[©Lynnifer Ice – December 31, 2022]
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"You must be imagining things," I groaned, desiring to move away from him, desperately wishing for the painkillers to start working. "I am 1000% positive that I will never, in my right mind, open my legs for you."
Shoving his arm away from me with one hand while the other clutched my head, I stood from the bed. My legs were wobbly as I held the nightstand for support. When Xinith tried to reach out in what looked like an attempt to assist me, I nudged him away with my elbow.
Curse this damn body of mine. When did drinking make me so feeble the day after? This is ridiculous! I must get out of this room and away from this horny demon. I don't care what he says; all men lie, including demons!
I heard Xinith sigh heavily, and the creak of the mattress springs as he got up from the bed. My eyes pursued his every move as he walked past me and out the door without another word. Since he had left, I decided I would make for my bed instead of the exit.
I took a deep breath and unhurriedly put one foot in front of the other. As I moved forward, I let go of the nightstand, and my first step seemed successful. However, my second step did not go well. Without support to keep me upright, I collapsed on my knees and hands, hissing at the sting on my skin.
"Dammit all…," I groaned, lifting my head to see my bed a few feet away. I hesitated at first whether or not to get up, but then realized I would be better off crawling the rest of the way there. It was creepy, but I could sense Xinith's eyes on me even though when I looked around, I could not catch a glimpse of him.
Biting my tongue, I pulled myself forward, one small crawl at a time. My head drooped down as another wave of intense pain coursed through my head rather than the steady pounding. I groaned, angry with myself for being so weak. I continued crossing the carpeted floor, trying my best to hold in a yelp as the sting on my palms and knees increased.
I briefly lifted my head to see my bed within a couple of arm's reach. If my eyes could physically sparkle, I probably would have looked like an anime character seeing their favorite ice cream set down in front of them. I urged my limbs to keep pushing forward even though my body screamed at me.
As my head finally bumped the edge of the bed, I let a small pained, but satisfied smile grow on my lips. I stretched my back as my arms slithered up the side of the bed until I could grasp the sheets on top. With much difficulty, I pulled my hangover ass up and crawled onto the bed, laying on my stomach with part of my legs still dangling off the side. I could not be bothered to correct my position as I closed my eyes and breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
I heard a floorboard creak, immediately thinking that Xinith had returned to the room. However, when I felt a chilling cold hand on my left arm, alarm bells went off in my head. My muscles tensed as my breath hitched. I kept my eyes shut, not wanting to know who had a hand placed over my arm.
"Alex?" A female voice that I didn't recognize, called out to me. When I didn't respond, she continued, "My name isn't really that important but just know that I'm a healer of sorts. I was a little shocked to find a demon knocking on my door, but he said you were in a lot of pain and that he gave you medicine but it's too soon for it to kick in. I'm going to touch pressure points around your body and accelerate the medicine in you. So, don't be alarmed if you feel a bit off."
"Stop explaining everything to her and just help her already," Xinith complained from what sounded like from the doorway. I almost could have sworn he actually sounded distressed over my condition. "I swear if you make her feel worse, I will break your hands and arms before I rip them off."
"Tch… So violent. Remember who is doing a favor for who. I'm not doing this out of goodwill or even with the fact that you threatened me. You owe me after this," the nameless female chided before I began to feel her hands roam, pressing on different pressure points on my body.
It was weird, well, beyond weird. As this chick kept touching me, the sting in my sore limbs and especially my headache were slowly retreating. This left me bewildered, now considering that magic might be real after all. I could hear her humming as she continued and I really wanted to ask her a bunch of questions but instead I kept quiet and did not move a muscle. On the other plus side, the warm tingly sensation in my lower body also vanished; that made me way too happy.
"Well? Is her condition better now?" Xinith asked, sounding impatient and not to mention in a closer proximity than before.
"She may feel a little residual pain, but 99% of her aches and pains should be gone," the nameless female answered him as she took her hands off of me. "Reach out to me if this happens again. Otherwise, for now, I'll be in touch for that favor at a later date." I heard her get up, her voice quieter as she moved away.
"You… Erm… Thank you," Xinith struggled to say as the mattress on my left side sunk in, most likely him sitting next to me. I internally rolled my eyes at his overbearing possessiveness.
"Stop the universe! Did you, a demon, just thank me? Holy pearls, I think I need to get my hearing checked out," she chuckled with a playful tone, "I'll be off then. Don't be too rough with her! She is only human, and humans are fragile."
I detected a scoff from Xinith before I heard the click of the soles of shoes and then felt a warm, gentle gust. I began to wonder if this mystery woman just 'poofed' out, so-to-speak. At this point, things only seemed to be a little more eerie at this school. How was I supposed to live among beings that should only be in myths and legends?
"Hm…," Xinith hummed next to me, "That's disappointing she can calm your hormones down too. That's supposed to be my job, as your partner."
"How many times are you going to spew that shit? I thought werewolves were the only ones with fated mates or whatever. That's how the legends go anyways," I grumbled, turning my head toward him but refused to lift it off the bed. "I think you should explain yourself further before you creep me out anymore than you already do."
"You're awake. Well, that's good to know," Xinith smoothly replied, sounding much calmer than just a little earlier. I felt him pet the back of my head, in a soothing manner, "To answer your question, demons don't have fated mates. The Fates do assign us someone that becomes our other half. Have you ever heard of the red-string of fate? Well, you and I share one of those red-strings. I had hoped you would notice before about our connection but I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. You are only human and most humans don't feel that shit."
Is there a reason he keeps insisting on having physical contact with me? I'm not a pet! Although, I don't exactly hate it either but I also don't love it. Feelings are such a complex thing…
My gaze turned up further to study his face, scrutinizing him. "Do I have no say in this? This is some world-class bullshit. I'm pretty sure my family would disown me if I dated a demon. Also, if you ever kiss me again without my permission…"
"Oh? What would you do? Rather what could you do? It's not like you can physically hurt me," Xinith chuckled in amusement, withdrawing his hand as I tried to bite it, "To answer your other question… No, you don't have a say in it and neither do I; it's not something I can personally decide." His gaze raked over me, a smirk curling on his lips, "You look spectacular in my clothes."
"Fucking pervert," I scoffed, rolling over onto my back before carefully sitting and moving back toward my pillow. I grabbed my wonderfully fluffy pillow and hugged it against my chest, resting my chin on top of it. I looked around for a clock until I remembered there wasn't one yet. I decided to refrain from answering his question, not quite sure of the answer myself. I sighed grumpily, "Are you going to get off my bed? Perhaps leave the room? I still need to get dressed and you're distracting me."
"So, just pretend I'm not here," he gestured with his hand, seeming completely unbothered.
"YOU ARE NOT WATCHING ME GET DRESSED! GET OUT!!!" I screeched, my nostrils flaring as I hurled the pillow at his face. He caught it easily with one hand, setting it down on the bed before standing up, starting to move toward the door like he was going to leave.
He stopped at the door, and to my shock, closed it before leaning back against it. He smiled, a disturbing hunger in his eyes, "I thought of leaving to give you privacy, but you lnow what? I'd rather watch. It's not like I haven't already seen your body. What's there to be shy about?"
My jaw dropped, complete and utter disbelief. My left eye twitched in agitation, my hands curling into fists as I stood up from the bed, at least grateful that my splitting headache was gone. My legs moved on their own, stomping toward him with a fire in my eyes. I didn't think twice about it before I let my fist swing at what looked like going toward his jaw, but he caught it too quickly.
I couldn't have cared less because that was the distraction I used to drive my other fist at full-force into his lower abdomen. His eyes split open wide at the force I exerted, clearly not expecting me to successfully land a blow on him. He groaned with an unnatural gasp before clutching his abdomen and letting go of my other hand. I quickly stepped back as he keeled over, feeling satisfied with my work.
- End of Chapter Fourteen -