The Devil's Cursed Witch

This was not their first kiss, and though back then Morpheus decided to stop it as mere brushing of lips, today, he didn't wish to stop.

His lips gently captured her lips, the kiss chaste and innocent and unmistakably affectionate, respectful even, showing how pure his feelings were for her, but such tenderness disappeared the moment she opened her mouth to demand more from him.

Her encouragement was not left unanswered. As she gave him permission to deepen their kiss, Morpheus responded in kind, what little self-control he had left slowly fading into the background. He sucked and nibbled her lips like the sweetest delicacy, and she did the same, their hot breaths mixing together.

His tongue was invasive in its exploration, and hers equally thorough. Their kiss became more and more intense as they gave in more to their desires.

She let out soft moans as her hands moved through the hair at the back of his head, pulling him into a more passionate kiss. Morpheus found himself reacting  to her touches, the upper half of his body hovering over her, half-kneeling on the bed with one of his feet still planted on the floor.

Further deepening their kiss, Morpheus' hand moved to the back of her head, supporting her to angle her face and keep her eagerness steady. He wanted to slowly enjoy her taste, but Ember enthusiasm was causing all his restraints to snap far quicker than he wanted.

Though he was a beast, he didn't want to lose control and go wild. He wanted to treasure Ember and wanted to limit themselves to merely kissing given her situation.

'For now...for now, this is enough.'

After briefly pulling away to let her breath, he slid his tongue into the sweet cavern of her mouth once more, and she welcomed it with all her heart. His tongue explored her mouth, relishing its sweetness, and her tongue tried to keep up with his.

Satisfied groans left his throat as she answered his love with moans of her own.

"I love you, Ember."

"I love you too..."

Still gasping for breath, Ember closed her eyes and continued to kiss the man in front of her, the man she had grown to love... the man with black hair and red eyes.

Meanwhile, the elf couple, Baruel and Reese, had returned to the cottage after rushing back from their house in the city proper. Reese headed to the kitchen that she had turned into a makeshift workroom, while Baruel went  towards the guestroom to check on any changes on Ember's wellbeing.

However, Baruel was an elf, and though an elder specializing in herbs, his senses were still sharper than most. He did not need to see what was going on inside and didn't dare go towards the door.

After several seconds of standing in a daze on the hallway, he turned around and left the way he came.

When he returned to his wife who was measuring herbs before boiling them inside a metal pot, she  didnot even turn her head towards him as she asked, "How is Lady Ember?"

"...Seems fine."

"Is she still unconscious?"

"She is awake."

Though surprised, Reese quickly accepted it. "Truly deserving of being the special human chosen by His Majesty."  She then returned her attention to the potion. "Is she having strong hallucinations?"

"Umm, not sure," Baruel replied hesitantly as he didn't know what to think about her situation.

"What do you mean by not sure?" Reese felt annoyed at the uncertain answer. "I sent you to check on her, or else Commander will think we don't worry about her. Go back and see if the Commander needs anything."

"Commander Morpheus is...busy," he replied, and without explaining, started to help his wife in preparing the rest of the ingredients.

She put the wooden spoon from her hand on the table. "Never mind. I will check." She left even before Baruel could stop her.

"Reese, wait!"

He fortunately managed to stop her by grabbing her hand as soon as she left the kitchen. She glared at him at first and was about to speak, but her husband signaled her to remain quiet, his pointy ears twitching.

Knowing the temper of his wife and given her less sensitive senses, he then pulled her to step outside and gestured for her to look at the slight gap from the slightly opened window of the guestroom.

Only then did Reese understand why her husband returned like that. Not only the Commander, the couple inside was...indeed busy. She looked at her husband who signaled her to not disturb them. Both returned to the kitchen and resumed preparing the antidote.

"It's good that our commander finally found a mate for himself," Reese commented happily, but Baruel was not as excited as her.

"What happened?" she asked upon noticing him stay quiet..

"Well," he hesitated,  "to me, the situation looks worrisome."

"Worrisome? Why so?"

"Lady Ember is His Majesty's mate. If she had indeed taken a second mate, should this not be known by us? Not to mention the second mate is a high-ranking official of the kingdom...Yet the council does not know of this? It's impossible."

"So you doubt the Commander and Lady Ember's relationship?"

"I have a reason to. You have never personally conversed with the King, so perhaps you are not aware, but His Majesty...his temper is quite..." Baruel could not quite put it into words. "See, he is  an arrogant Dragon and to think his mate will accept another? I am not sure if His Majesty is aware of it. I don't believe he would accept it."

However, Reese quickly refuted him. "If not, would His Majesty have sent his mate with another male? Don't we know how possessive divine beasts can be? Blood would be spilled the moment an unmated male comes closer to their female, let alone allowing them to roam freely with one."

Those words made Baruel think. "You have a point. I am not sure what is going on then."

"You worry too much. For a female to have two strong males is a boon, and at that Lady Ember got the two strongest and most powerful beastmen. Isn't humankind's best trait their ability to reproduce? As long as she survives having both bonds, then she deserves to have them both as her mates, and it is worthy of celebration if in the next few years she gives birth to strong future warriors for us."

"Hmm, you are right. I should not worry about it."

"Moreover, even if His Majesty is not willing, the decision is not his to make. He can attempt to persuade her but if Lady Ember wants to accept Commander Morpheus as her second mate, His Majesty cannot do anything as what the female wants is what males have to follow. His Majesty and Commander have no option but to accept each other as Lady Ember's mates."

Reese then let out a chuckle.

"On the contrary, this is good news. How many decades have those two men been fighting? It's an open secret how the Commander would taunt the King to fighting every time they interacted before. For the past weeks, didn't we get no news of a mountain or a part of the forest being destroyed?

"They can finally set aside their never-ending feud. After Lady Ember officially makes them her mates, they won't be able to hurt each other. At most, they can glare?" The female elf could not help but laugh. "They will become one family and I do not believe either of them will hurt their own family."

Baruel found himself flabbergasted, but the more he thought of it, the more his wife's reasoning made sense. "I guess...well, I hope everything goes well for them."

Inside the guestroom, sounds of panting filled the room. Ember and Morpheus had finally pulled apart and were both gasping for breath.