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~ Mason's POV~ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
I woke up groggily. It felt so soft and comfortable. Warmth spread through my body originating from my hand. I opened my eyes to see it was pitch black in the room.
I tried to pry my hand away from the culprit, but he only held it tighter. Strong rough hands surrounded my hand. Was that Octavius? I blushed at the thought.
What time was it? I took out the pocket watch with my other hand and saw that it was almost 6 PM through the faint glow from the clock hands. My stomach grumbled as I flushed in embarrassment again. Everything has become so awkward after we realized that we were mates. Rubbing my eyes slowly I skillfully escaped from Octavius' tough grip and walked towards Lila. Her breathing and pulse were both stable, meaning she was recovering well. I sighed in relief.
Should I wake them up now or what? Maybe I'll just let them sleep for some time more. Besides, I had more stuff to do. I exited Lila's room to return to my sanitarium. I needed to research more on why Darius' powers exploded upon drinking Lila's blood and about the seven demon princes of Hell!
"Butler Drew!" I called out.
He appeared before me bowing in respect. "What can I do for you Master Mason?"
"Get me a book on the history of energy manipulators from the library. Get any and all books you find." I ordered.
"Your wish is my command, master!" He teleported to go to the library, I guess.
I sat on the bench and waited for him to come once again, tapping my fingers impatiently on my study table. Waiting was boring. Sighing I cleaned up the table to make space for the new books.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes without doing anything my brain was racing with thoughts. A knock on my door pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Can I come in?" Her sweet voice rang from the other side of the door.
"Yes, for sure." I smiled warmly as she walked in wearing the white coloured sleep dress that Orion put on her earlier. Her long hair cascaded down her waist and covered her front, stopping my view of her naked self. She wore a white gown that stopped right above her knees, giving me a view of her sweet milky legs. She fluttered her tiny feet to where I was sitting. I found myself chuckling at her adorableness.
She took in the view around my room and gasped. "Books and papers everywhere?" She questioned curiously.
I laughed in embarrassment. "Haha, usually my room is always a mess. I hope you don't mind." She shook her head giving me some relief.
"Come here!" I extended my hand towards her, which she gladly took. I caught her waist and easily lifted her, placing her on my lap while facing the desk. She lightly gasped in surprise.
She lifted her eyes up to look up at me. Those cute purple eyes made me feel giddy inside. She truly was adorable. All her expressions were adorable. I smiled brightly at her.
"I might be heavy!" She stated hesitantly.
"I thought we talked about this. You are perfect just the way you are sweetheart." I took her by surprise by kissing her head as she closed her eyes in bliss and her flushed face came into my view. I weaved my fingers through her long hair kissing every inch of the strand as her body stiffened.
"M-Mason…" She stuttered, slightly moaning my name, making my mind go wild with imagination. The things I could do to her, to taint that mind-boggling innocence.
"Master, I have the books you ordered!" Way to go ruin the moment butler. Not now! This guy has no sense of timing whatsoever.
"Place them on the table and leave." I ordered again.
"T-thank you!" Lila stuttered and replied to him.
The butler left in tears again at joy. He destroyed the connecting moment. I need to tell him to knock on the door the next time he arrives.
Sighing I smiled at Lila as she blushed looking down. I twirled her hair around my fingers repeatedly. The action seemed to calm me.
"The others are still asleep." She meekly whispered, but I was able to hear it.
I nodded. "Now then, would you like to read some books with me about your powers?"
She turned her head around and craned her neck up. Her eyes sparkled like jewels. "Yes, please!" Those words leaving her luscious lips electrocuted my body like no other person ever had.
I chuckled opening the books on the table as we read together for a while. It was like a dream come true. I never had anyone smaller than me sitting on my lap before. She was incredibly beautiful yet small, which made me feel all the more need to protect her. She was so fragile, yet strong mentally.
Imagine a vampire who was bigger and taller than me sitting on my lap. "Let me suck your blood!" That sounds like something Darius would say. No, I would never let that happen.
Or a werewolf who was bigger than me sitting on my lap. "Please pet me more!" With puppy eyes, an Octavius whining at me. I think I did rather die if that day ever comes.
Lastly, Orion with glowing green eyes staring into my soul. "I will devour that soul of yours!" Chills shot up my spine at the thought of him doing that.
I sighed. They all were truly scary, but Lila, such a sweet and innocent thing that made me feel warm and comfortable like a warm blanket on a cold, winter night. Let me tell you, those others are just savage beasts! Beasts with no emotions!
Okay, maybe I took it too far. They do have emotions, but they are beasts, nevertheless. Do not underestimate them.
"Mason are you alright?" Lila asked concerned placing her hand on top of mine which was casually tapping on the table. She craned her neck to look at me. For a moment, I thought her neck was going to snap if she craned her neck too much.
"Of course, I'm fine. Are you feeling better now?" I asked knowing she had a lot of blood drained earlier.
She nodded. "As healthy as a bull chucker!" She giggled, making me join her.
We continued to read in silence for another hour until I found the page we were looking for. "Found it!" I exclaimed happily.
That's when a bang sounded on the door as those three beasts entered the room and plopped themselves on my sofa and bed.
"What are you guys up to alone?" Orion raised a brow questioning my intentions. Nothing dirty! Well, most of it.
I nervously sighed. "Ah, nothing like you think it is!"
"Hmm…" He looked suspiciously at Lila.
She gleamed excitedly, "We found the reason why my powers overpowered Darius'."
"Oh yeah, why is that cupcake?" Octavius smirked as she started squirming in my lap.
I held her waist in place, stopping her from moving too much. "B-Because my powers can be transferred to someone else when they drink my blood."
I continued recalling the events from earlier. "However, if her blood touched demons, they would disappear or vanish into thin air. It seems to work only on her mates. But we may still have to be cautious about it. For now, we know Darius and I are unaffected, but we need to test out the theory mentioned here more."
"Hmm… that's the first time I have heard of that." Orion got up from his seat and walked over towards us. "Should we put that theory to the test?" He asked his eyes glowing a dark green.
I watched gazing into his eyes along with Lila. Lila and I both felt like we were in a trance as we watched his eyes glow brightly. It felt like his aura enveloped our souls. I felt my body getting hot for some reason as his eyes gazed at us scrutinizing us from top to bottom. He was slowly undressing us with his own eyes as he licked his bottom lip.
I felt a sharp intake of breath behind me as my body stiffened. It was Darius and Octavius walked towards us.
"What happened little baby?" Octavius grazed Lila's skin on the back of her neck with his fingers as she leaned into his touch and the hair on her skin stood up.
A single drop of blood floated towards Orion's forefinger as he licked it. "It's true!" Orion's eyes returned to normal as whatever spell we were under seemed to disappear.
I was still dazed. Did he just take a drop of blood from Lila, without causing her any pain or not too much of a cut?
"Ah, your powers are too strong for them. Put them away!" Octavius smacked Orion's head.
"Ugh, fine! You don't have to hit me for that reason." He flicked his finger as I felt my escaping soul was caught and tied down to my body. My eyes snapped at Orion's. I glared at him feeling my blood boil. One of the powers of Orion was mind control in the sense that he could control the other person's emotions by redirecting their flow of emotions and feelings.
He raised his arms in self defense, while grinning mischievously.
"Lila are you okay?" Darius asked as our attention went to the little angel sitting on my lap.
She gasped leaning against my chest. "Yes."
I once again played with a long strand of her silver hair with hints of light purple at the tips, while my other hand wrapped around her stomach keeping her steady. It seemed to bring me peace as I simply played with her hair.
"Dinner?" Orion suggested.
"Yes!" Lila and I cheered synchronously as we looked at each other and laughed. It was like we knew exactly what the other person felt. As if on cue, our stomachs growled.
After dinner, we weren't exactly sleepy, so we decided to go to the library to see if we could find any other books and information in the forbidden section. Darius had already requested access to it from the headmaster for tonight. It was nothing special, just a portal that opened up to another huge section of the library, however, it had multiple books that contained curses and spells that required its readers to pass a series of tests before they could access its contents.
I asked the librarian to take us to a particular location. He was a high-class mage and always wore a black hood that covered his entire face, so that his identity remained hidden. No one except the headmaster knew his identity as him and the escort who guided us only served one master in their entire life. In this case, the librarian or bookkeeper served only the headmaster of this academy, Mr. Gerald.
Lila clung on to my hand as usual. She used to be afraid of even having the slightest bit of contact with any of us before, but these days she has been holding my hand so much that it feels almost natural for us to hold hands as her small hand fit into mine perfectly. It made me feel happy that she felt comfortable staying beside me and holding my hand.
Orion scoffed, mind-linking me. "Why does she always hold your hand and not mine?"
"Because you are dumb!" I replied through the mind link, smiling innocently at him.
He glared daggers at me. "Language little boy! Ah, let's see in the future who begs whom." He responded grinning mischievously.
"That reminds me. During mating, I wonder if I should let Orion be your first!" Octavius smirked at me mind linking me.
That definitely made my cocky self gulp nervously. "You wouldn't!" I dared him as inwardly I feared the way demons mated. Demons were ferocious beasts that let's just say were rough and wild during mating. Ahem! We could get more into that later.
"I would!" Octavius challenged making me flush in embarrassment and fear at the same time.
When I was brought out of my thoughts, I noticed Lila trip slightly as I held her hand up, preventing her from falling, but Darius swooped in and picked her up making her squeak in surprise.
'So adorable!' I thought giggling at the cute noises she made.
My hand felt empty as I looked down to see Darius carrying Lila bridal style. My mouth sulked in a pout as I lost contact with her.
"Next time!" Darius mind-linked me. He winked at me and walked ahead of me.
That guy!
Octavius placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. He then proceeded to follow them. Orion held my other hand. "Don't worry little mate, I can hold your hand!" He smiled brightly. Almost crushing my hand, he brought it to his lips, planting a kiss on it. My face twisted weirdly. It was slightly painful, not so much for any kind of damage. He laughed maniacally, dragging my hand with him to the forbidden room.
I groaned inwardly. Mating was going to be hell! My poor mate, Lila. Will she be able to handle all of us? If even, I can't handle them. The night the other day was too much already.
Shaking my head out of the thoughts, I decided to think about the present.
We reached a small shelf secluded from the rest of the library. The librarian bowed in respect and disappeared, leaving us alone with the books. Darius put Lila on her feet as she searched the shelf in wonder. I reached out to get a book which said, "The Seven Princes of Hell".
As soon as I held the book in my hand, I felt a strange voice in my mind whispering tragic things in my ears. Upon hearing it closer, I realized that it was multiple voices speaking in a foreign language, I couldn't understand. The book was snatched out of my hand. My eyes followed the book and saw Orion scanning through its pages.
"Don't touch this book. It belongs to a dark sorcerer who worshipped those seven demon pests." He spoke nonchalantly.
"Can you hear those whispers?" I asked curiously.
He proceeded to ignore my comment. "It says that the seven princes of Hell were the sons of the fallen angel, the Morningstar family. Lucifer had his pride, Mammon embodied greed, Asmodeus is the embodiment of Lust, Levithan fed on envy, Beelzebub embodied gluttony, Satan had his wrath, while Belphegor was the sloth of the group."
Octavius inquired, "What about the relationship between them and their weaknesses?"
"Their relationship isn't good, but they always seem to appear together. Demons don't usually attack together or anything, they only take orders from above. There is no place for emotions." He paused and sighed. "It doesn't say anything about their weaknesses." He responded.
I already knew about the relationship dynamics between demons. However, Orion was different as he was formerly, a human.
However, the seven demon princes had no weaknesses. That's strange!
"Strengths can be weaknesses too!" Lila answered. She cleared her throat as she noticed us urging her to continue. "I mean if we could take their strengths and play around with it, we could trap the person into believing that they are strong, while we are just setting up a trap for them, which would ultimately lead to their downfall."
"It's a very vague way, but I like the theory." I replied.
Orion closed the book. "That's all it says! Next time choose a book that doesn't just commend demons for their powers, but helps us understand their weaknesses!"
What a jackass! I rolled my eyes at his comment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Orion's eyes observed me. "I'm a demon, those curses don't work on me, so I can't hear them. Besides, I'm already damned to fall into hell eventually." Oh, right! I forgot about that.
"What does that mean?" Lila asked curiously looking at Orion. "Do you mean to say that if you die you will go to hell because you are a demon?"
"Yes. Just like Darius and Octavius." He stated looking at her to see her reaction. Octavius and Darius looked away from the conversation. It was a hard topic for any person who wasn't a human to talk about. Non-humans were all damned to burn in hell for eternity as their powers were a curse that started, after a falling out between the gods in ancient times. They had no choice in the decision, unlike humans. Even though humans could be mated to other species, that was the harsh reality.
I felt a pinch at my heart as my eyes gazed at the conversation sadly.
Lila however showed no emotions. She only nodded her head.
"Aren't you scared?" Octavius inquired.
"No."
"Why?" Darius asked seriously.
"Because you all saved my lives many times. So, if you all are going to hell then I will go down with you all." She smiled happily at us. My heart fluttered at her response as I saw a smile grace everyone else's faces as well.
"You don't have to do that. You and Mason can escape!" Orion spoke in a serious tone, closing the book and reached out his hand to keep the book back on the shelf.
But I interrupted him, "No, we won't!" I looked at Lila as we spoke at the same time.
Orion paused his actions as the room fell silent.
"I'm not leaving you guys. I will go down with you wherever you guys go. I will help Lila escape. But I'm not leaving you guys ever." I replied with determination. "I will stay with you guys forever." My hands clenched into fists at the anger I felt. I wasn't going to let them take all the burden alone while we escaped damnation, while I escaped.
Orion smiled tenderly at me as I saw his eyes soften, almost glossy. Darius who never showed emotions was also touched. I felt a pat on my head as Octavius smiled at me too. They made my heart feel warm.
"Me too!" Lila replied as our attention turned towards her. "I won't escape alone. I-I will stay with you all, forever because you are the only ones who cared for me, the only ones who loved me for who I am." She paused as her eyes glossed over and her fists clenched on her skirt. "I wish to stay with you all forever." The dam of tears broke down. "So, don't leave me behind please. I will do my best to not disappoint you all…"
I felt myself hugging her, cutting her words off. My own tears fell on her dress as we hugged each other crying.
"Look at what you did Orion!" Octavius sighed smiling, tearing up as he hugged us, carrying us in his arms. I couldn't stop crying.
"No take backs! You aren't allowed to go back on your words today!" Darius spoke joining in the hug, not showing his embarrassed face.
"Get in here, idiot!" I cried reaching out my arm towards Orion who was too stunned to even move. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Orion blush as he rushed to hug us. His face leaned on my shoulder as I felt something wet. The dumb head was crying too!
We were all crying.
"I guess we are going to go down to hell together then!" I muttered hugging them.
I could never let go of them, no matter what happens. We were going to stay together in the end, even if it means we are doomed to fall into Hell. That's all I knew.