Watching her get assaulted by that earthly monster was like watching his whole life and existence burn to the ground in flames. He wouldn't know what he would have done if he had been just a second late.
Wish just sat there, confused, as her alleged vampire lover heaved in and out in genuine relief.
Where did he come from?
And how did he know…?
When he finally got a hold of himself and reassured himself multiple times that she was all right—that she wasn't killed by a flesh-eating monster right under his nose or hurt in any degrading way—he rose to his full height and walked up to her, stretching out his hands for her to take so he could help her to her feet.
His beloved only stared at him as if he had suddenly grown four heads and a restless tail was swinging behind him. Then her expression fell into one of confusion, then withdrawal, and anger.
The need to take her back home with him and check every part of her body for injury was stronger than her childish act toward him. He lowered himself to one knee before her and attempted to gather her to him, to take her away.
" No…hey!...don't touch me and leave me alone," she said while moving further away from him. Malachi gazed at her in disbelief.
" I just want to help you, Wish," he said. Her frown deepened as he noted her struggle to rise.
" I'm fine and I don't need your help. Thank you for saving me…you can leave now."
He stared at her as if she were out of her senses to think he would just walk away and leave her like this.
" You want to stay here alone?"
She regretted making eye contact with him at that moment and quickly avoided it before mumbling a yes. The silence that followed her reply was intense. She was just angry at him and wasn't thinking straight—and this attitude of wanting him to leave her be was something he was never going to allow.
Wish fought vehemently against him when he carried her against her will, as if she weighed nothing, and draped her over one of his shoulders like a bag of potatoes before speeding down the road with his vampire speed.
☆
He waited patiently in his room as the day grew darker. It no longer rained as before, and he was still trying to recover from the knowledge of having been this close to losing her to a lowly monster of no significant worth. He had never known fear like being led by her screams and bearing all her anxieties, fears, and pains firsthand.
It was killing him, and he was this close to losing it all this evening.
A soft knock on the door drew him from the window as two of his bishops entered, bowed their heads low before him, and then turned to drag in his little, rebellious bride, who was determined to make things harder for him tonight.
She stepped in with a murderous glare thrown at everyone and everything around her.
Malachi stepped forward at the sight of her—her long, brown hair dripping wet around her waist and shoulders from cleaning herself of all that mud. She wore one of his shirts that fell all the way to her mid-thighs. His eyes then wandered over to those curvy, creamy legs of hers in a dream state of pure adoration.
Her lips set in an adorable pout as she stood at the entrance with her hands folded across her chest. One gaze from him was enough to dismiss his bishop as he drew close to his bride. She didn't even spare him a glance.
Malachi wouldn't deny that he did not know why she was so pissed at everyone. She had, by fate, stumbled upon a powerful vampire king who made her believe she was indeed worthy of his love and who promised to come take her as his own—but then disappeared for a year. Then, a mythological wendigo creature disguised as her best friend's boyfriend just assaulted her mercilessly in the rain, which brought about their unexpected reunion.
He drew so close, no matter how burning her rage was, moving his hands a bit to caress her cheeks, but Wish turned away before he could even have the faintest touch of her that he had craved in one journey around the sun. He tilted his head in worry as her frown deepened and her beautiful eyes glistened with tears.
He could give up the whole world to know what she was thinking in that moment—to trigger those tears.
" I'm sorry for not keeping my promise to you, my love," he said, ready to do anything to gain her forgiveness. He believed that might be the main reason why she was glaring at that particular painting of an angel burning in hell with a murderous look.
She scoffed, sniffed, and wiped the tears from her eyes before they slipped away, only to be blessed once again by a look from him. It didn't really matter anymore who was angry, sad, or wronged. He couldn't help but be captivated by her over and over again. Who on earth would have imagined a creature could be this beautiful and attractive? Even when she might look her worst, the vampire king's gaze softened with every passing second as he drowned deeper and deeper in this pool of admiration.
He was considered to be the only perfect being in all of existence because of his god-like attributes fused with his immortal curse. He sometimes gazed at himself in the mirror, trying to see what people saw in him that made them roll on the ground and bow so low at his feet in deep reverence.
But today, he understood why he never wanted to be torn apart from her.
His eyes loved the sight of perfection. The sight of her, so much. He noticed how her lips moved, and a small smile overwhelmed his face. He had never dreamed of a moment when he would be so happy to have someone before him, in his presence. The smile on his face deepened as he fell harder and beyond reach.
" God…he is not listening. I'm just speaking to myself."
That small mumble was enough to snap him out of the daze in which she so effortlessly trapped him every time.
" What am I even doing here? Why am I here?" her eyes seemed to ask.
" I should…leave."
No, not again.
" You are not leaving until the rain stops." He didn't mean to say that in such an authoritative tone, but it was frustrating that spending even a moment with him seemed unbearable to her, and she was always so quick to disappear.
Wish stared out the window, then back at the vampire standing so close to her.
" It's not raining anymore," she said to him. She moved back a bit as he stepped closer.
" I know. But I want you to stay here with me. And be safe."
Wish considered it—the thought of moving out there alone in the dead of night and risking an attack by another monster, or being trapped in a creepy, haunted mansion with a vampire from another world who still wanted to lie to her face that he was hopelessly in love with her, while at the same time being comfortable with letting her go for more than a year and some months.
She stared at him, trying to grasp just how stupid or gullible he thought she was to be taken advantage of.
" I would rather go out there and die in the hands of a wendigo than remain in the same room with you."
Malachi growled in displeasure at how easily she wished she were dead rather than stay in the company of her mate. That frightened the poor girl a bit as she pushed away from him as far as possible. The air in the room tensed as the red amidst the blue bled through, darkening over her in complete displeasure. Wish looked genuinely scared by the shift in aura and the dark look that accompanied each breath escaping her nostrils.
It was insane because no human she knew—or could think of—could do what he'd just done. It commanded an air of dominance and submission in her path. He would take anything from her except her will or her acceptance of being harmed or dying in the arms of a monster.
No, not directly to my face.
She could leave, run home, and get as far away from him as possible, but the thought of dying or hoping to be killed was unacceptable. At least not now that he was already a part of her life for all eternity.
She felt smaller and smaller with each gaze he fired mercilessly at her. The silence was not loud enough to quiet her restless heartbeat as her eyes gingerly wandered to the door, slightly ajar, as she prepared to make the mad dash of her life out of that room.
Malachi listened to her unspoken thoughts of wanting to leave—with that degrading notion of hoping to be assaulted by a monster again—and he couldn't be more enraged by her than this.
" If you run, Wish, I wouldn't blink twice at breaking those pretty legs of yours."
Her heart stilled at his threat, her eyes widening as he looked truly ready to tear her to shreds, his gaze fixed on her as if daring her to defy him.
She followed her first instinct to run before he even had the chance to react. The doors slammed shut before she could flee from the room at his will. Wish tugged desperately on the door handles in an attempt to escape and let out a soft cry of protest when she felt two strong hands curve around her waist and felt him breathing heavily down on her left shoulder, pulling her against him.
The faint touch of his lips on her shoulder was enough to drive anyone wild. The cold tip of his fangs against her mark elicited a deep, involuntary moan from her as he held her tightly, narrowing any chance of escape.
She whined, sobbed, pleaded, and struggled violently against his tight hold—begging to be freed. He sensed her unnecessary tension and fear before moving his lips close to her ear, letting one of his hands caress the curve of her waist before resting on her hips, holding her to him as he spoke.
" You are a drama queen, you know that?" His voice and words aroused every single sleeping nerve in her body as he raised her slightly, preventing her legs from touching the ground. " I am never going to bite or do anything against your will. I don't treat people I respect in that manner—not to mention you, whom I love the most."
His lips continued down to the curve of her neck, teasing and suggesting new forms of excitement in her.
" Simple words to understand and not hard to keep. Don't run from me. Stay with me until the storm is over."
He gently lowered her onto one of the nearby tables, pushing her lightly back to keep her in place when she tried to get down, before placing himself between her legs, his arms on both sides as he leaned down to make eye contact with her.
" Don't ever speak ill of yourself—talking about dying in the hands of monsters—to my face or when you are not before me."
Wish stiffened when one of his gloved fingers reached down to wipe the tears staining her face and the other hand moved slowly and purposefully from her kneecap all the way up her thigh. The fingers curved and bent to explore every inch of her thigh, and he shivered slightly while looking her dead in the eye as he slowly pushed the hem of her dress further up to access more unexplored areas of her body. The aching sensation built up brick by brick between her legs, her heart racing loud enough to be felt in her ears. An unexplainable heat seized her as his hands climbed higher on her thighs. She tried to understand what he was doing, but when she couldn't deny the fear she felt from his behavior and the sinful sensation it brought along, she placed her hands on his—stopping his movements.
Malachi couldn't help but smile in amusement as he looked down at her.
She was just so adorably innocent and seemingly begging to be loved and worshipped by him.
The more she looked at him, the more he leaned against the wall, claiming her now before taking her home.
Yes, he had made up his mind the first time he set his eyes on her again after being apart for one year. He would take her home to be his queen. She would rule strong by his side, and he would forever be there for her—to guide, protect, support, and love her to infinity.
The smile on his face deepened as he said the next most beautiful thing:
" Wish…"
" Kiss me…please."