

The light struck him, and he sailed sideways through the air, as a stunned shout escaped his lips.

Atlas fell down on the ground and he whipped his head to the side and found Meredith with her arms outstretched, her hands glowing with purple light, as she stared at him.

Her eyes were glowing with the same, bright purple hue as her magic, and her teeth were bared in a ferocious expression.

"Our mate saved us. She even hurt him to save us.."

His wolf said, surprised.

Meredith\'s lips curled into a small smile before her body went limp, fortunately she was caught by the Fae King before her body crumpled on the floor.

"Gods above..." Marcus whispered, standing to his feet. "How did she do that? She hasn\'t even been trained to use her power yet."

Atlas turned to him, he was still angry at him but he didn\'t have an answer for him.

He shook his head

*********

Meredith\'s eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring up at the ceiling. She was in bed not her bed though because the bedsheets were black and she preferred bright colors.

She closed her eyes again and groaned in pain. The light from the window was too bright.

"You\'re awake." A familiar voice said from her

She turned and gaped at Marcus, who was sitting in an armchair nearby.

"Marcus….w-hat are you doing here?" She asked, squeezing her eyes shut. She had a horrible headache for some unknown reason

Marcus stood up from the armchair and came to sit beside her on the bed. He took her hand and traced his thumb over the back of her palm.

Meredith felt a warmth spread through her body,

her heart thumping in her chest as he said,

"I brought you to my room after you fainted from stricken me with your magic."

Meredith blinked at him in confusion, "Magic?"

Marcus smiled and nodded, "Yeah I have to admit you\'re extremely powerful. Maybe the most powerful being Aarkans has ever gotten."

Meredith rubbed her eyes and sat up on the bed, she thought she was dreaming, it seems everything was real?

"If I hurt you, why aren\'t you angry at me?"

Her words were breathy as she tried to relieved her mind from his gentle strokes coming from the pad of his thumb,

"Because you\'re my beloved," his words made her blood run cold, her heart stopped for a second.

"Bu-But how…," She was close to tears, not sure exactly what this meant for her. For a second she was sure Atlas was the one.

The connection, her wolf telling her he was their mate then Marcus had appeared from nowhere.

The funny thing was she had also felt the same connection with him. Like right now, his touch was making her feel things she didn\'t want to.

"I can\'t believe you are my soulmate," he pressed a kiss at the back of her hand, the warmth leaving her conflicted, her emotions running wild all over the place and rendering her as a helpless angsty teenager.

These feelings were foreign and a part of her was completely terrified of the future.

Marcus pulled her against his chest, feeling the muscle definition hidden beneath his dark shirt was messing with her thoughts. It\'s like his every touch was setting her body on fire.

Her hands quickly came up and pressed against his chest, trying to push a little space between them, but she gave up the second he whispered,

"I will love and protect you with all of me."

"I don\'t love you," Meredith whispered, feeling the slight pounding rhythm of his heart beneath her right palm laying flat against his chest.

"I don\'t expect you to," Marcus\' words surprised her pulling away from her he said , "I\'m here to protect you with my heart because a vampire only has one beloved in their lifetime and I\'d rather not lose you.

Maybe one day you\'ll come to realize how much I love you.

Maybe then, you might have some feelings for me, but I\'d never force you to complete our bond."

Meredith\'s head was spinning, his words clouding her judgement and forcing her to second guess everything she had ever done to be placed in this situation.

She wanted Atlas but now it seems fate was playing a sick game with her.

Meredith took a breath sharply, feeling soft and gentle lips pressed against her forehead in a tender kiss.

"I will leave you to rest. I know this is a lot to take in."