Chapter 454: Devil’s words

Chapter 454: Daphne

That was cruel.

I watch as Mr. Ken Doll walks back into the small house, his posture straight, his shoulders squared, his victory clear. He does not look back. He does not hesitate. He simply walks away, leaving the other man on the forest floor, bloody and broken.

I look at the man lying on the ground. Rylan. His face is swollen. His nose is still bleeding. His chest is heaving. He is staring at the sky, his eyes empty.

I feel pity.

I do not know about him, but I would not recover.

I am watching invisibly, with the System on my shoulder. I came here when it told me the harem members were fighting.

I pull up the man’s System profile and exhale.

===

Rylan — Alpha of Stoneclaw Pack

Race: Werewolf

Personality: Aggressive, Impulsive, Insecure

Affection Level: 100%

Current Status: Humiliation, Anger, Sadness

===

As expected, the affection level has not reduced. Due to this whole mate thing, as long as there is a bond, affection level will never go below one hundred. Which is what is making this world so complicated for me.

How am I supposed to break the harem when their affection will never reduce?

I watch as the broken and battered man walks into the forest, and I follow him silently.

I am bored watching his pitiful display, so I decide to show up.

"This is honestly sad to see," I say out loud.

He jumps and tries to attack. I easily stop him, of course. The wounded wolf glares at me.

"What are you doing here?" he growls. "I would have hurt you."

"No, you would not have," I say, further bruising his ego.

He is so vulnerable. And what I have learned from my days cosplaying as a devil on the seas is how easy it is to mess with people when they are like this.

He looks at me. His eyes are wary.

"What do you want?"

I shrug.

"I was just saying it was pitiful to see."

He flinches.

"You saw everything."

I shrug again.

"Are you here to mock me?"

"I am not in the habit of kicking pups when they are down."

"I am way older than you think."

"What do you—" I pause. "Do your kind live as long as those blood suckers or something?"

I take a step closer toward him.

"I refuse to elaborate," I say.

He stares at me.

"You should not have said those things about your mate, you know," I say. "I am not a wolf, but even I know that this whole mate thing... you would not say such things about one you are in love with."

He looks ashamed, at least.

"I did not mean anything," he says. "I was just angry."

"Come with me."

I turn around and start walking, expecting him to follow.

He does.

"I am not going to judge," I say, walking. "After all, there is just us two in my relationship with my beautiful mate. So I possibly could not understand the complex emotions involved."

He exhales, feeling comforted.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. So easy. First, you get them comfortable, and then you throw in a worm on a fishing hook.

"How was it before?" I ask. "Before you mated? I heard most Alpha wolves, prior to mating, really have fun."

He laughs.

"It was not that bad," he says.

"Really? From what I have heard, it is a surprise there are not as many pups around."

He laughs even harder.

"There certainly would have been, had we been like humans," he says. "But the goddess only blesses pups to mated couples."

"Always?" I ask, stepping over a branch.

"Not always, but mostly," he says.

Now it is time to pull on the fishing line.

"You remember what I said about other wolves on the European continent, right?"

I stop and go to stand under a particularly dark shade of a tree. He follows me with the obliviousness of a child following a stranger into a white van.

"That is why I was there, and ended up seeing everything. I wanted to tell you that they are curious about American wolves. Technically speaking, they must be your ancestors’ home. They say in their history that there were certain wolves that sailed the seas with the humans to settle on this new land."

He looks at me.

"So I wanted to ask you about which wolf should go there," I say. "But I think you should go."

"Me?"

"Yeah." I lean against the tree. "After everything, I think you need this space."

My words slip around him like a snake.

He is quiet for a long moment.

"I could not possibly," he says. "I have never left pack lands. And my mate—"

I click my tongue and shake my head.

"I just heard someone tell you that you are not important."

He clenches his fists.

"It is not—"

"He is not wrong, you know." I cut him off.

He looks like I slapped him.

"That is why you need this space," I continue. "They need this space to understand your value and appreciate your presence. And you deserve to be in a place where you are not in your brother’s shadow. A place where, just for a moment, you are just you. Not a brother. Not a mate. Just you."

He hesitates.

I know I have him.

"I mean, I can offer this opportunity to someone else," I say. "And I hope you will not regret it ten, twenty years from now, wondering what would have happened if you took that step."

He is quiet for a long moment.

Then—

"I will do it."

I have to physically stop myself from smiling.

I place a glass vial in his hand.

"What is—"

"Ssshhh." I step closer and whisper. I can hear his heart racing.

"You will be going as an unmated wolf. Just a drop of this is enough to have your body react normally."

He looks at the vial.

"But that is—"

"That is why its effect can only last five to seven hours."

He hesitates.

"I cannot... that is... that is..." He tries to give it back. "I could not do this to my mate."

I shove it back into his hands.

"If you are going to experience things, why not experience them all the way? I mean, how will anyone know? You will be halfway across the world."

He falters.

I leave him the vial.

I walk away and disappear into the darkness.