CHAPTER 46>>>>>

“What are you saying, Aya? What is it…? Speak to me!” Akira urged her wolf, but Aya didn't reply.

She just continued to stir violently inside Akira.

“Fucking talk to me, Aya! Who is he? Why are you acting this way?”

“Speak to me, Aya. What is it? Just say it now before he gets close and it's too late.”

Akira stood staring at the beast that was looking down at her from where he stood. She swallowed hard when she took a close glance. The beast resembled a Hyde—the kind she had seen in pictures in books……but what was standing in front of her right now?

She had never seen anything like it in her entire life.

The beast stood still, his eyes fixed on Akira, and she wondered why.

But she didn't move; she didn't say a word. The only one she could have been talking to was stirring inside her head and had refused to speak, so she chose to remain mute.

The beast finally moved, taking another step toward her, and once it did, Akira froze, her breath caught in her throat.

What the hell is Lord Ragnar waiting for?

Let him control his beast immediately! What the hell is he standing there watching for?

With another step, the beast fully towered over her. Lord Ragnar stood by the side, watching. Akira swallowed hard as she prayed silently that Lord Ragnar would step in before the beast reached her. She stood there, her eyes darting from his blood-matted fur, wondering if it was wolf blood or that of mere animals.

Thick strings of saliva slid down his jaw, dripping onto his fur. The beast's eyes never left hers. Ragnar was his brother, but the beast didn't spare him a glance; his focus was entirely on Akira.

The beast's nostrils flared as he took another step forward. Akira wanted to step back so badly, but it felt like her feet were glued to the ground.

The beast stared at her for far too long for someone who wasn't his blood host or related to him in any way. She wasn't one of his kind, yet he fixed his gaze on her. Then his head tilted, saliva still dripping down.

Akira swallowed hard, her lips trembling as her fingers drummed against the side of her thighs.

Lord Ragnar watched, a little curious and surprised by what the beast was doing. He wanted Akira for himself and wasn't going to let her die or let his brother try to make a blood host out of her, even if her blood might not match.

The beast let out another growl, followed by another step forward, and Akira's chest burned as she took a sharp breath. It was getting closer to her.

“Talk to me, Aya… please. Just tell me what he is. Just tell me…”

Her wolf—Aya—gave nothing back, only restless stirring. Akira's palms were slick with sweat as she watched the beast, her nails digging into her own skin. She didn't dare blink—not with what was in front of her.

Something told her that one blink and he’d be too close.

A deep wave of regret washed over her; she wished she had listened to Aya when she initially told her to go back.

With another step, his shadow consumed hers. Saliva dripped and hissed as it hit the ground. Akira's eyes trailed after it; it was quite disgusting, but there was no time to care about that right now……her life was in danger.

Her eyes darted to Lord Ragnar, and she wanted to scream at him so badly. She wanted to curse him out, but her lips trembled soundlessly, unable to breathe out a word.

With the third step from the beast, Lord Ragnar stepped forward, blocking his path to reach Akira.

“No, brother, you can't have that one,” he forced out the words. “She is mine for tonight. If you want someone else, I can give the order to throw in as many slaves as you want tonight.”

Ragnar spread his arms wide, blocking his brother from moving any further. “You can't have her, brother. I can bring more for you—just say the number. Four? Five? Six?”

The beast paused for at least five seconds before he slowly bent his head to meet Lord Ragnar's gaze. Sticky saliva dropped directly onto Lord Ragnar's face, and he shut his eyes, irritation marrying his features at once, but he stayed calm and wiped it with his left arm.

Next, the beast growled in front of Lord Ragnar, attempting to scare him, but Lord Ragnar didn't flinch. Though his fingers twitched at his side, his brother might have never attacked him before, but something about him was different now.

Another angry growl burst out, and Lord Ragnar swallowed hard. The growl turned into a snarl; his teeth snapped, saliva spraying. The beast seemed to be angry, but Ragnar did not move. His arms shook, but he straightened them, spreading them wider, his body serving as a wall between the beast and Akira.

The beast’s head jerked, snapping sideways with a violent crack of bone, then back to Ragnar, then past him—eyes staring down at Akira again.

Lord Ragnar turned to Akira and scoffed. “What the hell are you still doing? Get away from here right now!”

“Run!”

Akira shakily dragged her torn clothes back up to her shoulders, but the beast caught the movement at once.

With a sudden lurch, he turned his massive shoulders to stalk sideways, circling Ragnar, but Ragnar shifted with him, blocking every angle.

“No, brother,” he rasped, “you don't touch her. She is mine.”

Once Akira held her clothes to cover her breasts, the beast raised his head to her. His nostrils flared as he sniffed, and with a violent shove, he swept Lord Ragnar aside, forcefully slamming him against the wall.