There is one certain way to sever a bond made through marking, though.
Death.
I shivered at the thought and hugged my knees tighter. Dylan… He’s not going to kill me, is he?
It’s not like he couldn’t, either. He has an entire pack of around a couple hundred werewolves under his disposal, after all. Dylan doesn’t even have to do the dirty work.
“He’s more of a chemist than a medical doctor,” he continued to explain, snapping me out of my terrifying train of thoughts. “But I guess I should call him to come over tonight to tend to your bruises first.”
“Bruises?” I looked down at my body, and true enough, my pale skin was dotted with red hickeys and bite marks all over, most of them showing signs of bruising. Wow, I must've liked it rough, huh? I didn’t even feel pain when he was doing all these last night. My cheeks flushed.
“Oh, bruises.”
“Yes, I need to have you treated since I don’t want an incapable slave, and also…” he trailed off as if he was hesitating. His voice then came out quieter and deeper when he continued, “I’m at fault.”
My eyes went wide in shock and I turned around slightly to meet his eyes. I waved my arms in denial. “No, master! I’m a part of the blame, too! Please refrain from saying such things!”
Alphas are usually prideful. They would never admit to their wrongdoings, which was one of their fatal characteristics. Most fights among packs would also root from their ego. So even though it was barely an apology, saying that it shocked me would still be an understatement.
His golden orbs shone with amusement, but his frown remained.
After the bath, he gave me one of his shirts to wear. Slaves with owners, such as myself, can only wear clothes given to them by their masters. I don’t know why, but perhaps that’s one of their ways to express how much dominance they have over us.
After mumbling my gratitude, I slipped into the first fresh clothing that I received in the last few months. As expected, the hem stopped mid-thigh, enough to cover me up nicely.
There wasn’t anything out of ordinary for the rest of the day—Dylan went off to work while I relentlessly cleaned the house—until mid-afternoon when I heard the revving engines of multiple cars in the front yard of the manor that slowly came to a stop at the front door. Frowning in confusion and panic, I dropped my broom and dashed towards the door.
When I opened it, I saw adult men and women spilling from their cars and walking towards the door. The man who first reached the front door noticed me standing there with my hands clutching on the handles to keep it open.
“Alas!” he exclaimed. As he walked closer, I noticed his eyes were blood red. “Our dear alpha seems to have finally bought himself a human slave”
“Oh my god,” another chimed in.
Realization sunk in and I immediately bowed in courteous welcome. These werewolves were some of Dylan’s pack members. I moved to open the door wider as they walked in and relentlessly gushed about their alpha having a slave. It must’ve been a long time since the household had one that they just couldn’t help but gossip about it. After all, werewolves usually can’t live on their own without a slave attending to their every command.
A she-wolf stopped in front of me moments later and I stood straight up in attention. She had silver eyes and blonde hair that perfectly complemented her fair skin. Even for the standards of a she-wolf, she was breathtakingly gorgeous, and I found myself gaping at her until she grabbed the collar of my shirt. I jerked forward, not expecting such strength.
“This shirt seems to be new,” she said, her intense gaze boring into me. “You’re not stealing your master’s clothes, aren’t you?”
I meekly shook my head in fear. It was my first time encountering other werewolves, and I got so used to Dylan’s stoic and uncaring character that despite it being common knowledge, the hostility of werewolves towards humans shocked me.
“I doubt that,” she said, her smirk getting wider at the sight of me trembling in distress. She then released threatening pheromones, and I had no choice but to inhale shallower breaths. “What else did you steal, huh? You little—”
“Cynthia!”
Our heads snapped in unison towards the direction of the voice. Dylan stood a few yards away from us, his usual frown etched on his face. He glanced at me before paying attention to the blonde woman holding me up by the collar.
“Let my slave go at once,” he instructed calmly but firmly, to which Cynthia immediately obeyed. “And control your pheromones, you’re suffocating her.”
She did as she was told. “You’re being too merciful, dear alpha.”
“You simply do not have any business with my slave,” he replied, walking towards the door. “The meeting will begin in a few minutes. I presume you can find your way to the mess hall?”
“Oh, Dyl,” she chuckled, batting her eyelashes at him. “Since we have met here, why not go together?”
Without waiting for his reply, she skipped towards him and linked a slim arm with his. Dylan's frown deepened ever so slightly that if I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t have noticed it, but he didn’t bother pushing her away.
When they passed by me, he looked at me from the corner of his eyes before briefly and stealthily brushing a hand against mine. My nerves jolted at the contact and, as if by magic, all the lingering effects of the she-wolf’s pheromones that I had inhaled earlier had subsided. My throat cleared up while my heartbeat slowly regained its regular pattern.
I stared at his back as he walked, clutching at the hand that he had touched with the other. I heard about how partners feel more at ease with each other, but I didn’t know that a mere brush would make me feel better just like that.
My nose picked up a faint scent, and to confirm my suspicion, I brought up my hand to my face and sniffed. Dylan's pheromones smelled of something sweet and pleasant I couldn’t identify exactly.
Dylan had instructed me to stand idly in the corner of the mess hall during their meeting. I did as I was told, but I couldn’t help but feel anxious and uncomfortable being in the presence of so many werewolves. “I am sure that you all know the reason why this meeting is called,” Dylan said. He sat in his usual seat at the head of the table with his chin resting on his interlocked fingers. For the first time since I came to serve him, all the seats were taken. I now see why he kept the ridiculously long table in the house. A werewolf raised a hand, and when he was granted permission to speak, he turned to look at me and growled. I flinched in fear and took a step back, pressing my spine against the wall. He pointed an accusing finger at me and said, “Do we not need to get rid of the slave, alpha? Even we ha
I felt my body tremble as something soft and warm was pressed against my lids, preventing me from opening my eyes. My ears were ringing with the screams of the doctor, and as my pulse pounded obnoxiously loud against my temples, the terrifying sound got more and more muffled until I could no longer hear anything but the rapid rhythm of my heartbeat. Although I didn’t see what had happened, the noise was enough to render my legs weak and make me want to vomit. Just when I was on the verge of losing my mind, I heard Dylan whisper in my ear softly, as if he didn’t just tear apart a fellow werewolf like how one would a cardboard. “Can you stand up?” I surprisingly managed to shake my head, albeit meekly. Suddenly, I heard multiple footsteps shuffling in the hallway, followed by the doors bursting open. I raised a sha
I don’t know how much time has passed when I awoke yet again. I sat up groggily from the bed, only to realize that it was nighttime and Dylan wasn’t sleeping beside me. I vaguely remember him telling me that it was normal for partners to share the same bed, so I just assumed that he would accompany me there. My backache was gone, but my joints were still stiff, which was no surprise considering that I apparently had been out for a week. I got out of bed and wobbled towards the door. The hallways were cold and all the lights in the manor were turned off, so I could only assume that it was some time in the middle of the night. “Argh,” I mumbled under my breath upon feeling the chill stinging my bare legs. I was tempted to go back into the room and grab a blanket to wrap myself with, but that would be rude since I was still one of the household’s slaves after al
My heart thumped loudly against my chest. Dylan stuck out his tongue, begging my lips for entrance. So I opened my mouth wider to let him in. I mindlessly moaned into the kiss and arched my back. His hands roamed my body. He squeezed and rubbed the skin under my shirt, sending jolts of pleasure up my spine. Not long after, I found myself lying down on the sofa with Dylan on top of me, grinding his hard arousal against my thigh. “Dylan, are you in heat again?” I asked in between breaths once he pulled away from the kiss to seductively nibble on my ear. It surprised me how his name stumbled out of my lips so effortlessly. “No,” he whispered in reply, his warm breath tickling my skin. “Do you want me to stop?” Of course, I didn’t. Though embarrassed, I opened my mouth t
I flung my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes to compensate for the height difference. Dylan was just much too tall for me and he had to slouch to kiss me. He realized immediately what I was trying to do so he lowered his arms, and after one swift move, he was suddenly carrying me. I coiled my legs around his torso so tight that I could feel the hard muscles under his clothes against my skin. “We had some unfinished business…” he said after pulling away from the kiss. “Right, Isabella?” The kiss and the intoxicating smell of his pheromones have left me panting for air. I nodded meekly in reply as he started walking towards the bed with me still in his arms. “Aren’t I heavy?” He leaned in to peck the mark behind my ear. “You think this small body of yours is
I unsurprisingly woke up to an empty bed.My ticks didn't allow me to rest easy—although the other slaves insisted that I do, per Dylan's orders—so I helped around with the house chores all morning. As usual, I shared my breakfast with them as we sat on the floor in the corner of the dining room. The events of last night and the fulfillment of my sense of purpose had left me feeling giddy for the first time in a while.Dylan unusually came home around lunch. What was even more strange, however, was the fact that he strode into the mansion with a tall blonde with silver eyes all over him—Cynthia.Unconsciously shrinking into my yet another
I honestly have to stop passing out.The moment I woke up, the first sensation that my hazy brain was able to register was the painful burn in my lungs as I breathed. I groaned while I propped myself up onto my elbows. Harsh sunlight streaming into the room made me squint but surprisingly, I managed to spot Dylan sitting down by his desk at the opposite corner of the room.The bed creaked ever so slightly as I adjusted my position, leaning onto the headboard instead. But the sound still caught his attention and he snapped his head to look at me. Once I fully adjusted to the light and my vision became clearer, I saw the circular glasses sitting on top of his nose. I thought about how it made him look a lot older than he was."You're up," he said. He stood up before striding acro
I was expecting to wake up the next morning to an empty bed again, but the aggravated banging on the bedroom door was what stirred me out of my sleep. When I opened my eyes, Dylan was already up and hurriedly throwing a robe on. He had a frightening scowl on his face as he marched towards the door before flinging it open to reveal a trembling servant standing outside. I sat up and rubbed off any remaining traces of sleep from my eyes then wrapped the blanket around me to hide my nakedness underneath. “Is everything okay?” “Speak,” he menacingly told the servant. Even without emitting pheromones, his chilling tone and intimidating glare were enough to send any human weak on the knees. The servant, whom I remember as James, visibly shook as he raised a hand that held a wireles