His beloved witch

Chapter 8: Prince Elias

-Blanche-

“What are you doing here?” I asked Elias while avoiding looking at his lower part. He was naked in front of me, not even covering himself. Well… It is not like he has something to be ashamed of in that area.

“Before, anything… Can you give me something to wear?” He asked me with his classic smirk. Elias knows his body is toned and fit, and he is showing off.

I frowned at him but walked to the private bathroom Kassandra had in her office while looking confident and in control, swaying my hips a little for him to watch me going. I will never admit that his hot body is tempting. I prefer to state that I am confident in mine.

Elias is an attractive warlock, even though he does not show many facial expressions. However, who needs more when you look so well with just one? And knows how to use your resources.

“Kassandra was going nuts. What is all about a hostile takeover?”

“I thought something like that would be of her interest,” he said while putting on the bathrobe I handed him. “I came to help you.” He took a step closer to me.

Elias has done some workouts. Decades ago, he looked good, but he has put on muscle in the places I like the most now. I felt him the other day when he transported me from one place to another in werewolf territory. Damn portals! Your clothes are left behind!

That broad chest was a hard rock when I touched it… s**t! Bad Blanche! No males! And above all, no ex-fiancé!

“What happened in vampire territory?” I fear the answer.

“Nothing. That is what happened. Stefan’s mate was not there.”

“s**t. To be honest, I was hoping for Silvia to be there, but at the same time, I feared it. The Vampiric Mafia is scary." My poor Silvia.

"Yes, that was my same concern, too. However, Silvia was not there. And I know how Kassandra can be.”

“A manipulative witch. Yes, but why would Kassandra help werewolves? She is worse than your family about those things.”

Elias scoffed. Of course, he knows he has a stuck-up family, full of prejudice and themselves.

“Yes… But the rescued werewolves said they saw a witch with scarlet red nails. Your grandma has not changed the color of her nails in decades.”

 “Dear Mother Nature! I do not mean to defend her, but it can be anyone.  I had given a thought about it. What does she gain from it? She has money, shares of your company, she is Managing Director… What else can she desire?” Not a male, though. Kassandra beds whoever she wants, no commitments, no attachments. She decided long ago to be alone.

“I think you are the reason.” Elias gave me one of those looks he had just before he was about to kiss me.

“Me? Why would I be involved in her s**t?” I replied, annoyed.

"Same old Blanche… " Elias said and grabbed a strand of my hair, placing it behind my ear, taking me by surprise.

Who would have guessed it? The serious gentleman Elias Bourdieu pulled that trick to approach me. I smiled at him raising my chin and looking at him confidently.

His lips were inches away from mine when I said, “Never. Without. My. Consent.”

I will not fall into that trap again.

Elias cheated on me with Solange. And I count it as two times. 

Even if I do not consider the first time cheating, there were so many lies and secrets between us... The second time, he did sleep with Solange. That is something I could not forgive and never will.

“Yes, I remember.” He acknowledged tilting his head away.

"I will always swear, Elias. I will not apologize for speaking my mind in the way I f*****g I want to. Did you know that those who curse are often the most honest?”

“I do. And I like it." Elias got closer, invading my space. “Blanche, you are free," He tried to sound seductive. "I miss it... " He purred.

I was going to laugh; his face does not change of expression. Elias does not know how to flirt.

"I am here… " It is almost cute that Elias trying to seduce me.

“Look. There is no time to tell you again… what you already know,” My answer has not changed. I turned around and started to look around the office.

"The mahogany desk first!" I squealed.

“There must be something hidden here. I think Kassandra is looking for a way to remove your curse."

 He said, changing the subject. Wise.

"No, I doubt so. I am not sure Kassandra would truly be helping FDL, but she can do anything and mean anything to get what she wants. And is most of the time is all about money. She might want more money.”

He levitated the furniture, but there was nothing under or below. Then he went to the bathroom.

Elias was my puppy love, like Clara calls it in werewolf lingo.

My feelings for him were pure and f*****g amazing... Did it help me to overcome the pain Damian caused me? Yes, sure it did. But it was because I did not know how a normal relationship was.

I grew up with my mother alone with random visits from Kassandra. Charles was absent, and when he appeared in my life, he was always cold and distant. Sometimes even cruel.

Damian gave me some signals of who he was, but I did not know better. But the abuse began when I moved into his family house... While Elias... He was different from what I knew back then.

Elias was a gentleman. He opened doors, give me space, listened instead of talking… Any little attention from him, some few kind words of encouragement, and I thought he loved me... when he was only nice.

The prince of Witchy Witch was my phantasy.

I ran into him at a company party that Kassandra and my mother took me to. I did not know my grandmother was blackmailing the Bourdieu family, neither did my mother. She worked in the accounting department but did not know the higher-ups were covering up such losses.

Elias’s uncle was a gambler. Kassandra found out and use it to her benefit. She won his shares in a game, promising the Bourdieu family to give them back if Elias married me. Sly witch.

“Nothing so far,” He complained.

“We are running out of time!” I screamed, frustrated.

“My shadow and the lawyers will keep Kassandra and her team busy for a while.” Elias chuckled. “Do not worry about it.”

“Well, you made real her worst nightmare!” I laughed. “But I will find a way to get those shares back to you,”

“I did not keep my promise.”

"I am the one who broke off the engagement," twice, I would like to say, but the male in him might resent me.

“I deserved your anger, Blanche, I did you wrong,”

"Peace," I told him while getting on my knees. I bent and placed my head and palms on the floor to hear any sound.

Kassandra is tricky and so powerful, considering her age.

"Let the past, be in the past… " I said, regretting the position I was in.  Besides the pants I wear today. "And stop checking out my ass. I can tell from here.”

Elias cleared his throat.

“There is a button under her desk. Look!”

The desk was floating at a good distance from the floor, allowing me to see it while standing.

"You are getting better with the years," I said, appreciating his strength. "Your shadow is in the meeting room, and I do not see you sweating when lifting things. I am impressed.”

There was a big grin on his face after hearing the compliment. Elias hardly smiles in front of anyone, and it is because Elias looks evil when he smiles, despite his beauty. A family thing. They never smile in pictures.

He placed the desk back to where it belonged, and when he pressed the button... nothing happened.

“There must be a protection spell.” Elias guessed, touching around the table.

"Or it is the button she uses to call her assistant. That is another explanation.”

Elias looked at me.

“You do not want it to be true.” He accused me.

“f**k. To be honest, no. I do not want to. Kassandra did a lot of s**t in her life, mostly to my mother and me. But helping FDL would be the big leagues of evil. FDL has killed so many werewolves and humans. And the list of their crimes is longer than that…”

"Keep that thought and press the button, Blanche.”

“Good thinking,”

I did push the freaking button, and under the desk, a stair going down appeared. Elias looked at me and took my hand in his.

The protection spell had the intention to prevent anyone from finding what they are searching for. In the case of a search warrant, quite... useful. However, I was looking for something I did not want to find. That is why it opened to me. Warlocks and witches need years of training in our police to run successful searches of our kind.

My heart is breaking again. s**t, Kassandra!

Elias and I looked down at the dark downstairs. He kept my hand for support. As always, a gentleman… A protector.

The Bourdieu family is uptight but not bad people. They honored their debts, accepted everything Kassandra asked, and I did not feel mistreated by them despite Kassandra's doings. However, I must admit Elias was my shield in front of them all the time and agreed to move in with me after our engagement in an apartment downtown alone.

I removed my hand from his.

Elias was not protecting me from his relatives. He just wanted the chance to leave me behind in that apartment with his shadow while he followed Solange around in all her venues and parties. When I found out, I confronted him… I did not know he was my purchased prince.

Elias confessed his feelings for Solange and what Kassandra did to force him and his family into accepting me as his bride. I was naïve enough to think Elias was really into me all that time. I honestly thought he was shy and quiet.

I felt betrayed by Kassandra, so I ran from her and even from my mother, leaving a note breaking the engagement.

I was so mad; I did not want to see any of them in my life. Until my mother found me and explained that she had nothing to do with Kassandra's trick. She resigned to Witchy Witch.

We started a new life away from Kassandra. I went to college, had a part-time job, and lived with my mother. It was a good life for some years.

 Miriam Lebrun was happy, and I was happy, too.

I was in a better place when Elias appeared again in my life before my graduation. He apologized for everything that happened.

Elias said he had the wrong idea about me and told me that he developed feelings for me when we were together. He said he was no longer interested in Solange. Elias asked me for a chance. And the stupid, shallow Blanche believed him.

Inside of my heart, Elias was still my prince... But I am no longer that kind of i***t.

Downstairs, the story spoke for itself.

This was the confirmation of my fears about Kassandra.

It was a sophisticated laboratory with racks and racks of ingredients, legal and illegal in our Kingdom. I gasped, astonished. Kassandra had the blood of different species labeled in several glass tubes, small animals in cages whimpering in pain of fear, while others were dissected in tables. She was experimenting.

In the middle was a cauldron cooking a potion with low fire and a big book used by witches next to it. I approached the book with a nudge in my throat, without thinking, obsessed with that s**t. What was she doing?

“Wait!” Elias yelled, but it was too late. I felt the burnt on my skin the moment I touched the book. A shining light blinded us both.

Elias tried to protect me from it, covering me with his body. Aside from that nothing else, happened. No smoke, no explosion, nothing...

"I am sorry," he said, caressing my face, holding me close to him. I was shaking. I buried my face in his chest, refusing to cry.

My own blood was capable of this atrocity.

It is not only forbidden by our laws but what she was doing is also a sin against Mother Nature.

“Listen… We must have activated a signal. I will go upstairs, Blanche. Please, do not touch anything else.” I nodded my head at him.

I saw him leaving when I muttered “thank you” to his back. Elias must have heard me because he turned around to hug me. I should not have let him, but I just needed a hug... Even if it was from him. It was a moment of weakness.

When he left, I looked at my hand. The wound looked angry and ugly…

Then I looked around in the racks, trying to figure out if I could find something to heal my hand. The ingredients were all rare specimens, so valuable, even disregarding the illegal ones. And there was a jar labeled B4LC, empty.

That name, B4LC… I remember it from school. It stands for a blue four-leaf clover!

I used the same wounded hand to hold the book and read it if I lose a hand, it would be only the wounded one. Kassandra is doing this for a reason, and I want to know why!

Thru the pages, I found hundreds of formulas for different kinds of potions.

The plants talk to me, my ass! Kassandra has tried different things over the years for cleaning products that appeal to others based on the species. Potions and more potions… And then I saw it… The love potion was named "fake bond incantation".

The formula included a drop of essence of a blue four-leaf clover!

I bit my lower lip, holding my curiosity to confirm if Kassandra was cooking love potion in that cauldron. If it is… How does it look like? Does it have a smell before it is ready? Because that freaking potion is just a little denser than water and does not have a scent, taste, or color.

Blue four-leaf clovers... Those shits are so rare and found only in...  werewolf's territory! Someone makes them grow in werewolf territory… Oh, no! Clara is in danger! I must warn her!

Now, where is my phone? Ah! In Saint Isabella with my clothes and purse, near a dumpster on a dark alley! s**t!

Elias got back, still wearing the bathrobe, and next to him was his shadow. Sometimes, I wonder who I fell in love with in the past? s**t! It does not matter.

“Please, give me your phone!” I asked the dressed-up Elias.

I took the photos and sent them to Clara with a brief explanation about the blue four-leaf clover. I hope she remembers what I taught her.

“Your grandmother flew away,” Elias in a bathrobe informed me. "I am sorry, I arrived too late.” Yeah… that minute of hug gave her the time she needed to elope with her secrets.

"I am the one who should be sorry," I told him, trying to stand still. I was not alright. Everything was hot, "It was my fault. I should not have touched the book. It was probably an alarm or some shit."

“That is my guessing, too.” Elias in a suit came closer to me, narrowing his eyes while I leaned on the counter behind me.

“You are sweating.” Elias in a bathrobe told me, also approaching me. "You have a fever!" He exclaimed, touching my forehead.

“I am not feeling well,” I said, looking at my hand. s**t! The wound was now scarlet red. “That f*****g cu…” Elias held me before I lose consciousness.

I woke up on the couch of Kassandra in her office with Elias. He was wearing sweatpants and a grey t-shirt.

I sensed my hand was healing. Elias applied a healing potion and put a bandage on my hand. I was feeling better.

Then, I saw as the police carried the animals away in their cages and pushed carts with the illegal ingredients found in Kassandra's secret lab. I could not help to frown.

“How are you feeling?” Elias asked me, caressing my cheek softly.

“Fine. Thank you for helping me. I should have assumed that Kassandra had another trick prepared for unwelcomed visitors to her lab. I was going to prepare something against it, but that curse acted faster than I thought.”

"You need some rest... come to my place in town, have a nap. It will be good for you. You need food."

"No, I want to go. Clara is in danger, Elias. She needs me."

“What do you mean?”

“Did the police took all the ingredients?” I asked, hoping my knowledge of his family was right... They would consider everything inside of Kassandra's lab as property of the Bourdieu family and conglomerate.

"No... They only took anything considered illegal. You know my grandfather." He smirked while holding my hand.

“Can you help me with one last thing?” I asked in a soft voice.

Elias blushed.

“Of course, ask me anything.” He agreed. I curled a finger of my healthy hand for him to come closer to me. And he obeyed.

"I want those potions," I whispered to his ear.

“Blanche, I…”

“Please, Elias," I said, looking into his eyes.

“You do not need to seduce me, Blanche,” Elias whispered closer to my ear. Anyone would believe we have a very close relationship if we are seen in this position.

“I wasn't…"

“However, I want something in return.” He held my chin closer, angling it towards his face at the level of his mouth.

Everyone was out, I pushed him away, but he did not budge. I hate it when that happens!

“Please, do not get angry. Listen to me first."

“You are no longer a gentleman, Elias,” I glared at him, but he only smiled.

“Maybe, I am no longer a gentleman, Blanche. I feel I am cursed since you left.”

I gave Elias a second chance. I thought we were happy, that there were no more secrets between us. I believed him after a year of relationship that he loved me. But he did not know about my curse, and just as Leon did. He walked out on me when I was telling him why we would have to adopt.

“I did not do anything,” I complained. "I left after finding you in bed with my cousin. If someone cursed you, it must have to be her. Not me!” I knew Solange did it to hurt me. She knew I was jealous of her. The funny part of this, while she was screwing my man, I was helping her. That ungrateful b***h.

“Blanche, I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. I regret everything I did. I am deeply sorry for hurting you. I am not that person anymore.”

“What do you want?” I barked.

I am ready to slap him in case whatever comes from his mouth is inappropriate. I want those ingredients to help Clara and Silvia. There is a laboratory in the Kingdom of werewolves. I can get something good out of the s**t Kassandra did, maybe even fix it.

“I want you to forgive me, Blanche. I want to be your friend.”