The Devil's Cursed Witch

Morpheus let out another sigh as his gaze lingered on the mark on the side of her slender neck. He pushed aside the few hair strands blocking his view, allowing him to fully see the image of a crimson blossom.

'I wonder what this mark means. I don't think I have ever seen any female having such a bond mark before.'

As he thought of that, his fingers gently played with her beautiful long hair.

'This mark is still the same as when their bond was initiated, that means they are yet to consummate the bond. Their bond is still incomplete. What if…what if I mark her right now?'

Morpheus felt his heart jump at the thought.

'Since she went through the survival phase with that Dragon, then that meant she's strong enough to handle me as well. What If I make her my mate too? What if I mark her and consummate it now? Will it hurt him more? Since I will kill her once they consummate their bond, won't it be better to hurt him more, to prolong the pain in another way?"

Though Morpheus had no intentions of having a mate, due to his long lifespan, he was pretty knowledgeable about it. About the mate bond, he knew that it was possible to create another separate bond with another partner during the phase of an incomplete bond with the first mate. I

And in the rare case that the female had proved her worth by surviving the marking of a male with a stronger bloodline, there was no need for her to go through the survival phase again when marked by a second intended mate. The couple could consummate the bond right after the marking.

'So tempting…Shall I just mark her?'

Morpheus caressed her hair gently to move them away from her nape, to a part of her skin that was clear of any blemishes. He leaned down closer to her as he looked at her smooth skin.

'I never wanted to have a mate but this female…I don't know why, but I do want to make her my mate. It's fine to mark her. And if I were to kill her later, that Dragon and I, both of us will die together with her and it will put an end to the revenge. I don't want to live anyways. It's a better way to die, the three of us together...'

Just as he was about to brush his lips on her neck, he heard her mumble in her sleep. "It hurts…It hurts…"

Her voice startled Morpheus and he pulled back to look at her, worried that she woke up. He saw tears rolling down her eyes and her expression made it seem like she's having a bad dream.

'She's still asleep.' Morpheus sighed and buried his face in his palms. 'What the—what the hell was I about to do? I cannot do this. It's better to kill her at once than hurting her by breaking her trust like this. I cannot do it.'

He moved away from her and calmed himself by brushing his fingers over his hair.

'This revenge is turning me into a pathetic beast worse than that heartless man. I cannot stoop so low I will hurt her like this.'

He once again glanced at her pained face and wiped away her tears. 'I wonder what kind of dream she is having to cry like this. I better take her back before I do something wrong with her.'

Morpheus lifted her sleeping figure in his arms and carried her out of the cave,  silently flying down from the mountain to go back to the palace.

He directly carried her to her own chamber through the window and put her on the bed. He only stepped back from her when he sensed someone else's presence with them.

Morpheus turned around and was greeted by the sight of a black-haired man staring at him with a flat emotionless gaze.

"You took more than an hour," the man said in a dignified tone.

That was Draven whose powers were immediately alerted upon sensing the winged man's return. Since he knew his mate was with him, without hesitation, he immediately appeared where he sensed his land—the top floor of the southwest wing of the palace.

"Shouldn't you be glad that I brought her back without harming her instead of nagging me?" Morpheus countered with a sly smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That you could not harm her is your weakness. For that, I don't need to be grateful to you," Draven replied as he walked towards the bed and looked at his mate who was in deep sleep.

"Weakness?" he chuckled. "I will make sure to not be weak next time."

"There won't be any next time," Draven said as he covered Ember with a blanket after wrenching away the hide still wrapped around her body. He threw that thick hide at Morpheus. "It reeks of your scent."

Morpheus caught it with a chuckle. "Your mate reeks of my scent as well. Would you like to throw her at me? I'm good at catching, I swear."

"A nice soak in the bath is enough to  rid her of that scent," Draven responded without losing his cool. Instead, the emotionless way he gazed at Morpheus looked mocking, pitying even. "Laugh while you still can. After the night of the full moon, only my scent will remain on her body."

Morpheus merely raised a brow at him, his expression haughty, as he didn't wish to show those words had managed to affect him. He chuckled to cover his true emotions and raised his hand as if to say he'd pretend he agrees.

"A man can always dream," he replied. "Just know that in case you mess up and end up scaring her,  at that time, I will gladly take her under my wings. I promise you I'd cherish her to the point she won't even think twice about leaving your side."

His expression then had a show of exaggerated surprise.

"Oh, speaking of wings, I remembered something. Do you know? She loved my wings so much that even after warning her, she ended up touching them. You know what it means, right?"

Startled by that statement, Draven turned towards Ember to observe her face and then even pulled back the blanket from her body to check—