Word Count: 2911

Marek and I sit under a glistening beam of moonlight, enjoying the cool grasp of the night.

Meeting out here, at the back of this manor, has been keeping me sane, and honestly, I believe Marek shares the sentiment. We come out here to practice my skills, to continue to develop my ability to fight, to defend myself. But tonight, we just sit, eating pastries I wrapped in a cloth and stole from the kitchen.

"I don't know whether it was brave or stupid for you do to that," I murmur, wiping crumbs from my lower lip.

"Maybe both," Marek admits, accompanying his remark with a shrug. "But I knew he wouldn't retaliate. Not when he wants to win your affection so desperately."

I can't help but roll my eyes, hearing the narrative Marek has put together, but not truly believing it. Tai has been kind to me, yes, perhaps too kind. But I feel as though he is doing this to keep me from ruining the façade, from exposing him to his people for what he has done. Surely they would be more disgusted by him holding me against my will in his own home than throwing me into a prison.

Ignoring his blatant nudge for me to talk about Tai, I set my food down and stand up. "When you're out of here, are you going to go back to hunting my Tani?"

"Now I have learnt what I have about it, I don't think I can avoid it," he admits, getting to his feet to join me.

He eyes the knife in my hand, not joining me in bringing out his own. We have been working with knives because they are easy to conceal, and there are plenty in the manor to use in short notice. Marek is frightfully adept with it, just the sight of him with one spiralling me back to a few nights ago, at dinner with the Nobles.

"My people will be sad," I exclaim.

"I'm not doing this because I want to hurt anyone. Especially not you," he comments, motioning for me to get into a fighting stance. I do so begrudgingly, even if I'm excited to get a few jabs in.

At this point I'm not angry at Marek for wanting to kill my Tani. Part of the reason is likely attributed to the fact that I'm becoming increasingly more pessimistic about us escaping. Everyday we learn about more adversities we would have to overcome to get past the exterior border. Apparently it's swarmed with armed guards, all the way around.

"Well, I would like you to know that you are," I comment sourly.

The knife nearly slips from my fingers, which I quickly correct. Marek watches me, hardly flinching at the mistake. Thankfully he doesn't act as though I'm completely useless, treating me as though a little more practice will make me as efficient  as he is with a knife.

"Careful with that, I don't want you to go hurting yourself," he murmurs, his wonderfully blue eyes supplying me with a generous amount of heart flutters and stomach flips. Thankfully that strange tension from the other night has since faded, even if my mind does often times betray me. "What if I told you, I've done a lot of research, and I don't think your Tani is as perfect as you think."

I make a lunge toward him, brandishing the knife in a manoeuvre he taught me for whenever I'm in a position to make the first attack.

I would hate to think of the position I would have to be in to use a knife.

He doesn't even flinch, his defense so gentle and unbothered it makes me question whether I will ever stand a chance against him. Stumbling away I right myself, refusing to let my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Those rumours aren't true," I hiss.

"Feeding from children in local villages. Bleeding them, leaving them in holes, trees...right at the edge of villages," he mentions, raising a skeptical brow. I flinch at the harshness of his words, his visceral tone. The Beast has always taken the blame for those incidents, as the amount of lost children growing in local villages. Mother always soothed me at night, reminding me that the Beast protects us, and as long as we put our complete faith in him, nothing bad could fall upon us.

"Children get lost and killed in forests all the time," I tell him firmly. It's not a lie. The forest that looms behind us is swirling with ebony darkness and taunting shadows. Who knows what exists beyond the tree line.

Marek makes the most of my distracted mind, stepping forward to grab my forearm, the grip far too tight for me to escape from, as he pulls me around and against him, my back pressed against his chest. With his arm loosely placed around my neck, I know it wouldn't take him much to just end my life right now, yet at the same time, his touch is excruciatingly tender.

"No, Akara, not like this. These cases I've been reading are about children that have been murdered. There's only one explanation," he murmurs into my ear, the heat of his breath making me shiver. I can feel his heartbeat through his shirt.

"Anyways," I say breathlessly, trying to fight against his grip, however he has pinned my knife wielding arm against my side with his spare hand. "I wanted to see you tonight because I have something to ask you."

The cinnamon and pine scent of him is distracting, alighting my body in tingles. This is not how I should be feeling when we are sparring. With all my force, I push back against him, his grip loosening enough for me to pull myself free, stumbling away into the cool grip of darkness.

"Is that right," Marek breathes, shaking his arms.

"You know Vaia, right? Taius's pretty younger sister." Marek tilts his head back and forth, setting down the knife I hadn't realised he had down as he considers it. Perhaps he's predicting that playing around with knives while talking about Vaia isn't the best idea.

"She's spoken to me once or twice."

"She wanted me to ask if you would be interested in a date with her," I announce, unable to bring myself to sit on the step with him. Instead I pace, my ankles cutting through sprawling mist I hadn't realised was there, exhaled from the forest.

Marek's eyes narrow, the way he considers my words practically visible in his eyes. I can't tell if he's disturbed by the idea of intrigued. My concerns about him being too distracted by Vaia to get us out of here are still imminent, but not there is something else buried in my discomfort. No, I refuse to be jealous.

"Since when did you become her messenger?" he questions warily, kneading his shoulder. I figured my escape from his grasp had been eased on by him, but perhaps it wasn't purposeful.

"She's just a young woman. We can be shy and bashful around an attractive guy...guy we might find attractive," I correct myself quickly, looking away as I anticipate a questioning facial reaction. "She clearly doesn't have much experience."

With her beauty and confidence, Vaia should have no issue seducing her chosen suiter. Either Marek poses as a challenge to her because he's wildly, fantastically handsome, or because he's a Summoner. It's hard to pretend he's not one when looking at him, and that silvery blue mark on his forehead that never vanishes.

"I'll have to say no to that," He comments, picking up the knife once again, examining it intently. There's a twist in my stomach, a conflict. I should be irritated by his lack of interest, as it ruins my plans with Vaia. But I can't help that slightest hint of relief that pulls at me.

I narrow my eyes. "Scared of her inexperience?"

"No, it's not that," he replies, brushing the blade of the knife against his knee in a way that makes me shiver, knowing one slip and he could cut himself. Although that doesn't seem likely. "I don't want to pretend I have feelings for her."

Damn it just agree. Don't make me beg.

"You don't have to. Make it clear to her on this date, but please at least go. You have no idea what I'm getting out of helping her," I say uneasily, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. Marek bites the edge of his lip, shaking his head in a way that has his hair falling forward, covering most of his marking.

"I'm glad this is enjoyable for you," he comments, the slightest tilt of a smile on his lips. "I can't imagine her company being all that riveting."

There's no point in convincing Marek he will get any conversation out of her that doesn't revolve around her, but that doesn't completely devalue her from his attention. Ordinarily I wouldn't be convincing anyone, the Hunter included, into dating someone he doesn't want to. But this isn't ordinary circumstances.

"She's well privileged, and that has built some kind of superiority complex, but if you give her attention, she will be fine," I tell him tiredly.

Marek gets to his feet again, shifting his jacket on his shoulders. His knife has vanished, while the handle of mine is still clutched painfully against my palm. I hadn't even noticed until he gently pulls it from my hand, setting it down on the step slowly. I shudder. I'm not good at any of this sparring, or fighting, and it's especially not good that I'm comparing myself to Marek and his adept skill.

"I suppose it's not fair of me to judge. The moment I saw your necklace I made some rather harsh judgments about you," he admits, the flash of a playful smile he tries to smother making me narrow my eyes.

"Huh? Well, then I must admit I made a lot of judgments about you too." Those judgments were fed on from Jessa and Fran, who almost convinced me Marek was a murderous Hunter. Perhaps it's half true, although he isn't anything to be afraid of.

At least I hope he's not.

"We're the perfect match, aren't we?" he teases, the subtle wink not going unnoticed by me. "And yes, I'll go on this date with Vaia. But only for you."

"For me? How kind." Even as I say that, I can feel the relief, knowing what I'm getting from Vaia. I feel bad for not sharing it with Marek, but the more people who know about it, the more likely it will be for Tai to figure it out.

Marek watches me with a gaze that tracks my movements. I often get the feeling that he can read me, feeding off my emotions better than anyone I've come across. It's both comforting, but also frightening, stripping me down to the point where I'm aware of every time I'm not being completely transparent with him. I shouldn't feel bad, with everything that has gone on, but yet I do.

"I'd do anything for you," Marek admits, the tender words being masked with a blasé tone. "And not just because I owe you for the rest of my life."

"You don't owe me anything," I say quickly, even if I'm not sure I mean that.

"I know I do, and I'm okay with it. I don't just get to put you in this situation and not put my life into getting your forgiveness," he says lowly.

Once again, that tension that I felt a few nights ago appears between us again, buzzing hot and pulling taut, feeling as though it's trying to draw us closer together. It's clear Marek is feeling it too, his eyes darkening, a predatory focus falling upon me that feels otherworldly.

For a brief moment, I'm convinced he's going to step closer, to release the tension that is pulled taut between us, filling my mind with sinful thoughts that have my cheeks flushing, hoping the ivory moonlight washes the colour away. I've never felt like this, never had these thoughts about any of the boys from my village. All of this is so foreign and overwhelming.

"Akara..." he breathes, stepping forward.

The sound of a door shuddering closed behind us has us both whirling around. Tai stands upon the marbled porch, his expression a blur of a myriad of emotions. He's startled to see us out here, clearly, although there is more to it than that. Anger, resentment, mistrust. It swirls dangerously in his eyes, as he takes in the sight of Marek and I, and the lack of space between us.

"What's going on?" he murmurs, the evening shadows of violet and ebony turning his eyes dark, the green melting away. And behind him, lingering at the back door, leaning against it's frame, is Evolet, watching with keen eyes, a dark, silken robe draped over her shoulders.

"Tai...It's late, what are you doing out here?" I question, hating the way my voice shudders, betraying my innocence. Marek and I weren't doing anything...other than breaking the rules by seeing each other in the first place, when Tai ordered us to stay away from each other.

He has already been lenient. I cannot imagine how much longer his patience will last.

"I thought I told you not to go near the Hunter," he says lowly. His anger has suddenly vanished, carried away by the gentle breeze that ruffles at his obsidian curls. Now he just sounds sad, betrayed. It was honestly foolish of him to think that I would stay away from Marek, despite the demands coming from a King. He has demanded I stay away because he knows Marek will plot to escape, and bring me with him the moment he gets a chance.

Or perhaps the hurt in the King's voice is coming from another place entirely.

"He was...helping me with something," I say uneasily, stumbling over my words as I struggle to find an excuse. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Evolet's smile, her white teeth glinting in the moonlight. No doubt she is pleased to witness this.

Tai steps down onto the grass, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well then, I suppose now is the perfect time to do what I've been meaning to for awhile."

In less than a moment, everything begins to change.

With a soft, gentle sigh, Tai sinks down on one knee, reaching for my limp hand, as I remain shocked and confused at what is going on. He's not proposing, is he? I've known him for less than a week, and he's a King. He's meant to marry a girl of equal position, right? None of this makes sense.

"Taius, what are you doing?" I question breathlessly.

Around me, no one else reacts. Evolet still lurks at the doorway, her expression hidden in the shadows. Marek is still beside me - I imagine his expression is similar to mine, as I'm beyond confused right now.

Tai swallows, his expression unreadable, although his voice is tight. "I'm asking for your hand in marriage."

No. No, please don't let this be real right now.

"Why are you doing this?" I question, pulling my hand away from him. When I glance up, Evolet is gone, and Marek has backed up a few cautious steps. Tai appears grim, not like how a man should be when he is proposing. He shouldn't be proposing to me anyway...I just don't understand.

Getting to his feet, Tai steps uncomfortably close until his scent washes over me, his hand holding my arm to keep me close to him as he speaks lowly in my ear.

"You're going to marry me, and that is going to lure my father here, and I'm going to kill him," he says slowly, leaving no room for me to question him.

And I'm terrified.

💜••💜

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

🍇••🍇

Hey guys! I hope you are all being safe and doing well in self-isolation. Here in NZ we are on day 3 of mandatory quarantine, so I'm stuck home for four weeks with lots of writing to do!

I also want to apologise for anyone affected by the 'hackers' who got into my account and posted childish messages and screwed around a bit.

They weren't hackers. I believe they were a bunch of kids who stumbled on my account by accident, and messed around.

This is a serious incident, however I do not believe it was particularly malicious, although it will be Wattpad's and any other companies involved discretion on what happens next.

I just want to apologise for anyone else involved...also to those who had their accounts muted and reported. I do believe those who got mixed up but were not involved have had this situation remedied.

Stay safe! Thank you for reading (:

🪁••🪁

I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radiah! 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 💜🐼