My Most Precious Human

I tossed and turned in my bed for long hours. My heart couldn't rest. The pounding overwhelmed my eardrums, making me deaf to any other sound. My mind replayed each one of Sariel's words over and over again. I could recall every audible breath he took and the taste that his sound left on my body. He used to be my addiction, and it hit me back hard. At that moment, I could take him back even though I knew it wasn't healthy. I think I reached the point where I couldn't differentiate whether I craved Sariel's love or love in general. It was simpler to establish what I didn't want, and that was to be hurt. As much as I couldn't deny the feelings I had for Sariel, I also knew that I was unable to trust him, especially when Elora was around. Nonetheless, with all my rationality applied and functioning, my heart still hammered for him like crazy. I needed a serious Sariel-rehab... The problem was, I couldn't just replace one drug with another.

Speaking of the other potential drug, my relationship with Draven started to become strange. When I heard Ezra talking about the mate-bond, I pictured emotions, a lot of uncontrolled, wild, primal emotions. With Draven, the variety of emotions included one, not too refined but concrete: lust. Looking into Draven's eyes, I rarely saw warmth and caring. Perhaps it was a wolf thing or Alpha's thing, but it didn't seem like the magical mate-bond that I had used to hear about. Of course, I couldn't say that I didn't appreciate looking into the eyes of a hot-as-hell guy who had "I want to fuck you" written all over his face. However, it would be nice to feel that he wanted me for more reasons than just my body.

After another hour of tossing and turning, I knew that lying on my bed wouldn't make me fall asleep. It was 3 AM. The light of the almost full moon crept through the balcony window. I got up and stared blankly at the moon's face, hoping that it would somehow make me sleepy. I guess it was working since my heart rate began to slow down, making me hear the wonderful, soothing silence of the night. I took a deep breath, instantly enjoying my body's disappearing tension, but then I heard the sound of the door closing coming from the corridor.

"Could it be that Draven came back to his room only now?" I wondered.

My curiosity was stronger than my rationality. I tiptoed towards my door and slowly opened it to glance through the crack. It was dark in the corridor, but I suddenly noticed a silhouette moving towards the stairs. It looked like it was someone who had come out of Draven's room, but it looked nothing like Draven. For starters, that person must have been half his size...

The nosy part of me told me to go out of my room and try to take a closer look. I walked out into the corridor and took a few silent steps towards the stairs. The one who came out of Draven's room was just a few feet away from me but seemed preoccupied with sneaking away from the mansion to notice me. Suddenly, the silhouette turned to the stairs and darted towards the main door. Whoever it was, was fast, definitely too fast for me to notice what that person looked like. The only thing I registered was at the moment when the mysterious Draven's guest opened the exit door, and I saw a waving piece of blue fabric. Well... my spy mission failed miserably, but at least it took my mind off my Sariel-addiction. I took a deep breath, walked back to my room, and made another attempt at falling asleep, this time successful. The war council meeting was supposed to begin at eight o'clock, but my alarm clock was set for six sharp. I was planning to meditate to clear my thoughts, take a shower, eat some quick breakfast, and attend the meeting refreshed and focused. Of course, my plan was ruined right after I finished meditating at seven when Draven knocked on my door.

"Eat breakfast with me," he tossed standing at my door.

"I was just about to take a shower," I muttered sleepily.

I already knew that whenever I ate with Draven, it never ended well. I certainly didn't feel that this was the right way to start this day, but my mind had yet to turn on the talk-back mode. I did what I could: I yawned, trying to act like a spoiled brat, and directed my eyes onto the floor. He became silent. The silence dragged on for more than a few seconds, which finally made me look at him. Once I met his gaze, I saw him grinning while slightly licking his lower lip.

"What?!" I barked.

"I just thought that it would be only fair if it was my turn to see you naked," he chuckled.

So much for clearing my head. I flushed in an instant. "Seriously?! You want to play that card?!"

As his eyes devoured me from head to toe, he said, "What can I say? You are the perfect mixture of feistiness and sexiness. I'm not going to lie that I think about throwing you onto my bed every single day." He stepped onto my threshold, pushing me deeper into the room, then locked his eyes on mine. "Right now, I want to rip that silk off of you and then make you climax until you faint."

I gulped. I would be lying if I said that my body wasn't up and ready for his proposal. I squeezed my thighs, feeling my soft spot throb restlessly, seeking his attention. He stepped closer. "You should just give up, Lilith. I know you want it as much as I do." He looked into my eyes, lowering his head, his lips getting closer to mine.

I froze. The desire glowing in his eyes was hypnotizing. I felt as if my mind had traveled elsewhere, leaving my lustful body alone and out of any supervision. His one arm swept me toward him, pressing me hard against his body. His other hand grabbed the back of my hand, directing my lips towards his. He kissed me, gently nipping my lips, and then caressing me with increasing passionate strokes of his tongue. Driven by the moment of elation, I returned his caresses. My arms moved up on their own, wrapping themselves around his neck and delicately brushing his skin. His arms went down, grabbing my butt and lifting me so that my legs could wrap around his waist. He broke our kiss just to smile at me slyly, then took a few steps carrying me and threw me on the bed.

A second later, he was lying on top of me, his hand going underneath my nightgown, going up my thigh. His lips restlessly tasted the skin on my neck, while his fingertips explored the naked skin on my legs, spreading them to make room for him.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, biting the tip of my earlobe.

I shivered while panting hard from rising excitement. My hands roamed through his neck and his broad shoulders, slowly losing my sanity to my raw instincts. I could feel Draven's erection madly hard against my soft spot. I swallowed as my appetite increased by the second. I wanted him, stating it loud and clear with a raspy moan that escaped my lips. Draven's hand slipped under my panties.

"I'm going to make you scream, Lilith," he breathed heavily against my ear.

His fingers slid down, searching for my sensitive skin. His eyes were eating me bit by bit, and I could see how much he enjoyed the taste. I was drifting into careless pleasure when I turned my head towards the door and froze in horror. The door to my room was wide open, and Beta Ari was standing on the threshold.

He cleared his throat, flustered by the view, "Hate to interrupt... but the council meeting..." He put a bright grin on his face, barely holding his laughter.

Draven clicked his tongue, and got up, hurriedly covering me with sheets. As he stepped closer to Ari, he shot him a murderous glare, then pushed him out into the corridor.

"Can you be ready in fifteen?" he asked, turning towards me.

I nodded, processing what had just happened and still searching for my brain.

"Guess I'll have to feed you after the council meeting," he grinned slyly, walking out of my room and closing the door.

Thankfully, I still managed to take a shower and get properly dressed in ten minutes, despite my completely messed-up state. I got myself to blame for what had happened. I lost myself in his kisses and caresses, and I became dreadfully aware that I had fewer and fewer reasons not to surrender to this desire.

When I walked out of my room, I found Draven and Ari waiting for me. Ari hardly restrained his lips from curving up while his eyes couldn't hide his amusement. I was unable to hide my embarrassment when I looked at him. It was one thing to submit to Draven, but leaving the door open in the heat of the situation was something entirely different! On top of that, Draven seemed unmoved and acted as if nothing had happened, keeping his poker face all the way to the meeting room. I seriously wanted to punch him.

Beta Ari opened the door to the meeting room, letting us in, then closed the door behind us as we entered. Inside, there was a long table with most of the spots already taken. I recognized a few warriors from the elite squad and Gamma Raiden, whom I met at the Palace party. Everyone seemed to be greeting me with vivid respect or a kind smile, except for one: a woman with gleaming amber hair and golden eyes who appeared to be hurling daggers at me. She frowned as she looked at me, but her face lightened up as soon as her eyes went to Draven. I couldn't tell what her problem was. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath, doing my best to ignore her, but then suddenly my eyes stopped at her neck level... She was wearing a blue scarf.

As I recognized the color, I instantly started to wonder, "Was she the one who left Draven's room in the middle of the night?"