Marley and the Tale of Two Souls / Book 0.1 ✔️
Seven: Marley

She regretted punching the wall as soon as her fist hit the wood. He was beyond infuriating with his smirk and sparkle in his eye whenever he decided to be a jackass. Ava told her a little about mates and the mate bond and knowing more information about it, made her upset and angry all over again. Marley was stuck with this guy for life and she didn’t know his name!

Her eyes widened at that. Holding her fist in her hand while she lay in bed thinking. It was the following day and Ava still had not come back but she was not worried about Ava. She knew little about witches but she learned a lot about hybrids and hybrids are sneaky, almost as sneaky as assassins.

Her main concern right now was facing the man in the other room; she did not think she would ever be ready to face him. Most of what he said was not that bad, in fact, he was right at one stage but his toning. He needed to work on his toning.

With a loud groan, she ran her hands down her face and sat up. “I need to stop thinking about this guy.” She told herself while she looked around the room and eyed the bathtub. “I need a bath.”

Standing, she checked to see if the facets were working. Hot water came out instantly as she smiled and began to prepare the bath. She was not used to baths with running water as most baths had to be filled but this was a cabin with a fully built, workable kitchen and a bed that felt like clouds so she was not going to question it.

She dipped her toes in after stripping off. The warm water instantly soothed her as she went right in and titled her body so she could go completely under. She ran her hands down her face as she came back up for a breath and sighed in satisfaction.

Baths were the only alone time she ever got and she took these opportunities to think and reflect. Although she did not need to reflect for long, as much as she hated it, she was on this journey with this stranger for a reason and that reason being, that he was her mate and as much as she wanted to run away as soon as she gets the chance, the mate bond will pull her right back.

She quickly cleaned herself and used the soap to wash her hair before getting out of the bath. Once she wrapped the towel around her waist did she finally realise that she had no clothes besides the filthy ones that she had been wearing. Biting her lip and looking around the room, she found a small closet. Because Ava had created this cabin, she told herself that there would be clothes that could fit her as she walked over and opened the rickety doors.

“Oh, bloody hell!” She groaned as all she could see were dresses. Different colours and different sizes almost made her want to cry as she picked one that was just below the knees. The blood-red fabric fit her body however she was not happy about the lower cut in the chest area. She tried to replace something that would cover that but she came up empty and had to put her cloak back on.

Once her sword was safely strapped around her waist, she opened the door and got ready to face this man but her words got caught in her throat when she noticed that he was not there. The cabin was empty, no life but her own was inside of it as she looked around.

The front door was slightly open as she moved towards it and looked outside, his silhouette came into view as she caught herself staring. He was completely wet, only his trousers were on while he ran his fingers through his raven black hair. His blood red eyes glowed in the early morning sun and the water droplets touched every bit of muscle he had. Marley had not realised that she had been getting a bit heated until her body began to openly respond.

cringing in disgust, not only with her hormones but with herself, she shook it off and left the confinements of the only safe haven she has before making her way down the beach.

He had noticed her coming and openly looked her up and down. “Well, aren’t you a lady today.”

Marley rolled her eyes. “It was the only thing that I could replace, What are you doing out here?”

“Is it not obvious, princess?” He said with a raised eyebrow and a side look to see her reaction. “You took the only bathtub.”

She crossed her arms and tilted her head, already tired of his hot voice and sarcastic attitude. “Why princess? I came from a family of peasant humans.”

“Oh, but you didn’t.” He stated as he put a shirt on. She instantly felt disappointed as her view was gone but shook it off before she gave herself away. “You might think that you are a normal human being but you aren’t. Humans cannot talk to creatures nor can they figure out what someone is as quickly as you did with that she-wolf. You have the instincts to protect yourself but lack the sense to carry a weapon that is more suitable. And... ” He then paused, staring at her for a minute before finishing his sentence. “Humans have no mates.”

Her curiosity sparked. “Okay then, what am I? If I am not human then the man my mother slept with was a different species.”

His mouth twitched into a smirk and the twinkle in his eye made her want to punch him instantly. “That princess is my secret.”

She groaned, frustration building up inside of her as she just wanted to scream. “You know, you are the most frustrating man I have ever met. Mack told me about men like you, the annoying ones who like to get under your skin just to get a reaction and I say, fuck you! At this point I don’t care that I don’t know your name, I am doing this because this stupid mate bond won’t let me leave you but once this is over, I am going back to my sister!”

“It is Sawyer.”

“And another thing- wait, what?”

“It is Sawyer. Named after the late dragon king.” He shrugged before his eyes caught onto something behind her. “Are you done with your outburst? we have company.”

She turned, a scared-looking Ava was standing by the cabin and just by her face, Marley knew something was wrong.