God Rising: Battle of Atela

"Lunar my dear, ensure you pour the powder into his drink."

Lunar stared at the small bottle filled with intoxicants. She was uncertain whether she should offer it to Darren. She had never seen such until now, and she feared it would cause harm.

"Don't worry, dear. I've tested it on multiple slaves, and they were out cold for about four hours. Give it to the wolfman, and you'll have him to yourself. Remember our plan?"

She nodded before pressing her teeth softly on her lips, "Yes ma'am." She was in heat. Chances of getting pregnant were high, and only one night would do.

"I brought you food." Darren was the last to eat, and she gladly served him. The others were long gone, and it was just the two of them on that table. She asked about the book and Darren told her they didn't find it, and they'd just wasted their time.

"Thanks for the meal" He picked up the glass and drank a bit of the wine before leaving. A sly grin appeared on Lunar's face once he was completely out of sight. Her mother assured her nothing would happen to him, so she could sleep with him without feeling guilty.

The young fox was excited. She waited a bit for the effects to kick in before she made her way to the room. Once she saw him slumped on the bed, she knew it was go time.

Her hair tumbled as she tossed the band away. She slipped the thin sleeves of her splendid silk dress down her shoulders, and her panties followed right after. She couldn't wait to get her hands on him.

She sat on his lap, and with her long nail, she ripped his shirt by the collar then hurled it aside. Her hands moved around his bare chest, feeling the warmth and the slow rise. He fixed his glazed eyes on her crimsoned face and she smiled "I finally have you to myself Darren."  She breathed softly as she inched her head to meet his lips, but he placed a hand over her mouth.

"What?!" Her eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't supposed to move. Her guaranteed her the drug was safe and it would work. But everything had just been pretence from the start. It had zero effects on him. She saw him drink it, so she wondered what exactly went wrong.

"I knew you would plot something like this, and you thought I'd fall for it so easily. You look down on me too much, don't you think?"

"No, my love. It's not like that.  I was only urgent to have you. That is all I swear. I didn't intend to offend you. Please forgive me."

Darren sighed. He used the blanket to cover her body, and he wiped her tears away "I'm sorry, but I can't do this with you." He said, and she forced a smile on her wet face.

"Why do you treat me like this?" She was fighting her tears, but she couldn't hold them back. The pressure increased and she could no longer wear a smile on her face "Am I not beautiful enough?"

"You're pretty. You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I'll be lying if I said I've never fallen in love with you, but that day, after what I saw, my interest in you died along with my desires to love."

She attempted to comprehend what he implied by 'That day' but nothing struck a chord.

"Do I have to remind you?" He didn't want to remember, but that scene was already playing on repeat in the theatre of his mind. Lunar didn't know if she should say yes, or try to douse the heat of the moment.

"Please tell me what I did that makes you treat me this way." Her eagerness conquered in the end.

"The first time I met you, your beauty stunned me. When I found out about our marriage, it made me even happier. For a lovely fox lady like you, the fortune of your clan to marry a feeble idiot like myself seemed too good to be true, but I had faith in it and was ready to give our courtship my all until that day. I was supposed to leave with my father and your parents, but I remembered I left something behind. I didn't know you stayed back in the castle, I thought you were in your parent's carriage, that's why I was amazed to hear your voice echoing, so carefree and loud. I tailed it and it led me to the doors of Vincent's room."

Lunar covered her face with her two hands. She felt ashamed. "I'm so sorry."

"Funny enough, that's not the day I stopped loving you. I completely pardoned you despite the fact that I was chafed and envious, but it happened again, and again, and again. So many times, I couldn't even count, but the last nail on the head was when you told him you loved him, but you never said that to me back then. Watching my brother sleep with you was heartbreaking, but your confession to him smashed it into thousands of pieces. You didn't know, but I grieved. You were my first love and might probably be my last. I wanted to change because of you. I wanted to man up a little and treat you like the rare gem you are, but someone else is already treating you that way."

His eyes welled with tears and it made Lunar's heart hurt, "Please…" She wanted to beg him to stop, but Darren was just getting started. He wanted to tell her everything, all he'd been holding inside him. It was time to let her know how he felt, and the future he planned for himself.

"I know that Vincent Is better than me in everything, and I don't blame you for your choice. You're acting on the wishes of your mother, you can't decide what you really want. You want Vincent, not me. One reason my brother hates me is because of our arranged marriage, but I've told him I don't want to marry you... anymore. I'm sorry. All I do is to make sure I don't love you again. I can't take the risk."

Lunar couldn't say anything to defend herself. The affair she had with Vincent was nothing but the truth. But she loved Darren as much as she loved his brother.

She just couldn't decide. Sometimes she wished she could have both of them. Vincent for his strength and boldness, and Darren, for his great heart and habits. But she was aware she could only choose one. Her flaw was her indecisive nature, and a mother that always decided for her caused that.

"Your mother wants me, but your heart wants Vincent. It's about time you accept that," Darren wiped the last of tears away "I believe you've finally decided what you want."