1644

~Amolet

She knows we are mates. How, I don't know, but she knows.

Cian's gaze seizes me, but reveals nothing. Panic overwhelms me as I realise everyone in this room is genuinely expecting me to walk up and kiss him, despite the fact that he is my mate and this is the last situation I want to be in when I reveal to him that we are. I would hate to know what Ira would do with that information once it has been confirmed.

"Absolutely not," I say firmly, backing up a wary step toward the door. Not that running out is of much use now. Now when I'm here, and none of them would even have to chase me to bring me back here.

"And why not?" It's questions, tilting her head to the side, smile in that sick, sardonic way that I imagine is her signature.

I look around at Sinful, Hale and Cian all in turn, each with their own unique look of shock on their faces. "I'm not going to kiss him in front of all his siblings, you freak."

Even Lev doesn't seem to know what to do with himself, staring at me with wide eyes, clearly wanting to tell me that's a bad idea without the repercussions. When I glance back at Ira, the smile has vanished from her face, a dark fury building beneath her expression, willing to emerge and cast her wrath upon all of us. I won't be scared of her though, not when I've been gifted - or cursed - with these powers to defend myself.

She steps forward, the painted floorboards creaking tauntingly under foot. "Don't insult me."

"What Amolet meant, is that she is nothing more than a stupid, smart-mouthed mortal who means nothing to you, Ira," Sinful cute, in grabbing his sisters forearm. Surprisingly, she merely yanks it away, not throwing any insults his way like she is so inclined to do with me. "So why waste all your time on taunting her?"

"Boredom, and she's irritated me," Ira grits out.

Were she not Wrath, with a temper that doesn't make me doubt her title as a Sin, I would be jealous of her. She commands all the attention in the room, willing everyone to be privy to her emotions and desires. However, she only gets that by intimidating people, making them weaken and bow to her until she is fully satisfied.

"Ira, are you in or not? Let's skip the childish banter," Cian mutters, finally speaking. Involving himself a moment earlier may have pressed Ira to keep demanding us closer, to inevitably kiss.

"And what is this mortal worth to you, for you to protect her dignity?" Ira questions, assessing me from head to toe blatantly, looking disappointed at whatever she finds lacking. "Last time we spoke, brother, you couldn't care less about mortals. For Greed, I'm disappointed."

"Not all of us take these burdens so seriously," he responds quietly.

Losing a mate changed him. Whoever he was before I met him, I doubt it's the same man I stand in the room with today. Once you find your mate, your entire life comes down to that moment, which by the sounds of it, Ira has yet to find out about.

Ira rolls her eyes, leaning against the back of the couch, stretching her legs in front of her, the soft fabric of her dress billowing around her thighs. "Burdens? Sinful, is being Lust a burden?"

"No. My mate doesn't think so, especially," Sinful responds, the smirk on his face making me exhale shortly from my nose. We're I not so grateful that he has riveted Ira's attention from me, due to him knowing my secret, I may have kicked him in the ankle.

"Your mouth ruins everything," Ira mutters. Equally irked. "And Hale, is being Sloth a burden?"

Everyone glances towards Hale, who lingers near one of the windows, looking out past the faded net curtain. I'm not sure what he thinks about when he dozily looks out the windows into nothingness. Despite him being eternally bored and uninterested in life as it passes by, as Cian has informed me, I imagine there is something far more complex going on within him. He can't look like that, with all his silver tattoos and enigmatic look, for nothing.

"Yes." He immediately shifts his gaze back out the window.

"Bad example." Ira taps her foot against the floorboards impatiently. "Being Wrath is wonderful. It means everyone is terrified of me, and I don't feel guilt for killing mortals."

Sinful closes his eyes. "We get it..."

"Fine, don't kiss Cian if it wounds you so much," Ira sighs, pushing away from the couch to approach Lev instead, my heart rate reading up at their proximity. "But I'm not satisfied. Why don't you kiss the mortal boy, who looks at you like he'll get on his knees and beg for me to take his life over yours."

Lev's eyes dart to me, but only for the shortest moment, too busy looking at Ira, who examines him like she's going to eat him alive.

"He's just my friend," I declare, trying to sound casual and disinterested, wishing I could wear Hale's facade as easily as he does. Lev doesn't need to be dragged into this, not after Sinful quite literally did that to get him into this cabin in the first place.

"Then it shouldn't be an issue?" She shrugs, brushing at a wrinkle on Lev's shoulder, admiring the way he flinches in fright. As beautiful as Ira is, she's a terror to behold in her presence alone.

My jaw clenched together tightly. "All this for you to agree to work with us?"

She nods, her sly grin meeting her pretty, cornflower blue eyes that I'm growing to hate with each passing moment.

I sigh, realising with a painful tug of my chest that there's no possible way she's going to let us out of here agreeing to our terms without getting something out of us first. She may thinks me kissing Lev will somehow wound me, but he knows I'm mated to Cian, and despite everything that has transpired between us, surely he will know what it's for.

A single glance toward Cian seems he looks absolutely horrified by what he's witnessing, and yet in order to not establish a reason for Ira to target us collectively, he's thankfully backed off.

I can handle this.

Mustering a breath, I brush past Ira, nodding at Lev who looks at me warily. He doesn't move, however, as I lay the palms of my hands against his shoulders, feeling him trembling softly beneath my touch. We have only kissed once, and it was the last thing I wanted to do at the time. Now I'm being forced to in order to save this mission

His eyes flutter closed as I lean forward, pressing my lips against his. Ira giggles as I told it for a few moments, breathing in the familiar scent of my best friend, who allows me to do all the kissing, not moving his hands from the side of his body.

When I pull away, Ira pouts. "No passion, how boring."

"Got what you want?" I question, letting my hands drop down off Lev, who is now staring at me as if he can't quite believe what happened either.

"I'd still love to see you kiss Cian," Ira muses, turning back to her brother, whose gaze I now catch. There's a calm storm building behind his eyes, which I can't tell if it's directed toward Ira or Lev. "He looks like he could get over that selfish, pathetic whore Abella."

He turns his head slightly, eyes cold. "Ira."

"Come on, Amolet," Ira half begs. I know what she wants. She wants to prove we are mates, to mess with Cian's head, which she already tried doing by making me kiss Lev. "Entertain me."

"Amolet has a mate, Ira," Sinful says suddenly.

My head whips to him, but he looks away from me, smiling ruefully at Ira, whose mouth pops open curiously. I can't bring myself to look toward Cian, but I can feel the heat of his gaze on me, the pressure in the way it examines my face for answers. Ira slowly turns toward me, smiling sickly.

"Really? Who?"

"Some mortal from her hometown," Sinful says before I have a chance to fumble with a story, my mind unable to grasp what he's announced. "I took one look at her and could tell she had met her mate."

"Interesting," Ira drawls. "don't look so disappointed, Cian. I'll side with you all then, I suppose."

I glance at Cian, and he's now not looking at me, instead staring down at the floor. Does he feel it? Does he feel the bond between us, and now that Sinful has seemingly confirmed I'm mated to someone else, is trying to figure out why he feels that way for me?

I want to be sick. Maybe I should just rush up to him and tell him everything, that he is my right mate and that I'm willing to be with him and work past everything that has happened with Abella...Even if she does miraculously come back from the dead.

"Finally," Sinful groans, running his hand down his face. Secretly, I can tell he's enjoyed the entertainment.

Ira extends her palms, grinning to each of us in turn in a way that makes me wonder if it was worth siding with her in the first place. "What do I need to do?"

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Sophie_Midika

Midikacrane

~Midika 💜🐼