"Oh, am I interrupting you two? I'm sorry." Arthur stood in the corridor, a notebook held loosely at his side. "I didn't realize you were back from dinner already."
Damien's arm was still around Helena's waist. He didn't move it.
"I was on my way to return this." Arthur lifted the notebook. "Helena let me borrow it last night. She was helping me with some homework."
Damien turned to Helena. "You didn't tell me you were busy last night because you were helping a Webb."
Helena averted her eyes, not daring to look at him. Her fingers curled against the fabric of her dress.
"Hey, don't take it out on her. I was the one who needed help. It just slipped my mind to return it sooner." Arthur shrugged. "But I think I left my jacket there too. I was in such a rush getting back last night that I forgot it. So you wouldn't mind if I collected that while I'm at it, would you?"
"Of course I fucking mind, you imbecile." Damien released Helena and stepped forward. "You think common filth like you should even step into the room of my fiancée? You deserve every goddamn hell you get."
Their gazes locked. Something sharp and electric crackled in the space between them as they squared up, the hallway going quiet around them.
"Challenge me to a duel if you have the fucking balls," Arthur said, lowering his hands to his sides. Ready to throw down.
Damien's expression sharpened, his body going rigid. A faint shimmer rose off him like a heat wave, his bloodline stirring inside him, the anger radiating outward, palpable enough to see.
"You know, I was in a great mood today, Webb." Damien's voice dropped low. "Finally got my dinner date with my fiancée. She wore that dress just for me. And I was about to get my dessert." His jaw tightened. "Then you come along and ruin it. Just like always. Do you have any respect for those around you? Have you ever thought that what you're doing is hurting people?"
"The only respect I give is to those who deserve it." Arthur didn't blink. "I don't show it to bottom scum like you who know nothing except how to use your bloodline for improper means. You shouldn't even be in this school. Your bloodline is as taboo as it gets even worse than mine. You should be locked behind a prison cell, just like your uncle."
Immediately, Damien flared.
His bloodline held back until now like water behind a cracking wall burst through. The shimmer around him swelled, thickening the air, the rage seething off him in waves that pressed against Arthur's skin.
Behind them, Helena flinched. Her hand found the doorframe, knuckles whitening.
"Mention my uncle one more time." Damien's voice came out flat. Dead. "And I'll kill you."
He stared at Arthur. Not a sign of him joking to be seen.
"And don't think I don't know what you're trying to do." Damien's eyes narrowed. "You're trying to provoke me. I already know you've probably got some fucking recording rune on you right now. That way you have evidence against me or something." He spat to the side. "I don't fucking care. I'm not gonna fall for this shit. So get your fucking jacket and scram. Ruin my goddamn night."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to something low and personal.
"And next time I see you, there ain't gonna be any preparation ready for you. Nothing's gonna save you next time."
Damien stormed off, his feet clacking against the stone floor as he disappeared down the corridor. Leaving just Helena and Arthur.
"Well, might as well go get my jacket."
Arthur's face changed instantly, the menacing edge gone, replaced by the expression of a simple, normal student who was just here to pick up his jacket.
But for Helena, it was a different matter altogether.
She collapsed where she stood, her shoulders drooping as relief washed over her in waves. Tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes.
"Hey, now. Not right here." Arthur hustled over, covering her mouth gently before she could make a sound. "Get in your room first. I don't need to actually fight him later."
Helena nodded quietly and quickly opened her door, pulling them both inside. The door shut behind them and Helena double-locked it, then dragged her dresser across, blocking the entrance as if she was certain Damien would storm his way back in.
Her breath became uneven. Shallow. Quick.
She was having a panic attack.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her heart rate climbing. She started to twitch, her mind going wild.
She looked at Arthur.
"Help me."
She barely stammered the words out before she began to shake uncontrollably.
Arthur picked her up and laid her down on her bed. Her body trembled beneath him, unable to find stillness.
'Why does everything feel bad? Everything feels bad. Everything feels bad.'
The words echoed through her mind as she lay there.
'Damien was about to — oh my god. I almost — I almost —'
She started to spiral, her mind replaying everything that had happened in slow motion. Rattling it over and over and over.
'If Arthur never showed up, I would've — I would've been —'
Tears started to fall.
And all the while, Arthur was just next to her. Holding her hand. A quiet sign that she wasn't alone. A person she could lean on.
For an unannounced amount of time, Arthur stayed with Helena as she slowly calmed down. Her body returned to a normal heart rate, her breathing evening out. Her eyes had dried up from the tears, leaving only sniffles.
She wiped her face. The little makeup she had on had washed away, leaving her looking like a horrid mess. A nightmare.
She looked up at Arthur.
"Thank you," she coughed out. "Thank you for helping me."
Arthur looked down at her.
"It's the least I can do. That sick bastard needs to learn his place." He closed his fist, clear anger running through his body.
"Well, if you don't need anything else, it's best I—"
"No."
Helena grabbed him before he could stand. "Stay here. Please. I need someone to stay with me. I—"
"Okay."
Arthur didn't question it. Didn't prod. He knew she needed someone, and he was inclined to be there.
He sat back down on the bed. Helena sat up and pulled him further onto it until they were both resting with their backs against the headboard. She wrapped the blanket around herself, and Arthur sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder.
"Thank you for lying to him. I know how much he hates you. You're putting yourself in harm's way for me," Helena said.
"Like I said, it's the least I can do."
"I know your jacket isn't really here. And that notebook isn't even mine." She looked at him. "How did you even know to come here and help me?"
"Really, Helena? You don't know?" Arthur glanced at her. "One of the most beautiful girls on campus being forced into a dress like that, clearly not wanting to be there, being trotted around like some trophy. I knew he was forcing himself on you. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, so I thought I'd come by and step in."
"Well, thank you. You didn't have to do that," Helena said.
Arthur sat there quietly. "Yeah."
Helena hesitated. "Your bloodline — it's... I know with the Webb family, it's unique."
"You could say that," Arthur responded.
"Well, typically, you guys need someone else, right? And it's able to help others?" She paused. "I know your sister — she can divine fate for others. What exactly does yours do?"
Arthur looked up at the ceiling, as if debating what to say.
"Mine is a little different from my family's. Yet the same." He shifted. "You see, my power is — those that I deem worthy, I can mark them. And those that I've marked can grow stronger in cultivation by having intercourse with other people."
Helena's eyes went wide.
"So does that mean your maid — Mira — she—"
"Yep. She sleeps around. And because of that, she's able to grow stronger in cultivation." He held up a hand. "But it only works if the person I've marked, after having sex with other people, comes to me, and I make them climax. It's like — imagine a bottle with a one-way lid. Things can go into it, but nothing comes out. And I have the key to unlock that lid." He glanced at her. "So that's basically what my bloodline does. I'm able to help those I mark grow stronger in cultivation, through the means of just intercourse."
Author Note: Patreon.com/Lord_Cuckles or Search up TabooQuill on Patreon.com for Advance chapters and NSFW Images