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51. Stink of the mate bond

“Sneaking out, Hazel?”

I freeze in my tracks.

Which, by the way, isn’t really easy. Given I’m half hanging out of the bedroom window.

Clearing my throat, I pull myself up a bit, grinning sheepishly as I catch Luke’s eyes. He’s leaning against the bedroom door, arms crossed loosely across his chest.

“Hello mate,” I croon “You finally remember I’m alive?”

Luke takes the liberty to walk over to the window and all but pull me inside the room, his arms wrapping around my waist.

“Do I want to know where you were going?” He asks, but amusement gleams in his stormy gaze

“Who says I’m not just returning from my rendezvous?” I pick off an imaginary piece of lint from my shirt

“Because I’m just returning from my rendezvous,” Luke says, interlocking his fingers with mine and leading me out of the room “And I’d have seen you climbing up.”

“Where were you?” I narrow my eyes at him

After our date last night, I’d woken up this morning in an empty bed and a little note saying he’ll be back soon.

So after having breakfast, and then boring myself to death, I figured I might just try to climb out of the widow and jump down, test out that Luna strength a bit.

“Off to deal with something important,” Luke says “And you’re about to find out what.”

With that, he leads me into his office and there, in one of the visitor’s chair, I see someone.

Yellow and gold teeth are bared at me in a wicked smile, the hunched figure of a woman all too recognizable sweeps in a crooked bow.

“I suppose I should bow ta ya, now, dearie?” Korra says

I school my features into calm, despite the sudden clamor in my head. The masking of my mark. I resist the urge to rub at the spot where my neck meets the shoulder.

“There’s no need for that,” I say, in what I hope is polite calm “How are you?”

Kora waves a withered hand in dismissal “I’ve seen better days.”

Luke gives my hand a squeeze as I glance at him. Then he leads me to his high back chair behind the desk and pulls it back.

When he doesn’t sit down, I look up at him and realize he’s pulled it out for me.

With no small amount of satisfaction, I sit down. Luke’s hand comes down on my shoulder, a warm, pleasant reminder that anything that might hurt me will sooner be turned to splinters.

Luke’s asses her with his stormy gaze “You knew, didn’t you?” 

Kora snorts “My nose was burnin’ with the stink of the mate bond between ya two.”

My brows raise “And it didn’t occur to you that we’d like to know?”

“Please,” She rolls her eyes “This is ’ow fate wanted it, so this is ’ow it went.”

I glance at Luke with a look that says ‘Well, she seems happy about being here.’

To my absolute horror and surprise, his voice sounds in my mind. ‘That might have something to do with the fact that I had to drag her out of her cottage.’

A shudder goes through me, his voice snakes along my bones. Well damn me for forgetting that part of being a high ranking Lycan. Why the hell didn’t he do that before?

We’ll talk about this later.

Your will is mine, my love. He almost purrs, making my hairs stands. Yes, we will definitely talk about this later.

Korra’s face is delightfully repulsed “Are ya done yet?”

I turn my eyes to the witch “Can I trust you not to blow my head off?”

“Not remotely.”

The glare that Luke sent her way could’ve burnt holes through steel. Korra merely held up a hand in mock surrender.

“Cool down, beastie,” She says “I ain’t hurting yar treasure.”

She turns those blazing yellow eyes to me and its all I can do not to squirm as their undivided attention falls on me. As if reading a particularly puzzling paragraph off a piece of paper.

“The stars love ta play with ya,” She murmurs, then shakes her head “Who am I to object?”

I ignore the twist in my stomach, Luke’s hand tenses on my shoulder. Batting aside the panic slowly building in my bones, I sigh dramatically.

“Do it,” I tell her “Do it while the fit is on me.”

Kora pulls out the wand as old as herself and then jabs it at Luke’s direction “Move away from ’er, and stay away until I’m done.”

Luke removes his hand from me but doesn’t step away “Does that mean the process would make me want to rip your head off?”

A wicked smile “Likely.”

A low growl escapes Luke’s throat, but the witch only snickers “Not that ya would be able to touch ’er or me while I’m at it. Best if ya stay away on yar own.”

Luke takes two steps away from me, not an inch more “Mask it. Harmless and easy. And the gold you’ve been promised will leave with you.”

My heart drops to my stomach. Gold? He’s paying Korra in freaking gold?!

I make a mental note never to hire Korra for anything.

Korra grins one last time before the wand is pointed in my direction.

She closes her eyes, muttering words under her breath. Wisps of gold spin out of her wand and slowly swirl towards me. The wisps curl around me. I feel pain shoot up my skin, as if someone is burning my skin with a blue-hot flame.

My lips part instinctively and a blood curdling scream escapes. I rub my arms, my neck feeling as if something is ripping my skin off. Melting something off me, as if I’m being put from one skin into another. I cant hear my own voice but my throat is burning raw with pain.

My senses give in, numbing and bending away under the pain that comes over me. I feel like I’m falling, but I don’t reach the ground. I keep falling and falling and falling until there’s something soft against my back.

I wretch my eyelids to open up, my vision lurches and so does my stomach. I feel sick, like that one time I did when I thought it’s a good idea to ride in the washing machine with the door open.

A groan escapes me “Somebody kill me.”

The next moment, I feel the mattress dip beside me, a warm hand covering mine. No stars erupt across my skin, but the sure warmth and scraping calluses tell me enough about who this hand belongs to.

“Hazel,” Luke’s voice is soft, if not slightly breathless “Elise, are you alright?”

I turn my face to him, finding him leaning over me, his hair askew. Just the slight movement causes splinters of pain to ebb in my muscles.

“I’ll live.” I give him a shaky smile, which fades in a wince as I try to sit up. Luke helps me get up, adjusting pillows behind me “What the hell happened?”

It’s a different voice that answers me from the other side of the room.
“What the stars willed, dearie. I removed yar mark.”

“That, that’s impossible.” I say, my wide eyes land on Korra

“Ya ’aven’t completed the bond, dearie.” Korra says simply

A low snarl escapes my mate’s throat, the look on his face would’ve made a lesser witch run in the other direction.

“You were to mask it,” Luke seethes, muscles taunt as if holding himself back “Not to remove it.”

Kora flashes him a smile of yellow and gold “What’s done is done.”

With another vicious snarl in the witch’s direction, Luke turns back to me, stormy eyes taking in my face, hunting for any sign of discomfort.
I roll my eyes and nudge him “I’m fine.”

Luke’s eyes slide towards where Korra is standing, watching us with her scorching yellow eyes “Good.”

If Korra notices the way Luke is staring at her right now, she doesn’t seem concerned. Her eyes stray to where his hand is still holding mine, and stay there.

I follow her gaze to the clawed hand holding mine, my fingers dwarfed in comparison to his. Luke’s head snaps down as well, stillness seizes his frame.

His eyes flicker to mine, Sorry, they seem to say before he wills his hands to go back to normal.

“Need some air, beastie?” Korra asks

Whatever stupor Luke was in, he snaps out of it and narrows his eyes on Korra “I’m not leaving her alone with you.”

Kora glances at me, her yellow eyes grave but then coolly turns to Luke “As ya wish.”

She makes her way towards the window, and only then do I realize there is a bag placed on the table nearby, she snags it, stashing it somewhere inside her cloak and glances at me again, those yellow eyes hinting something.

Curiosity pretty much grabs me by the collar of my shirt and shakes me.

“Wait,” the witch halts in her steps and turns to look at me “You want to say something, then say it.”

Kora turns her attention to Luke “Send ’im out and I will.”

I turn to face Luke but before I can even open my mouth, he cuts the witch a sharp look.

“No.”

“Just for a moment,” I say quietly “You can wait just outside the door.”

His eyes snap to mine and I’m taken aback by just how dark they are “No. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Luke, please.” I cup the side of his face “If anything goes wrong I’ll scream my lungs out, promise.”

His eyes dart between both of mine, unconvinced, concerned.

I try again “At my request?”

His jaw tightens, every muscle in his body tenses like springs under pressure but his head jerks a nod. He turns his stormy eyes to Korra.

Luke lets out a breath and I see the armor slide back in place, he gives my hand a squeeze before letting go and standing to his feet, looking down at the witch with an impassive face.

“Anything happens to her,” he says slowly, calmly, each word hard as rock “And Braxton will have to face the consequence.” 

For one split second, Korra’s eyes widen but she recovers too quick. A shadow crosses her face, making her yellow eyes more pronounced.

“Done yar share of bargaining, haven’t ya?” she asks, a slight sneer in her voice

“My whole life is a series of bargains, witch.” Luke says with impressive coldness “And I always keep my end of the deal.”

With that he leaves the room, closing the door behind, giving me one last look before he does so.

I turn to Korra, slightly awkward.

“What do you want to say?” I ask straightforwardly

She stares at me for a few moments, thinking, assessing. Then shakes her head, letting out a ragged sigh.

“Why does yar goddess always pair so strangely?” she mutters, maybe to me, probably to herself

My brows pull together “Can you not speak in riddles, please?”

“Ya know what ’e is, what ’e is gonna become on full moon.” She says, I nod “And ’is mark on ya, the beast’s assurance that ’is mate belongs ta ’im, is gone.”

My stomach turns in unease “Luke wouldn’t hurt me, he never has.”

“And ’is mate just so ’appens to be an omega,” Korra ignores my statement “A fragile doll ’e needs ta protect.”

“Luke isn’t like that,” I say, a bit severer this time

“Winters ain’t,” Korra shrugs “But the beast is.”

Korra’s amber eyes settle on mine with a seriousness I haven’t seen before “Don’t let the beast break the chains of restraint Winters has on ’im.”

She turns to the window again and what she says next is barely audible to me;

“The beast cant hurt ya,” she whispers “But ’e can hurt many people ya would like ta see alive.”

Then she shifts into a raven and takes off, leaving me with a racing heart and a swimming head.

Don’t let the beast break the chains of restraint.

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