The Devil's Cursed Witch

Far away somewhere, Draven, Rhian, and Rhian's three knights had stopped somewhere at the peak of the mountain, surrounded by the beautiful scenery. As Rhian's and the knights' human constitution was not used to bearing the magic of teleportation, they were visibly exhausted just after a few turns of teleportation that came with multiple stops to rest.

But now, the sun would be setting soon, so Draven decided to stop so these humans could rest the entire night, which would be better for their weak human constitution.

With magic, Draven created a small cottage for them to stay in where Rhian could rest. Lying on the small makeshift bed, Rhian was breathing heavily with his eyes closed. The other two knights were resting outside, as it was the place for the prince.

After giving potions to the knights, Draven offered Rhian a potion. "Have this. You will feel better."

Rhian exhaled deeply and accepted the potion. He looked at the small vial and said, "Made by the head of the witches?"

Draven hummed. "It has her magic, which is stronger than any witch in the kingdom at the moment. It will help you recover faster."

"Brother-in-law, no need to explain. It's not the first time I am drinking a potion made by her. I have first-hand experience of how effective it is," he said.

Draven simply hummed and said, "I will bring you something to eat," and left.

Rhian gulped the potion while tilting his head up a little and drank it all. He lay back and mumbled as he looked at that tiny glass bottle, "Not the witch, but I can at least have the potion running in my body," he sighed. "It's as good as having her with me."

He closed his eyes, and a small smile painted his lips as Cornelia's beautiful face flashed in his mind. "Such a beautiful witch, that I don't even want to call her a witch." The smile on his lips widened.

Draven had prepared a meal for him. Rhian, who was now energetic, looked at Draven. "How blessed I must be to eat something cooked by a Dragon King."

"Just because you are Ember's brother," Draven said. "Eat well and rest."

"Are you not eating?" Rhian asked."I am not hungry," Draven said and walked outside.

Rhian could see Draven was serious and calm. Though he was always like this, this time it was something that felt unusual. Rhian quietly ate as he needed to keep his energy.

After a while, he stepped out of the cottage, only to see Draven standing by the cliff, solemnly looking towards the sky with an orange-yellow hue as the sun was going to set in a while.

Rhian could understand what must be going on in his mind and stood behind him. "Thinking about Ember and her other mate?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with our private matters," Draven replied calmly, but there was a coldness and distress he was hiding.

"My apologies," Rhian said and stayed quiet for a while, before saying something more, "I am thankful that you brought my sister and gave her the life which even us humans wouldn't be able to offer her—a life full of love, respect, and happiness."

"That's what she deserves," Draven replied.

"I definitely agree," Rhian said. "And I can tell how happy she is and how much she loves you. Her eyes are always on you whenever you are around, despite others being there. I can tell—even her mind is always full of your thoughts when you are not around. She has entirely lost herself to you."

Draven simply hummed.

"Brother-in-law," Rhian said, "I know why you are like this, but I believe you know—whatever happens, you always come first for her. No one can ever replace you."

"You don't need to tell me the obvious," Draven replied. "Now go back and rest. We need to leave early in the morning."

Rhian knew nothing could pacify the distressed Dragon and returned to the hut, thinking, I would have been the same if I was him.

Draven stayed there, watching the sun set and darkness covering the sky, which now had the stars and the bright moon. He closed his eyes and stood there calmly, steadying himself and his haywire mind against the cold breeze from the mountain.

Some other male was going to claim his mate tonight, and nothing could be more stressful than this.

"Ember…" her name came out as a shallow whisper from his mouth, which echoed around the mountains along with the breeze moving everywhere.

----

The entire day, Ember and Morpheus enjoyed the Full Moon Festival with the Wolf Clan. Before sunset, they were invited to the residence of the Wolf Clan leader, who seemed to be a good friend of Morpheus.

There, Ember met the Wolf Clan leader's mate and even saw their newborn child. She had expected to see a wolf pup, but it was literally a baby—a human baby.

"Lady Ember, you can hold him," the wolf offered.

"I've never held a baby," Ember said hesitantly as she looked at the beautiful, healthy baby.

The woman chuckled. "It's alright. I can guide you," she said. "Soon you will have your own cubs, so take it as a lesson."

Ember turned shy at the mention of it, only to hear the woman say again in a teasing tone, "Who knows, after tonight's mating, you might be expecting a baby."

Ember felt embarrassed to her bones. She didn't dare look at Morpheus. Her cheeks were red, and her heart was already beating faster—which Morpheus and the Wolf leader could clearly hear.

The Wolf leader nudged Morpheus with his elbow and whispered to him, "Make sure you don't make her heart burst entirely."

Morpheus offered him a glare, then turned to Ember, who was now holding the baby and feared she might drop it.

The wolf female whispered to her, "Lady Ember, it's so difficult to conceive a child for the beasts. I hope you're fortunate enough to have one soon. Your mates are the strongest. The stronger the beast is, the more difficult it is—and they are born rarely."

Ember realized that very well. She still hadn't conceived a child for Draven. But Evanthe had told her it was because of her unstable core. But now, her core was stable—and if she mated with Morpheus tonight, would she conceive Morpheus's child before Draven's? Wouldn't that be unfair to Draven?

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought as she remembered Draven and wondered where he must be at that moment, and what must be going through his mind. He must be hurt to see the sun slowly moving to the horizon. But things had happened this way, and there was nothing she could do.

"Lady Ember?" the woman called.

Ember got back to her senses and said, "The baby is really adorable. I bless him to become stronger and healthier, another strongest beast for this kingdom."

Just as Ember said it, a light sparkle of energy emitted from her hands and surrounded the baby—the divine energy from her core.

The wolf couple was surprised by this, but Morpheus, who knew his mate was a deity as well, recognized it as her blessing.

This wolf cub was truly fortunate.

The wolf couple could only thank her, knowing Ember was someone truly powerful. Morpheus didn't want others to know it, or everyone in the kingdom would line up in front of her for her blessings.

"Do not tell anyone about this. I don't want anyone to bother my mate," Morpheus said to the wolf couple.

"Of course, Lord Morpheus," the woman said. "I'm just happy that my cub is fortunate to receive her blessing."

Morpheus looked at Ember. "The sun is setting. We should leave."

Ember nodded as she handed the baby back to the wolf.

Outside, Morpheus lifted Ember in his arms and spread his wings to leave with her. Ember looked at the sky painted with orange-yellow hues, marking the sun's nearing descent—and then... mating with Morpheus.