The Devil's Cursed Witch

"More than a mate bond, you can think of it as a protector bond, where a male fully submits to a female without expecting anything in return. It's like taking an oath to protect her and always be by her side. Only the highest-ranking divine beasts from the eagle clan—like the gold eagles—can form such a bond. A powerful gray-blue eagle like Morpheus also has that ability, but it's been long declared forbidden in the eagle clan."

"Forbidden?" Ember asked, both curious and surprised.

Draven nodded. "Yes. As I mentioned, only the most powerful divine eagles like Aureus and Morpheus can create this kind of bond. These beasts are rare, and they are considered treasures of the eagle clan. In the past, this bond was used unethically, and it led to the deaths of many powerful divine eagles, causing the clan great suffering."

"How?" she asked.

"Sometimes it's a love bound greed of that divine eagle himself or a female beast who wants to be powerful," Draven began, "In the past some female beasts in order to become powerful and to have a divine eagle to their side, they would make a male divine eagle fall for them while they won't love them in return. Since the divine beast is incapable of changing his heart once he has chosen mate, he would only want to be with her, choosing to become her protector by marking her, as Morpheus did with you."

"But why would a female want a protector bond instead of a normal mate bond?" Ember felt utterly lost at what mind set those evil females had.

"It's because the protector bond allows females to treat the male beast as their slave, unlike in normal bonds where both the partners have control over each other. The protector beast is bound to obey the female's orders and cannot disobey, no matter what she asks. These females would use their protector to kill enemies or anyone they wanted, reducing the powerful divine beasts to a lowly slaves, stripping them of their true potential and abilities."

"That's truly sad," she frowned but asked, "so, does that mean Morph can't disobey any of my orders?"

Draven hummed. "Yes. He is bound to obey whatever you ask of him. He cannot refuse, whether he wants to or not. His own will no longer matters."

"Females can be truly ruthless?" Ember mumbled. "Poor beasts and their unwavering hearts."

"Females weren't the only ones to exploit this bond. Male eagles were selfish too," Draven added. "Sometimes, when a divine eagle fell in love with a female who loved another and didn't want him, the male eagle's arrogance wouldn't allow him to accept rejection. He would stab his golden feather into the female's heart without her consent, binding her to him. Most of these females couldn't survive the forced bond and died, as they resisted forming it. Then, if anyone survived by chance, they would take revenge by turning the beast into their slave."

"So both males and females took advantage of this bond?" Ember concluded, "That's sad to treat sacred things this way."

Draven hummed in agreement. "Many powerful divine eagles—both males and females—lost their lives due to this misuse of the bond. It caused chaos in the clan, disturbing its peace. It also disturbed the order or normal bond. Eventually, the elders declared this bond forbidden. Anyone who broke the rule would be exiled from the kingdom, and the male and female would be banned from ever seeing each other again, even if they survived the bond. They would be denied any advantage they sought through selfishness."

As Ember heard this, her eyes widened. "Does that mean Morph will be punished?"

Draven nodded, only for Ember to respond, "Draven, I don't want him to be sent away. How could he live alone, away from his own people? I can't imagine not seeing him again. Please, don't punish him."

"I won't. I'll find a way to ensure he's punished, but still allowed to stay with us."

Ember immediately hugged him. "I knew I could trust you. You're the best person I've ever met. No wonder I love you so much—like crazy."

"And yet, you were going to leave me," Draven remarked.

At his words, Ember looked up at him. His expression was the same as usual, but through their bond, she could sense the hurt behind it. She felt his pain.

"I'm sorry. At the time, I was—"

"I understand. I'm just glad Morph arrived when he did," Draven assured her.

"Were you the one who brought him there?" she asked. "He was so reluctant to have any bond with me before."

"I only told him some facts—that bonding with you could help stabilize your core and that it would prevent you from leaving."

"And he claimed he hated me for being human and didn't want a bond with me, when he cares for me," she frowned. "I'm going to punish him for all those hurtful things he said."

"Do whatever you feel is right," Draven said with a smile, enjoying her angry expression.

Seeing him smile, she asked, "What if he had made the bond with me like you did? Would you still be smiling?"

"I would be happy with anything that kept you from leaving me," he said, his gaze soft, filled with the depth of his love for her.

"I promise, I won't even think about going away from you," she whispered, gently kissing him on the lips.

Draven's gaze darkened, as if that small kiss wasn't enough. She had spent the entire night sleeping next to another male, and now he needed his own fill. He pulled her closer, pressing her body against his, his mouth claiming hers as he mumbled, "You are mine."

Ember kissed him back, her arms circling his neck, pulling him into a passionate, intense kiss to show him that she was his and his alone.

After a long, heated kiss, they both felt the powerful pull of their mate bond, urging them to do more than just kiss.

"Shall we?" Ember muttered, breathing heavily, her forehead resting against his.

"I'm dying to," he whispered back, "but your bond with Morph is still fragile until he wakes up. If we do anything, it might disturb the bond and slow down his recovery."

Ember understood. Despite the overwhelming desire to be with him, she decided against it. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "You care about Morph a lot, don't you? Even though you act like you don't."

Draven couldn't deny the truth in her words. Discover exclusive tales on empire

"Then isn't it a good thing that we can be like a family now, connected through bonds?" Ember asked. "You'll always be my mate, and he can be my friend. You two can be together too, instead of pretending to hate each other."

Draven hummed in agreement.

Ember thought for a moment. "So, I don't need to mate with him at all?" she asked, unsure of how to feel about it.

"You don't need to. That's why he chose this forbidden way instead of marking you normally. He didn't want to force you into anything you didn't want. For him, your wishes matter more than anything."

"So, he and I can stay friends like before, even though we're mates?" she asked, brightening up.

"Yes."

"Having both of you by my side without making things complicated or awkward—what more could I ask for?" she said with a pleasant smile. "I wouldn't even mind if he stabbed me with that gold feather again, even though it hurt like hell."

"He can't do it again," Draven informed her. "A divine eagle only gets one chance to do that, and Morph has already used his."

"Oh, that's a relief," she chuckled, placing her hand on her heart. "Another stab might just take my life."

Just then, Ember felt something and looked at Draven. "I feel like he's awake."

"He probably is. You can go to him."

"And you?"

"I have work to do," he replied. Ember could sense that he was giving her and Morpheus the space to talk alone. Grateful, she said, "Thank you, Draven," and watched as he offered her a comforting smile before disappearing.

Ember returned to her chamber to check on Morpheus, her thoughts swirling about how to accept this new dynamic in their relationship. Now, he was her mate as well, though the bond was defined more as that of a protector.