The predator
Luna ran out of the room and hurried down the dark hallway. She could hear angry growls coming from the room she had just left. Glancing briefly behind her, she turned her gaze forward again, running with all her might.
Luna hoped that Ghea’s presence wouldn’t be detected by the mad Emperor, who seemed solely focused on her. Her only hope was Ghea, and if Ghea got caught, she wouldn’t have a chance to return to her world.
With bare feet, she descended the stairs swiftly. Luna did her best to ignore the horrifying scenes filling the entire ground floor. Her body trembled with terror as her feet touched a thick, red liquid puddle emitting a pungent smell. She fought back tears of fear, knowing that even a slight lack of focus could cause her to collapse and fall. Luna didn’t want to bathe in the blood of the innocent victims slain by the mad Emperor. Besides, she had to leave immediately.
Her brown eyes focused on the moving door that opened and closed due to the strong gusts of wind. Once again, Luna glanced back, specifically at the staircase leading to the second floor, before running towards the door. She stepped out of the inn.
The wind and heavy rain greeted her immediately. Luna hesitated for a moment, but her uncertainty was immediately dismissed when she heard growling from inside the inn. She dashed through the rain, instantly soaking her body. She shivered from the cold, but her determination to flee from that monster kept her going, pushing her legs to keep swinging. She looked left and right, searching for a hiding place, but found none that could offer protection.
All shops were closed, and residential houses were dark, indicating that the residents were sound asleep. Luna bit her lip nervously, standing in the middle of the street. She wanted to find a horse or a carriage that could serve as transportation, but there was none. It was as if circumstances forced her to surrender and let herself be caught by the monster.
Luna resumed running until she reached a street intersection, turning right and running again. The wounds caused by her lack of footwear started to hurt her bare feet.
“Where should I hide?” she panicked inwardly. She kept running, but her feet abruptly stopped when her eyes caught sight of a small alley between buildings on the right side of the road.
Luna paused briefly to weigh her options, but it didn’t take long because her ears heard a wolf howl in the distance. She didn’t know if the howl came from the monster chasing her or another wolf, but she couldn’t stand still.
Finally, she made a decision and turned into the narrow alley. Hoping it would connect the street, she had just passed with another main road. Luna walked cautiously along the alley, her body trembling violently, her body temperature drastically dropping due to the constant rain. Her heart hoped that the rain would wash away her tracks and make it impossible for the monster to find her. Luna slowly slowed her pace before stopping. She took a deep breath and leaned against one of the building walls.
Her legs were starting to feel weak, compounded by the trembling of her body from the cold, making her condition worse. She was lucky hypothermia hadn’t attacked her yet, or else she might have died foolishly. Freeing herself from the monster had brought her closer to death.
Luna ran her wet, long hair through her fingers and tilted her head back, letting the rain soak her face. But her moment of calm was abruptly disturbed when she heard a sound like gravel being stepped on. The adrenaline that had subsided returned, and she immediately became alert. Luna straightened up and directed her gaze to the source of the sound. She frantically searched her own body for her phone, which she always carried, but cursed silently when she remembered that she had left her phone at Ghea’s inn in Foryeust and hadn’t brought it with her to Mylonas.
Luna looked up upon hearing footsteps echoing along with the rain. Then, instinctively, her eyes turned to her left side. Her face paled instantly at the sight of a wolf’s silhouette standing proudly and dominating not far from where she was, the creature with its backlit figure from a magical stone illuminating the night, casting a large and terrifying shadow.
Luna couldn’t see the wolf’s face. Only its sharp red eyes and terrifying fangs were visible to her. The wolf growled and approached cautiously, calculating every step. The predator kept closing in on its prey, its sharp gaze signalling for the cornered victim to stop running.
“Damn it!” Luna muttered in panic. Her feet stepped back each time the wolf advanced. Her heart raced, her breath was ragged, and a cold sweat began to trickle down her temples. Luna discreetly glanced around, trying to find something-anything-that could serve as a distraction.
Her steps grew wider and her brown eyes blinked rapidly, pushing away raindrops falling on her eyelashes. Lightning flashed in the distance, briefly illuminating the tense night. She cleared her throat softly and blurted out nervously, “You know, in my territory, wolves are considered wild and fierce animals.”
The predator in front of her growled softly, causing her breath to catch. Luna slapped her forehead gently and chuckled nervously. “Umm, haha… but wolves are actually adorable animals. I once fed wolves with my friend during our vacation… umm… is there a zoo around here?” Luna asked herself inwardly.
The wolf’s growl intensified, making her hair stand on end. Damn it! I need to find an escape route! she thought.
Slowly, the wolf moved and stood upright on its hind legs with majesty and elegance. The rain intensified, soaking its thick, glossy black fur under the faint moonlight. This made the creature appear larger and more menacing, yet simultaneously beautiful.
Nevertheless, looking at the creature still made Luna’s heart race with fear. Her brown eyes shifted from the red eyes to the sharp claws and fangs that could easily tear and shred anything. The wolf stood on two legs, its wolfish body covered in thick, black fur blending into the night’s darkness, and one thing crossed her mind immediately upon seeing this: Lycanthrope.
Luna had briefly read about this mythical creature after binge-watching the Twilight movies with Maya in the past, and the images she saw on Wikipedia were nothing compared to the genuine Lycan standing before her. It turned out that what Ghea said was true, that the psycho Emperor was a Lycan and not just an ordinary werewolf.
“You don’t like being called cute and adorable,” she concluded innocently.
“Um, Your Majesty, you know in my place, ‘mate’ means friend, companion, buddy, anything like that. Since we don’t know each other, we can’t be friends. Right?” Luna rambled; what nonsense did you just come out of your mouth? She grumbled inwardly with frustration. Luna’s footsteps stopped when she touched something large. Her eyes glanced briefly and found a bottle lying there.
The wolf’s muzzle moved, and a deep voice interspersed with growls greeted her: ” You are my mate.”
Those red eyes sharpened and added, “I think it’s time we stop this game. I want to hug you. Come here, little mate.”
“I heard the imperial palace is so grand and vast?” Luna disregarded the Emperor’s sentence and kept yelling out random, unimportant sentences.
She was indeed so shocked to learn that the creature could speak in its wolf form, but her surprise was fleeting upon seeing their shrinking distances. Her brown eyes again glanced at the glass bottle and hoped the creature did not realize its intentions. Hearing Luna’s question, the creature turned its head in confusion, staring at Luna as if it were a strange creature he had met for the first time.
Luna laughed again and mumbled, “I don’t like to stay in the palace. You know, Emperor, there must be ghosts there.” he added with a sarcastic tone.
” How did you find a way to me quickly?” Luna herself was frustrated. Luna turned the narrow alley in continued. Darkness wrapped, clearly. That.
Luna turned at the narrow alley intersection and kept running. Darkness closed in around her, making it difficult to see clearly. At moments like this, she wished Mylonas was like New York, filled with the glittering lights of the city. Luna’s footsteps halted as she saw a large wall ahead of her, indicating that the path she had taken was a dead end.
It was the most frustrating thing in her life. Reluctantly, she had to turn back and find another route, but Luna was helpless as the dangerous Lycan now blocked the way she needed to escape from this dead end. Luna looked left and right, panicking because, this time, she was truly cornered and had no way out.
A cracking sound was heard, and in just a few seconds, the large, tall, and terrifying Lycan creature transformed back into its human form. Luna screamed and tried not to look at the naked man standing not far in front of her.
“Are you finished? I think you can no longer escape from me, little mate,” the man glanced briefly at the wall behind Luna. Hearing the man’s deep baritone voice, Luna shuddered immediately, unsure if that reaction was a good sign or the opposite.
“Unfortunately, I have to tell you, little mate, your efforts are in vain,” Luna swallowed hard, trying to find a gap or opportunity to escape from the worsening situation. However, desperation only trapped Luna further.
The man approached Luna cautiously and vigilantly as if she might throw something at him. “It’s time I take you to the palace. I’m sure you’re tired and cold.”
“Are you really Emperor Alkrevas?” Luna asked innocently and foolishly. Just moments ago, she confidently referred to the man’s wolfish form as His Majesty the Emperor. It seemed the man thought the same thing, as his red eyes stared directly at Luna with a scornful gaze, and one of his eyebrows raised perfectly.
“Why would an Emperor walk alone? And why would you kill innocent people just because of their comments?” Alkrevas certainly didn’t say anything, as he didn’t need to answer or explain anything to the woman in front of him.
He continued to approach and finally stopped right in front of Luna, pressing her against the wall with his muscular body. His hands reached out and were placed on either side of Luna’s head, imprisoning her under his power and ensuring his beautiful soulmate could no longer escape.
He leaned forward, his red eyes focusing on Luna’s trembling and pale lips, furrowing his brow. His lips thinned into a line, indicating his displeasure with what he saw.
“This is my territory, my domain. I can do anything within my territory, and they dared to speak ill and belittle my soulmate, the future Empress of the Vasilos Empire,” Alkrevas said in a low, heavy voice, filling the space with intimidating authority.
Luna laughed awkwardly. “Uhh… you know, being an empress is not easy, and I… definitely don’t want that.”
Luna hit Alkrevas’s nose with her forehead, causing him to groan in pain and pull back both arms to cover his nose, which was bleeding from Luna’s attack. Luna herself used this opportunity to try to escape again, but she was faster.
The man immediately reached out, grasped Luna’s long, wet hair, pulled the woman slowly, which felt like holding a steel grip, and then slammed Luna’s body onto the wet, slippery, and water-filled road. Luna let out a groan of pain from her lips, then felt fluid running from her temples when her head struck the road during the rough treatment, and then she felt a fluid flow from her face.
Luna tried to get up, but she couldn’t. Suddenly, her head felt dizzy, and her vision blurred. When she raised her hand to see what was flowing, she found that the fluid was her blood.
“You…” Luna murmured as her body was positioned from prone to lying.
Her eyelids moved whenever the rain fell on her face. Luna felt a large, muscular arm move slowly circling her back, slowly lifting part of her body onto her lap. She groaned loudly at the sound of the dent in her head and the pain in her body. Then her face was cupped, and a soft, soft thing landed on her lips. Alkrevas, the psychopathic Emperor, dared to kiss her after injuring her! What kind of psychopathic Emperor?
“You are not allowed to leave me or try to run away, or I will punish you.” The man growled, full of threat. Luna felt her body shaking with fear at the cold, threatening tone.
Luna’s heart seemed to stop beating as she felt the temple that was bleeding, licked by the man and the sound of the psychopathic Emperor’s snoring.
“Your blood, like ambrosia, so sweet.”NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.
“You… insane… are you… not sane?”
“This is your fault, little mate. If only you had appeared in front of me earlier, I wouldn’t be like this,” Alkrevas said while gently and lovingly stroking Luna’s cheek. A gaze of accusation and longing appeared in his eyes.
“Now I feel complete. The soulmate I thought I would never have is now in my embrace.”
“Let go… of me…!” Luna murmured, trying to resist the pain in her head.
…