Romans & histoires Wafting Devotion

I ask not knowing what they expect to do while Matteo's tutor is here. "Oh, whatever you like, sweetie; Matteo will only be gone a few hours." She stated this before hastily retreating around the corner, Matteo's little hand waving farewell to me. Well ok then... **** I'm currently sitting down in the sitting room reading one of my favourite books Pride and prejudice. I mean it's so beautifully written. A blanket was draped over my lap, and the fire in front of me kept me warm and comfortable as I read. The scent of burning wood from the fireplace soothed me into the leather chair. I smile when I read my favorite quote from the book. "You have bewitched me body and soul. And I -"

Now I watch them bow their heads when Eli’s name is spoken and decide maybe there are worse mistakes than letting devotion pick the right altar. Brainwashing, I think, listening to the bells tap soft in the doorway, might not be the worst thing I’ve ever done. When he sleeps that night, I curl around him in the bed, his back to my chest, his breath warm against my forearm, my nose tucked under his ear where I can smell his scent best. The storm can circle. The wolves can pray. I’ve already said the only vow that matters out loud, a hundred times over. Mine.

In a blur of shifting bone and fur, Devon and Fara returned to their human forms, though Devon’s eyes remained a fierce, glowing gold. "This has to stop!" Devon roared, his voice shaking the leaves of the willow trees. The Alpha's authority was a physical pressure in the air. "Enough of this, Nadia! It ends here!" Nadia let out a dry, hacking laugh. "Why, Devy?" She used that nickname, the one she knew he hated, the one that tasted of a past he had buried. "But we’ve barely started!" Fara stepped forward, her face a mask of disgust. "You are a despicable wolf, Nadia! How could you use a child like that? How could you put an innocent soul through such terror?"

Dev replied, "I am the same who saved your dignity in the Frozen Crescent." Akshara answered him, "No... a big no. You are not him. He smashed the people who ever hurt me, and he protected me under his wings and carried me in his arms." Dev convinced her, "You still got me. My wings are always open for you." Dev opened his wings for her and extended his arms in a gesture to her, "Come into my arms." Dev winked at her like he always did to win her after their little fight. Akshara once warned him about doing such things, "I am warning you, Devil, not to wink your cute seductive icy blue eyes at any girl other than me."

I feel like I am a stone because I am stoned. I feel so relaxed while the wind is kissing my cheek and blowing my hair. The wind is getting colder. Devon took his pentel pen inside his bag and stood up. He went to the mango tree and wrote DEVISH in capital letters. The mix of our name Devon + Irish = Devish. and I don’t know why he wrote it but it is kind of sweet. “What is that for?” I asked and he sat beside me. “For our friendship that wouldn’t last long” He answered while staring at those kindergarteners playing at the playground. One hundred steps away from us.

Not when we’ve just started piecing each other back together. “Tell me it meant something,” I whisper. “Everything we’ve gone through… tell me it wasn’t just survival.” He pulls back slightly, his thumb brushing along my cheek. “It wasn’t survival,” he says. “It was devotion.” The word cuts through me like a blade - sharp, deliberate, undeniable. Devotion. It echoes in my chest, in my bones. Because that’s what this is, isn’t it? This fierce, messy, all-consuming thing between us. Not just love. Not just obsession. But devotion, the kind that burns, that scars, that rebuilds what was broken.

The bond pulsed. Warm. Heavy. I turned away. “The gods are hunting us.” “They’re hunting you,” he corrected. “I’m bait.” I scoffed. “You think they won’t kill you?” “They can try,” he said. I laughed bitterly. “Confidence isn’t armor.” “No,” he agreed. “But devotion is.” That word hit harder than it should have. The child interrupted, “You are wasting time.” I faced him. “Then talk.” “They will test you,” he said to me. “Through him.”

Show my wife some respect! Felicity, who was crying, froze in disbelief. "How dare you yell at me! Jason, how dare you!"

Claire stood beside me wearing the expression of someone trying very hard not to commit a crime, while Eleanor Park stood near Drake with her usual unreadable composure. The officiant barely looked up while speaking. She sounded like she’d married a thousand couples already and stopped caring around number fifty. Then came the vows. “Do you, Drake Reeve Javier, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” I looked at him automatically. He wasn’t looking at me yet. His attention was focused on the officiant, like he approached everything else in his life. “I do,” he said simply with no hesitation. The officiant turned toward me.

[Faye] One moment I am taking her hand, standing to face her and the next, we are standing outside the library, underneath a barren oak tree. She continues to hold my hand, pulling me along at a near run as we head towards the street, away from campus. “What just happened?” my head is spinning, I feel like I might be sick. “We were just in the library and now…” “Twas just a mere Blink.” Devona exhales. “I am sorry I cannot fly with you, but my raven form cannot carry anything larger than a ferret.”