Episode 2

...3 years later...

...Yulexi...

Everything is still fine here. But my parents still haven't told me that part of the story that, according to them, I wasn't old enough to know.

I arrived from the city with my parents and asked Mom about it. She looked angrily at my father.

"I don't know why your father is so indiscreet."

"There's nothing wrong with it. I want to know the whole story."

"Just promise me that this won't change the way you see us."

It seemed like something really serious.

"I promise."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

She seemed reluctant to tell me. But I am very curious.

"Your father took me to the city and... how do I put it? He did something he shouldn't have done."

"What did he do?"

"He forced me to be with him."

I looked at my father angrily.

"How could you?" I clenched my fists.

"He's leaving us alone." He hurriedly left. I could have caught up with him, but the gossip was more important. I wanted to know the details. Not those details. But why my mother loves him so much if he did something so wrong.

"Why are you with him? If I were you, I would hate him."

"That is an unpleasant part of our story, but I have always loved him."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And why didn't you accept it quickly?"

"Because I was afraid."

"Fear of what?"

"Of what was happening at that time with vampire and witch couples."

"I need your version of the story."

"When I first saw your father, a very special feeling emerged inside me, but he is a vampire, so I saw it as impossible. I always liked how he treated me, but I was afraid he would leave at any moment. Vampires who had killed witches always played with them and then left them. I didn't want that to happen to me. I refused to acknowledge that I loved him too. Your grandmother knew he was chasing me and forbade me from seeing or talking to him. That's why I rejected him so much. The day he took me to the city, I was very scared, he was acting crazy. I couldn't recognize him."

... *Flashback* ...

... *Narrated by Morgana* ...

It was a calm and beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, and I went for a walk by the river. Uriel, the witch who had proposed to me, came to keep me company.

"Hello Morgana."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you. Your mother said you would be here."

That lady, always so indiscreet.

"Does my company bother you?"

"No." Uriel was a very pleasant witch. He cast lovely spells for me. I had come to care for him, but I didn't love him like I loved Samuel.

"When do you want our wedding to be?" To tell the truth, I didn't want that day to come.

"I don't know. You choose the date."

"Come on, don't leave me alone with such an important decision."

"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?!" Samuel's voice almost deafened me.

"Leave her alone already. Morgana doesn't want you. Why don't you understand?" Uriel's words only made Samuel angrier. He grabbed Uriel by the collar and almost choked him.

"Stop it, please! Samuel, just stop!" He knocked Uriel out and lifted me onto his shoulder. "What are you doing? Samuel, put me down!" He didn't pay any attention to me at all. He was going so fast that the wind was suffocating me. I didn't even realize when we arrived in the city. When I woke up, I was on something very comfortable that I had never seen or had in my room before.

"Are you ready?" Samuel took off his shirt, and I could see his perfect and well-formed body.

"Ready for what?" I asked, a little scared. His body was the least of my concerns at that moment.

"For the best night of your life." He approached where I was lying down and caressed my face.

"Samuel, let me go." I pleaded.

"Shhh. You're my mate. I love you. I'll take responsibility for you."

"I don't want you to take responsibility. I want you to leave me alone. I've asked you many times before." And even though it's not what I want, it's best for both of us.

"I can't. I tried, but it's something I can't control." He put his lips on mine; it was a new and somewhat pleasant sensation. But I didn't want him to know that I loved him too. Returning his feelings would be the same as accepting that he could do whatever he wanted with me.

"I've been wanting to try them for years. But you never let me. Whenever I tried, you would avoid me. This time, your voice didn't sound calm. It's because of that damned sorcerer, isn't it? You don't want me because of him. His face turned dark."

"Samuel, we still have time to stop. Please take me to my mother."

"She doesn't want you near me. She wants that sorcerer to be your husband."

"Because it's best for me! I shouted desperately. He's better than you. I spoke of having a peaceful life with him. With Samuel, my future was uncertain."

"So he's better than me? He became even angrier. I'll show you who's better. He kissed me again, this time aggressively."

"Samuel, let me go. I started to cry. I didn't want it to happen this way. Samuel, please.**"

"*Shut up. Weren't you saying he's better than me? I'll only prove you wrong.* He kissed me aggressively once again and tore my clothes off."

"*Samuel.* I pushed him, but it didn't achieve anything. I thought about using a spell, but at that moment, my mind was clouded. And when I finally thought of one, it was already too late. He had marked me. I belonged to him now, and he knew it better than anyone."

"You can't do anything to push me away anymore. He smiled, satisfied. Now you're mine, and no one will want you. His words hurt me to the core. What would he do with me now? He had gotten what he wanted. Would he let me go? Would he send me to my mother? Everything was uncertain for me. *Don't be sad, witch.* He approached with the intention of kissing me, but I evaded him."

"*Will you take me somewhere?* Maybe my mother will accept me despite being marked."

"No, witch. You will stay with me."

"Why do you want me here? I asked with tears in my eyes. Are you going to keep doing to me what you just did?**"

He didn't respond. He left the room.

The next day, I woke up with a strong pain in my arm. It was the mark. It didn't hurt so much the day before. Samuel entered the room and approached me when he saw my arm.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"*Let go of me. It's all your fault.* I tried to get him to move away."

"I just want to see. He examined it and then left. A few minutes later, he brought herbs and treated me. I'm sorry.**"

"I'm more sorry. I lost more than you. Now, nobody will want me as a partner."

"I know. That's why I marked you."

"*I hate you.* His hand stopped, and he looked at me."

"*Do you really?* He began to squeeze my arm."

"Ouch. *I winced in pain.* You're hurting my wound."

"I'm sorry. He apologized again and left me alone. I'm sorry it happened like this. But it was the only way to keep you by my side. He spent the whole month asking for forgiveness, and I decided to forgive him, but a day before doing so, a vampire arrived at his house."

"It's true. You came back to the city? She hugged and kissed him. I knew she was his partner, and I felt very angry. Whose scent is that? She asked."

"It's from my mate. She's here."

"Your mate? Did you find your mate?"

"Yes."

"I'll let you have fun with her."

You had fun with me? My heart hurt more than the day he marked me. I stopped listening and locked myself in. Samuel knocked on my door a few minutes later.

"*Open it.* I ignored him, and he broke it down."

"If you're done, you should..."

"Done with what?"

"Having fun."

"Don't you understand that I love you?"

"You're a liar. You have a girlfriend here. I'm just your toy."

"That's not true. I love you. I already told her that you're my mate, and I won't let you go."

"Take me to the village. Nobody will want me anymore. You don't have to worry."

"I'll take you under one condition."

"*What?* I expected anything but that."

"Marry me. Only then will I take you."

"*What?* It was something I never expected."

"Only if you marry me."

^^^End of the flashback.^^^

...Yulexi...

It was a story I never expected. My parents seemed so happy together.

"My dad was completely crazy. How could he dare to ask you that after what he did? What did you do? Oh, I know, you surely rejected him. At least that's what I hope you did at the time."

"I accepted immediately."

"Are you crazy, Mom?"

"I was madly in love, but I was too stubborn to admit it. After he proposed to me, I told him that I loved him too and explained why I didn't accept him. Your father was overjoyed, he organized a beautiful party and brought my mother to witness the wedding. Your grandmother was not pleased at all, but when she saw the mark on my arm, she knew instantly that I could no longer be with anyone."

"How is that?"

"When someone marks you, it means you're no longer pure, so no one will accept you."

"Can they mark you without... you know, doing that?"

"No. First, you have to have relations, and during the act, they mark you. At least that's how vampires do it, I don't know about werewolves."

"I see."

"Your father knew that once he marked me, no one would accept me. I would be bound to him for life. Even if I didn't want to."

"What happened next?"

"My mother insisted that he live in the village, and he agreed without objection."

"What about the wizard who wanted to be your husband?"

"He accepted the fact that I was with someone else. And he asked me to be very happy."

"He was a great guy."

"Yes. He was also moved when he heard your father tell your grandmother that the only thing that mattered to him was being with me."

"What happened after the wedding?"

"On our wedding night, your father didn't want to touch me for fear of hurting me. But I did want to be with him, and I told him it was okay. It was a beautiful experience. A few days later, my mother found out that you were on the way. She also told us that we had to train you to the fullest. That one day, you would need it."

"Why?"

"She never told us that part."

"Hmm. My grandmother had her mysteries."

"You have no idea how much."

"Mom, what if you were human? Can humans also be marked forcibly?"

"No. They can't."

"Why?"

"Because humans are weak, not even a wolf or a wizard would dare to forcibly mark a human. They wouldn't withstand it. In contrast, creatures of the night like us can."

"I see."

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