"What are you trying to tell me. Go straight to the point."he said pinning my hands to the wall. "This is what I meant." I whispered. "What?"

"I don't want you to touch me nor do anything to me before I give in wholeheartedly."I whispered again. " It's okay if that will make you happy."he said confusing me.

"Are you a good person or you are just pretending?" I asked myself confused. How could he just agree with me over something like this so easily? Does he have other plans?" I asked myself before he said "but on one condition".

"What condition?"I asked curiously. "I have to mark you first, to make you mine and after that you can torture me the way you want."he said looking me in the eyes still pinning my hands on the wall. I tried to push him back but couldn't. "W.what do you mean by that?" I couldn't compose a sentence because of what I have just heard.

"I will have to bite you with my fangs anywhere on your body and suck a little of your blood."he said.

"What? Do you think I can allow you to? Don't you see that your condition is too much. You just want to cause me pain, don't you think?"I pushed him and this time he let go.

"I won't benefit from causing you pain. Yes I know it's painful but what else should I do since you don't want me to make love to you, you still want to keep your virginity because you think am not worth it. So now tell me.

"Virginity? How did you know am still innocent?" I asked with a shocked expression on my face. "Are you shocked? Honestly I married you for this reason."he said.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Why would I kid about something important like this. I know you are innocent and that's why you don't want me to touch you or do anything to you but don't worry I won't force myself on you maybe if you refuse my condition." He said caressing my cheeks with his thumbs.

His words left me with no other choice but to accept his condition. "Is there any other way to mark me than biting me?"I asked.

He seemed like thinking about it for sometime and later he just disappeared.

"Where did you go now. Have I annoyed you?" I looked around and couldn't find him."what happened to him all of a sudden? I couldn't understand why he disappeared.

After some hours, he appeared in the room with something shining so bright in his hands.

"Why did you disappear?"

"I wanted to get you this. I will mark you with this and it won't cause you any pain I promise." He said asking for my hand. It was a golden Pearl ring.

"How will this make me yours?"

"Just wear it. You will understand everything later." His words were scaring but I didn't mind since this ring would save me from him making love to me so I gladly gave him my hand and he put it on my finger whispering strange words. You are now mine and no one can come between us." He smiled.

"Does this mean I can go out of this place and meet my family?" I asked.

"No dear, that should not be in your mind because I won't let you go anywhere before the long night." He said.

"Long night? What's that?" I asked him. "Don't worry. I will let you have a word with your mother. Am sure she will explain this to you since she knows everything."he said.

"My mother knows everything? What are you trying to tell me?" I asked.

"Make phone call to your mother, you will get to know what am trying to tell you." He said handing a mobile phone to me and left for some work. Did he want me to tell mother about everything or he just wanted me to ask her about the long night just?

I didn't trust these people so I made my way to the bathroom to make a call from there though I knew it wasn't helping me too since these people can come in like air or something else. My heart pounded when someone picked up my call, thank Goodness it was my mom who picked it up.

"Mother! How are you? How is Dad?"

We are not fine my dear. How could we be fine without you or hearing from you. We hoped that you would contact us the moment you reach your in-laws house but to our disappointment, you never called us and so we became worried about you but thank God you have finally phoned me. Anyway how is your husband doing, remember to come over after a week for the last rituals please. Remind your family members about it."

"Okay mother."was all I said to her because I had lost my words.

"Is everything okay? I know my daughter is very talkative and stubborn too when it comes to talking to her mother, what happened today? Don't hide anything from me darling. Am your mother, no one else can help you than me, believe me please daughter. Is anything bothering you? Tell me."

"Well mother, I..I just wanted to ask you about the "LONG NIGHT". Do you know anything about this?" I sounded soft.

"Why are you asking me this? Where are you?" She asked and I could sense fear in her voice.

"Don't worry about me. Just tell me all that you know about the long night."

"These things are for demons, djinni and witches. Why do you want to know anything about them? Is your husband a human or something else? Tell me please." She was curious.

"No mother, my husband is not a human being and the other woman with long grey hair is now my mother-in-law. You can't believe that.." before I could complete it, someone knocked on the door. I panicked and forgot to hang up, I could hear my mom curiously asking but I had to get the door first. It was Anu, "hope you have talked enough to your mother. Give me my phone."

"But I..l "

"I said give it to me right now." He yelled.

Did he hear me? What changed his mood all of a sudden?

"Maybe he has heard me telling mother that he isn't a human. But why would he get angry with me for telling the truth, he wasn't a human after all. Did he expect me to lie to my mother for him?" A lot of questions occupied my mind.

"What happened?" I asked stretching my arm to touch on his shoulder but stopped when I noticed something strange about him. His face was changing to that one of a lion and at the same time his canines were turning into fangs. I walked two steps backwards but my eyes couldn't get off him as he turned into a big lion before my eyes.

"Help. Help me. Somebody help me." I screamed so loud and just like that my mother-in-law appeared in the room. The first thing she did was to slap me so heavily on my face that I felt fire burning inside my cheeks.

Wait! What mistake did I do?

********

Though I didn't want to cry, tears rolled down my cheeks and I wiped it down immediately.

"Thank God I was around to make everyone in the castle deaf otherwise you would have spoiled our reputation with your stupidity. How could you just open your mouth unnecessarily to shout for no reason. "Help help my foot! Next time call for me before making unnecessary noise for us, got that?"she yelled at me.

"Poor Artie, be strong and don't accept to get hurt." I kept encouraging myself inwardly.

"My son is in this condition because of you. He chose to listen to you and disobeyed me in the process and I had no other way to get him to his senses than this. He shouldn't be fooled by you. He shouldn't think of falling in love with you or having any connection with you. And you Artie, always remember this;"f my son disobeys me because of you, you won't imagine what I will do to you", better mark my words so carefully."she was threatened.

Her words kept repeating in my mind. For a moment I noticed something from them, she said she had no other way to get Anu back to his senses than putting him in this condition. "Does this mean she is responsible for turning him into a lion? And why? How did he disobey his mom?" I guessed something was fishy here. I remembered I had promised myself that I wouldn't care about anything concerning these people and this place but for the first time I felt like finding out why Anu's mother punished him so heavily and now she has blamed me for it .

She made everyone deaf so they couldn't hear me scream for help, this means she knew what was happening inside our room and she doesn't want anyone else to know about it. "Is this the first time Anu changing into a lion? If not, this means they are hiding this fact from other people in the castle but I was certain that the other two women might know anything about it since they were the ones who used to serve meals for Anu. I had to try my best to befriend them if I wanted to get information from them and I knew it was difficult and risky but I had no other option.

Anu's mother had tied him on the bed with chains. I have to admit that she was stronger than I expected and imagined, she was very old but I wondered how she managed to tie this big lion with these chains.

Mother-in-law left me and the lion in the room and disappeared.

"Anu please am so sorry. I have heard that you are in this condition because of me and I don't want to cause you any pain but am really mad at you, you never told me about this. You didn't tell me that you sometimes change to a lion. Am your wife and am supposed to know everything about you, my husband."I cried and didn't realize that I was getting closer to him and I wasn't scared anymore. Maybe I was spellbound or compelled to.

He came back to his human form when I touched him.

"Why did you tie me up?" He asked and his words got me emotional and tears ran down my cheeks.

"I.. I.. I just wanted us to play..." "Shuuuhhh! Don't lie please. I know everything, wife. This is not the first time am tied up here with these chains and don't blame yourself for anything, am the one at fault here and not you. Don't mind my mom's words and don't take it to heart please."he cried as well.

"Why did you change? And what does it mean?" I asked in a soft voice.

"It's nothing serious, don't worry." He was trying to hide his tears and worries from me but it was clear in his voice.

"Is there any way I can help you?" I asked.

"I said don't worry about me. Am fine please."he insisted and this reminded me of my limits and I had to back off but I never relaxed.

Days passed and I started to miss my happy moments with my family, I wasn't allowed to meet them nor talk to them but one day I dreamt about my mom in a strange way.

***

In a dream, my mom was so powerful that she managed to fight and defeat Anu's mother. They were fighting for me. They agreed that whoever wins would take me and my mom won the fight but unfortunately before she could take me back home, i opened my eyes and found myself on the bed with Anu next to me.

"Did he do anything to me? He had slept on the couch, why is he here now?" I wondered.

"You, why are you here?" I asked as I shook him to come out of his sleep.

"What are you doing." He asked as he breathed outwardly.

"Am waking you up, don't you see that! Why did you find me in bed?" I asked. "Relax dear. I haven't done anything to you, am not that cheap to force myself on you." He pointed.

"I see but then why are you in bed with me?" I asked curiously.

"I wanted to confuse my mom." He said looking shocked by his words. I was shocked too. "Your mother? Does she want you to sleep next to me?" I turned to face him. "Anyway don't mind." Was all that he replied as he got out of the bed and reach for the couch and slept without covering himself.

After he had slept, I got a bedcover and covered him so well.

My eyes landed on his phone on the nightstand and I immediately called my mom, she didn't answer and then I thought of leaving a message behind for her.

********

Dear mother,

I am sorry for keeping hiding things from you but believe me I had no other choice but to keep quiet because I hoped that everything would be fine and I start to live a normal life like others but no. I have now lost all my hope after watching my husband turn into a lion. And you know what, my mother-in-law slapped me for screaming for help but the problem here is that these people can read my mind and thoughts. I don't have privacy anymore.

I think I will end from here before he wakes up and find me with his phone.

********

I sat on bed for some time till when sleep caught me up. it wasn't long before I fell in my dreamland. The dream was so scary.

I dreamed about some creature with red glowing eyes, black long hair and crawls-like nails. He was very tall and big. Blinking my eyes several times, I realized I had seen him before. Yes I had seen him with Anu in my dreams. He was the same giant old man who ran after me. I remembered how they fluttered and landed in front of me last time.

Oh God, what will he do to me now that Anu isn't with him. I wondered as I walked backwards.

"Don't run please. I won't harm you."he said coming close to me.

"Stop right there. Who are you and what do you want from me."I asked as I panicked but I didn't want to show him that I was scared. Who knows if he would use it to his advantage!

"What have you just done?"he asked tilting his head to one side.

"What have I done?" I asked back.

"A question can't answer a question. Just tell me what you have done." He was confusing me.

"I haven't done anything. And I have no idea what you are trying to ask me."

"What have you done to your husband. How could you inform your mom about everything behind your husband's back? Don't you see that you are not fair to him?" He seemed concerned about him.

"Who are you?" I asked looking him in those red eyes. The fire that was burning in them, only God knew!

"Knowing me isn't your business young lady. Am not here for my introduction instead am here to warn you that if anything happens to Anu, I won't spare you either so better be careful and wise." He threatened.

"But who are you?" I asked before realizing that he was already gone.

"Oh no! He's gone." I said disappointed.

"Am here with you."Anu said grabbing my face between his hands and slowly,he planted a kiss on the forehead.

I felt relieved for some strange reasons. "Thank God it was just a dream." I breathed.