They talked until midnight, and only then could Chloe drag her weary body back to her room. She gently pushed open the heavy wooden door, her legs aching after a long day of traveling. Chloe just wanted to lie down on her comfortable bed, to temporarily forget the deadly cycles that awaited her.
The moment she stepped into the room, Chloe's breath caught in her throat.
In the dim moonlight streaming through the large window, a tall figure lay comfortably on her bed covered with white silk sheets. Chloe frowned, surprise overwhelming her weariness. It was Alaric.
It seemed her bold declaration upon returning home had led to a disastrous misunderstanding by the old butler. He had brought Alaric straight into the Miss's chambers.
Chloe moved closer, her feet stepping on the sheepskin rug. Alaric was no longer the filthy, blood-stained slave from the market. He had been bathed and groomed. His previously disheveled black hair had been neatly trimmed, revealing a high forehead and strikingly handsome features. It was a masculine, sharp beauty, as if carved from stone, carrying the wild breath of a werewolf.
The butler had also prepared a new outfit for him made of high-quality linen. However, due to Alaric's prolonged abuse, the clothes seemed a little too large for his massive frame. What surprised Chloe most was that the numerous wounds on Alaric's skin had completely disappeared. His skin was now smooth, with only faint scars remaining.
"He must have used the most powerful magical healing potion," Chloe thought to herself. "Only magic could heal a battered body so quickly in just a few hours."
Alaric was asleep. His breathing was steady but somewhat heavy. Looking at him lying there, Chloe couldn't help but wonder. Why could a man who was once the king of bloody arenas, a creature who always had to live in constant vigilance to survive, sleep so soundly and unguardedly in a completely unfamiliar space?
His presence in her bed was a mistake that needed immediate correction. Chloe couldn't let a man sleep in her room. She bent down, intending to touch Alaric's shoulder to wake him. But the moment her fingers touched the thin fabric on Alaric's shoulder, a jolt of electricity shot through her.
Alaric's eyes snapped open.
They weren't the eyes of an ordinary human. His pupils contracted, blazing with the red of blood and fire. Before Chloe could collect herself or utter a word, an overwhelming force seized her wrist. Alaric showed no hesitation; his actions were swift and precise, like a predator that had been waiting in ambush.
He yanked her hand, pulling Chloe tumbling onto the bed. With a single, skillful turn, their positions were reversed. Alaric pinned her down, his hands like iron clamps locking her arms above her head. Chloe felt the weight of his masculine body, a weight that was both oppressive and burning.
Alaric's gaze bore into Chloe's blue eyes, filled with wariness and ferocity. But then, as the distinctive scent of her body permeated his nostrils, the brutality in his eyes vanished as quickly as mist in the sun. Instead, there was an obsessive passion.
"Master..." Alaric rasped, his voice hoarse and deep.
He didn't release her. Instead, he buried his head in Chloe's neck, inhaling roughly. His nose rubbed against her sensitive skin, making Chloe tingle and tremble. A strange sensation ran down her spine, a mixture of fear and numbness.
"Stop, Alaric! What are you doing?" Chloe exclaimed, struggling in vain.
"Master, I have waited for you for so long… You have no idea how much I craved this warmth," Alaric murmured, his hot breath burning her neck.
Only then did Chloe realize something was wrong. Alaric's body was unbelievably hot. The thin linen fabric couldn't contain the intense heat radiating from his skin. It wasn't the heat of a normal fever, but the feverish heat of the impending change. She felt like she was holding a glowing ember.
Chloe looked up at the sky outside the window. The full moon was approaching!
For a teenager like Alaric, who had just undergone several transformations, it would be incredibly difficult to control himself during the days leading up to the full moon. His blood was burning, his animalistic instincts screaming for control.
"Master… I'm so hot… Please, help me…" Alaric groaned, the sound trapped in his throat like the pained growl of a wounded animal.
His bloodshot eyes gazed at her, pleading yet possessive. To Alaric at this moment, Chloe was not just his master; she was his Mate, the only cure that could extinguish the fire consuming his mind. Her cool skin was like a block of ice that he wanted to possess for himself.
Before Chloe could react, Alaric leaned down. He seized her lips with a passionate, suffocating kiss. It wasn't gentle or flirtatious; it was a brutal attack, a fierce demand of instinct. Alaric devoured her lips like a thirsty man finding the only water source in the desert. Chloe froze, her eyes wide with shock.
She wanted to use magic to push him away, but reason stopped her. Today she had expended too much energy establishing the loop and manipulating the crowd's minds. If she were to forcefully use offensive magic now, her body would instantly overload and she would faint. And she couldn't imagine what an out-of-control Alaric would do if she fell into a coma.
Alaric's strong, calloused hands began to move restlessly. They groped downwards, roughly tracing the curves of her body. Chloe panicked, using all her strength to hold his hands back just as they were about to slip beneath her nightgown.
"Alaric! Wake up!" she screamed in the darkness.
But the power of a werewolf in its transformation was immeasurable. The alluring scent from Chloe's body was like a potent drug, further stimulating the wolf within Alaric. He was completely blinded by lust and territorial instincts.
As Alaric's fingers touched the laces at the back of her dress, preparing to strip away her last line of defense, Chloe, using her last ounce of strength, screamed a commanding order: "Stop!"
The words, imbued with the authority of a true master, froze the room. Alaric froze. His entire body instinctively obeyed, but his face contorted with agony. Blue veins bulged on his neck and forehead, sweat pouring down him. He looked at her, his fiery red eyes now filled with pain and pleading. Alaric trembled, his teeth clenched to suppress a growl.
"Master... I really... hurt so much..."
His whisper was broken, containing the loneliness and cruelty he had endured for so long. Chloe watched the werewolf teenager writhe before her, her heart aching.