Chahpter 3

Chapter 3

"He reminds me of Christian Grey..." Tina suddenly said out of nowhere.

I frowned at her, turning to see her dreamy expression. She rested her chin on her clasped hands, lost in her thoughts.

"You sound dreamy, Ti. And excuse me, don’t you ever compare that jerk to Christian Grey," I snapped, rolling my eyes at her. She mimicked my gesture before walking toward my desk.

"So, what’s your plan now? If the Alpha won’t help you, who else will you turn to?" she asked, plopping down on the chair across from me. She twirled a lock of her curly hair absentmindedly.

I stayed silent for a moment, my gaze fixed on the laptop screen in front of me.

"I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try my luck tomorrow. I’ll visit the alphas of the neighboring towns. Maybe one of them has enough heart to help," I answered, rubbing the back of my neck.

"What?" she blurted out, her voice so loud that I snapped my head toward her.

"Are you insane? The Alphas of Brenther and Galum aren’t exactly friendly to normal people. Did you forget that almost ninety percent of the population in those two cities are lycans? The remaining ten percent are their human slaves. Only in Astrid do lycans and humans have equal rights. I hope you still remember that," she said with a frustrated sigh, massaging her temples.

I let out a deep, heavy sigh. I was running out of options, and the last thing I wanted was to end up taking a deal with that jerk.

"But maybe they’ve changed—"

"Girl, we’re both from hunter clans. We know better than anyone how dangerous they are. Our families used to hunt them, and we used to be their prey. Remember those things? The bloody history of our families? Hmm?" she retorted, raising an eyebrow at me.

I buried my face in my palms. She had a point. Things were different now, but the scars of the past hadn’t completely healed. It had been twenty years since that bloody war between lycans and hunters ended.

Five out of the twelve major cities in Remorse were now ruled by lycans. Unlike humans, their politics were purely symbolic. It was more for formality than function, especially in Brenther and Galum.

"Cross out Astrid, Brenther, and Galum, and I’m left with two options: Crescent and Tyrain," I muttered.

"Crescent’s Alpha, maybe. But Tyrain? I doubt it. Their Alpha has been rarely seen ever since that incident five years ago," Tina replied.

I sighed again. "Then Crescent City it is. That’ll be my destination tomorrow."

I was about to stand up when dizziness hit me. I leaned back against the swivel chair, pressing my fingers against my temples. I’d been awake for over twenty-four hours, and my brain was no longer functioning properly.

I closed my laptop and started packing my things. Tina watched me silently as I got up. When I stood, she grabbed her shoulder bag and followed me.

"You’re going straight home this time, right? Your eyebags are practically touching the floor," she teased as we stepped into the elevator.

"Yes, I’ll go home. Rouge’s other relatives are there anyway. There’s no room for me to do anything there. I might as well rest at home," I replied, unable to suppress a yawn.

Tina accompanied me to the parking lot. Once she was sure I was okay to drive, she headed to her own car.

---

As I drove, my thoughts remained on Rouge’s condition. He had been unconscious for too long. If what Levi said was true, every second wasted was a step closer to losing him forever.

I gasped and slammed on the brakes when I realized I was about to hit another car. A cacophony of honking surrounded me, and my eyes widened in horror as I realized what was happening.

I’d almost crashed into another vehicle.

Panicking, I quickly stepped out of my car to check if I’d scratched the car in front of me. My heart pounded as I took in the sight of the vehicle.

It wasn’t just any car—it was a freaking luxury car! A convertible matte black BMW, to be exact. I’d only seen these in magazines, and I knew exactly how expensive they were. My humble Vios was nothing compared to this masterpiece.

My heart sank further as the driver’s door slowly opened. Fear gripped me as I stared at the figure stepping out. I frantically examined the sides of the car, hoping and praying that I hadn’t scratched it even a little.

I was so focused on inspecting the car that I didn’t notice the owner had already approached me.

A soft cough snapped me out of my panic. My gaze shifted to the man now standing in front of me, hands in his pockets, looking at me with a serious expression. He wore a simple black polo shirt rolled up to his elbows and a pair of jeans, yet his aura screamed wealth and authority.

Something about his gaze struck me. His sharp, silver-grey eyes reminded me of someone I’d just met earlier.

"I—uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I-I think your car isn’t scratched, so maybe we can let this slide?" I stammered, biting my lip to keep it from trembling.

He raised an eyebrow at my words, running his fingers through his pitch-black, slightly long hair in what seemed like irritation.

"Fine," he said curtly, checking his wristwatch before turning away and heading back to his car.

My jaw dropped as he got into his car and drove off without another word. I watched in stunned silence until his car disappeared from sight.

A loud honk from behind snapped me out of my trance. My heart leapt in shock as I turned to glare at the offending vehicle. That’s when I realized I was still in the middle of the road. Oh crap!

When I got home, I found Papa in the living room, engrossed in flipping through photo albums. I walked up to him and kissed his cheek. He patted my shoulder and studied me. That familiar emotion was back in his eyes.

I quickly averted my gaze. I couldn’t bear to see that sadness in his eyes. I knew he was still blaming himself for what had happened to Rouge.

"I’ll go upstairs now. I need to sleep," I said before heading up to my room.

While I was in the bathroom taking a shower, the sleepiness became stronger. After finishing, I lay down on the bed, and within just a few minutes, I was already lost in sleep.

In the early hours, I woke up feeling a strange chill. The entire room was dark, except for the dim light from the lampshade by the bed.

I noticed the curtains swaying on the terrace of my room. I didn’t remember opening the glass door leading to the terrace, so I got up, curious.

Just as I was about to close it, I noticed movement from the terrace. The silhouette of a man made my heart skip a beat.

The fear intensified as the man slowly pulled back the curtain. I almost screamed as he started stepping into the room. I wanted to run and seek help, but my body was frozen. I couldn’t move, and I could barely even breathe.

When the light hit his face, I nearly screamed. It felt like something was blocking my throat, and no sound escaped.

A lycan was inside my room. His terrifying golden-yellow eyes were fixed on me. His long, sharp teeth were exposed as if he were ready to tear me apart at any moment.

His deep breaths filled the room. I could see his broad shoulders rising and falling. His black shirt was stretched tightly over his muscular frame, about to burst.

When he was just a meter away from me, my knees gave way, and I sank onto the bed, gripping the comforter tightly.

A muffled sob finally escaped my lips as his rough hand, with sharp claws, brushed my cheek. Only then did I realize tears had been flowing down both sides of my face.

When I cried again, he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pushed me hard against the wall.

"Ah!" I barely managed to close my eyes from the sharp pain in my back. When I opened them, I was met with his yellow eyes, staring at me as if examining my face.

I bit my lower lip to stop it from trembling. I wanted to cry harder when I felt his sharp nail tracing my collarbone down between my breasts. My heart pounded rapidly, and my body was trembling.

He pushed my hair aside and leaned closer to my shoulder. I bit my lower lip harder as I felt his hot breath against my neck.

The tip of his nose touched my skin as if he were sniffing me.

My heart almost stopped when I felt his lips on my pale skin. More tears fell as I felt his hands slipping between my waist and arms, trapping me.

I couldn’t explain the fear I felt. The only thing I could do was cry. I couldn’t move a single muscle.

I felt his hand move to my back, and then he pressed my body closer to his.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt his breath against my ear. I could hear his deep, steady breathing. I could feel the rapid beating of his heart, mirroring mine, and I didn’t know why.

"Come home to me..." he whispered in my ear, then rested his forehead against mine. I bit my lower lip even harder from his actions.

I couldn’t think straight anymore. Fear, confusion, and something foreign overwhelmed my thoughts—something I couldn’t explain, something I had never felt before. That’s what scared me the most.

"Please, come home to me..." he whispered again.

I remained with my eyes closed until I felt his lips on mine. Slowly, my chest began to calm as I felt his soft kisses. His kisses made me lose my mind even more. I felt frozen in place due to his actions.

A gentle kiss on both my cheeks once again disrupted my thoughts.

"I'm still waiting... waiting for you to come home to me..."

Those were the last words I heard before the room fell into an eerie silence. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

For some reason, I felt something strange. I pressed my hand to my chest. My heartbeat slowly returned to normal, but there was something I couldn’t explain.

Who he was, I didn’t know. But one thing I was sure of:

My heart recognized him...