The Devil's Cursed Witch

“Becoming a wife of a human male merely needs consent, but becoming a mate of a divine beast requires both consent and compatibility,” Yula added. “The initiation of the mate’s bond–the marking itself–is life-threatening for the female. The female has to show that she has the potential of carrying the magic of the divine bloodline by surviving the male’s marking.”

Ember had a realization. “So that was why Elder Leeora told me that I survived the marking and now I am His Majesty’s mate.”

“Yes, Miss.” Yula nodded.

Silence filled the chamber as Ember digested the shocking things she learned today.

“Does being mates have anything to do with me being attracted towards His Majesty’s scent?” she asked after a while. “Every time I am near him, I feel like… like I lose control over myself and I don’t know what exactly happens to me.”_.

This was the thing that troubled her the most. Though she liked Draven’s scent, it bothered her that she was acting unlike herself. She felt fear for the unknown urge controlling her body.

Yula nodded again. “Being able to smell the unique scent of your mate is one of the most obvious changes and the most important aspect of sharing a mate’s bond. Only a mate can smell–or rather, recognize that particular scent on your other half and it’s the same for your partner. In your case, Miss, you say you are attracted to the King’s scent. His Majesty can also smell your unique scent and feel the same as you do.”

For some reason, her body trembled at the thought. “But why?”

“Remember how I mentioned ‘marking’ is the initiation of the bond? It means the bond is created but is not complete yet. The significance of that unique scent is mainly to lead the couple to consummate the bond between them. The magic of a bond is something one cannot resist regardless of will or strength, and though some mates try to avoid consummation due to their circumstances, in the end, it is bound to be fulfilled. Being lost in the scent of your mate is the reason for that. The scent will grow stronger and stronger until you give in to your urges and complete the bond through consummation.”

“Consummation?” Ember asked. She knew she heard it from the High Elder, but at that time, she didn’t think much about it.

“The bond has three stages–marking by the male, survival by the female and the consummation by the couple–and fulfilling those three completes that mate bond. In your case, Miss, you have passed the first two stages and what remains now is consummation.”

Ember felt like the elf was trying to dodge something. “What exactly is the consummation and how does it work?”

“Umm…” Yula wondered how to make it easy for this naive girl to understand. “Well, if I am to explain it using human logic, you can consider the first two stages of the bond, ‘marking and survival’, as the wedding ceremony for you and His Majesty, while the third stage as the wedding night.”

“Wedding night? You mean the night on the day when the wedding happens?” Ember asked as she tilted her head in confusion. “But so many nights have already passed by since our wedding…I mean, after the second stage when I survived His Majesty’s mark, but the third stage is yet to be concluded. From what I understand, my bond with His Majesty is not yet completed, right?”

Yula looked at the naive human for a few moments as she didn’t expect her to not know what a wedding night was, but the female elf was tactful enough to not show anything on her face. From what she recalled from Elder Leeora, this human girl had an unfortunate life and was raised away from human society.  Having spent her entire life on a deserted mountain with only her nanny as a companion, it was reasonable that Ember was ignorant of many things that should be considered common sense.

“I heard from Elder Leeora that you had a nanny.”

Ember nodded as her expression turned sad upon hearing it. “Yes…Her name was Gaia…”

“Didn’t Miss Gaia ever talk about weddings with you? Perhaps about how families are created? In particular, about…children?”

That sadness disappeared from Ember’s face as she remembered those fond memories. “Gaia did. We used to gossip about various families whenever she went down to the villages.”

“What about the things between a husband and wife?” Yula probed. “What do you know about how families are formed?”

“Umm…that when a man and a woman love each other, they get married, then they have kids and they have a family. Then their kids grow old and get married and have their own families,” she replied, feeling content about her answer. “The first man and woman become grandparents, their kids parents and the kids’ kids grandchildren–“

Yula cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, Miss, you are correct but…what about the wedding night? Did your nanny never mention what married couples do at night…?”

Ember blinked a few times. “Is there anything to talk about? Doesn’t everyone just sleep at night?”

Yula felt speechless. She did expect that this human knew nothing about such delicate affairs, but only now did it occur to her that without any older female family members to guide Ember, that guiding role had fallen on the elf.

The elf’s concern was how to explain it to her without overstepping her status. She looked at Ember who seemed equally curious and impatient, waiting to hear her response with absolute innocence on that small face.

Yula cleared her throat. “Well…Miss Ember, when you felt attracted to the scent from His Majesty, your mate, do you remember what you did? I am sure you recall how you reacted though at that moment you felt unlike your usual self and acted under some kind of influence.”

Ember thought about what Yula had asked her, and in no time, her face turned bright red. Her cheeks felt warm with the memories of those intimate moments.