Dark Hunger

The way she had wrapped her arms around it, it felt as if everything was coming back to order, everything would be right. She was there with him. He had so many questions as to what happened in between and where he was or what was happening right now, but he shoved all those thoughts and simply gave into the sensation of being with his mate. 

Maybe it was because in the past few months he hadn't slept well because of the situation and had woken up a number of times soaked in his sweat due to nightmares, especially after Elize had left him and then because of the ever-present threat of Edyrm over them. And even when he woke up from such nightmares, he had dealt with them alone. This kind of comfort was… overwhelming. Pia had also never given him this kind of comfort. Not used to this, he reveled in his mate's embrace. And so he did what he wanted to do forever… he closed his eyes and stayed wrapped in her embrace, surrounded by her scent, her heat and her. 

"Lizzy…" he whispered her name. "I am sorry…" After what seemed like eternity, he pulled away from her. Taking a deep breath in, he scanned the room and realized that he was in Norhall Castle. He shook his head and in a hoarse voice said, "You have to fill me in with details." 

A smile tugged her lips up hearing his voice. Over the past two days she had been with him. His body was in such a bad condition that it took over two days to heal and all that time he remained unconscious. It was more because the healers had made him drink a sleeping draft because he knew that the pain of the wounds was too deep to be dealt with while conscious. Elize hadn't moved from the room. She had stayed there continuously, speaking with him, murmuring soft words to him. For those two days, even though Daryn had brought her animal blood, she had just lost her appetite. She would drink just a little only for sustenance. Her heart was never at rest. His skin healed slowly. It was only a few hours back that the healer had withdrawn the healing lights from his body and sponged away all the herbal paste. And Elize had jumped in the bed beside him. She was starved of his nearness, the contact, his warmth and the steady thumping of his heart. She placed her face over his chest to listen to that steady heartbeat. It soothed her beyond words. 

"When you left me, I was extremely worried. I didn't know where you had gone, but it was Byrd who told me the location. I had never been this afraid in my life and I thought that there was nothing worse than this." Her arms tightened around his chest. "I tried to contact you mentally but our bond was silent. I felt like a walking dead, my emotions were all over the place." She raised her head and looked at his face. He was still too pale. "Your absence was horrifying. It created a void in my heart and gnawed at my soul. I couldn't sleep…" Her throat choked. "And now I can feel your anguish when I wasn't there with you." She shivered and rested her head back on his chest. 

Caleb held her in his arms and stroked her back. The soft light of the brazier added a soft buttery glow to the room and fell on her skin giving her a soft glint and a soft glow to her skin. And as he stroked her, tremors that racked her body subsided. 

Elize went on to relate what all happened and how she entered the demons' lair and then managed to eliminate Edyrm and free his daughter Arryn from his captivity. She didn't want to tell him what they did to her or to him and that she was craving for his touch. She had used so much of her magic that her body was weak, like very weak. The healers had told her that she was not getting healed as she should have as an immortal. But she didn't say any of that to him and stayed in his arms. 

"I thought I had lost you…" she said in the end, as her chest rose against his. "Edyrm had tortured you so much that I realized what true terror was. I don't know what will happen now or how things will shape up, but I will never leave you husband. Just take me with you everywhere." She gulped the stinging bile that threatened to rise up her throat. 

Caleb's chest swelled with pride when he heard how she fought against the demon and used his magic to defeat him. He was also proud of the fact that she honed her skills when she was alone and didn't give into gloom or loneliness. His wife, his mate—she had come so far in life. From being so strict in her mind about her change to accepting it and then dealing with the raw and potent ancient power, she had come a long way. "I will," he whispered to her. "And I love you to the moon and back." 

"Caldy!" she shuddered and hugged him tightly. He covered them both with the blanket and then the two became silent. It was natural that sleep found them… soon. And both of them slumbered into deep sleep. Things had just started to look up. 

He woke up hours later with a touch on fingertips on the bridge of his nose. He opened an eye to discover his wife' face close to his. She traced his lips and the cheekbones. 

"You know except for the crooked sort of nose, you would have looked almost handsome." He grinned at her sleepily and folded his arms at the back of his head. "And then you grin showing those fangs." She pressed his lips together as he chuckled. 

Grabbing her hand, he pressed a kiss on them. "Ah, you love my fangs and I know that." Like a wolf he was, very cleverly, he traced his hands down to his mark on her neck and brushed it lightly. She squirmed next to his naked body and he smelled her arousal. He looked at her golden hair tangled and the… pale eyes. "You are hungry," he said as if chiding himself for not even thinking about his wife. Even her lips were pale. Suddenly he realized that she had used so much of her magic. Never had she once demanded to be fed. 

Her lips kicked up in a sweet smile. "I am not hungry. Daryn had been giving me a constant supply of animal blood." 

Caleb tried to untangle her hair with one hand. "You are just so beautiful, wife. I am so happy that you weren't hitched up earlier by someone. I would have killed him." 

She giggled. "Well, I was waiting for a certain sorcerer-werewolf who was a king to marry me. Why would I go for anything less?"

Caleb grabbed her by her waist and pulled her over his body. Curling his hand behind her head, he pressed her and crashed his lips on hers. He grazed her lips with his fangs and she cried. She opened her mouth for him and he delved his tongue inside her instantly.. He swept her mouth hungrily and sucked her tongue until she was breathless and left wanting for more.