Violet Dreams

Chapter 10

Who the fuck was Zachery?

That's all Nyx could think about as he sat next to Arabella on the couch. As she wriggled and squirmed to get away from the needle, that's the one thing she subconsciously seemed to scream down the bond.

"Get away from me, Zachery!"

So that posed the question. Who the fuck was Zachery? And who in the world thought it was okay to scare her like that? Whoever this Zachery was, seemed to have done something terrible to Arabella and Nyx was seething for revenge.

"Aren't you hungry?" Cassian said from the doorway.

It was dinner time but Nyx would be damned if he left Arabella's side.

He turned and glared at Cassian, power oozing from his veins in warning at the intruding Illyrian.

"Now is not the time, Cass", Azriel said trying to drag him from the room.

Cassian narrowed his eyes at Nyx, "no, I wanna know why he's acting funny".

Nyx loosed a growl. He didn't need Cassian pissing him off more. Cassian raised a brow at that.

"Are you-"

"Fuck off Cassian", Nyx hissed.

Cassian grinned, it seemed Nyx's reaction was all he needed for confirmation.

"Cassian", Azriel said sternly, "we are leaving".

And before he could protest Azriel had dragged him from the room. Nyx sighed, stupid, territorial mating bond. Why did he have to feel like this? He wondered if it would get better if he was mated, or maybe it would be worse. Either way he hated this territorial and possessive feeling, it felt so outdated and wrong. Not everybody that touched Arabella was in need of a punch, and yet his instinct was to protect her at all costs.

Nyx sat up straighter as Arabella stirred on the couch.

"Belle?" He whispered.

She made a mumbling noise before snuggling in deeper to the couch. Nyx smiled softly.

"Belle?" He said grinning, "wake up, dumbass".

She mumbled some more incoherent words.

Nyx leaned forward enough that his words would caress her ear and his breath would tickle her neck, "wakey wakey, gorgeous".

She sat up gasping as if remembering where she was and what happened, Nyx jumped back just in time for their heads not to knock. Arabella glared at him.

"That scared me", she said grumpily, although she was blushing which only made Nyx smile wider.

"It's dinner time if your hungry".

Arabella seemed to ignore him and immediately threw off the blankets that Nyx had put there, she was checking her leg. No a single splat of blood remained, her leg was fully stitched up and healing.

"I can't believe I failed at winnowing", was all she said, as if winnowing were an easy task.

Nyx shook his head, "at least you moved somewhere, I was terrible at it for the first few weeks".

"I bet you didn't almost perform a leg amputation on yourself", she said back.

"No I didn't. But, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself".

Arabella scoffed but didn't reply. She stood up, Nyx stood with her, mainly to check she wasn't going to fall. He wasn't sure how steady she'd be on her feet.

"Nyx?" She said stepping closer to him, her voice a soft caress down his spine.

He didn't dare step back, didn't want to. She was so close, Nyx wanted to reach out and touch her. His heart hammered in his chest, the stupid mating bond instinct telling him to kiss her, to claim her.

"Yeah?" He said dumbly, completely bamboozled by their close proximity.

And she leaned in closer, Nyx was dumbfounded, was she about to kiss him?

No she wasn't. Instead she slapped him on the face. Nyx jumped back at the contact.

"That's for pinning me down", she growled.

Nyx brought his hand up to his face in shock. Of course she wasn't going to kiss him, it was Arabella, a slap seemed far more like her.

"Ouch", Nyx groaned, rubbing his sore jaw.

Arabella seemed to survey him for a second, before rising up on her toes and kissing Nyx on the cheek. Nyx's eyes widened.

"That's for helping me".

And then she left the lounge room, heading to the dining room, Nyx presumed. But he stood there touching his cheek in awe. A slap and a kiss? Nyx's heart was melting in his chest, his instincts screaming to run up to her and finish the job. But he just tenderly touched his cheek, mainly because it hurt, but also because she had kissed him. It was as if all his dreams had come true.

He shook his head, trying to pull himself together. If this was how he acted after one kiss, then there was no hope for him.

Grinning, Nyx made his way into the dining room where everyone was eating. Arabella was already seated at the table, his dad was apologising for having to hold her down. She wouldn't slap him. Although that scene would be hilarious to witness. Arabella slapping Rhysand was definitely something that would cause amusement.

Nyx took the only seat available, across from Arabella.

"What are you smiling at?" Cassian asked from down the table.

"Mind your business, Uncle Cass", Nyx said childishly poking out his tongue.

Cassian poked his tongue back but returned to his food at Azriel's glare.

"I am sorry I failed at teaching you", Rhysand said softly to Arabella, "I must of missed a vital step in my explanation".

Nyx listened in to their conversation, despite the fact that it was obviously a private one.

"You don't have to apologise, and you didn't fail. It's my fault I almost amputated myself", she joked.

Rhys smiled, "we will continue training in a few days, once you're fully healed. I'll do better".

Arabella nodded before beginning to eat her dinner. Nyx felt the dark talons of his dad tapping on his mental walls, he lowered them enough for his dad to voice his thoughts.

"Ever thought about taking your own advice", his dad said into his mind.

"And what would that be?" Nyx replied.

"Minding your own business", he said before slithering out of Nyx's head.

Nyx sent a glare across the table but his dad pretended to ignore it.
Dinner continued on with pleasant conversation, many of them trying to make Arabella feel better about messing up her winnowing. Nyx was still itching over the mating bond, he had no idea that it would be so intrusive. It made every single one of his thoughts about Arabella, he was horny all the time, and his brain was chanting her name over and over again, like a prayer. And no matter what he did, no matter how close he stood or how many times he used flirting as an excuse to throw an arm over her, he still felt like it wasn't enough. The territorial stuff bothered him too, Nyx was not naturally a possessive male, so being this territorial over someone he hadn't even kissed, felt wrong and completely unlike him.

But Rex and Leo's suggestion still rang in his mind. Would Arabella be interested in being friends with benefits? Or would she slap him in the face for even suggesting it?