Chapter 3

Everything running through my mind was:

At least he would kill me quickly, and I wouldn’t be abused.

Strangely, I didn’t feel fear; it was as if that thought comforted me—until I heard Daiane’s screams of horror and fear. That snapped me back to the reality that I was about to die, which was very bad…

The massive black wolf lunged forward, and I knew I would be his first victim, since I was lying on the ground and closest to him. I thought about closing my eyes and hoping he would kill me quickly, but I didn’t.

After all, where was my fighting spirit? How could I give up so easily, when everything I had done in my seventeen years was fight and survive, endure all the abuse and contempt at the orphanage? Was I really going to die like this—quiet and resigned?

Before I could put that thought into action, the wolf lunged at me. For a second, I saw him look directly at me, as if noticing something, and then he veered off his path.

I turned just in time to see the male strike Paul first, tearing his head off in a single bite.

A sharp, horrified scream echoed through the clearing—and only seconds later did I realize it was me screaming, desperately.

Paul’s head fell onto the small campfire, making the only light in the clearing flicker.

Marius Blaine lunged at Caio and Dany. Both had tried to run, but he was faster, tearing them apart, their limbs ripped off and flying across the clearing.

The smell of blood hung in the air, along with fear.

I looked around, searching for Daiane, but she was gone.

She had run and left me behind.

I tried to stand when the wolf turned toward me. His paws were covered in blood, as were his teeth—the blood of the other males whose limbs were scattered across the clearing. My first instinct was to try to cover my breasts with the scraps of what had once been my blouse, tying them around me.

But shortly after, it was as if my body was losing strength.

I felt my knees buckle and sank to the ground. Get up, move, now is not the time to freeze in fear!

I wanted to scream and hit myself—how could I be paralyzed with terror while Daiane had been quick and clever enough to slip into the woods and disappear?

Suddenly, the wolf began to change shape. His snout transformed into a human nose, his paws into arms, and soon he stood nearly two meters tall, pure muscle, completely nude.

His dark hair and narrow, shadowed eyes fixed on me as if I were his next meal.

Ah, why did I even leave the house today…

I swallowed hard and grabbed the first stone I could see on the ground.

“Stay away from me!” I warned, my voice trembling to my own frustration.

The male merely looked at me, tilting his head slightly, his gaze dropping to the stone in my hand, then rising back to my face.

To my surprise, he smiled diabolically and said:

“Interrupting your little party?”

I stared at him in shock, mouth agape—not because I thought he couldn’t speak, but because I expected him to say something more threatening, like, “I’ll kill you, drink your blood, and eat your flesh.” Don’t judge me—there are many legends about black wolves, and no one has truly survived an encounter with one to tell whether they’re real or not.

I could see in his expression that he seemed to be mocking me.

“What?” was all I could manage to stammer, gripping the stone tightly.

“I guess I saved you from them, didn’t I?” he said, his expression enigmatic. The male took a step forward, and I stumbled back several, adopting a defensive stance.

“Don’t come closer, stay there!”

“What will you do if I do?” he asked, and to my horror, he began walking toward me. I couldn’t ignore his naked, muscular body.

Panicking, I acted without thinking and threw the stone at him, hitting him squarely on the forehead.

“Ah! You didn’t dodge!” I exclaimed. Why was I even saying that? Well, at least he didn’t dodge—now he would know I could hurt him.

He looked shocked as a thin trickle of blood ran down his forehead. Touching it lightly with his fingertips, he looked at me, seeming slightly irritated.

“I can’t believe you threw a stone at your savior. How ungrateful you are,” he announced, stepping closer.

Before I could move back any further, he grabbed my wrists and pinned me against a tree. His eyes were very dark, his eyebrows straight and thick, and his hair a deep shade of brown, wavy, desperately needing a cut—but why I was even noticing that, only the goddess knew.

His hands clenched tightly around my wrists as he tilted his head, his gaze lowering to my neck. My heart raced, going wild at the proximity to this male who still carried the scent of blood from the others on his body.

“Let me go, brute!” I demanded.

The male raised his eyes to me, a smile curling on his lips as he said,

“You’re coming with me, female.”

I was about to say “No way” when he hoisted me over his shoulders and started walking into the heart of the forest with me across his shoulders.

“Ah, what are you doing? I’m useless! Let me go!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as he carried me.

For several minutes I screamed and pounded against his back, which seemed to be made entirely of muscle—but it was useless. He was carrying me along a dense, rocky trail, yet his breathing didn’t even change. I could see nothing in the darkness, my world upside down.

I began to feel nauseous and had no idea how long we’d been on the trail or where we were going, until a terrible thought struck me.

He must live alone… and I would be his sexual slave!