Chapter 6
1441words
Before then, she'd been invisible to him. From his elevated position, the masses of ordinary humans scurrying below had never warranted his attention.
Their actual first meeting occurred during a physical education class.
That day, she'd been moving equipment when she cut her arm. He'd been passing nearby and—from thirty yards away—caught the scent of blood so intoxicating it jolted him to his core.
In that moment, his family's ancient werewolf lineage—dormant for generations—roared to life within him.
The beast inside him howled a single truth: It's her!
A werewolf recognizes only one mate in his lifetime. From the instant her blood's scent reached him, he knew this girl—Luna—was his destined partner, his sole possession.
He wanted her. He needed to claim her, isolate her, make her exclusively his.
She couldn't be contaminated by others' scents. Anyone who dared approach her deserved annihilation!
So he began plotting methodically.
He researched every aspect of her life, manipulated Sutter into making her council work miserable, bribed wealthy classmates to isolate and torment her, planted forum rumors, then deliberately exposed her identity—thrusting her into a spotlight of ridicule and ensuring her complete social isolation.
He systematically severed every connection she had, ensuring that in her darkest moment, his would be the only hand extended in salvation.
And now, everything progressed perfectly according to design.
She was securely confined in his estate, believing herself his savior, pledging to remain with him forever.
Now, finally, she belonged exclusively to him.
As Asher savored these thoughts, the exquisite taste of her blood lingered on his lips. He leaned against the door and released a satisfied, triumphant laugh.
His meticulously crafted fiction of a dissociative disorder had successfully manipulated Luna into offering her complete devotion and care.
At the estate, Luna embraced her role as devoted caretaker.
She tended to him constantly, convinced her love could heal his tortured soul. After a week of isolation, however, final exams loomed, and she could no longer postpone her academic responsibilities.
"Asher, I need to return to campus," she broached carefully. "These exams are crucial. Susan's been keeping notes for me—I'll just collect them and go straight to the testing center."
"No."
Asher's refusal came instantly, his tone glacial and absolute.
Luna stared in disbelief: "Why? I'm only taking an exam. I'll return immediately afterward."
"NO!" At the prospect of her leaving their private sanctuary, at the mention of "Susan," "exams," "classmates"—these intrusions into their exclusive world—the tenderness in Asher's eyes vanished, replaced by obsessive fury.
He erupted: "Why must there always be others in your world? Susan! Notes! Exams! WHY?!"
Luna frowned, bewilderment rising within her. "That's what I should be asking you. Your world contains countless people, while I'm requesting one friend and one mandatory exam. Is even that forbidden?"
"Stay here." He seized her arm with bruising force. In those garnet eyes, a tempest brewed. "Just stay with me, just us two—isn't that enough?"
Luna gentled her voice: "I want to be with you too. But this exam is critical for my future. Please understand—I promise I'll return the moment it's over."
She left despite his objections. Asher watched her departure, his eyes darkening to a crimson so intense it seemed almost liquid.
Luna completed her exam successfully and, to thank Susan, treated her to lunch in the campus cafeteria.
During their meal, a striking young man approached with his tray and sat directly opposite them.
"You're Luna, correct?" The young man dispensed with pleasantries. "I'm Lance. Asher and I... let's just say we have history."
Lance implied familiarity with Asher, though his tone carried unmistakable animosity. He dismissed Susan before revealing a shocking truth to Luna.
"You need to distance yourself from Asher Blackwood. His family carries tainted blood." Lance leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Werewolf blood runs through their veins. Those unusual eyes are the telltale sign. They're born predators—bloodthirsty and inhuman."
Bloodthirsty predators...
Luna's mind exploded. Asher's teasing whisper echoed in her memory: "People say my eyes hide secrets."
Was this the truth behind his cryptic words?
"Don't listen to him, Luna!" After Lance departed, Susan rushed back, her expression worried. "Lance is notorious for hating Asher—their families are ancient rivals! He's obviously trying to cause trouble!"
Luna nodded mechanically. She didn't know what to believe, but the word "werewolf" had seared itself into her consciousness. After parting from Susan, she returned to her dorm in a daze to gather her belongings before returning to the estate.
By the time she left campus, the sky had darkened ominously, heavy clouds pressing down like a physical weight.
In a deserted corner, a cloth suddenly pressed against her face from behind.
When consciousness returned, Luna found herself in a windowless chamber reeking of damp and decay. Cold iron shackles bound her wrists and ankles, rendering her immobile.
The heavy door creaked open, and Asher entered slowly, bearing a candelabra.
Or rather, what entered could no longer be called Asher.
His eyes had clouded over, the crimson irises now glowing with feral intensity. At the corners of his mouth, elongated canines protruded visibly, glistening with saliva as he breathed heavily. A powerful, primal musk filled the chamber.
"You betrayed me," he growled, his voice rough as gravel.
He advanced deliberately, then suddenly seized her face, inhaling her scent with frenzied intensity.
"You reek of... another male werewolf!" His voice vibrated with territorial fury. "Who was it? Lance! You've been with him!"
"No! I haven't!" Luna cried desperately. "We only spoke briefly!"
"LIES!"
Like an unleashed predator, he roared, slamming her against the cold stone platform.
All rationality abandoned, he followed only primal instinct, savagely marking her skin—neck, collarbone, arms—as though erasing another's scent and reclaiming his territory.
He broke her skin repeatedly, greedily consuming the blood that drove him to frenzy.
Luna felt her very life force being drained away, hearing his satisfied growls as he fed.
Her struggles were pathetically ineffective against his supernatural strength. Pain, terror, humiliation—she was merely prey, being consumed and claimed without mercy.
The torment continued endlessly.
When Luna finally regained consciousness, the gentle Asher had returned. He offered water and food, regarding her wounds with apparent distress.
"Why didn't you listen?" He tenderly stroked the tear tracks on her face, his voice a lover's caress. "You see, your disobedience forced this reaction. I couldn't control myself because of your actions. This is your fault, you understand?"
He delivered the cruelest, most twisted message in the gentlest possible tone.
Luna's mind drifted in a fog. She began to wonder—was it truly her fault? If she'd simply remained at the estate, would this horror have been avoided?
These dark, hopeless days stretched endlessly, Luna's psyche deteriorating to dangerous levels. That night, after another brutal episode, she curled into the corner and summoned her remaining strength to whisper:
"Asher... you're gravely ill. We... we need professional help."
Asher froze in place.
Then, slowly, he lifted his head. The vulnerable, pained expression melted away.
In its place emerged a cold, mocking smile she'd never witnessed before. He rose smoothly, brushed himself off with elegant precision, and instantly transformed back into the perfect President Blackwood she'd once known.
"Professional help?" He chuckled softly. "My dear Luna, I'm not ill at all."
Luna felt as though struck by lightning, her blood freezing in her veins.
"...What?"
"My sweet Luna, how adorably naive you are," Asher smiled with condescending pity. "You still believe I'm suffering from some condition."
"You've been deceiving me from the beginning?" Her voice quavered uncontrollably.
"Initially, I had hoped to maintain our charming fairy tale." Asher approached slowly, crouching before her with mock sympathy. "Unfortunately, your persistent disobedience forced me to adopt more... direct methods."
"You..." Overwhelming rage and humiliation made Luna tremble violently.
Asher merely smiled with perfect impunity, stroking the chains binding her as one might caress a prized possession.
"Don't be upset. Isn't this arrangement superior? No more degrading jobs, no more pandering to others, no more academic pressures. I can provide everything you need. And my requirements are quite simple..."
He leaned closer, those beautiful eyes now stripped of all pretense, revealing only pure, dark possessiveness.
"...I want you. All of you, belonging exclusively to me. Escape is impossible, Luna. Those pathetic social connections you forged have been systematically destroyed by my design. No one will search for you. No one will remember you. From this moment forward, your entire world consists solely of me."
Luna stared at his beautiful, demonic face as the light in her eyes extinguished completely. Rage, grief, despair—all collapsed into a hollow emptiness.
