Coveted [New/Revised Version]

LABYRINTH OF SAD REVERIES

     Zairian's breath left him in a small whooshing whisper and he fell forward. An alien sensation promptly overcame his body. Every nerve ending was slowly crystalizing yet no chilliness accompanied the feeling. He only felt hollow as his eyes stared unblinkingly at the night sky.

His shroud of blackness dissipated with his subversion. Now tiny gems of twinkling white specked the heavens. Silver streaks of moonlight lit up the battlefield all over and he could hear echoing growls. His weakening upset his clan and probably most of his followers, but rather than be overjoyed by the prospect of one of them rescuing him, he could only think of Annalisa.

He could smell her from where she was. Tears, cinder, and jasmine. It was a heavenly scent really. One hard to replicate.

The drumming of her heart was a marching band in his ears. Though he grasped she'd just betrayed him—purposefully this time, he only thought of how he'd never feel the warmth of her skin or her lips beneath his again. He would never see her smile or wear the expression he found adorable when she was annoyed.

Her face lingered in his mind—perfect, oval, and lovely with smooth hazel skin and large, light brown eyes. The dark curls he found so lush to the touch framed it. He remembered the very first time he set eyes on it. They were young and arrogant then. She'd always been a year older, more mature.

He could see her voluptuous frame flattering the teal floor-length dress she wore to the Chancellor's seasonal gathering at the top of the stone flight of steps, wine filled goblet in hand. Her hair was done up in an exotic updo that all the women were fawning over. She grinned modestly as she kissed Eden's cheek. Scorpius, Samael's father, stood beside his wife and offered Lisa an affectionate smile.

"Who is she?" Zairian breathed to his best mate when Samael finally decided to join the festivities.

"The woman my mother is forcing upon me." He answered grimly before tossing back his own drink. "Annalisa Rutherford. Pureblooded daughter of Ezekiel and Venus Rutherford. This whole bloody arrangement should be a crime."

Zairian was still stuck on the identities. "Who?"

"They're from Prussia."

"That's... some distance to travel."

"You're seeing my point. Marvelous."

"Regardless, she's gorgeous."

"Do you really think?"

"I do."

"You sure she doesn't seem too... raring to go?"

"Quit looking for flaws." Zairian admonished. "She's positively stunning and you're lucky to have Eden's approval. But, if you find her repellant..."

"Forget it!" Samael nudged him. "Besides, if mother picked her over the countless halfwits in this town stumbling over themselves to be my blushing bride, I'm confident she's much more powerful than she looks."

"It's always comes back to that, doesn't it?"

The warlock shrugged. "Mother has her standards and I don't think for as long as she lives I could marry someone below my ranking. Do you?"

Zairian looked up at Eden practically drooling over Annalisa. She reminded him a lot of his own father. "You're right."

"Of course I am." Samael frowned. "She's even picked out the band I'm supposed to propose to this girl with." He pulled a ring out of his pocket. "How embarrassed do you think she'd be if I went up there right now with this?"

"I think that would be lunacy."

"Then it's settled." Samael's eyes glittered mischievously. "I'd rather be institutionalized anyhow."

He clapped Zairian's shoulder and the hybrid watched him make his way up to his parents and Annalisa. Of course, that whole debacle didn't sit well with Eden. Amongst strategically moving her family up the social and financial ladder, she was accomplished in finding quick fixes for public embarrassments. Somehow, she spun Samael's spiteful and premature proposal into something congenial.

Annalisa accepted.

Naturally.

She'd rightfully been Samael's but the venal part of Zairian couldn't accept that. Not with every tempting smile he saw grace her lips or the passionate way her eyes lit up. He would've given up the universe just to have her look at him that way. And one day she did. He couldn't remember how it started; only that it had and he loved every moment.

Samael or how he'd react to his best mate's perverse feelings toward his fiancée didn't linger too long or very often in his mind. Most men would've given up pursuit after eight years but he saw Annalisa—strong, beautiful, and utterly taken by him. How much closer she was to being his drove him.

It didn't help his best mate was driving a wedge between himself and his fiancée. It was curious to some why they hadn't actually wedded after so long. It bothered Annalisa and Zairian swooped in on the opportunity to console her. Solacing hugs soon turned to passionate kisses and caresses.

They were reckless in their emotions for one another. Bold. But it was an exhilarating whirlwind of breathy kisses and tender touches in the dark, covert embraces in corridors, and shared laughs deep within the woods.

She was his even if she was Samael's. Their relationship started with deceit and he supposed that should've been a sign—a sign that just as she betrayed Samael, one day she'd sell him out too. But even now he knew he could never have pushed her away. No matter how much he hated her, he loved her all the greater.

"What are you all still standing here for?" Gregory's holler made him focus. "He's ours to deal with now. Lisa let down your guard."

The air grew cooler and Gregory was shouting at the remnants of Zairian's supporters again. "Leave now or we'll slaughter every one of you who resists!"

Ever so slowly, he heard pairs of feet retreating. Paws beating against the ground and sizzles of witchcraft too. A bearded, rugged face of sternness appeared before him. Then a hand was shutting his eyes and he was alone in blackness with only a stake for a friend.

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