BRAN “You called for me.” Bran’s eyes flitted to the oracle. Unlike the last time when she’d just appeared in the room like she owned the fucking place, she walked in this time, her obscenely long gown trailing a long line behind her. He turned his eyes to the cup in his hand and shook it, watching the red liquid swirl inside. “I did,” he told her and, in a flash, emptied the content of the cup in his mouth and slammed it down on the coffee table in front of him, rising. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s my mate?” The room turned silent. So silent that if a pin were to drop to the ground, they would have been able to hear and locate the exact spot where it fell. It was a loaded silence, filled with unsaid words. Words that were going to change Bran’s life completely. If they hadn’t already. When Bran had woken up that day—after Maria had killed him and miraculously brought him back to life—an alien feeling of power had filled him. It had been almost too much for him to contain
BRANHer tone told Bran to tread carefully, but then again Bran had never reacted well with being told what to do and that was probably why he stalked forward and gripped her, lifting her from the couch to her feet and planting his lips on hers, swallowing whatever she'd been about to say in a kiss. She opened her mouth and Bran almost sighed in relief at the welcoming action.He'd thought that she was going to fight him, that she was going to push him away because of what happened, so he was pleasantly surprised that she was doing the opposite by letting him kiss her. But she wasn't kissing him back. Well, that wasn't an issue. He would coerce her into the kiss soon enough. He slid his tongue into her mouth, instantly searching for hers and instead, what he got had him groaning into her mouth, the sound more pain-filled than pleasure-filled. She brought her teeth down on his tongue. Hard. And he tasted his own blood from the cut. A slap had his lips disconnecting from hers and a
MARIA"Another mate?""Hell, I don't know," the other man sighed. "I've never heard of a person getting two mates. Have you?""Just because it's never happened before doesn't mean it can't happen. You told me how you felt and only your mate can make you feel that way.""And what would you know about mating?" The other man turned the tables around. "Are you speaking from experience?""No, common sense," the first man barked. "What did the oracle say when you asked her?"Man two sighed. "Three words; ask the sorceress.""Fucking Amelia." Man one grunted without heat in his words. "What are you going to do now?""Damned if I know.""The oracle already told you what to do. You therefore have no other option but to do it.""I know, but—""What's it like having powers?"A frown found its way to Maria's face. Powers? Where had that come from? That question had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation they were having and also, the voice had sounded feminine. Small, yet firm and it als
MARIA"Ruth?" Corey asked with disbelief in his voice, eyes wide like he'd seen a ghost—which was apt if one actually thought about it because the ghost of his wife was literally standing in front of him. Ruth was tall and lithe, appearing almost fragile with the way she teetered on her feet. She had creamy brown skin, a shade darker than Corey's and big curly hair that Maria had to admit she admired. She had horns running down the sides of her head, small and pretty, not as big as Corey's but of the same length. Ruth was beautiful, lovely even, but she was also confused as hell. She blinked and staggered back a step. "C-Corey?" Her voice was a whisper, her face haunted. The expression on Corey's face matched her own perfectly. "I... Why can I see you? How is this possible?"Maria watched from her spot, completely enraptured in what was happening before her. She was torn between freaking out that the spell had worked—that she'd actually brought a dead woman into the world of the li
BRAN Bran was pretty sure that a few minutes ago when he'd asked the man standing in front of him to deliver a message to Maria, he'd been speaking, so except by some form of magic, his tongue had dissapeared from his mouth and he didn't have the ability to speak anymore, then he should still be able to speak. "Well?" Bran pressed. "Are you just going to keep standing there staring at me?"The only reason Bran wasn't flipping the hell out on the man right now, was because he was curious as to why it was him standing in front of Bran and not Maria. He'd asked for her to come to him and he'd been expecting her. Yet, here a guard stood instead of Maria. "I-I want nothing more than to tell you, Your Majesty. Of c-course, I would l-love to tell you." The smallish man stuttered and Bran found his ire growing by the second. "It's just that eh...her words were a tad...inappropriate—""Out with it!" The man jumped a mile-high in the air. "Very well." He swallowed, adams apple bobbing. "Yo
BRAN"It was good to have you here." Corey forced a smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "This house is definitely going to feel it now that you're leaving."Bran, too, forced himself to smile when it was the last thing he felt like doing. His head was too occupied with the woman standing a few feet away from them, and also, he was worried about his friend. Corey had shut down completely after finding out that his 'mate' was not actually his mate after all, which answered a lot of questions that people—including Bran—had been asking. Actually, he was quite relieved. He didn't want to speak bad about a dead woman but he'd never really liked Ruth to begin with. She'd been a bit stiff, always complaining about something and she'd also never been interested in the things Corey liked. But since he'd believed that she was his mate and that fate could not pair one with someone that didn't suit them, he'd decided to let it go. Well, what he said about fate was definitely not true. Ta
MARIAWas she dreaming? She was a thousand percent sure that she was. She had to be because what the hell was happening right now? It was only in a dream that Bran would carry her in his arms like this, like she was fragile as an egg, like she was something he cared about and cherished so much, like she was the center of his worlds. Yes, she was certain that it was a dream. And as if to prove to her that it was very much real and not a dream, Bran's arms tightened around her before he dropped her carefully on the ground.She'd lost her slippers at one point in the mud when it had caked around her legs and refused to let her go. She didn't want to but she'd had to abandon it if she didn't want to sink and that was exactly what she'd done. Now that she was looking down at her very dirty legs, she cringed, asking herself why she'd even thought walking in the dark was a smart idea. But then again, she'd been hurt. "Can you stand right here for a moment so that I can run you a bath?
MARIA Bran let out an 'oomph' from the impact of her body on his, but he was remarkably strong and only staggered back a step before recovering quickly and gripping her ass, hoisting her high on his body. She wasted no time in wrapping her legs around him, locking them at his back and with the leverage she now had, dragging herself up and down over his growing erection. The knot of her towel loosened and fell apart at the top which meant her breasts were now bared and her nipples dragged against the fabric of his shirt with every up and down movement she made. The sensation only made her all the more crazed and what she wanted most in that moment, was Bran's hands on her. Her hair, breasts, everywhere. What mattered was that he had his hands on her. "Touch me," she whispered against his lips, biting down on his lower lip and tugging. "Put your hands on me. Please."A ragged groan tore from Bran's chest and suddenly, his head shot forward, stealing her lips in a consuming kiss, bef