Chapter Thirty-four

As soon as Leon closed our dorm room door, he began the argument that I knew would come.

"Ashley, how many times do I have to tell that all I want to do, is to protect you."

"I know, but I am not a small child that cannot take care of myself!" Up until a few days ago I never knew the reason for most of the bad things in my life was because of the Defesta, but now that I know, I know that I will be able to protect myself and others around me. I knew that Leon also wanted to protect me and part of me was glad that I had someone else that was protecting me but another part of me wanted to protect myself and didn't want anybody else to get hurt.

"Things have changed though, Ashley. I know you feel like you can protect yourself and I know you can protect yourself but I want to also protect and if that means seeing you between classes then so be it." This time his voice softer and gentler than before.

"I don't mind you protecting me. I mind when you order me around like I am your servant!"

"I didn't realise I was ordering you. I apologize. I just find it really hard sometimes, as I am so used to ordering people around." Sincerity leaked from his voice. I couldn't help but think that I was being too hard on him.

"I guess we both learned something today." A small smile crept up on Leon's face.

"What did we both learn today?" I let out a small chuckle at Leon's question. I knew that he knew the answer to the question but for some reason, he pretended like he didn't know.

"I learned that I have someone else to protect me and that I am no longer alone. And-"

"I learned that you are not beneath me but you are equal to me. I learned that I need to stop ordering you around. I learned that you have an inner fire inside of you. I learned that I need to give you your freedom while I am still protecting you. Last, of all, I learned that you are the strongest person I have ever met." During the time he spoke he had kept on moving forward until now where he his standing right in front of me.

"I accept your apology, Leon. But I need you to understand that I am not used to this at all. I like my freedom. I am not used to being checked up on between classes and not talking to my friends. I guess I just burst."

"I want you to be able to talk to me about these things otherwise we are never going to get anywhere in our relationship." I blinked in surprise when he said relationship. I knew that we were getting quite close but I didn't remember Leon asking me to be his girlfriend.

"Since when were we in a relationship? I know that we are mates but that doesn't automatically make us in a relationship." Leon looked taken aback by words. The shocked expression on his face was quickly masked with something else.

"Sorry." Leon pulled his hair in frustration as if saying the word had burned him. "I just keep on messing up, don't I?"

"Yes but that just shows you are a human being. You can't live your whole without making mistakes." Leon stared at me for a few seconds. His face not giving away his emotions.

"You are right." Leon let out an unexpected laugh to which I raised my eyebrows at. "This is the first time in so many years I have said those three words." I smiled at that since I knew that Leon was trying.

I raised my head slightly to meet his eyes. His arm snaked around my waist, pressing my body against his. It was almost someone pressed a switch which changed the whole atmosphere in the room. The room no longer felt cold, instead, there was a sudden rush of heat flowing through my body. All parts of our current conversation flew out the door as I watched Leon's face move slowly towards mine.

Just as his lips touched mine, the doorbell rang. Instantly the warm mood vanished away. It was almost like the person pressed the switch off causing the room to turn back into being cold again. I felt Leon slowly move away from me. His eyes which had turned to a darker shade went back to their normal colour. He gazed at me for a second, as if trying to think of something to say but before he could think anymore the bell rang again. Leon gave me a small apologetic smile and went to answer the door.

I heard Leon inviting someone inside. I looked at myself and checked that I was dressed presentably. I plastered a smile on my face and prepared to face the person who interrupted our almost kiss.

"Ashley, I would like you to meet an associate of mine. This is-" He was cut off by an old woman entering the room.

"My name is Iris Guarer. Now I don't have all day. So let's get down to business." Her voice was sharp and serious. I noticed how she carried herself with pride and confidence; not caring what other people thought of her.

"Please sit down." Leon indicated to the sofas. Iris sat down in the one seat sofa. I followed her, sitting on the three sitter sofa. "Iris, is here because I asked her to perform a ritual."

"What ritual?" Leon had never

"It transfers the Defesta from the possessed body to another body."

"Why would anyone want the Defesta in their body?" I was puzzled as to why anybody would want their life ripped away, from not only them but the people around them. I knew from experience that it was not something I would do again. I knew the feeling of hurt when your loved one dies because of you. I couldn't think of one good reason any person would want the Defesta.

"Some people are strong enough to fight the Defesta." Leon glanced at me and laced his fingers through mine. His eyes had gone darker for a reason I couldn't figure out. I wondered what he meant by strong. Did he mean the person had to be strong mentally or physically? Or did the person have to have both qualities?

"I need something for exchange for the ritual," said the old lady. Her eyes pierced into mine, proving the fact that she was dead serious and wouldn't do the ritual without it benefiting her in some way.

"What do you want?" Leon's voice was hard, supporting the fact that he meant business.

"I want the Sãwe stone." I didn't know what the stone was but I knew it was very important as I saw Leon's back stiffen.

"That's one of the most powerful stones in the world! Why would I give that to you?" Leon's voice had become more demanding than before as if he was trying to challenge her.

"You don't have to give it to me. I never demanded you to give it to me. I am only asking that for in exchange for the ritual you give it to me unless you don't want to do the ritual." I had to admit what she said was very clever and it showed that she wasn't someone that you should mess with. She sounded confident that she would get the stone.

I glanced at Leon whose hands were clenched tightly, trying to suppress his anger. I knew that he was thinking of all the other options he had. His face was masked, not allowing anybody to see his emotions.

"I will give you the stone after you have finished the ritual."

"No. How am I guaranteed I will get the stone after I have finished the ritual? For all I know I could finish the ritual and never get the stone."

"How am I guaranteed that you will finish the ritual? You could run away with the stone before completing the ritual."

"Now I finally see it! You the king is scared that I will run away with the priciest possession of the werewolf kingdom." Iris said in a mocking tone.

"We shall do a sacred oath then," Leon said, ignoring her mocking tone.

"Fine. We can do the ritual in two days' time. I need to gather all the ingredients needed for the ritual." Iris stood up from the couch. She held out her hand, which Leon shook. She then held out her hand for me to shake, but I just couldn't bring myself to shake it before I got the answer to the question that had been in my mind since I found out what the ritual was.

"Who is the Defesta being transferred to?" I was met with silence. I looked at Leon and Iris questionably. After a few seconds, Iris finally answered.

"The Defesta is being transferred to Leon."

*______________________*

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