CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61

"Come forward, Rose," Felonious said as he went over to his smaller table.

Rose had tears in her eyes; she could endure everything that was happening to her in the dark kingdom, but what was about to happen had been her fear from the moment Felonious announced that she was Cassius’s mate.

Her legs trembled as she slowly walked past Cassius and toward Felonious.

’Cheer up, I’m just trying to help you,’ Rose immediately halted, blinking and snapping her head from Cassius to Felonious, thinking one of them had spoken to her through the mind link, but the looks on their faces told her it wasn’t any of them.

And, she was sure that what she had heard was a female’s voice... a familiar one.

"Stalling won’t stop me from marking you tonight, Rose," Cassius suddenly spoke behind her.

Rose blinked, a frown on her face, "I’m not stalling, someone spoke to me in my head," She tried to explain.

"I don’t care, Rose. Move," Cassius held her hand and pulled her toward Felonious.

’Tsk, he’s grown so much and now he’s going down the same path his father went... I’ll show a secret,’ The voice spoke again, maintaining its calm and soft tone.

Rose paused just when Felonious was about to hold her hand, "I... I hear it again," She said to Felonious.

Cassius was about to say something when Felonious placed his hand on Rose’s head and frowned, making Cassius realize that Riae might not have been lying.

"Master... I do feel a presence. But whoever it is only wants to make themselves known to Rose. It’s a very powerful one," Felonious turned to Cassius.

Rose sighed in relief, "That’s what I was trying to tell you... I feel like my body is not mine anymore," She sniffed and wiped her tears.

"Was that why you decided to play games with me?" Cassius asked, grabbing her face and staring at her.

Rose could see that his question wasn’t genuine; he was still mocking her.

"You wouldn’t believe me, but I think that voice is responsible for what I did," She replied.

Felonious quietly cleared his throat and placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder, "Go take a seat," He instructed.

"Master, I do apologise for not carrying out your mating ritual, but it is because I prioritise your well-being. Rose is not at peace with herself; I can feel her soul trying to reconnect with her abilities." Felonious bowed to Cassius.

"It will be dangerous to mark someone while she’s still trying to accept who she is, Master. Give her time, we will perform the rights when the moment is right." He continued to explain to Cassius.

"And what abilities are you talking about?" Cassius asked, walking over to Rose.

He slid into the seat beside Rose and pulled her chair closer. "Are you hiding things from me?" He asked close to her face.

Rose sighed, "No. I’m not," She said.

"Felonious?" Cassius called.

"Yes, Master," He was beside Casius in a minute.

"Tell me everything you know," He commanded.

Felonious nodded, "I am also quite in the unknown, Master. But it all boils down to her ability as a Lux. She is in a phase: an acceptance phase. I can feel another presence inside her, trying to guide her to the right path, the path where she discovers her abilities... unfortunately, I do not know what these abilities are unless she tells us herself," He narrated.

Cassius remained expressionless.

"This presence inside her... does it make her say things? Do things?" He asked quietly.

Felonious nodded, "So far, the presence is not harmful, so I believe it helps her tap into her unconscious, making her bolder to things she wouldn’t normally do," he informed.

"I wanted you to mark me then, too... I would never ask you to do that. It wasn’t me..." Rose finally spoke very softly.

Cassius balled his fist, slowly turning to look at her again, "Unfortunately, my dear human, your opinion doesn’t matter. Whether you asked for it or not, I’m marking you," His eyes flashed red for a second as he stared at Rose’s neck.

He could hear the way her blood pumped through her veins and memories of him kneeling between her legs with his mouth on her clit came rushing through his mind, renewing his desire for her once more.

Rose felt it, her body tingling from the way Cassius stared at her, dangerous, yet tempting.

"You’re my master, what you want is what you’ll do," Rose sighed.

Felonious noticed how Cassius kept balling his fist and clenching his jaws, he knew he was trying to control himself from hurting Rose. No one has ever defied Cassius throughout his existence, but Rose does it, and so easily.

For Cassius to try and control himself beside Rose meant that she meant more to him than he’d like to admit.

Cassius shut his eyes and sighed. "Three days, Rose. I give you three days to connect with whatever you need to connect with. After that, I’m making you mine, connected or not," He informed and stood from the stool, walking away.

"Master, I think you shouldn’t leave if you want the answer," Felonious said and went over to Rose.

Cassius paused but didn’t turn, he needed something worthy to make him stay.

"Come with me, Rose," Felonious took her hand and led her to the small table.

Rose followed Felonious without question because she also wanted to know what was happening to her.

She saw him draw close a silver cup and a knife and willingly offered him her hand.

Felonious gently sliced the knife across her wrist; this time, Rose didn’t flinch. She wore a straight face and watched her blood drop inside the silver cup.

Cassius suddenly drew in a harsh breath the moment he scented Rose’s blood. In the blink of an eye, he was beside her, grabbing her wrist.

He was quicker than lightning, taking her wrist to his lips and instantly sinking his teeth into her cut.

"Argh!" Rose screamed.

It was painful, having someone pierce something into your already opened wound wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

Felonious was at a loss. Now that Cassius was immune to Rose’s blood, he should have thought carefully before slicing Rose’s wrist in front of him.

He dared not stop his master while he was feeding; he could only stand aside and watch as Rose screamed in pain as she tried to get away from Cassius.

"Stop! Cassius, you’re hurting me!" Rose suddenly felt a surge of strength within her, and in the next second, she shut her eyes.

"Stop!" A gust of wind suddenly surrounded her, pushing Cassius three feet away and colliding his back onto the shelf.

Cassius growled, his eyes still red from his hunger for Rose’s blood.

He cracked his neck and slowly walked back to her, his fangs dripping blood.

Rose felt like passing out; she weakly raised her hand in front of her and whispered, "Please, stop... it wants to hurt you." She stepped forward and fell toward the floor.

Cassius moved immediately and caught her, his fangs retracting instantly.

"Do something!" He barked at Felonious, who had been quietly standing aside.

Felonious simply shook his head, "I can’t do anything, Master. She has a spirit guide, and it sensed the danger...you." He swirled the blood in the cup and poured it out on the golden scroll that had been rolled out on the table.

Cassius gently played Roae on the floor and raised her bleeding wrist to his mouth. He gently licked his tongue across it to seal the wound. The moment the wound was sealed, Rose slowly opened her eyes and stared at Cassius.

"I’m tired," She whispered.

Cassius bit the insides of his cheek and slowly raised her to her feet.

"Can you stand?" He questioned, his voice a little bit regretful.

Rose nodded and tried to step away from him, "Stay," He said and held her arm, not trusting that she wouldn’t fall again.

"What’s that?" Rose pointed at the dark objects glowing on the golden scroll.

"These are ten elements, Master. She had just displayed one of them with you. The wind." He pointed to the image of a tree shaking as if the wind was trying to blow it down.

"And what are the rest?" Cassius asked behind Rose, drawing her close to his front.

"I’m sorry..." He whispered into his ear, ignoring Felonious, whom he had asked a question.

Rose froze, not believing she had heard right.

She slowly turned her head to look at Cassius. "What did you say?" Rose whispered, heart pounding as she stared into his eyes.

"For your wrist... I’m sorry," He repeated softly.

Rose gulped, slowly licking her lips, "You’re apologizing?" She questioned.

"I..." He paused and rather kissed her.

Felonious slowly stepped away into the shadows, feeling like an unimportant object.

He wasn’t needed there anymore, he had thought that he was the centre of attraction as he was about to explain a very crucial thing to them, but, it turns out he was just an intruder.