Chapter 74 – Mate

Noah came to his senses when there were barely any candles in his chandelier left. Tessa's chandelier was already dark as the candles on it already burned through.

He looked around and lifted himself up, leaning on his elbows on the bed after seeing no one near him. What he saw when he lifted up though, was a huge spider with a human torso near bed. An Arachna lay on the floor with its eyes rolled up and foaming at the corner of its maw wetting floor under its jaw. After a minute of just staring stupefied Noah closed his eyes and willed his skill to return all memory of what happened. Then he slowly slid off the bed and came over to the spider's head sitting down on his knees near it and lifted it's head.

Tessa started to regain her consciousness after feeling some touch. When her eyes regained clarity she saw Noah's calm and beautiful eyes gently looking into her two pairs of eyes.

"So this is the true form?" Asked Noah, gently rubbing her silky hair.

"Yeah." Silently muttered Tessa watching his face and how he lifted his eyes looking over her whole body, but there was no fear in it. Only interest and gentleness.

"You don't feel…disgusted?"

"Don't you sense my feelings better than me?"

"I don't trust it right now. Tell me. Want to hear."

"It is strange but no I don't feel any. I feel proud of being given a chance to have a night with such a magnificent woman. And happy I could please you."

"Oh, that you sure did." Said Tessa lifting from him and standing up on her spider legs, hovering over Noah with a strange look and a bit of what he felt as shame on her face. Noah looked where she was watching, seeing countless bites all over his hands, prickle marks from fangs in some places and scratches all over his body, however he just smiled at her.

"Did I hurt you? I think I was too rough. I am sorry. I could not control myself." Said Noah remembering how at some point when she struggled too much and resisted he all out shoved his whole hand inside her spider abdomen, fisting her with his lust skill turned to 100%.

She looked away with bright red cheeks as if sensing what he was thinking off.

"No." He heard her whisper.

Noah stood up from the floor coming closer to her and placed his hand on her touching her monster body. She turned to peer at him from above with surprise on her face.

"You don't like it?" He asked, stopping his hand. She shook her head and bent her legs to come closer to him and allow him better reach, while carefully as if afraid to hurt him, stretching her own hand toward him. She touched his cheek with her finger, keeping her sharp claws away from him and then slid her finger on his chest.

"Does it hurt? I bit you there." She said looking strangely at the bite marks on his chest.

"No. I am fine. The vitality of that form is quite good. It heals fast. Also slime absorbed all the poison immediately." He said while carefully touching her and feeling her body.

"You are so strong. So magnificent. I can't believe we actually did it." Said Noah. "Thank you, Tessa." She shivered slightly from his calling her by the name and looked away again. Then she started to change her human appearance.

"I wonder how it works?" Asked Noah, watching as her spider abdomen was getting smaller and how her human legs emerged from it lowering to the floor when her spider part became so small they could stand equally with the spider legs supporting her human body. Her second pair of eyes disappeared and her mouth turned back to that of sexy lips made for kissing rather than devouring.

"It very very hard to learn." Said Tessa. "But it is more like a metamorphose. All forms are a true body with all the skills and feelings. It like compacting myself with magic. There are some disadvantages of course. Like I can't bear children in human form of course. And weaving is a lot easier in second form than any else. But true form is most strong as you saw. You could say it's like sealing myself to get some other advantage. Also as they are my true bodies instead of temporary transformation like yours, I will not change back if I for example lose consciousness and will stay as is." Explained Tessa.

Soon she turned fully back to her human form standing in front of him in her nightie showing off her knockdown shape and sexy body, However she stood in an unsecure pose, holding her forearm with one hand and looking down as if afraid to look up.

Noah came over her lifting her chin and slowly bending to her kissing her juicy lips.

"You are beautiful in all shapes. Just in its own way." Said Noah softly, breaking away from her lips. She gazed into his eyes and did not see any falsehood or pretence, so she hugged him holding him to herself with her delicate yet strong hands, while he embraced her body in return.

"Let's go to bed." She said taking his hand and leading him to the messed up bed. Noah looked around and saw that the furniture in the room was in a lot more dilapidated state. She noticed his strange look and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. This night was worth it. Even if I have to change all the furniture in the mansion I would ask for a repeat some day." Said Tessa with a voice that was finally returning to her lively and strong tone.

"Some day?" Asked Noah with a raised brow while stepping with his knee on the bed after Tessa that lay down holding blanked up for him to slip under it with her.

"Yeah. A bit too intense to repeat it daily. Once in a while though it would be very welcome. All of it…including the…" Tessa started to go red and her eyes started to wander when she saw Noah looking at her strangely, but then she froze, understanding that he was gazing at her like that for another reason. "What is it?" She asked worriedly.

"By next time…", said Noah with a careful tone. "Does that mean you want me to stay?"

"I…" Tessa froze from hearing that question and then looked down. "I am sorry I just thought…Oh. Sorry I just assumed it on my own. Sorry, forget..." Noah' lips stopped her from saying anything more. After the kiss he silently slipped out of the bed and stood near it with her surprised and questioning look following him carefully and with trepidation.

"Yes. Yes, I would like to stay longer than just for the night you offered me, My Lady" Said Noah making a galant bow worthy of any Royal Gala, safe for the fact that he stood absolutely naked. "I'll stay in your care for as long as you let me, Your Ladyship Duchess Threadweaver."

"Hahaha.." Laughed out Tessa falling on the bed, holding her belly "Oh, God, so galant while naked! I like this form of greeting. We should promote it among nobles! Ahahah!"

"Doubt you would like to see an old and obese noble like this, My Lady." Said Noah with a cheeky smile.

"You are right. We will limit it only to the handsome young noble sons then." Said Tessa looking him over once while licking her lips.

"But you are right, I totally forgot that I offered you just a sleepover for the night. I am so stupid. Sorry. Yes. That's what I meant." She said when Noah slipped back under the blanket she held open for him beckoning him back inside the bed near her. "I don't want you to leave. Stay. Please." She said, laying her head on his chest. "For as long as you wish, Noah. Even if just as a guest. I won't force you to do anything, just your company is enough."

"I'll confess having a chance to spend night in your bed is the most tempting thing that affects my choice, My Lady." He said, peering at her with a raised brow. "Just being company might not be enough for me in the presence of such a magnificent woman such as you Lady Threadweaver. I was hoping of having an opportunity to make love to your highly esteemed persona at any given moment of day and nigh and in any place of this mansion, Your Ladyship."

"This is relief to hear, because I am afraid I might not have really held myself from sneaking into your room once or twice. However, I am afraid that you giving me a free pass to your body, may mean you do not know what you are getting into, Count McDaniels. You see this Lady here had no man for more than a century and her newly awakened need might be a bit too overwhelming for you." Said Tessa in a regal manner.

"Mmm. Now this finally sounds like a worthy reason to stay." Said Noah with a smile mirroring her own cheeky smile.

She lay her head back on his shoulder and gently rubbed his chest in the shuddering light of a candle that threatened to go out any second now. A new candle flew to the shuddering from another chandelier in the room and ignited itself from it. Then it replaced the old candle and the old candle flew up for a few seconds before finally going out, burning fully through.

"To tell you the truth it really frightened me when you started to use it on me." Said Noah, gently stroking her hair.

"Sorry. Had to make you realize I could do to you whatever I wanted and kill you whenever I wanted. That I didn't do it because I did not want to harm you."

"Yeah, I figured that out a bit later." Said Noah.

"I know. Saw your resolve. How you accepted me. Made me so excited. I might have gone overboard with forcing you to make acquaintance with my monster forms. Sorry."

"Don't be. This night was magical. I feel happy meeting you." Reassured her Noah.

"Me too. It now pains me that you argued with your friend because of me. He gave me a chance to meet you."

"Don't be. I will have to have another conversation with him. He may have acted in good will but he treated me as stupid boy instead of a friend or a partner. He asked for an quarrel."

"Well, no matter how thankful I am, I'm still angry at losing. Turns out you did have a reason to be confident in fucking this old Duchess silly." Said Tessa making Noah chuckle.

They lay after that in silence for a long moment just enjoying the warmth of each other, with Noah slowly caressing her head.

"You are sleepy?" Whispered Tessa. "You worked out hard after all and it's a late night."

"Not really." Answered Noah softly

"You don't have to hold back. Sleep if you want.

"What about you?"

"Monsters don't sleep.  I will just stay by your side and enjoy your company silently. Don't mind me, sleep." Said Tessa.

"To tell you the truth, I can't sleep anymore." Said Noah.

"Why?"

"Exchange it for the skill that saved me my life and brought me to your shed."

"I see. Alright then. Do you want to just rest or we can talk?"

"What do you want to talk about?" Asked Noah.

"Many things. Want to know you. What kind of man you are to surprise me so much time and time again."

"There's nothing much to say. Was just useless trash in the Count's household until a month ago."

"You said you are no longer a noble. Even if you escape you are still a sole heir to the house no matter where you are. So I assume your family tried to kill you?"

"We back to analyzing?"

"No. Sorry. Just a habit. I just want to understand and it happens."

Noah chuckled. "No, I don't mind. That's your cute side."

"Cute? You are too sweet." She said smiling.

"Yeah. My family wanted me dead. Planned it to make it look like an accident in a Labyrinth."

"Did they want to finish the job, making you have to escape?"

"No, this was actually someone else."

"You are more capable of making enemies than in pleasing women as I see. May I ask what happened?"

"Theresa, I don't want to bring trouble to your door and harm your family in any way."

"Noah, you are my mate and I want you safe. While you are in my house and under my protection, anyone who decides to harm you here will die in the most gruesome way. However I might not do the same outside this mansion, so I want to be sure I did everything possible…"

"Mate. That's a strange word choice. Not a lover, not your man." Said Noah thoughtfully. "I feel it has a meaning to it." Tessa froze hearing it.

She turned on the bed with her, face to his body and lifted her eyes looking at him in an apologetic way. Seeing her face Noah raised his eyebrow.

"I may have marked you in a heat of passion." Said Tessa carefully.

"Meaning what?"

"Well you see this bite here on your chest…" said Tessa gently rubbing on the bite spot in the middle of his chest. "It is a bit special. It has a bit of me in it. Like a mark. You are mine. No other spider may touch you. Sorry, I lost my sanity there and kinda did it instinctively." Said Tessa sheepishly

"Will it harm me?" Asked Noah.

"No! Of course not. It's just kind of…you know…very intimate thing to do. Marking a mate for Arachna. Well usually for almost all monsters, but Arachnas are especially vehement in this regard."

"So we are what? Going out now?" Asked Noah with a smile.

"Well it's not exactly that… Hard to explain. We are not especially exclusive. It's more like you know...human first wife and all else are concubines kind of thingy. Just the monster version."

"You proposed to me?"

"God, you were just this good. Okay? I just could not help it! Happy?" Said Tessa smacking her face against his chest, unable to watch him.in the eyes while her ears went red as tomatoes.

"Wow. So we are kind of newlyweds now? Honeymoon alone in this mansion with a woman in heat, sounds kind of nice."

"Don't raise your hopes. My daughters will be back soon." She said smacking him gently.

"So you don't mind?" She asked shyly.

"Well it is a bit too hurried, but having my fist inside a woman I met a few hours ago, is a bit hurried too." Said Noah getting another smack. "But being serious, I did not get how serious this is to you yet, so it did not down on me exactly how it should, I think. So I am sorry if my reaction disappointed you. But no I would not mind it, if it's such an amazing woman as you marking me as her lover."

"Thank you." Said Tessa and stretched toward him kissing him on the lips.

"So? What happened to you?" She said laying back down on his shoulder.

"Holy Lady sent her hit squad after me. They tried to steal my skill that I made the poison slimes with."

"SHE DID WHAT?!" Asked Tessa loudly, surprising Noah. "That bitch! Wait, you fought the shadow squad and escaped?" Asked Tessa surprised.

"Fought? You overestimate me, My Lady. More like they were wiping the floor with me until one of them let her guard down, allowing me to escape in the worst way I could have done it."

"By coming here?" Asked Tessa with a smile and raised eyebrow.

"That's not what I mean, My sweet lady."

"I know. It was a joke. I guess whatever you did was very dangerous?"

"More like stupid and very dangerous. I am lucky to be alive. Lucky to have my friend there to cushion the stupidity of my making. Tell you another time." Said Noah. "What about you, My Lady? May I know more about you? It seems to me you already know more about me than I do myself, yet I have not heard anything about yourself."

"What do you want to hear?" Asked Tessa turning her head toward him, leaning her chin on him.

"Tell me about your family. All I know about you is that your daughters went to their aunt."

"Well Cassandra isn't really their aunt, but we are very long friends and she raised them almost as much as I did, so everyone including herself consider her an aunt to my two girls. My eldest Priscilla is a very talented weaver, while my youngest, Brianna, took in all my talent in puppeteering. I know, it may sound like the usual mommy overestimating her babies, but those two really are prodigies. They may not be as good in both skills as me, but in their specialty, their talent is beyond mine, I am sure of it."

Tessa kept talking of herself with occasional questions from Noah. They lay talking this way for hours without tiring of talking and each other's voices.