The silence stretched, snapped me back from my thought, where I noticed how Almira looked at me with surprise. But when she started grinning, I knew what it meant. I felt the heat spreading across my face as I blushed because I just realized that I'm already this deep. I could already see something that nobody does.
"Are you sure you're talking about my sister?" She asked teasingly, making me frown before she chuckled, tapping my wooden sword with hers, saying, "If that's the case, then, wow, I didn't know you would notice something like that to her when nobody truly does."
"How can I not when she made me feel things? I'm shouldn't be acting like this when we just met and got married. I'm a quiet and collected nerd, but ever since she came, argh! She's frustratingly stupid for making me feel something for her." I sighed; I ran my hand frustratedly through my hair before swinging the wooden sword, where Almira kept blocking them. "I shouldn't care about her, but…"
"But you do?" She curiously asked. I frowned, taken aback, but I knew the answer to that.
I paused, not because I didn't know the answer, but because something ticked inside me. Everything held its breath, halted as my mind drifted into a space where I remembered Mirxalyn's caring side. Her faint smile, her warm but longing eyes, and her arms that had been keeping me grounded. Her encouraging voice and presence made me fight a life that was supposed to end a long time ago, but it didn't.
"Care? You shouldn't ask me that." I scoffed, but my voice felt different when I heard it. It was rough, cold, firm, and pretty much dangerous, which I haven't heard before escaped from me. "Of course, I care. She's my fucking, annoying, confusing, and unpredictable wife. But despite all of it, she's mine, Almira. Do you hear me?" I know my emotions were haywire, but growling with authority, I sounded not me, and I know what caused it. "She's mine."
As those authoritative claiming words have escaped from my lips, they ignited the flame that had been faintly lit. It awakened the mate bond, spreading like a wildfire throughout my body. It swayed either in such a rush or at a slow pace. But I couldn't deny how it crawled deeper, marking its territory until it overflowed and burst without warning.
I felt the flame steaming out in multi-colored flames that later turned blue, white, and black, and then faded like smoke. With one step, I began attacking Almira again, but this time, she felt the intensity vibrating throughout her body. I could tell, see, and hear her, but more importantly, I could feel it. I could feel Almira's shaken power whenever she tried to block mine.
But I didn't care. Something has snapped in me whenever it comes to my feelings toward Mirxalyn.
"I know everyone knew she was cold and intimidating, like any queen would be to rule her land, to protect it. She ensures that everyone knows that. She demands it. But it's not the only part that annoys and intrigues me." I said coldly, hitting Almira's wooden sword hardly before growling, admitting something I had never told anyone, "She's all over the place with her usual facade. But she had this pull around me way back before I learned my engagement with her. She's my caring savior who became my stoic, annoying mate when we first met. And now she's my unpredictable wife because whenever we're alone, she claims me like I'm her world, melting me, taking my breath away – but dammit, Almira. She's not even there when I wake up or fall to sleep. She didn't even leave a note about her whereabouts. I've been asking. It's frustrating." Due to my anger mixing up with unsaid feelings, my attack became heavy and fast. Almira barely managed. She was almost losing her breath and footing, but being a knight, she could deal with hardships until my rage burst. "SO DESPICABLE! SO - ARGH! I WANT TO STRANGLE AND GRILL HER ALIVE!"
"Wow, that's expressive, but if you do," With an amused chuckle, she said. She kept her stunts, barely holding my attacks, and then added, "...tell me, everyone will love to watch that."
"ALMIRA!" I shouted, shifting all the flame to the wooden weapon before swinging at her. But Almira was pulled away, and my annoying wife, Mirxaylyn, was the one who blocked it.
The contact between a wooden sword and her sheath was worse than before. There was a strong impact, shattering the glasses everywhere in the training hall. The dust in the training area exploded like a meteor had landed. It swayed trees around the mansion, and the ground where we're standing became uneven, cracked, and almost dug up again. And by any chance, nobody can withstand it except us.
With a shaky breath, Almira skeptically said. "I told you before she's everywhere, and like your guardian's ability to spread little bats, she could do it too," But her voice faded to my ears as my eyes interlocked with my wife, until she nudged my side, whispering a truth I hadn't thought about. "That's why she knows everything, particularly about you."
My ears twitched to the message. I faced my wife's unwavering facade, which she always had in front of everyone, a cold, tight-lipped, and intimidating presence. I sighed, pulling my wooden sword away, cowering slightly like a submissive omega. Again. But my gesture seems like it ticked her off because she clicked her tongue, obviously annoyed over it, and clenched her jaw, preventing herself from saying something she might regret later. Somehow, her reaction made me realize a possible reason why she was not seen around me.
"You just claimed me." Mirxalyn softly reminded me before turning firm. "Owned it." I flinched at how deep and dangerous her voice was. "Don't cower when you're mine."
Mirxalyn gave her a five-second stare before she turned her back on me and talked with Almira in private. Their voices were serious and low as they discussed animatedly in front of me. But with narrowed eyes, I carefully watched her, trying to ready her. I knew she was neutral to anyone, but standing in the space with someone else - with that woman earlier, there it goes again - jealousy. It struck again, leaving me growling, and the next thing I knew, my body moved in a blur.
I grabbed the wooden scorpion sword and swung it toward Mirxalyn. But she sensed my attempt and captured the scorpion sword wrapped around hers before blocking my second attempt. The impact was huge and heavy, alarming those people who were near the area and saw us. I didn't care if they were confused and worried, because all I could think of was to fight her. I want more, but something wasn't right. The heat, the rush, the combat training, mixed up in such a rush. It was palpable to the extent Mirxalyn's face flickered in my mind, halting me, holding my ground, but puzzled.
"What am I doing?" I thought, not fully grasping what had happened in a split second there.
"Mirxalyn, what's happening to her?" Almira's worried expression made me flinch.
I knew it. I knew something was different around me, and I couldn't fully grasp it until I blinked. I blinked twice, three times, regaining my control over my body, and my eyes went wide. I was surprised at how I ended up attacking my wife again. I gasped, looking horrified, thinking I could have killed her if it were a real blade. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to say something, anything, but nothing was coming out. I couldn't say anything. I just started trembling. Even my breathing was shortening, and my chest tightened. I'm sure I was having a panic attack.
"Breathe," Mirxalyn whispered softly, not answering her sister and just focusing on me. "Stay with me."
Her soft and caring voice rang too loud to my being, spreading warmth that I had been feeling ever since she came into my life. But ever since we met and got married, my temper suddenly awakened, badly. But this short blocking out had been happening lately ever since the rogue attacked our reception. And at this moment, it gotten worse. I'm still puzzled about the changes happening in me until I met her gaze. They were determined, but filled with care, and it was reserved only for me.
"Didn't you once tell me that if I dared to talk back at you, I would have to look at you, and if I dared to aim at you, I shouldn't hesitate…" I repeated softly what she told me once, making her clench her jaw and look away. I sighed before continuing, "…but now, that I'm doing that, why won't?" She flinched but didn't answer because we talked about it once: she can't show vulnerability in front of the others, and she needed to be their queen. I get that, but right now, that won't be the case, and my mouth suddenly went bolder, challenging my wife firmly, "Since I'm yours, I'll never bow to you."
Everyone heard my daring words, stunning them because to them, nobody could ever challenge Mirxalyn without fearing death. But knowing my wife from her usual facade, she remained stoic and intimidatingly unreadable. I could feel the rush of our bond strengthening deeply on the surface, making me sigh before I pierced the worn-out wooden swords on the ground and left them dumbfounded.
With flame and confidence, I walked away from the training ground with such grace. I let them think that way, but it was not true. Inside, I'm in my full panicking mode.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" I thought frantically, before running away, thinking, "This is bad. Pretty bad."
Out of the training area's range, I stopped running as my knees buckled, and my heartbeat was erratic, deafening. I leaned against the wall beside me, catching myself before I could collapse on the floor. I'm not triggered, but I pulled out my medication and drank it for safety. But I couldn't shake it off. Whatever I pulled out there left me stunned in disbelief.
"Oh my God, what just happened there?" I mumbled, unsure of what flame I showed there. I connected it, analyzed them, and I knew it was not only my haywire temper, but my jealousy. Strangely, I knew what else was working beneath it - our mate bond. I sighed, and then worry began kicking, "They're going to kill me for doing and saying that to their queen…" I was panicking, thinking of the worst-case scenario that could happen to me later. But recalling how Mirxalyn's presence already had affected me now that we're married, I can't deny how deeply our mate bond was growing into, and it was somehow "Freeing…"
When the medicine finally kicked in, I sighed, composing myself before starting walking again. But my mind drifted deeply into the overlapping feelings for Mirxalyn. It was bothersome, but I had to channel it. I looked for something to work with, and hopefully it help us to balance our marriage.
"I shouldn't be acting like a good wife when she's even hard to read," I muttered softly as I walked aimlessly to the courtyard where our wedding took place. I looked around and appreciated the garden's beauty before sitting by the bench beneath an old wisteria tree. "This is relaxing."
I breathe the refreshing air, savoring the tranquility it gives to ease my troubled mind before sighing heavily. I began thinking, letting my mind do what it does best, and analyzed my feelings toward my wife's different facades.
"Around my savior, Mirxalyn is pretty much protective and never fails to give me the security that I needed, especially when I fell down. I love it around me, which made me want to be like that too. I want to be able to protect those people who were dear to me. And I need power to do that." I analyzed first where my determination to get strong came from before thinking about my annoyance, "Her as my annoying mate, pretty much annoying because she's tight-lip that I want to strangle whenever she won't tell me what's on her mind, but whenever she's with me at the training area, I felt like she wanted to train me, help me control the power that always taking over me whenever I'm too focus. And maybe, I could ignore her silent treatment and go on combat training with her." I decided, determined, but when I think of Mirxalyn as my wife, something tickles my chest. "Oh God, she's indeed my wife for making my heart flip just by thinking of her as mine."