"Darius.." Adina called in a low voice as she placed her hand on the shoulders of Darius comfortingly. Her touch and her voice felt comforting and when he looked up at her face it wasn't etched with the usual frown on it, instead it had a soft expression, one that she only gave to him because he was her breed mate but they had both decided to ignore the mating bond so that they could focus on the important mission ahead of them. She could see the pain and anger in his grey eyes as he looked at her. He was in distress and she didn't know of a way to make him feel better, she could feel his hurt and his guilt that weighed on him for being unable to protect his sister.
"It's not your fault Darius, there wasn't anything anyone could do to save her and besides, she put us all at risk for her own selfish gains knowing fully well the consequences of Lothaire's anger that came with it." Adina said, hoping her words would make him feel less guilt over her death. She knew he was a straight minded and rational person and it wouldn't be hard for him to get back on track. He just stared at her black eyes and then his gaze fell to her red full lips and he gulped. He was at a vulnerable state and he didn't care anymore about his resolve to not give in to the bond, he just wanted to forget about the sorrow Lothaire had caused him, just once. Adina saw the way he looked at her and she quickly averted her gaze because she knew he wasn't thinking straight and they had to think straight for their plans against the sorcerers to go well like they had all planned with Lothaire.
"I'll leave you for a moment." Adina said and was about to walk out but his strong hand caught hold of her, preventing her from escaping and she reflexively turned to look at him as he stood up slowly. His grey eyes held unspoken emotions in it as he stared at her like a thirsty man. He walked closer to her and their bodies were barely apart as they brushed slightly against each other. Adina felt hot in a strange way because he felt the same way but she had to keep her resolve strong, at least until the war with the sorcerers was over so that her mind could be rational enough to go ahead with Lothaire's plan which was simply, protecting Larisa at all cost, but mating with a breed mate would only make the bond stronger and irresistible, making them lose focus which wasn't going to help them both because they needed all their focus for the upcoming war.
"Darius don't...I need your focus." Adina pleaded for his focus but her body pleaded for his touch as he wrapped one arm around her small waist and pinned her on the wall with his face less than an inch away from hers and she could feel his hot breath on her cheeks which made her skin tingle. She placed her hand on his hard chest to push him away but he locked his desire filled eyes with hers which made her unable to proceed with the action. They stared at each other for a while and within a blink of an eye, they collided their lips on each other hungrily as their hands roamed about on both their bodies with hot passion burning through them. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she straddled him with her lips still on his as they sucked and bit on each other's lips with tongues entwining in harmony and shaky breaths as she felt a pool of hotness in her lower abdomen and it didn't take long for his raging monster to stand tall, their bloods boiled with unquenched desires as their lips meshed together breathlessly and hands exploring their bodies. Darius was about to tear off her dress like a ferocious beast when the door suddenly swung open to reveal Zion standing frozen to the ground after the sight he encountered. Adina jumped off of Darius in shock as she cleared her throat in embarrassment while Darius maintained a blank face as he stared at the confused lad who fluttered his eyelashes as if he had seen a ghost.
"You know it's disrespectful to barge into a prince's room, right?" Darius asked rhetorically, slightly annoyed by the boy's behaviour.
"I..I..I'm sorry." Zion stuttered with mouth still hanging open before he finally got a hold of himself.
"Lothaire summoned everyone to the meeting hall to go through the plan again." Zion delivered to them and quickly dashed out. He scratched the nape of his neck, deeply lost in thought after seeing the uptight Adina and Poker faced Darius all over each other which made him wonder if they were breed mates, but his thoughts were interrupted by Onyx and Larisa walking towards him.
"Zion! What's gotten you lost?" Onyx asked and Zion grinned sheepishly.
"Nothing. Lothaire called for us." Zion told her and she nodded.
"We were actually on our way there, I heard him calling for us." Onyx said and they all left together.
They were all seated at the large round table at the corner of the hall as Lothaire went through his plans thoroughly which was strictly all about protecting Larisa.
"You're here, I thought you wouldn't make it since you were mourning." Lothaire said but there was no hint of smirk on his face which would make one think he cared but he didn't.
"I still have a lot to protect even though Valerie is gone." Darius said with a hard voice and Lothaire just scoffed as he continued.
"Felix and Laverna will raid their hideout and destroy them all to prevent more creatures from being created which would force them to attack as planned and we make our move tonight." Lothaire said and their eyes widened.
"Earlier you said we'd go along with the plan next week." Avian spoke and they all nodded in agreement, even Larisa was scared because she wasn't prepared in any way, mentally, emotionally or physically for it as her stomach twisted in deep anxiousness because she knew the war was going to be vicious and the fight she encountered with Lothaire and the creatures at the garden was merely a child's play.
"I changed my mind." Lothaire stated firmly with an air of authority as if daring them to go against him.
"Why? If I may ask?" Adina asked curiously to know the reason for the abrupt change.
"Waiting till next week will give them time to multiply their armies and they'd never see us coming tonight which is the perfect opportunity for us to destroy them all." Lothaire said and they figured he could be right about his theory.
"It's already turning dark. You both should get going while we prepare. We'll wait for them at the garden as planned." Lothaire said referring to Laverna and Felix and everyone hurriedly got up, preparing for the war that was about to commence while Laverna and Felix disappeared into thin air.
Larisa was oblivious of their plan to start the war at their secret garden which seemed like a good idea because it'd be far from the citizens and the castle where there would be no prying eyes and no possibility of running into casualties which would be a distraction since there were maids, guards and butlers in the castle. Lothaire had ordered Larisa to stay beside him and she did obediently as they all prepared for the war.
Laverna and Felix appeared out of thin air standing in front of an old, eerie temple with large double doors in front of it. Laverna stood in front of the large doors and gave it a slight push and the doors opened wide to reveal a good amount of the strange creatures waiting for them as they snarled and bared their sharp fangs ready to attack. Felix's white wings sprouted from his back and his sapphire blue eyes turned into a bright red, his aura changed into a dangerous one as he got ready to attack also but Laverna grinned mischievously as she said,
"Let's have some fun."