“A little demon,” Levius mumbled clearly. He stared at the young lady in Zev’s arms with his shining blue eyes. “Her soul had been contaminated by hatred. It’s rotten even when she’s still alive. Your majesty, it's best to keep your distance from her,” he continued. Sincerity was all Zev could hear from his voice.
“Why?” The white-haired asked as he tightened his grip on Layla. “She’s a Werewolf just like me. Today’s the first time she shifted into her ultimate form. And you’re calling her a ‘little demon’? Have you seen a real demon in your life?” Zev scowled at the guy. He watched Levius shook his head.
“I have not, Your Majesty.”
Zev snickered. “Do you want to see one?” His words were packed with sarcasm. He was still waiting for the other guy to tell him the reason why he had to stay away with Layla.
Levius shook his head again. “Your majesty, that lady in your arms… would be your biggest downfall. I saw her ros
The unusual sound of people murmuring in the kitchen surprised Layla when she walked down the stairs. She woke up alone in the morning which was also ‘unusual’ as she would always find Zev beside her. However, she felt something was different as strange things happened one after another. Her head was heavy, yet she had to force herself to get up for her daily ‘hunting’ which she considered her training to improve her physic. She remembered a little about what happened the previous day, and she wanted to ask Zev about it, but he wasn’t by her side when she opened her eyes. She shrugged off the thought and told herself to focus on her training instead before she got killed.Layla headed to the dining hall where she used to eat roasted meat along with her master, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be just the two of them. She had no idea why there were more people in the mansion when it was supposedly the three of them, Zev, Lucian,
Weeks had passed and Layla couldn’t get over Zev’s response after their almost heart-to-heart talk that one afternoon. She thought he would tell her what she wanted to know, but the man just gave her a shrug while saying, “If you trust me, then you shouldn’t worry about anything else when you’re beside me. I’ll take care of everything, and you just have to do some errands in return,” was what Zev told her before leaving her alone in the jungle.Layla was so pissed that she chased away all the boars strolling around that area until she exhausted herself. She went back to the mansion in the evening and found more people. When she inquired about the sudden ‘increase in ’ of their number, Zev told her about Lucian’s ‘friends’ who were going to stay with them from then on. She didn’t say anything about it since she knew she had no right to complain. Besides, having more people could be beneficial for her once she decided to sneak out. Zev would have to keep an eye on eve
“Why isn’t she waking up?!” Zev yelled at Levius who silently observed the unconscious lady on the bed. “You said it was just water then why isn’t she waking up!”“Your majesty, I might have suggested you kill her, but I wouldn’t dare to give her poison. I drank the remaining water to prove my innocence. I swear I have nothing to do with the poison she mentioned before she passed out,” Levius explained after getting on his knees.Zev was fuming in anger when Layla fell unconscious after where wounds were washed by water that Levius brought. It was frustrating for him that he couldn’t tell what exactly happened. He was there all along, yet he didn’t notice anything suspicious. In the end, he resorted to blaming someone else for his incompetence. Something so unlikely for someone such as Zev Wesley.“Leave,” Zev ordered and glared at everyone who was inside his room. “LEAVE!” He shouted when Levius remained on his knees.
He wasn’t sure if it's going to work but Zev punctured his fangs, deeply into Layla’s skin. The mark he left before bathed in blood as he kept digging his sharp teeth on her shoulder. The bleeding continued whenever he drilled through her flesh. Zev could taste Layla’s blood filled with poison, yet he didn’t care at all. He only wanted to get rid of all the toxic in her body and while doing it, he thought strengthening their bond wouldn’t be bad.“Ugh!” Layla groaned, probably because of the pain brought by his bites. Zev wanted to pierce his fangs on her neck where her blood would be easily extracted, but it would be more painful. His teeth were made to tore flesh and not to suck blood like vampires. Since Layla could heal her wounds even without his help, he settled on perforating her shoulder instead.“Your majesty, you’ll get affected by the poison if you keep doing that,” Leviu
Layla woke up to the whimpering sound beside her and was surprised to see the man crouching on the bed while hugging his body as he trembled in a somewhat she thought might be ‘fear’. She tried to call him, but he wouldn’t open his eyes. For some reason, she was worried about him that she forgot about the memories she recovered in sleep. Well, it wasn’t just a simple ‘sleep’ as she still could recall the pain she felt earlier. Shrugging off the thoughts in her mind, Layla shook her head and rushed to the door when she saw Levius carrying a basket with herbs. She asked the guy what was the basket for and when the other realized she was awake, he almost jumped away from her saying, “I thought you’d die,” which made her more displeased towards him.Levius discussed the details with her about what happened after she cut her hand with her blade while training in the woods in the afternoon. The guy mentioned her getting him into trouble for mentioning the ‘pois
“You promised!” Layla yelled at Levius. After Zev’s recovery, the man decided to take a stroll outside. She took the chance to have a conversation with Levius who promised her the answers to her questions. However, the guy was set to turn a deaf ear on her. “How could you get back on your words? I trusted you!”Levius heaved a sigh which made the creases on Layla’s forehead deeper. “You trusted me?” The guy shot her a suspicious look.“Why else would I approach you about it? I know you could give me answers, and I’m expecting you wouldn’t turn your back on a promise,” Layla stated. The perfect time to confirm her doubts was when Zev’s still away. She was dying to know how possibly she could be one of his kind. The worst part was her memory of what happened on a particular night. She knew she had to trust her instinct more than anyone and anything else but what she thought she was at that moment was something her mind and conscience couldn’t easily a
Layla slowly opened her eyes despite what Levius said. She could not care less about his words. Somehow, what the guy said had an impact on her. She certainly couldn’t tell what exactly it was, but she knew deep down in her heart that something had been moved. Levius’ mellow voice saying those sincere words packed with regret and sorrow, Layla’s emotion went into chaos. Until she lifted her hand to remove his grip on her, that’ was when she saw the man she seemed to forget for a moment.Anger. That’s what Layla saw in Zev’s eyes. She was assuming to see how Levius looked like after their conversation and didn’t expect to meet Zev’s blazing gray eyes. The latter was honest enough to show his disgust towards her and for some reason, Layla wanted to run towards him and inquire why he gave her that kind of stare. She felt guilty of a crime she wasn’t aware of. But the way she grew up made her shrug the thoughts off her head and focused on what she had in her
Layla whimpered when her back landed on the soft bed. It was comfortable, and she loved the feeling only if no one’s on top of her, pinning her under. She was about to push the Zev away from her, but he moved faster and pulled away from the kiss.“There’s no turning back, little Layla,” the man muttered while staring at her eyes. “You started this,” he added and fondled her face.“I…” Layla couldn’t continue what she wanted to say. After all, Zev was right. She was the one who kissed him first otherwise the man wouldn’t do the same. The years she spent in the dungeon made her learn how men would deal with their opposite sex, especially in a secluded corner where the walls and the floors were cold and the body needed more heat. Zev was a man, a demon, and a beast who probably wanted the same experience when alone with a woman like her.“Hmm?” Zev leaned closer and blew air to her neck, sending more chills to her already frozen nerves
A Hundred years had passed, and the world remained the same, except for a fact that humans learned to accept other races. The evolution of man went steadfast as new species kept increasing, adding up to the mass number of population on earth. Humans were never be on the top of society neither on the bottom. They continued living a fair life just in the past. However, other races excelled in different fields, contributing their knowledge and skills towards the greater future. Those with powers stood atop, and those with the lowest contribution remained below, though they kept a fair share of respect that everyone deserved to have.The society was composed of three major casts that dominated the world after coexisting for centuries:Shifters were known to be highly skilled and intelligent. Since their body and mind functioned a little more advance than humans, they led the society, holding the most power among the races. There were three sub-races among shifters
“NO!”Zev cried as he watched Layla end her life. Her beautiful yet sad smile remained on her face as she chose to end everything with her. Zev’s world seemed to stop when he saw her lifeless body fell on the ground. He couldn’t move an inch, but he knew once he gave up, it would be really over.“Layla!” Victor cried and rushed towards Layla’s dead body. He cradled her in his lap with tears in his eyes, flowing endlessly like the stream. “Don’t die, please. Don’t die! I’ll listen to whatever you say, just don’t die, please.” It was a rare sight to see the vampire lord crying for someone else’s life.It was only a few minutes ago when Zev was still fighting against Victor and Layla’s sudden decision to stop their battle by taking her life brought them back to senses. She had already decided to do it beforehand, Zev could tell she had other reasons. Judging by how she chose the right time to take action and caught both of their attack
“Awoooo~!”Layla snapped back to reality when she heard Zev’s howling. She was certain it was him. No one but Zev could make sure intimidating howl. She turned to face the direction where the alpha kept fighting the vampire lord. They were both filled with bruises and cuts which healed immediately anyway. Knowing how both vampires and werewolves could heal themselves during the battle, knocking either of them would be challenging.“I should do something,” Layla said, determined to stop the battle. Even after what Darius said, she couldn’t just let her sacrifice be in vain. She hoped that Zev would keep his words, and she trusted him, however, she couldn’t be too certain about Victor. The latter might do something that could lead the alpha to kill him. Besides, Darius also mentioned Victor’s plan. It wasn’t like he was still into taking her away from Zev, but what Victor said when he chall
The chaos continued.Layla stood in the middle while everyone around her fought until their last breath. Her mind was telling her to do something to stop them, but she couldn’t even take a step. After using up most of her life force in that one spell, she expected to get weak. It was her negligence to think about the consequences once those who already died in battle come back alive. Layla certainly didn’t expect them to continue the battle which already costed them their lives. And just when she was willing to sacrifice and take all the blame, they all started to waste the second chance she gave.‘No, this is not good. If this continues, the forest will fall ruined again.’ Layla wandered her eyes around to find anyone who could help her stop the battle. But to no avail, everyone seemed busy throwing their lives away. “Don’t… Zev, you promise… Don’t fight,” she whispered while reaching out her hand towards Zev’s direction.“Layla!”
“Since you’ve already returned to the realm, I’m expecting you to come back once you settled everything on earth,” the king of deity told Layla. “In any case you changed your mind about something, you should come and let me know about it. You’ll never know, I might grant you a wish,” he added before sending her back to earth to complete what she had started.“Aw!” Layla groaned when she felt something hard hitting her head. She opened her eyes to see Levius glaring at her. “Levius?” The name naturally came out of her mouth as if she’d known its owner. ‘Where am I? I was just talking to the king…’ Layla rubbed her forehead and looked around. “I see… So, that’s what happened,” she mumbled to herself.“What are you even doing down there?” It was Lucian again. His voice couldn’t get any louder. “His Majesty is gravely wounded, and you’re just still in a daze! What kind of lover are you? Get up and do something usefu
“How stubborn. This young deity seems not satisfied with what you’ve arranged for her fate.”“Now, don’t start blaming me here. It took me a few decades to have them meet each other. I’m doing the best I can!”“Yeah? But you chose a hard path for our little deity. She was sincere with her feelings and the werewolf guy loves her. They deserve to be happy!”“Well, why don’t you leave them alone? Maybe they’ll find happiness when they no longer love each other. Sometimes, I think it’s all because you let them fall in love, that’s why they have to suffer.”“Nope, it's not my fault. They love each other and I love them too. I made sure to strengthen their bond no matter how difficult their life would be. Just like what I have said, you should be generous enough and let them be together as much as they want!&rdq
The dire situation they were in made Layla give up on questioning Zev’s sheepish grin. She wanted to hear the story behind his mischievousness while they were supposed to run for their life, chased by a tornado which came out of nowhere. Well, she guessed it was all Levius’ doing. And just like that, Zev glided in the air in his robe with her in his arms. They might be in a dangerous situation, but Layla couldn’t suppress the excitement she felt as they were running away.‘This feels so good. If only he carried me like this before when he sprinted back to the mansion after hunting wild boars, I might have fallen in love with him earlier,’ Layla thought with a wide smile spread on her face.“Go faster, Zev! Levius’ minion is getting closer!” Layla yelled and Zev did what he was told.They headed to the forest, which no longer looked like one. The trees were all burnt,
Layla’s scream was dissolved in the air. Time seemed to stop for her when she saw how Zev received the impact from Levius’ attack. Her heart stopped beating for a second before the basement blasted into smithereens, leaving her and Levius on the safe side while the others who were caught up with the explosion ended up severely injured.“Zev!” Layla shouted. The smoke was too thick, and she couldn’t see anything. “Levius! Let go of me! I said, let go of me!” She struggled in his hold, but her effort was pointless. Levius turned a deaf ear on her and continued shooting the same energy call, causing the earth to rumble because of its powerful impact.She tried to warn him, but failed. It seemed like Levius was using some spell that made them invisible somehow. Zev knew she was there but couldn’t hear her at all. And even with how loud she screamed, he didn’t show any reaction and was still c
“Just like I expected, the fire didn’t spread near the mansion. It would be the safest place to gather everyone and discuss the plan you proposed,” Zev said when they reached the estate. Layla just nodded her head as a response, even though she knew he wouldn’t see it.A loud crash on the door caught everyone’s attention in the living room. Layla didn’t miss the fierce glance in Lucian’s and the other’s eyes when Zev bolted inside the house by bumping, breaking the huge and thick wooden entrance.“Your Majesty,” everyone said in chorus as they bent down all at the same moment.Layla moved down from Zev’s back and awkwardly bowed her head. She was too embarrassed to look at anyone.“You just came back in time,” Lucian muttered as he stepped forward. He threw Layla a quick glance but ignored her when she tried to look back at