The Devil's Cursed Witch

Draven was having an internal battle where one side of him wanted to go to her while the other one was telling him to continue resisting.

The ignorant human girl had no idea of the struggles of the man inside the study. With her focus on the teapot on the tray, she walked inside with slow and steady steps, trying her best to keep her balance while carrying that heavy wooden tray, not willing to spill the tea in front of her mate. She had been way too clumsy in front of the King, and this time, she didn't wish to embarrass herself.

Though his emotionless and cold gaze was making her nervous, she continued to walk, wondering in her mind, 'Why is he staring at me without saying a word? Oh, wait! I forgot that it was polite to knock first. And...and...' She struggled to remember what else the servants and other people do in front of Draven. 'Have I upset him by coming to his study unannounced?'

She stood in front of the desk and bowed. "Greetings...Your Majesty..." Her voice was shaky and her body was trembling a little.

Yet, the King still didn't reply and simply stared at her without a change in his expression.

This caused Ember to become more nervous. She lowered her gaze and fixed it at the wooden tray in her hand. Unable to bear the silence anymore, Ember nervously took a step forward and placed the tray on top of his desk.

"I...have brought tea for you...Your Majesty..."

As she spoke those words, she didn't dare look at him.

However, there was still no response from Draven. Though he appeared unaffected on the surface, he was busy trying to keep himself in check while his little mate was not aware of his situation.

Under his intimidating gaze, her trembling hands moved to hold the teapot and she somehow managed to pour the tea in the cup while trying her best to keep herself calm. She did not want to make any mistake with him watching her every move.

Once she finished pouring the tea, she held the teacup in her trembling hands and looked at the King as she offered him the cup. "Y-Your Majesty."

"Why are you here?" he finally spoke, looking at her as if she had committed a grave sin. Well to think of it, what she's committing now was flirting with danger. It was already difficult for Draven to calm himself, yet she came to him and her presence was akin to testing the limits of his self-control. The Dragon inside him was raging for him to claim his mate.

Her hands, which were holding the teacup, froze suddenly. "I... want to talk to you, Your Majesty. Is that... fine? I mean, if I am bothering you--"

"What is it?" he asked.

She put the teacup back in the tray, understanding that King didn't want to accept it from her. She took a  deep breath to hide her disappointment and gazed into his red eyes as she replied, "I want to say I am ready to consummate the bond."

Those pair of emotionless eyes seemed to have darkened at what she said. Ember immediately took a step back, her heart pounding for unknown reasons.

After letting out a shaky breath, Draven briefly closed his eyes. Something inside him was on the verge of breaking out of his control. His mate had just said she was ready to consummate the bond, and the Dragon inside him could not help but to rage in excitement.

With his fingers deeply embedded on the armrest of his chair, he asked with gritted teeth, "Do you know what you are saying?"

Ember nodded weakly. "It was in the book I've read about mates and bonds. It says Your Majesty has to bite me once again. I don't mind if we consummate our bond now. It doesn't hurt much."

She said all those words in one breath as if she wanted to get done with it as soon as possible.

Draven felt like all his rationality was disappearing because of his innocent mate. He stood up and walked towards her from the other side of the table under her scared gaze.

'Are we going to consummate the bond now? Is he going to bite me right now?'

Despite gathering all her courage to let him bite her, she subconsciously took a step back seeing his tall form coming closer.

Draven stood facing her as his cold gaze pierced her, and the next moment, she smelled that strong scent of him which was now stronger and more enticing than what she remembered before. She could not help but breathe deeply, as if wanting for more.

"You want to consummate the bond?" she heard him ask and her attention shifted to him from his seductive scent.

"Hmm?" She looked puzzled, like her mind had stopped working.

"You want to consummate the bond?" he growled in repetition.

The tone of his voice snapped Ember  back to her senses and nodded instantly. "Ah, yes. I want to."

"Can you even resist my scent?" he asked, doing his best to hold back and not pounce on her. She was sure checking his limits.

"Scent?" she mumbled. "Why would I resist...? It's...it's so good..."

She didn't seem to know what she was mumbling.

"I asked if you can resist it and keep your mind sane," he asked coldly, his voice firm and there was a tinge of annoyance in it.

With her dazed eyes, she looked at him as if his reaction didn't affect her. If she was sane enough, she could have sunk back to the corner like a scared kitten seeing him like this.

"The scent is so good...I don't want to...." she voiced out her honest thoughts.

"Then we cannot consummate the bond," Draven said and took a step away from her.

"Cannot?" she asked, his abrupt statement causing clarity to return to her mind. "We cannot?"

"Till you learn to resist my scent, till you can remain sane when I am this close to you, we will not consummate our bond," he declared as an ultimatum.

She blinked a few times to understand why he was saying this. He smelled so good. Why did she have to resist it? And what did it have to do with him biting her to fulfill the bond?

"Then you will be in pain," she said.

"Do you worry about my pain?" he asked.

She nodded immediately to show her sincerity. "I do. I am your family...your mate...and uhm, I am your wife..." After saying that last bit, a hint of a blush appeared on her face. "I cannot let you be in pain. I want to be a good mate. I won't mind if you bite me."

He frowned upon her repeated choice of words. "Biting?' he asked with a scowl, as if he realized something. "Is that what you understood about consummation?"

Ember looked at him, somewhat feeling puzzled why his tone was like that. She began to think about what she might have missed and then remembered something. She gulped and cleared her throat awkwardly before answering, "And...not...wearing any clothes..."

Her words were like a weak mumbling that only she should be able to hear, but Draven's hearing sense didn't fail him.

"That's it?" he asked coldly.

She blinked a few times in confusion. "Am I mistaken? Is there anything that I missed? Please tell me what I need to do. I want to be of help to you."

He felt like his brain would explode soon with this absurd situation. Here he was trying to suppress what he was feeling, and on the other hand, his innocent mate was tempting him to teach her what she had missed.

He closed his eyes briefly as finally his hand moved to pinch his nose bridge, attempting but failing to suppress his frustration.

'Did I anger him again? I wonder what I missed. As far as I know, I read everything in that book. Is there anything I missed reading?'

"Will you truly be fine standing in front of me and being with me without wearing any article of clothing on your body?" he asked with a strange glint in his eyes.

This sudden question surprised her and she blinked looking at him in confusion.

He took a step towards her, getting rid of that distance between them. "Will you be truly fine if I take your clothes off right now?"

Her eyes widened, and instinctively, her hands moved in front of her chest as she took a step away.

"R-Right now?"