Word Count: 2168

I stare out into a serenade of darkness, the shifting mist swirling tauntingly, illuminated by the golden glow from the light inside.

With a storm fervently rolling in, Marek and I found refuge in a small barn in the back of someone's property, too wary to book ourselves into a motel with Tai's correspondents crawling around everywhere. Despite the bitter chill that has fallen with dusk, curling up in the hay will have to do for tonight.

Shivering, I run my hands up and down my bare arms, Marek using my coat to create a make-shift bed behind me. In the distance, white-gold lightening erupts, framing the vicious clouds tinted ash grey from the storm.

I can't bring myself to look away from it. Part of me wants to step into the onslaught of heavy rain, to let it wash me away, douse all my problems in icy cold water and have them melt away into nothingness.

If only it were that easy.

"Try not to think about it too much," Marek says from behind me. Sighing, I rest my head against the wooden frame of the outer barn door, enjoying the livid growls of thunder in the distance, getting threateningly closer.

"Right, because my Tani tearing a man up isn't that big of a deal," I murmur under my breath, being well aware that Marek will hear me regardless.

Vivid flashes of the man's appearance hit me, my eyes squeezing shut as I wish them away. I think of the pink blooms in Tai's greenhouse, the ash forest, Marek's gentle, cornflower blue gaze. Anything to make those images disappear.

"You don't need to rely on your Tani for validation," Marek reminds me, his voice drifting closer to me. "You're strong enough without it."

Turning around, I see what he has created out of a mixture of our clothing.

Underneath the warm, buttery glow of the light above, Marek has used our two coats for a place to lie on. He has even removed his shirt, which is a shamefully glorious sight I avert my eyes from quickly, as a pillow, having bundled it up and laid it down nicely.

"Does everyone know about the Beast being evil, or am I just the odd one out?" I ask, even though I know the answer. I've experienced first hand how people truly perceive the Beast.

Marek rests on the straw, reaching up to lay the back of his head on his palms. "It seems as though its quite a popular belief here. To see the Beast as a predator. But that doesn't make you delusional. It was how you were raised."

I sit next to him, soaking up the comfort of the two coats, the rain and thunder from outside enough to lull me to sleep quickly.

"Is that why my family sent me to another Province? So I wouldn't know?" I ask more to myself than him.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I don't want to speak for them."

"You're wrong about me being strong. Without my belief I'm nothing. I have no skills, no real interests," I mutter, laying back to stare at the ceiling. Marek sits up next to me, looking down at me with a warm tenderness. "I must be so boring to have a conversation with, because what do we even talk about..."

"Don't say that. You're not boring at all."

"After this, I really can't go back to my old life. And I don't think I want to," I admit. I cannot predict how mother will react if I tell her what I've heard about the Beast, although I have a feeling it won't be good. She will excuse me of being weak willed for listening to others. She will claim I should know better.

"Help me kill the Beast," Marek murmurs gently.

"I know about your plan," I admit, recalling Tai's reveal. "Kill the Beast and lose your powers."

A frown flutters across his usually perfect features, eyes darkening. His reaction makes it obvious that he wasn't planning on telling me that until it had been done. Now that I know, I'm not sure if it makes it worse or better. His abilities and how he decides to use them are none of my business, but I can't help but be curious.

Marek picks at a single strand of straw, twirling it around in his fingers. "They are a curse, you know."

"But why? You control them," I practically whisper. My mind wanders back to that day, where he killed those men to save us. He must have known it was likely we would be dragged back to fate like this one. Had I know, perhaps I would have killed them myself.

"I'm over people looking at me and fearing me. I'm not a normal Summoner," he admits, refusing to look me in the eyes, instead focusing on my hands, which mindlessly fiddle with a button on the coat I lie on.

"Tell me." I can't help myself but to ask. "What are you capable of?"

"Hurting you."

Marek looks sad, a vacant look in his eyes. He's avoiding the question, reminding me that I truly don't know much about him. His past, his family...he has spoken of none of it so far, making me wonder if he ever will. Perhaps he doesn't trust me. Maybe it's far more important to keep it hidden than risk sharing it.

"Your magic retention returns after a few days of using your powers. That's almost unheard of," I recall. "What are you hiding from me?"

"I think you should get some sleep. Early start in the morning, as I have no doubt Taius will be concerned," Marek says, quickly chanting the subject.

Instead of pressing him further, I settle back into the coat beneath me, enjoying the soft patter of rain on the barn roof above, thunder deepening to a skin shivering level. Now that Tai has been mentioned, all my concerns about Marek and his power have vanished. Tomorrow I will face that terrible reality. For now, I just want to concentrate on being here, with Marek.

"Taius and I aren't as close as you might think, you know," I say after a long moment.

Marek settles in beside me, our shoulders touching. He may think that I spent the night in Tai's room last night for romantic reasons, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's taken me some time to admit it, but I truly feel as though I'm growing feelings toward Marek that are both dangerous and exciting.

"I'm able to spend a night with you. The last thing I desire tonight it to hear the King's name on your lips," Marek admits as I look at the ceiling. I can feel his gaze on me, burning hot and attentive.

When I finally look at him, I'm consumed with an air of confidence.

"What do you desire?" I find myself asking.

Marek doesn't respond for a long, torturous moment. Through a lowered gaze, he watches me, a sinful darkness falling upon him, as though he is considering something evocative of danger and seduction.

Suddenly, the air between us turns burning hot, and Marek is moving, shifting his body until it is right before mine. Giving me a moment to react, a chance to reconsider, he grasps my chin, focusing his icy gaze on me. Seeing him, this close, knowing what he intends to do as his eyes flicker down to my lips, has chills streaking across the surface of my skin, which begs to be touched.

I don't pull away; I don't want to. I want to feel his lips on mine, as feverish, passionate and desperate as they were all those weeks ago.

Perhaps reading my mind, he leans down, and our lips collide, his hand shifting down to cup my cheek, and then the back of my head, digging his fingertips into my rampant curls.

Nothing feels more right than this.

Deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeps through my mouth in a way that has my body quivering, begging for his touch. I've never been with a man like this in my life, or even close. Yet the way my body reacts to him is so natural, as if I've been waiting my entire life for this.

My hands rear up, finding the sharp contours of his jawline, his cheekbones, and to the silkiness of his silver marking which frame his magnificent head of hair. His soft sound of pleasure fuels me, my fingertips exploring past the back of his neck, to his shirt, which is still slightly damp from wandering on the rain earlier.

Marek pulls away, allowing me to breathe in deeply, my head spinning with pleasure, excitement and desire. Instead of fully backing away, he begins kissing and biting down my jawline, and to the slope of my neck, focusing on one spot like the last time, driving me to near insanity.

This is exactly where it got to last time we kissed.

And this time, I know he's aware he's kissing me. Me, not Vaia.

He pins my wrist to the straw covered ground, a gentle yet firm grip. The other hand glides under my shirt, tentative at first, but when I rear up against it, begging for more, he extends his palm over my abdomen. His body has shifted over mine now, pressing seductively against me. How far am I going to let this go? Right now, I want all of him.

As if sensing my desperation, Marek leans up and away from me, leaving an icy cold gap between us. Pulling his shirt over his head, he discards it away. He's a beautiful sight, under the buttery glow of the barn light, flattering each contour and sharp edge of perfectly sculpted muscle that gleams with the softest sheen of sweat.

Before he can come down to resume our kiss, my words stop him. "I want you."

He examines my expression with careful precision, as if to determine the seriousness of my statement. I'm in a lust haze, my body quivering with want, the wetness between my legs sinful evidence of how devastatingly attracted to him I am. I don't care about what being with him would mean for me, in the middle of a strangers barn, in the middle of a livid storm.

"Think about your next words carefully," he murmurs, his usual controlled tone gone, replaced by a primal roughness, addicted to the pleasure of being with me. "I want you in ways I don't think you're ready for."

His words are laden with unspoken promise, letting my imagination surge to dark corners swarming with excitement. He's aware of my inexperience, my hesitation to go further than just flirting with other boys.

But Marek is a man. A powerful, crushingly beautiful man, who likely has far more experience in this regard than me. It's evident in the way he elicited an amount of pleasure I didn't know was capable of being felt.

"Tell me about it, then." I'm unsure if that challenge even truly came from my mouth. "Or show me."

With a fringe of dark hair cascading across his eyes, he lazily draws circles with the tip of his finger on my exposed stomach, considering obliging me.

Suddenly, he dips his head down between my thighs, his warm, strong hands pulling them apart with an arousing amount of force. He begins the soft touch of his lips from above my knee, rising up my inner thigh, leaving firm kisses in his wake. Blood pounds in the lower half of my body, anticipation following each of Marek's movements, as his head and mouth nears my middle.

Just before he can get too close, I squeal, the pleasure of waiting too painful to bear.

"Just like I suspected," he breathes. He's not taunting me, not trying to make me feel guilty. Disappointment consumes me, as I realise he's not going to go any further, isn't going to continue eliciting pleasure from me with remarkable ease.

"That's it?" I find myself asking.

Sitting up on my elbows, I watch him brace himself above me, leaning down close enough so his breath caresses my lips.

"I'll make you ready for me," he breathes, kissing me for a lasting moment. "In time."

More sensual promises, more anticipation. I'm not sure if I can handle it, as I have handed myself over to this man, despite my better judgment.

🤍••🤍

If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

💍••💍

I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!

I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼