My body still felt drained from the radiating heat, but the tremors shaking me against Jerome's steady support came from something far darker—something I wasn't ready to face while so vulnerable. Jerome's demeanor shifted instantly. His arms wrapped around me like a shield as he stood like a steadfast knight guarding my fragile state. I glanced to check, and I saw his wolf shadowing him, and from the looks of it, his wolf was a Knightrose knight.
I caught the sharp narrowing of his eyes toward the corner of the hall. Despite the anger simmering beneath the surface, his voice stayed calm as he asked, "Do you know those two men coming to the corner?"
"They're the reason why I choose not to remember the meaning of having heat," I answered flatly, controlling myself from breaking through the unwanted memories. Before Jerome could say something, I mumbled. "Here they come. "
"Well, well, who would have thought that our Sigbin would be attending this school too?"
"Maybe she's following us for, you know..."
I shivered, cowering as I remembered those filthy nights of being toyed with non-stop. It was crawling under my skin. The ghostly touches of malice still linger on my skin and my body; I felt disgust. Their voice didn't change from those nights, and hearing them now, I want to vanish again and again. I wanted to die and never be saved again. But Jerome's squeeze on my arm snapped me from the dark, swallowing water that I thought was already subsiding.
I closed my eyes for a second, taking a breath as my mind shifted to the moments when all the changes had happened. All hardships and smiles came rushing, flowing in one direction: the Fenrir I had been dreaming of.
'You're awakening.'
I smiled, forcing my trembling body to calm. "Right, awakening..." I whispered, letting the lingering anger flare beneath the surface, fueling the heat that surged through me. I pulled away from his support. Jerome was worried, but I smiled with assurance before saying softly, "Don't interrupt unless you see it's necessary." I didn't wait for his reply. Even though I was still trembling from seeing them, I held myself and faced them steadily, furiously. "Do I know you?"
"Don't pretend that you don't because we remember how you begged for us those nights." Jose laughed, his voice dragging me back to those nights when they toyed with me, the memory crawling beneath my skin like a poison.
"True, and the way you look right now is tastier than before," Javier added teasingly as he stepped closer, leaning tauntingly. "Shall we or—"
Everything about them froze me in my spot, regardless of how mad I was. But it was not fully about fear or anger; I was controlling myself from turning berserk, as I've decided not to reveal how much I had changed. But they need to know I'm different from before. "You're right. I do remember, and soon, if not me, someone will return the favor."
They both laughed before Javier reminded me how weak I was. "HAHAHA! Why would you think someone will look out for you, Sigbin? the weakest omega, the disgrace, the..."
"Pathetic loser who needs to die? Don't worry, she already died." Coldly, I spat with venom. I lifted my chin to meet their eyes with a grimace before leaving a warning: "So, don't wish on facing her again, unless you seek blood."
They tried to laugh it off and attempted to touch me, but Javier's face smashed the wall, and Jose's stomach received a fatal punch. Both of them buckled on the ground, coughing blood.
Jerome's voice cut through the silence—deep, cold, and lethal. "Oh, sorry, my bad. My hand slipped."
The boys tremble in fear before Jose's stuttering voice asks, "W-who are you?!"
"A Marasigan you don't want to mess with," Jerome replied coldly before dusting his hands and glaring at them, saying, "Don't worry, your punishment is approaching."
Fear was evident in their expression, and before he could say more, a petite woman leapt onto his back with ease, her features a striking mirror of Jerome's but softer, framed by a dark, playful grin that hinted at mischief and power. "You shouldn't have pissed off my brother like I've warned you before." Her voice was filled with grimace, making their faces go white. Then she got down from her brother's back, and her eyes went soft. "Calm down, I've got it."
Jerome took a few breaths before answering his sister, "Good to hear." Then he turned his back to them and went to me, saying, "Next time put them under your leash." His sister nodded before reminding her softly, "We don't want the Knightrose queen to hear about this incident, although I would be glad to witness how she would punish them."
"And you're saying that because..." She trailed off, and when Jerome stepped aside, her sister's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my, you're Lady Bernila? The Lady Bernila?" Her excited voice surprised me as she complimented my appearance. "Oh my God, I'm glad to meet you, and you looked great, so different than the rumors those bastards said."
I blushed at her honest compliment. I was a little shy, but I managed to smile politely, and I said, "A new environment gave me a chance to change."
"I'm glad it affects you in a good way." She was friendly like Jerome, but she stepped back a little before giving me a respectful bow, introducing herself, "I am pleased to meet our soon-to-be queen. I'm Jerimaiah Marasignan."
"Please, to meet you." I nodded politely and attempted to explain, "About them..."
She placed her finger above her lips, grinning before leaning closer. "We heard the rumors, but with Talia and Agilus' testament, the family assigned me to secretly watch them here." Jerimaiah's reassuring voice calmed me, although I was still skeptical about the story leaking before I could even rise above it. But then she added, "And if you're worried about the news leaking out, no need. Everything is held securely unless you decide to announce it."
I felt grateful for it. "Thanks, in time..." But the heat was too much to bear. I groaned a little as I grabbed Jerome's arm, reminding him where we should be. "But right now...Jerome...you're Mate's aid..."
"Oh, right, let's go before I get grilled by your mate," he said, and without asking, he carried me into his arms before sprinting out of the school's walls.
***
By the time we were out of the school walls, Jerome had sprinted toward a certain area. It was another part of the garden, but more isolated, green, and refreshingly peaceful. But before we could even get any closer to the dark greenhouse, my trembling crawled up, spreading throughout my entire body, making me weaker.
"Hurry..." I weakly mumbled in his arms.
Jerome clicked his tongue and began speeding up. As soon as we stepped inside the greenhouse, which was an infirmary, a beautiful vampire woman began helping us. I assumed it was his mate, but before they could get me to a bed, the heat was getting worse. I winced in pain, and they almost dropped me—almost.
"Dammit. We need her here," he said, clenching his teeth before pulling out his phone to call someone, but I grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Don't stop me; you need the queen at your side."
"No need, Jerome," I weakly assured him, and before he could say anything, bats filled the greenhouse. "She's already here..."
I smiled faintly as I saw the bats form into a figure of a woman, my wife, Mirxalyn, and she looked worried and mad at the same time. I wanted to scold her for looking like that, but a fierce warmth spread through me, growing harder to control. I gritted my teeth to suppress my scream. Without hesitating or thinking twice, Mirxalyn's arms wrapped around me, and in a flash, my body rested on a coffin.
"Seriously, a coffin?" I scoffed daringly, noticing where she put me. Although it's comfy like our bed back at the mansion, it's still a coffin. "You could at least put a bed here, but you chose a coffin? Unbelievable."
Jerome and his mate were speechless after hearing how I speak to my wife. But that didn't matter when my wife spoke, commanding, "Leave us. I've got it from here."
But I pinched her arm, making her wince a little, and glared at me. I glared back, reminding her, "Thank them for bringing me here."
Mirxalyn stared at me like I had grown two heads, but after a few seconds, she sighed and turned to them. "Thank you. You may leave us now." Her voice might be cold, but they were genuine. They didn't say anything and respectfully complied with my wife's command, leaving us alone in the greenhouse. She sat beside me before calmly sharing her space in the school ground, "This is my space at school, and it's not a coffin, but a bed shaped like one."
"Still, it looked like a coffin," I defensively refuted, trying to calm my trembling body. But with her presence next to me, my body was somehow relaxing. Then I added teasingly, "And don't reason that you're a vampire."
She smiled softly. "This is my lounging area at school." Her voice was soft like a gentle breeze brushing my ears, catching me off guard. I gave her a look, and her eyes filled with worry. Then she asked carefully. "Do you like it here?"
I looked around, and the area was filled with roses, a few pieces of medical equipment, a tea table, a small pantry with a fridge, and a small living space with a television. "Yeah, it's calming," I responded and curiously stared at her. She somehow felt calm and expressive around me, making me feel warm before asking, "Then why did Meister Andrea let Jerome take me here, and they said it's for my safety?"
She clenched her jaw, taking her time before sighing, saying, "They took you here because this space served me alone. Only a few I let inside, and mostly for emergency purposes, but in your case, it's different." The way she explained it was filled with carefulness, but I didn't interrupt and waited patiently. Then she continued. "It's different because you've had full access to this place whenever you needed your own space..."
I noticed that she wasn't going to tell me. I sighed before I gently demanded, "Mirxa, baby, tell me exactly why I am here."
She looked shocked at me, repeating the address I called her. "You call me baby..."
I blushed, but I insisted on knowing. "Mirxa, focus and tell me."
"Right, because I have to remark you," she answered, finally, and I was taken aback.
My heart rate sped up, and I was blushing badly before I repeated what she said softly, "Remark me..." I blushed more. "Oh my God. I'm blushing badly."
She snickered and teased me. "You are." Then she leaned closer, making me desire to let the mattress swallow me, but she asked gently, "Can I remark on my wife?"
My heart was drumming too much through my ears, and my ribcage was like breaking by how hard it was beating. The heat began crawling from my neck up to my cheeks and ears again. Then, I asked skeptically, "You mean like…"
Again, she snickered, making me slap her arm lightly. Then her voice softened, "Marking someone doesn't mean having sex to be able to do that."
"Why did she have to be blunt on that matter?" I thought before sighing, saying, "Maybe for your kind."
"Have you heard, Half-Mark?" she asked gently, and I had no idea what it meant. I was quiet and confused, and she noticed that. "Half-Mark is an unfinished marking between mates—a bond left incomplete for various reasons among different creatures. In our family, mates receive a Half-Mark to prevent the kind of dangerous overheating, like what's you're experiencing now."
"But your presence is enough to subside it." I reasoned that her presence did the trick when I went into heat.
"Not entirely. Some heats lasted for a week and maybe a month, especially when mates had been found," she explained gently. "But you're mated with a Knightrose, and overheating must be looked out for."
I frowned, and I curiously asked. "Why?"