Under Her Skin [+18]

Arran had talked and talked about how this world needed a better ruler, someone to unite all the kingdoms in case the gates to other realms opened. He wanted to unite everyone, so when the gates opened, this world would be ready to fight any monster.

She had no idea what gates he talked about and had excused herself, saying she needed to rest. Of course, he had not given her a room to sleep in and told her she could use Erix's room and he would use his spare room, the room she had woken up in.

Katara had walked into the room, closing the door and looking at what seemed to be an identical room to the other room except the bricked wall was now painted black as well. She did not switch on the lights, and instead, pulled the belt off, unlaced the boots before climbing into the bed.

The window was the only other difference in the room. It was not a small window but instead a full wall window. The glass was raised from the floor to the ceiling, and she did not draw the curtains closed. The stars in the sky blinked, shining brightly into the room as she stared out the window.

She would be cooking food with her mother at this late in the night so when they got up in the morning, they could heat the food and give it to the Lost children. They would sing songs loudly in the small cottage they lived in, and bake until the flour would run out.

The door to the room opened slowly. Instantly she sat up in bed and Erix stopped beside the door. She heard the soft click, announcing to the world that the door was now closed. "Arran said I could sleep here." She said to him, wondering if he was going to attack as those golden eyes pinned her in her spot.

He was not moving, taut like a bow, ready to kill anyone who dared to move or breathe in the wrong way. She knew that feeling. Had felt it several times when her mother had been attacked by hunters. No matter how many times her mother told her that she was safe, Katara would not believe it, not until she would stand in the same room, watching every breath her mother took while she slept. No other wolf went through it and she knew it was probably a Fae problem.

Paranoia.

Katara did not raise her hands. Any sudden movements and he would kill her. He was just staring at her in the darkness, yet the moon light provided enough light for her to see him. Katara breathed in the scent of blood, mixed with a little pine and snow. She inhaled, pulling the duvet off her body and instantly standing up.

Within a second of her movements, she was slammed back onto the bed, a hand wrapped around her neck and Erix above her, those golden eyes glaring down at her, as a vicious snarl escaped his lips.

She watched him but he was snarling at her. "I don't really know how a Fae reacts right now." Her voice was barely a whisper because if she whispered too loud the loose hand around her neck would tighten. "But a wolf would kick you in the balls."

She did not kick him because she would die instantly.

He snarled, lowering his head towards her. "Please don't bite me." She blurted out, her voice still soft. "Vampires usually drink blood and wolves usually claim their female with a bite but I really don't wish to explain to my king and Queen while I was bit by a Fae. They would think I'm mated." She was talking, rambling in what could only be fear with a giant man above her.

He did not move and neither did she raise her hands to touch him but her mouth moved. "This place is really cold." His body pressed into her and she gulped slightly, her magic stirring within her, knowing she was scared out of her gods-damn life. "If you don't get off me right now, I'm probably going to burn this bed-" she fisted her hands in the duvet as he snarled at her words. Not a damn a threat she wanted to scream.

"Erix-" his body froze above hers as she said his voice in the darkness. "Please, don't kill me. I have to live. I have to kill hunters, I have to avenge my mother, so if you could please remove your hands before fear overrides my body and I do something completely stupid like stab a dagger into your heart which I know won't kill you because you're a Fae and only a beheading can kill you because I've been stabbed before and it did not feel good and I-"

Katara let out a gasp as fangs scraped against the side of her neck, the hand tightening around her neck. She did not move nor did she open her mouth.

"You talk a lot." A low raspy voice escaped him. She did not talk. "I wondered if you would run away, I expected to find you at the boats." Her heart was racing but she did not move as he breathed in her scent, dragging his teeth across her pulse. "But I found you wearing my clothes, in my bed. What do I make of that?"

A part of her knew it was stupid of her to even respond or to even feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach because it was silly for her to be in this position. "You can let me go."

"Why are you not fighting me? I didn't tell them."

"What?"

"That you can strike a male down with a sword." His words were a murmur against her bare neck. Gods.

She felt his teeth move up a little, a slight scrape against her jaw. "Very rarely is anybody surprised in this castle. Maybe when you run away, you could take a sword, show them what exactly you tried to do with me."

He was inches away from her lips. She did not answer him. A slight movement and her lips would touch his and she goddamn knew any sort of pleasure in a state like this would make him bite her, claim her like the wolves did. She had seen plenty of wolves mating, as unfortunate as it was but she never forgot her first time seeing it.

They were arguing, the couple in school and she was watching like any other person did. Until the female had pushed the male backwards, telling him to back off. The male had pushed her backwards, slamming her into the wall but then he was on her, and before Katara could look away, a kiss had led to a bite.

He may not be a wolf but he was dangerously close to biting her.

"Not a single word from you now?" She did not talk, even as his lips backed down her jaw, down to her neck as if he enjoyed scraping his teeth against her pulsing vein. "Will you tend to my wounds?" It was a soft question, as if he was afraid she would say no. "It won't heal."

Katara blinked. "If you get off me."

Erix lifted his gaze to look down into her green eyes. "You are not afraid."

"Should I be afraid?"

He pushed himself away from her body. "No." He answered, standing up and watching as she let out a deep breath of relief. "I was not going to claim you."

She shot a glare at him as she sat up, realising his stand was perfectly normal and nor a predator seeking its prey. "You looked like you were going to rip my head off if I said another word, let alone claim me."

"You are to be Arran's wife. If I claimed you as mine-"He sighed. "I would not like the consequences."

She didn't ask him to explain. "So these wounds you want me to clean up?" She lifted an eyebrow, watching as he lifted the tunic off his body. She gaped at his back, covered in scars but fresh whipped wounds. Katara stood up.

What was this place? Nobody in Eridaya had ever hurt anyone like this. This was strange. She walked towards him, seeing the small pieces of some sort of iron stuck in the open wounds that blood had dried in. "Where is-I need a cloth." She quickly hurried to the washroom that she had explored earlier on and pulled the white towel from one of the small cupboards and soaked it in water before twisting the water out of it and leaving it damp.

She walked towards him and he stood facing the window. "I don't know if it's possible with Fae, but vampires-" She touched the edge of the towel on the dried blood, wiping it away gently. "When vampires get hurt, they heal a lot quicker when they feed on their kind." Katara lifted her hand, showing him her wrist. "I won't say anything if you won't."

She felt the stillness in his body as his face turned to look over his shoulder at her but she focused herself on cleaning the dried blood. Then she would pull the iron pieces out. She had her hand still raised to him.

"If that was possible, I would have drank from your neck."

She lowered her hand instantly. In silence, she dried off the blood before putting the towel on the table beside the bed. Katara moved closer to his back, ignoring the muscles that tightened as she placed her hand on his arm. "I'm amazed you aren't dead by how many times they've whipped you." He didn't utter a word, as she pinched her hands together, reaching for the iron pieces slowly. They were big enough for her to use her own nails, as if someone had stabbed him with iron first.

Her body turned cold as she touched the iron first. A shiver ran up her back and she pulled her fingers away. Her body instantly heated back up, her magic stirring in warning, rising slowly. "Interesting."

"What is?" He questioned, glancing over at her but she was so fascinated with the iron pieces that seemed to quiet her magic down, to make her feel cold.

"The iron, it's making me cold." She shivered again, but didn't let go of the iron piece and pulled it out. He hissed as did she, before dropping the long piece onto the floor.

"Don't-" He breathed out, in actual pain.

"Sorry."

"Don't touch it with your hands." He breathed out instead. "I can feel two more pieces in my back. Use the towel or a pair of scissors if you have too. Just don't use your hands."

She didn't answer him or listen to him. The slight hum of her body silenced out again as she touched the iron piece. This was smaller but still effective on her body and a part of her was in awe at his pain tolerance level as she pulled the other piece out, instantly dropping it to the floor as it seemed to burn her skin.

"Can you kneel?" She questioned, trying to stand on her toes but unable to pull the last piece of. She could see how magically his other two wounds had healed instantly, leaving a scar behind because of the salt she could scent. She knew the salt stopped the healing process for wolves and caused their wounds to burn.

Erix got down on his knees. "Pull iron out with your fingertips again and I will fuck-"

He could throw as many threats as her as he wanted but she was fascinated with the silence it provided. She pulled out the last piece, placing her other hand on his shoulder and dropping the iron piece on the floor. "Iron hurts us." Katara murmured softly to herself.

"You didn't know?"

Erix stood up, rolling his shoulders back as the wounds healed instantly before he turned to face. She shook her head. "Touching iron doesn't hurt as much as one would expect but being locked in a room full of iron, or having iron chains on, it silences every inch of the Fae inside of you, and the magic."

She hummed, staring at the iron pieces on the floor. "I don't really know a lot." She knelt down towards the pieces of iron. Erix instantly moved away and she tried really hard not to think of the position she was in. "I know what hurts vampires and what hurts wolves but the Fae?" There was a small smile on her face. "I think for Eridaya, I might write a book about the Fae. In case any Fae is found there."

He did not say anything and she looked up at him as she pushed herself onto her feet. "If you could walk me back to the other room, I'll sleep there, I don't mind. You can-"

"No. Stay." He answered her. "I'll leave." He said, taking a step back. Katara looked at him, her gaze lowering over his beautiful carved body and the muscles that seemed to move with every step he took towards the door. The ink on his body was in a foreign language, making her remember a question she had wanted to ask someone.

"Does Wisteria have a different language?"

He looked at her. "The language of the Fae." He answered, watching her nod her head.

"I don't know that. I only know the language of Eridaya but you all speak as if you have difficulty in this language. I might have to learn the language of the Fae to make it easy for you all." She was talking to herself.

"You plan to stay here?"

She looked at him. "And become an empress? Sure." She rolled her eyes before walking to the bed and climbing into it. "I'd like to sleep naked so if you would like to enter, please knock." She sent him a tight smile before pulling the tunic from the body because suddenly the room had become very stuffed with heat.

Erix snarled.

"Yes yes." She waved her hand, knowing her chest was completely bare for him to see and not a part of her cared. She lived with wolves who were always naked when they shifted. "Territorial and all. Please leave unless you would like to piss in this room to mark your territory, then I shall leave."

"You speak like a wolf." He tried to stare at her face, into her green eyes but his gaze lowered, those golden eyes darkening as he tried to memorise every inch of her chest but she didn't allow the thoughts to arouse her.

"I told Arran and I will tell you as well. My heart is of a wolf. I belong to a female wolf and to a pack of wolves so I am not ashamed to show a bit of skin."

It was definitely more than a bit of skin and he knew it. Erix opened his mouth to say something before closing it. He walked out of the room, closing the room door with a soft click.

She let out a deep sigh before falling back onto the pillows.

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