‘He knows…’ Zev was rendered speechless. He tried to hide the shock he felt, but his expression gave him away. He could only wonder how someone like Levius knew something that shouldn’t be known. It was his deepest secret as well as his weakness. Once his enemies knew about how incapable he could be when it comes to killing his opponent, it would definitely be used against him in the future fight. And that was the least Zev wanted them to know. His kingly temperament was enough to get anyone on their knees yet the mask he had been wearing for years could be exposed at any time. It was something he didn’t consider before, thinking it would take another century for him to break free from the curse...or maybe not at all for the rest of his life. Unexpectedly, the person whom he almost entrusted his fate in exchange for getting rid of the curse actually knew about his secret.
“What do you mean by that?” Zev asked, testing the waters. He was interested to find out whethe
“How’s the training?” Zev inquired as he walked down the stairs one morning. Three days had passed, and he was looking forward to hearing something good from Lucian’s team. After thinking over the situation they were in, Zev decided to make some changes to his plan. Instead of waiting for the blood clan to invade, he thought it would be better if he gained a foothold on the enemy’s territory. Followed by his thorough planning, considering all the possible factors that may affect his goal, Zev had been silently observing how Lucian managed his men.“Your Majesty,” Lucian greeted and slightly bent down. “I’m not good with words, so I hope you’ll see the improvement for yourself,” he said with a smile.Zev nodded his head and walked ahead. “Gather them ar
The atmosphere inside the room became heavier. Zev wanted to smash things to vent his anger when Levius couldn’t give him the answer he wanted. Everything was set and even before the poison affected Layla, the young lady had already submitted her life to him. She was finally willing to be his sword and he couldn’t be any happier than that. Zev knew that he had to rely on Layla when it comes to fulfilling his wish. He also had the feeling that after conquering the world with the young lady’s aid, he could also break away from the curse. And yet a certain Levius could only keep reminding him to kill the lady to solve his trouble.“Tell me, is there still a chance for her to wake up?” Zev’s cold tone intensified the chill in the room. His hoarse voice echoed through the walls.“Your Majesty, I understand you wanted to keep her alive but having her killed would be more beneficial to you. Not only you’ll break the curse, but you can also easily defeat an
The piercing pain spread all over Zev’s shoulder. He should have already pushed Layla away if not for her arms tightly wrapped around him. Besides, it wasn’t the first time since he got bitten by her. They even exchanged bites before, feeding on each other’s flesh--- conducting cannibalism which he never thought he would ever experience in his lifetime. The interesting part was, Zev didn’t mind all of these just because it was done by Layla.“Y-Your Majesty, please excuse me,” Boris mumbled while trying to look elsewhere. The boy’s face was red, embarrassed to see two adults doing something ‘intimate’.“You’re leaving? Aren’t you suppose to help me out of this? Get Levius to come back. He gave me the warning to stay away from earlier, but he didn’t make it clear what it was for,” Zev said as he clenched his fists, enduring the sharp pain which kept digging through his skin. He could hear Layla’s gnawing, and it was strange how he found it somehow am
“What?” Zev subconsciously asked when Layla pushed him away. They were having fun for a while and was almost proceeding to the next step. Zev may not be experienced, but he knew what he should do with a woman. He was well-aware of the functions of his body parts and thought that everything about him should fit in with Layla. Like pieces of a puzzle separated from each other, Zev wanted to try putting on the pieces together, and yet the one whom he considered as his perfect match didn’t seem to be interested in it.“All right, that’s enough,” Layla mumbled, breathless. They kissed for several minutes that they both almost lost their breath. She brushed her hand over her mouth, wiping the traces of his saliva on him. The young lady acted like it wasn’t a big deal at all which pissed off Zev who was looking forward to more.His ego was hurt once again. Who wouldn’t get insulted when the one he jus
“Huh. It’s not like I’ve never wished to be dead before. I can manage,” Zev mumbled under his breath. He could feel something was wrong with his body and the source of pain penetrating through his bones was coming from the wounds on his shoulder.“Your Majesty, I couldn’t let you endure this pain. I will arrange another medicinal bath for you. You have to soak in it until you heal your wounds,” Levius said with determination.“I told you, I can manage. And I don’t need anyone, especially you, to tell me what to do when it comes to my health. I know my body well than you do,” Zev stubbornly replied. He held Layla in his arms and pulled him out of the water.The young lady’s face was flushed and her skin was shivering as if she was cold despite her high body temperature. “Ngh…” Layla moaned while gritting her teeth. She was holding tightly on Zev’s arm to the point that her nails were buried on his skin.‘She’s having a fever again,’ Zev thought as he turned to
Zev bit his lips when he felt his blood rushed to his face seeing the lady’s bare skin. It was strange how he suddenly felt something when looking at her naked body when they used to sleep together without wearing anything and they both didn’t mind it at all. Also, Layla’s words seeped through his ears that he wanted to do something about her request. Unfortunately, he was still on the right mind and wouldn’t do such a thing when the lady was drugged. He didn’t know why Boris would do such a thing, but he sure wanted to punish the boy when he’s done with the dilemma he’s facing. Whatever the boy’s reason, he knew it was because of some misunderstanding. After all, it was Boris who told him about ‘making love’ between two Weres.“Tsk,” Zev clicked his tongue. Even Layla herself might not be aware yet of being one of them. It was quite embarrassing to accept that he let her ‘devour’ her several times already. And now it seemed to him that he needed to do something to help her ag
“Your Majesty, please forgive me. I needed some time to analyze the poison and by the time I discovered what type it was… I was ordered to leave,” Boris explained while on his knees. “Believe me, I didn’t mean to hide it from you, Your Majesty. Spare my life,” he begged.Zev sighed. After looking back on what happened, he realized that he really didn’t give the boy a chance to say something. He also sent him out of the room when Layla’s condition became worse. What could he do? Zev was upset that no one was able to give him the solution he wanted.“I thought it was Wisteria,” Zev mumbled while looking grimly at Boris who was still bowing his head while trembling in fear of punishment. “If you can tell me more about this, I might consider letting you go,” he added while tapping his finger on the hand rest of the couch. Right after he caught the two spying on him and Layla, Zev took a quick bath and got changed only to announce his punishment.Levius didn’t say anyth
“Can’t sleep?”Layla turned to her right when she heard Zev asked. She was trying to avoid having a conversation with the man, so she faced her back at him.“I’m going to sleep now,” she replied quietly and closed her eyes. Layla felt the bed moved a little and the warm breath fanning the back of her neck was nice and comforting, only if she wasn’t aware it was because of Zev. “Master, let me sleep,” she mumbled in exasperation. Layla was only holding herself back not to land a blow on the man’s face. After she recalled what happened in the morning… especially what she did, embarrassment became her surname.“Hmm. Let’s sleep together like this,” Zev said and hugged her and when she was about to turn to face him, he felt his lips pressed on her skin. “Sleep tight, little Layla,” he added.Layla abruptly opened her eyes and sighed. She rolled her eyes when he pulled her closer to him. She still had to play ‘master-servant’ with the demon beside her. Otherwise,
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