His beloved witch

Chapter 18: Claimed and engaged

-Blanche-

I understand Morgana is worried, but f**k it, why do I have to explain things to her or others?

It is my life, my heart, and my ass. I do whatever the hell I want to do with any of them. It is my freaking decision.

The mention of Charles made me angry. I do not want him to know about my situation with Andre.

Morgana rolled her eyes. At least we made peace about Kassandra's money.

The funds of our coven are clean after the investigation, Morgana informed me. Yet, she warned me, I would be next to be audited. Excellent timing to have my assets frozen. Note the sarcasm.

“About your advice…” she said and blushed. Oh, I see...

I guess we are alike. Morgana did not like my advice, and I did not like hers now. We smiled at each other, knowing.

"I was right." I smiled. "I love it when I am right." My friend is in love with Paige.

"If she accepts me… " Is the great Morgana doubting herself? Morgana is great at everything!

"Paige feels the same way about you." It is obvious to anyone!

Maybe I am right about what I am doing. It is sudden. And even though I feel like a ridiculous hag lusting over a young male like Andre, what can I say? I like him. Besides, he is not much younger than Leon... Leon; I wonder if he would be a problem in the future. Who am I kidding? He will!

                "What is the heart but another muscle?" I joked, shrugging my shoulders. I do that a lot lately.

                "The heart needs exercise." Morgana giggled.

Years of friendship. Of course, we understand each other.

"Blanche, may I have a word with you?" Elias. s**t! I forgot about him.

“Sure.”

"In private, please." He said, looking at Morgana.

"Her mate will not like it, douchebag." My mate... Morgana is already using the word, damn. It is odd to think of Andre as my mate.

Maybe I should not talk to Elias. It might create an issue with Andre, or should I let him know before I talk with... What the hell am I thinking? No! I am not a submissive female! I do not need to ask permission to talk to anyone.

“Witches do not have mates, Morgana!"

She has called him worse names. Why the drama?

"We are friends now." Morgana narrowed her eyes at me before huffing.

"Did you forgive this motherfuc...?"

"Almost..." I interrupted. "I have just agreed to be friends with him. So, I am trying to be nice."

"I cannot believe you, Blanche."

"Lower the hate one bar, Morgana." She glared at me then. 

"Do you know he was listening to your conversation?" The Lycan is far from this balcony. However, he is a child of the moon... so, yeah...

"It is possible… I do not care." It is not like I want to have secrets. Andre can reject me whenever he wants, and it is something possible, too. It will not be bad for me since it is one-sided affection. I will not beg him to stay with me. So... "Whatever."

"Are you sure?" Morgana asked me.

"I think so. Besides, I can kick his balls if he tries something." I made her smile. Morgana took a deep breath and did not curse Elias.

"Fine, I will leave."

"Do not worry, Morgana, and if Andre asks, tell him," She left, frowning.

"I would prefer not to be heard. Can we go somewhere else? Perhaps my office? It is not far." Elias lives and works in the palace.

I thought about it.

It will annoy Andre. I know children of the Moon are possessive, but he must learn I am a child of nature. I will not bend to his wishes and, in all honesty, I am still pissed about his threat. This is a mild punishment for his behavior. Besides, the Lycan can sense wherever I go in this place, assuming we are "mates," as he claims. And Morgana will tell him.

"Alright, but only ten minutes. I do not want to miss more events of this party." Hugo, the eternal bachelor, found his fated mate! There must be so much going on outside! I saw by the rim of my eye that Amelie was dancing with Mason under the loving gaze of Luna Michelle and her mate. Dominique danced with Lorraine under the hateful watch of Monique, the Young Luna of Dark River, and her mother-in-law.

Dominique is very popular nowadays with she-wolves here as he was in Saint Isabella, but he stays loyal to his Lolo. Such a sweet boy. He is sure Lorraine is his fated mate.

And Mason, Alpha Mason... It seems like he has finally moved on from Clara, although he is awkward around Amelie.

The corridor towards Elias's office was long, and there was no one outside of the balcony. That is odd... I was almost sure that two Lycan guards were watching over Morgana and me.

After I walked into Elias's office, he locked the door and turned to face me.

"Blanche, he cannot be your mate," What is wrong with him? "It is impossible, Blanche!”

“I am still not sure it is real," I confessed, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “But I do not need anyone trying to convince me this is fake or not. I will discover the truth by myself.”

"It must be the cauldron... Remember it? At Kassandra's office?" He was not listening to me. I have never seen Elias this intense.

"It has nothing to do with it. If this is what you had to tell me, excuse me, but I want to leave."

"It must be a spell of Kassandra! She must have planned something."

"How is your hand?" Elias reached for me, but I slapped his hand away. I do not want him to touch me, and it has nothing to do with Andre.

"Never.without.my.consent!" I spitted out in anger.

But Elias did not give up. He went for my hand again and got a hold of it despite my protests.

I have a magical bandage covering the ugly black stain on my palm. It looks like my skin; no one could tell about it, but a warlock.

"Stop it!" I yelled, pushing him away, trying to retrieve my hand while he attempted to remove the bandage. He even pinched the border of the band and my hand with it!

"Let go! Let me go, Elias!” I screamed, exasperated, while slapping his back, since he took my hand at an odd angle.

The growl of Andre when breaking the door startled us. However, Elias did not let go of my hand. f*****g stupid male! He was still trying to peel off the bandage.

Andre was shaking. His eyes flickered red. His Lycan was close to the surface… s**t!

“Mine!” He roared and marched towards Elias. I tried to push away from the warlock.

However, Elias did not flinch... No wonder why! There was an invisible barrier at the entrance of his office, and it stopped Andre. How did he do it?

Damn! The Lycan was more frustrated by the obstacle. His fangs elongated in his mouth, and sharp claws came out of his nails. Oh, f**k! I slapped harder on the back of Elias.

More Lycan guards were behind Andre, and they did not look happy, either. Yet no one could pass the barrier.

Damn Elias! He made me walk inside a protected area behind a magical wall.

I did not want Andre to shift, enraged. This is a f*****g party!

Elias left me no choice... I kneed him in his noble parts. He shrieked and crouched down in pain. Serves him well!

“Blanche!" He complained. "I am only trying to protect you!" He was acting as if I betrayed him. The nerve of this asshole!

I glared at him and walked towards Andre. On my way, I smashed under my heel the small pebble of the trick for keeping Andre away.

"Don't!" Elias yelled at me. "He is going to hurt you!" I turned to answer him, but Andre was already close and pulled me into his arms.

The embrace of Andre was tight and delicious... Every cell in my body welcomed his warmth. I hugged his neck with my arms, pulling him even closer to me, making my cheek touch his.

His chest raised and fell with force like someone who just ran a marathon. Yet, I felt how his muscles relaxed in my arms.

"Mine," Andre said. "Mine, only mine." He chanted, trying to even his breathing.

I thought the Lycan King would be furious, burning in jealousy, thirsty of blood... but what I sensed in him was fear. The beast and Andre shook in my arms.

“Are you okay, Andre?” I asked him, but he was still catching up his breath.

At least his eyes were back to normal.

"Breathe, Andre. Breathe…” He was trying, but then he eyed Elias, and red flickered in his eyes. “Look at me,” I told him. I sensed the waves of anger coming from his body. "Count to ten… ” I held his face between my hands, looking straight into his eyes, locking our gazes. "Do it for me." And Andre obeyed.

Lycans are fascinating creatures. Nothing is more absolute for them than their mates. Gosh, I am so mad at Elias right now.

I do not know what Andre could have imagined when he saw Elias on me like that. Poor little thing...

Wait! What? s**t! Is this mate bond acting on me? Andre is a killing machine. Why am I that affected by whatever he feels? I do not have those emotions on day one...

This is so interesting! I will keep a journal of my emotions for research.

"Mine…" Andre muttered, calmer. I patted his back then, and he took my scent in, hugging -almost squeezing- me in his arms. I liked it.

I allowed Andre to mess with my hair, kiss the top of my head and my temples. He was checking on me for any harm. The male even entangled strands of my hair between his fingers.

Fortunately, the Lycan was contained, and Andre was almost himself. Almost...

I turned around only for Andre to press my back against his front. His hands were on my hips, keeping me close. I felt his tent raising. Is he for real? Now? I blinked, trying to focus while he buried his nose in my hair, inhaling my scent like an addict. His breathing was fogging my neck. Damn, that was hot...

The guards held Elias without looking at us. I asked them to release him, and they did it.

Thank the Goddesses, I had the impulse to do this for Andre, or he would have caused some damage. Even if I do not fully believe I am his mate, his Lycan does. And this is some serious s**t! I calmed his Lycan down!

Clear your head, Blanche!

"The accident in Kassandra's lab happened a day after I met Andre," I told Elias. “Whatever this bond is… it is has nothing to do with Kassandra or any of her curses at me.”

“But Blanche…”

I raised my hand to stop him.

“This was very inappropriate for the Prince of Witchy Witch."

"I cannot believe it... He is a Lycan"

"This has nothing to do with you, Elias."

"I see... But I wanted to tell you something..." What can he possibly want? "It was Solange. She drugged me. I know I did wrong when you told me... I know I was an asshole, but I would have never consciously…"

“Is that what you wanted to talk about? Explaining something that happened decades ago?”

“You deserve to know…”

“Solange confessed it a while ago. She betrayed me by sleeping with you while I was helping her." I am saved her stupid life; Solange told me by then. "She confessed that."

"You knew? All this time... you knew it?"

"It changes nothing."

“Blanche…”

“The day you left me without hearing me out…” Despite my tears, despite my pleas, and my shattering heart. "That day, our time together finished.” He ended it, and I swore I would not let him in again. "The only thing in debate in me was to be friends with you because I am a resentful witch." I offered Leon my friendship, but never to Elias, until now.

“All these years, I thought that… " If Elias thought that after so many decades, he would still get a chance, then he never knew me.

Just like Leon, Elias created a Blanche in his mind. He loved the way I made him feel about himself, not me. Males, it is always about them...

However, I still pity the male in front of me. I used to love him like the day loves the sun.

I never asked Elias to wait for me or do anything for me. Clara thinks he joined Stefan and tries to lift my curse by fighting the FDL organization and their witch. Maybe I owe him something… A closure.

“Thank you for everything, Elias." Andre's hands tightened around my waist when he heard me.

"I used to be your Prince..." Elias said, probably remembering our past together.

"She as King now," Andre intervened for the first time. "I do not know, and I do not care what happened in the past, but you are just that... past. I am the present and the future. Stay away, warlock. I am warning you... I spare your life this time because it is an official event going on. There will be no other chance if you try to hide my mate from me again." Hide?

"This is the first and only time I have seen you doing this. Never again, Elias, so we can be friends one day." I heard the grumble from Andre, but I will do what I consider appropriate.

"Peace, Elias," I offered him.

"Peace," Elias replied, lowering his gaze.

The Lycan King took my hand, and we walked outside, leaving Elias alone in his office. We did not talk. I guess Andre was processing what happened.

Andre stopped me at the hall before the ballroom and sniffed at me like a dog, making me giggle. He took the hand Elias touched before and covered it with wet kisses. Andre was bathing me with his scent.

“You managed the beast; only my fated mate would do that. You have power over me, female.” Andre told me. “There is no other way, Blanche. I will allow anyone else to take you away from me. We announce it today.”

“What are you talking about?” s**t is getting more and more confusing.

“You will forgive one day for this.” He said when Adela opened the door for us with a nervous smile.

The flashes blinded me when we walked into the ballroom. Everyone was applauding. It was Clara's mating ceremony. Why were they focused on us?

“Congratulations!” I heard here and there between the applauses.

"Blessings for your engagement," What?

"She is even wearing that necklace! It must be true!" Another one screamed.

"Mates with a witch!" Oh, my dear Goddess! Everyone is whispering something about us!

"They are engaged now!" someone whined.

What the actual f**k?

“Engaged?" I asked Andre, astonished. How so am I engaged? I did not receive a proposition. I agreed to... What did he understand from my words?

Andre smiled mischievously at me and eyed the necklace. My hand went immediately to the jewel on my neck.

Meaningful... Adela said it was meaningful! Crap!

"Mine!" Andre said with red eyes before kissing me, taking my breath away.

The Lycan was so possessive in his kiss, his lips moved against mine, demanding entrance... My mouth opened for him; my body molded to him and answer his kiss despite our audience. Am I crazy? Did I forget where I was? The flashes even kept on!

I was panting when Andre broke our kiss and stared at me possessively.

 I understood then... Chosen or fated, Andre claimed me in front of everyone as his mate.