Freya and Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 14: Illusion

Xavier stared at his brother in front of him, his right eye beginning to twitch in annoyance. He could see the countless questions his younger brother had for him, none of which he wanted to answer right now.

Not with Freya around. Ethan would just end up taking it out on her and he did not want that happening. Especially when he knew what the other snake beastman was capable of.

"Ethan, we’ll talk later." Xavier finally answered his brother, giving him a warning look. "Don’t cause trouble..."

He didn’t want to get physical with his brother, but if he needed to punch the brat to get him out of the way, then he would. However, Ethan didn’t move a muscle and just let out a tiny smirk.

That was when Xavier realized his mistake.

"Fucking ass..." Xavier swore, turning to Freya just as her eyes widened. "Shit! You bastard! Powers are off limits in this house!"

He turned to his dumbass of a brother, slipping on his glove before he decked him, for once not holding back. Ethan took the hit in the face, not even moving as his smirk widened.

"You say that, but your glove was off." Ethan muttered, eyes going dark. "You broke the rules first! She doesn’t belong here!"

The bastard was finally showing his true twisted self. The sight made Xavier recoil back, straightening up as he buried away every emotion. He needed to stay calm.

"Release her now." Xavier ordered in an all too calm tone, nothing like the rage boiling through him.

He turned a blind eye to a lot of things his younger brother did, taking the fall for all the trouble he caused. But it seemed that had now backfired on him. Ethan was going to destroy his one chance to get away from it all.

Ethan merely scoffed, wiping the corner of his mouth where blood was flowing out. "Why should I? She has a right to see your true nature. To know what monsters lurk about in this house."

"She’s already seen me kill others with my ability. You don’t need to interfere, so stop pushing your luck." Xavier retorted. "We’ll discuss this later, so stop acting like a damn brat!"

"Why later?!" Ethan cried out. "You’re gone for six months, completing mission after mission like some kind of lapdog and suddenly you’re getting married?! What is this, some kind of new order?! Or are you just following in father’s footsteps?"

At those words, Xavier clenched his fist until blood seeped from his palm, feeling his mana blazed through him. A part of his mind cried out for him to destroy, to use his power to eliminate the threat.

He had not fully recovered yet and Ethan’s words were making him lose more of the rational side of him to the darkness within himself. He tightened his fist, trying to use the pain to ignore the darkness seeping into him.

"Ethan..." Xavier called out softly. "Please... I’ll explain everything later. But right now... You need to stop. Otherwise, you might just lose someone else."

It was harsh of him to bring it up, but he needed Ethan to withdraw his power. Freya wasn’t in a good state, physically or mentally, and who knew what damage Ethan’s power would cost.

Ethan glared at Xavier for a second before he snapped his finger. "You better not go back on your word."

Freya blinked, letting out a huge gasp as she came back to reality. She gazed at Ethan in horror, turning to Xavier before turning back to Ethan.

"Y-you..." Freya stuttered out, unable to find the right words.

"Alive." Ethan muttered, going back to that fake cheeriness. "You needed to see what my brother could do."

And with that he disappeared, no doubt only going to return once they were gone. Freya was trembling now and Xavier barely had time to reach out for her as her legs gave out.

Her bowl of soup and fork fell to the ground and Xavier ignored it, sweeping her up into his arms. He doubted anyone would have any strength left after dealing with one of Ethan’s illusions.

The damn bastard...

Xavier held her in a princess carry and stepped over the mess, heading upstairs. He’d get one of the housekeeper androids to clean it up. Or perhaps use Eethan’s face. The brat deserved it after today.

Freya gripped him tightly and murmured out, "That... You didn’t..."

"I’m not sure what you saw, but it wasn’t real." Xavier sighed, wishing he had decked Ethan again. "Ethan was being... a dick. He has an illusion ability. Allows him to make others see things that aren’t there or didn’t happen."

Freya shivered, her arm grazing his neck. He instinctively pulled her closer, a calming sensation filling him. It was wrong of him to use her abilities like this right now, but his self-control was wearing out.

There was only so much a person could deal with.

"I... I need to sleep." Freya finally whispered, closing her eyes. "I want to forget everything..."

"I’ll take you to my room. You can use it until I get the guest room set up." Xavier responded. He felt her stiffened in his arms, so added, "I have a bed in my office. I’ll use that until your room is done."

"A bed in your office?" Freya opened her eyes, his words distracting her for a second. "Why do you..."

"I work late sometimes, so it’s convenient to have power naps there." Xavier shrugged. "But a couch is way too uncomfortable, so I got a bed instead." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Freya coughed at his words, shutting her eyes once more. "Shit... This is so messed up... I can’t..."

"Can you hold back on any decisions?" Xavier asked, bringing to worry Ethan might have actually fucked this up for him. "We should properly talk about this once you’re well rested."

"I don’t know..." Freya sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder as they got to his room. "I don’t want to be in that situation again..."

Xavier kicked the ajar door open and said, "At least sleep on it... Please."

As he said those words, he headed inside his room, gently setting her down on the bed. Freya opened her eyes, pulling away from him and a sense of loss filled him as he straightened up.

But he quickly pushed it down, knowing it was his beastmen instincts acting up.

"The door can only be locked from the inside." Xavier stated, knowing it would probably ease some of her worries as he headed for the door. "So get some sleep."

And with that he closed the door behind him and left her alone.