I leaned my back against the sofa, feeling weaker by the second. Until that moment, I thought that the only dangerous situation I could encounter was meeting those who got fired because of me. I had never thought that someone would target me just to mess up with Sariel.
"I… I don't understand," I mumbled, "Why would someone attack me to get to the Duke?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Gabriel chuckled, "Sariel used to be in love with a human. It's only natural for his enemies to think that you've become someone important in his life since you live in his castle and even helped him get revenge on the Adragnas."
"I still don't get it. How is attacking me causing any harm to Sariel?!" I burst out in a panicked laugh.
Gabriel looked at me with a slightly pitying expression, then sighed.
"Do you think he would be running like a madman each time his employee was endangered? If you have any doubts about that question, then I will state it clearly to you: no, he
Patrick insisted on going with me even though I told him that I was meeting for a girl-talk. He said that he would sit someone at the back or outside and observe us in case of any danger. Somehow, I couldn't find any argument to restrain him from going. The truth was, I didn't feel safe even while walking around my own office, let alone outside the bank's headquarters. With the unknown enemy looking for a way to end my life, there was no room for rejecting anyone's protection. I came down with Patrick by my side. "Who is this, pretty boy?" Colleen chuckled, looking Patrick up and down. "This is my personal bodyguard. He has to come with us. Hope you don't mind…" I said hesitantly. "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't mind if he sat right next to me." Colleen bit her lower lip, locking her eyes on the flustered Patrick. I couldn't really blame her. Patrick was handsome, and while wearing his fitted black suit, white shirt, and black tie, he certainly was an
I could have sworn that the barista kept his eyes on me the entire time he was preparing our coffees. There was something in the way he acted. It was a predator-like behavior. He observed his prey - me. I decided to look the other way before that filled with panic spark, growing inside me, would take over my entire mind. As long as I could see Patrick standing right outside, my breathing rate slowly returned to normal. "Oh, here comes our coffee!" Colleen sang, seeing Jimmy carrying our two cups. He put them on the table, barely sparing a glance at Colleen. For some unknown reason, it seemed like I got most of his attention. There was something dangerous in the way Jimmy looked at me. His eyes were filled with a savage spark, just like the one, I saw in those golden pupils of the barista. I tried to avoid meeting Jimmy's devouring gaze, yet the sole awareness of his presence was enough to send chills down my spine. The thing I found even more uncomfortable was the in
Regaining consciousness hurt. The drilling headache felt like my brain was about to explode. I was blindfolded and gagged. The tight rope was binding my ankles and wrists together as if I was some kind of animal on its way to the slaughter house. I was cold. I could still feel my light dress on me, and my bare feet were freezing. From the shakes and bumps that tossed my body around, I guessed that I was inside some vehicle, going in an unknown direction. I knew I had to find out more about the situation I was in. I lied on one side and started rubbing my face against the floor, hoping to remove my blindfold. I removed it from one eye, then I rolled over to the other side, and finally, the blindfold came off. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. It was dark and the only light came from a half-inch-diameter control bulb. Nonetheless, it was enough for me to realize I was inside the trunk. I strengthened my focus to look for any sharp objects. Certainly, I was aware that those w
Sariel pulled me out of the trunk. I couldn't stand on my two feet. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I fell straight into his arms. "Be careful." He chuckled, helping me lean against the car he pulled me out of. "H-how?" I mumbled while shivering from the cold. He looked me up and down, then took off his coat and covered me with it. "We have to go now. We're in the pack's territory, and more wolves will be coming here in no time," he stated, grabbing my hand and leading me somewhere. I looked at the coat he gave me; there were stains of blood on it, but Sariel wasn't the one injured. He looked as perfect as ever, wearing his black suit and dark grey shirt. I cautiously looked around. Only then did I see we were on the road in the middle of the forest. The path that we were walking down was painted in blood, wolf blood. There were four cars that were crushed into each other, and there were dead bodies all around them. It looked like slaug
I gasped while my hammering heart constantly reminded me how close I was to a state of complete panic. Yet, I needed to focus. I had to clear my mind and force some logic and rationality into my actions. "Stop the car," I commanded firmly. "I thought I told you, we have no time for it," Sariel grunted. "You look like you are going to lose consciousness any second, so stop the damn car!" I roared. "And who is going to drive?!" he fumed. "I will," I stated, composedly. "Do you even have a driving license?" He smirked. "No, but I know how to drive," I replied confidently. He sneered and kept driving. It seemed like he put so much confidence in his abilities that he had never even considered that he might need help from someone else. I had to take a different approach. "Have you called Leo? Have you told him that you found me?" I asked, knowing that he would rather contact his right-hand man. "No," he respon
I drove carefully. The last thing I wanted was to attract the police's attention. I didn't care much about getting a ticket for driving without a license, but it would delay getting into the Calvet estate, and Sariel's time was running out quickly. Fortunately, the road was empty. I took a turn onto a private road leading up a hill. I kept glimpsing at Sariel, watching him lose and regain his awareness while breathing heavily as the poison slowly corrupted his heart. I was terrified. I didn't know what I was doing. I only hoped that taking Sariel to the Calvet's estate was the right move. Perhaps I should have cut my neck and then placed my bleeding flesh underneath Sariel's teeth. Perhaps I should have done it, but I was a coward. The last thing I wanted was to force him, and I couldn't bear it if he started to hate me. That was why I was willing to do whatever I could to save him without doing a single thing against him. Using my blood was my last resort. Finally,
"Don't come any closer!" Sariel roared, pushing me away from his bed. "You know, this is the only way!" I cried out. "I know…" He turned his head away from me. I could see how he tensely clenched his jaw. I could see him gritting his teeth and doing everything he could to hold back his overgrowing bloodlust, yet it was a battle he was bound to lose. "The bookshelf… Look for Dante's Divine Comedy and pull the book out a bit…" He panted, pointing at the corner of his chamber. I didn't know what he meant by that, but I walked over there and found the book. Once I pulled it out, the whole bookshelf moved, opening a secret room hidden behind it. I gasped and looked at Sariel, hoping for more instructions. "Take the shackles…" he said faintly while stabbing his claws into the bed frame. "If I am to bite you, I need something to restrain my strength…" I walked into the room. As I entered, the lights turned on. There was a wall-size sh
I couldn't recall the last time I slept as soundly as that night. Perhaps it was due to my exhaustion and loss of blood, but nonetheless, it was a good sleep. I woke up naked. Silk sheets lightly caressed my skin. As soon as I opened my eyes, my lips formed a faint smile, which immediately added a flush to my face as the flashes of last night brought back everything that had happened. Uncontrollably, I covered most of my face to hide the blush, then I realized that I was in bed lying alone. I nervously looked around the room and sighed in relief as soon as I saw Sariel standing by the window. He was facing the sunrise. He was naked. All his amazing features and sculpture-like muscles were clearly visible. I caught myself admiring the view and couldn't stop thinking that he looked like an angel, the most perfect creature that I had ever seen. The light of the sun that found its way through the window grazed his skin. I gasped, wondering how he could stay there so calm.