Chapter 57: Chapter 57 - violets and chocolates
Faun woke up slowly, he felt groggy and disoriented.
He blinked open his eyes to find himself in a strange bedroom. It was lavish and was almost as large as the entire cottage had been.
He was alone in the room and very confused, he tried to sit up but his hand was held back.
He took a look at what was causing the obstruction and blanched, he was cuffed to the headboard like property.
Faun had to take a moment, laying down again with his eyes briefly closed so that the fountain of tears welling behind his eyelids didn't fall.
The last thing he remembered was eating the food that Declan gave him and when he woke up, he found himself cuffed to a strange bed.
It stung that Declan drugged him without his knowledge but he was expecting less and less from him now.
A quick check let him know that there was nothing out of place, but how long was it going to remain that way?
He couldn't even tell the time, the shades were all drawn. He couldn't leave the bed, the cuffs had very little give.
He had no idea of where he was because the person he thought was his mate drugged him.
He could only lay back and wait for Declan's return.
-*-
Declan was worried; he had the hardest time concentrating on his dad's words but he knew that he needed to or he would worsen his problems.
"You're still young." King Ivan muttered gruffly, he was clearly trying to be upset with his son and failing.
Declan took a sip from the glass tumbler that held a shot of vodka, his dad had poured the drinks out and he needed something to occupy him.
"I'll allow your extended vacation as long as it doesn't repeat itself." He shot his son a warning look. "I'll even allow the souvenir you brought back as long as there are no more talks of him being your mate."
Declan greeted his dad's words with silence, he knew he was getting a really good deal. His dad was still wary of him and was trying not to get on his bad side.
"I'm not getting mated to Lola." He added quietly, wondering how much he could push it.
Ivan glowered, clearly unhappy with that. "Fine, but the least you could do is try to court her, you could even come to see how sweet a werewolf she is."
Declan made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat; that would never happen because Lola and sweet weren't words that went together.
He had to force himself to take another sip of his drink, he was starting to get fidgety and impatient, he couldn't let his father pick up on this.
"I'm glad we could come to an agreement." Ivan beamed, he didn't try to hide how happy he was to find Declan. "Join us for dinner tonight, Gigi has been eager to see you and your brother must have had a hard time in your absence."
Declan snorted audibly this time. His dad was probably relieved to have him back just so that Allan didn't have to take on any important responsibilities.
"I will, father." He agreed, rising to his feet. "See you at dinner." He was able to boldly dismiss his father after that because their conversation was pretty much over.
Ivan leaned back on the lavish couches that they had been reclining on with an entire bottle in hand. He watched Declan stride out of his study, something niggling at the corner of his mind.
Hybrids were a problematic race.
-*-
Declan swept through the hallways with a single goal in mind. Faun.
He forced himself to calm down when he got to the door of his bedroom. Faun could be awake and if he slammed it open, he would end up terrifying him.
There was a light buzzing in his head, he might have drank more than he thought but he had been so strung out. His discussion with his dad could have gone very badly.
He pushed open the door, the scent of spiking terror was enough to tell him that Faun was already wide awake.
He stopped after closing the door shut behind him, leaning against the door and just staring at the space in between them.
He hated who he had to become, he hated what he was going to have to do to Faun.
He could probably explain everything to Faun and tell him that they had to pretend that Faun was his pet so he didn't get sent to die by the King.
But… Firstly, Faun wouldn't even listen to him… that was all.
It was better if Faun thought he meant it. It would sting worse than getting stabbed through the eye but he had to do it. Faun's safety was banking on how good Declan could be at masking his emotions.
If anyone at all caught wind of Declan treating Faun in a way that was out of the ordinary they would be out for Faun's neck like rabid dogs.
His dad would never accept his mating with the forbidden hybrids. Lola was a problem that he really wished didn't have to suffer with, she was also another person that he would have to be wary of.
But the most troublesome person yet was Allan.
His only brother had always been jealous of him, that was no secret. He wanted everything that Declan had, for no reason other than them belonging to Declan.
Faun slowly relaxed his stiff muscles when Declan did nothing but stand in the entry way, his terror was slowly receding.
Declan hadn't yet done anything to him that was outright threatening, it made him let down his guard although it was just the tiniest bit.
So he damn near screamed his head off when Declan was at his side in a split second, whimpers falling unbidden from his lips when he came even closer.
Declan's dominating aura overwhelmed him but he couldn't run, he was trapped to the bed by the cuff on his wrist.
His stared up into painfully familiar but strange grey eyes, the overpowering scent of musk and chocolate drowning him when Declan took his jaw in a hand.
Confusion burned in Faun's gaze when Declan did nothing but stare at him for the longest time. He had gotten on the bed with him, his bigger frame dwarfing him.
His confusion mounted when Declan slipped an arm around him to pull him closer. Declan was usually passive when it came to things like this that Faun forgot to be angry from surprise.
Declan angled his head to his neck, a heated swipe of his tongue across the sensitive skin of his neck made a soft mewl escape Faun, his cheeks burning up at his reaction.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone