Intimate Encounters

Visenya collided with the trainer, tearing through his throat like a spit-roast chicken. Another vampire swiftly rushed at her from the side, tackling her to the ground and propelling them into a rolling tussle. With determination, he climbed onto her back, attempting to sever her head with his bare hands. But Visenya fought back, sinking her razor-sharp teeth into his burly shoulder, forcefully throwing him forward and toppling him onto his back beneath her. And in a gruesome display, she mercilessly tore the flesh right off his face.

Her senses heightened, detecting movement ahead. Instinctively, she leaped at the vampire charging towards her, targeting his vulnerable groin area. With fierce intensity, she violently shook her head back and forth until his it severed from his body, leaving him incapacitated.

"Stand down!" Lazarus bellowed. "...This bitch is mine."

Rolling up his sleeves, Lazarus squared up with Visenya, his blood-red eyes brimming with murderous rage. "I've been waiting a very long time for this."

She spat out the piece of flesh from her mouth, her growl ferocious as she faced him. He taunted her, provoking her to come and get him, and she gladly accepted the challenge. She charged towards her target with a single goal in mind: to kill him this time. As she leaped into the air, aiming directly for his heart, she suddenly felt the spikes of her collar dig deep into her neck.

In an instant, her body was forcefully yanked backward by an unknown and formidable force—a force personified by a fierce Dragon Lord. He firmly grasped the chain of her collar, hindering her from carrying out what she should have done years ago. This only fueled her rage, intensifying her desire to break free from his grip. She snapped her teeth at Lazarus, longing to escape the confines of the leash that bound her.

"Submit," Lucian gritted through clenched teeth as he tugged firmly at the chain.

She continued to violently gnash her teeth, defying his command.

"I said submit!" He pressed.

Submitting in her wolf form proved to be a greater challenge for Visenya. Her alpha aura surged with great intensity, but in that very moment, she realized the power of a Dragon Lord's aura far surpassed her own. It was a force he had never unleashed upon her before, and its intensity compelled her to instantly flip onto her back, exposing her vulnerable belly to him. It was the most submissive gesture an alpha wolf could make.

"Your slave attacked my men!" Lazarus griped, his voice filled with grievance. "That's grounds for public execution!"

"Your men attacked my slave without my sanction, giving me every right to incinerate them where they stand!" Lucian declared, his words laced with the seething intensity of his fury.

"She attacked first!" Lazarus exclaimed.

"I don't give a fuck who started what... nobody touches my slave!" Lucian growled fiercely.

"She has to be dealt with just like any other slave! You can't give her special treatment!" Lazarus argued vehemently.

Lucian gripped his hand around Lazarus' throat, the sound of cracking bones filling the air as he cut off his air supply. He pulled Lazarus closer, their faces mere inches apart, as his voice dropped to a chilling whisper. "I can end your existence right now," Lucian threatened, his eyes burning with intensity.

"Please, my Lord... He spoke out of anger. He would never intentionally offend you," Sebastian pleaded in a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation.

Lucian only glared at Lazarus, the desire to rip out his heart increasing by the second. "I would hope not, because next time... I just might let her finish his sorry ass off."

With a forceful throw, Lucian sent Lazarus crashing to the ground. He then grabbed the chain of Visenya's collar, guiding her back to her feet. As they made their way towards the exit, Lucian snatched a tablecloth in such a suave manner that none of the table settings atop were knocked over.

When they stepped outside the palace, Lucian swiftly draped the tablecloth over her, ordering her to shift back to her natural form. She complied, using the fabric to shield her naked body. The intensity of his anger was palpable in his eyes, a look she hated, especially since their interactions had been relatively civil lately.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "I lost control."

Her apology seemed to slightly quell his anger, though he remained visibly displeased. "Get on," he curtly commanded, shifting into his dragon form.

She was certain that he would punish her for her misbehavior by confining her to the hole, but to her surprise, he didn't. He seemed too exhausted to reprimand her, as all he longed for was a good night's rest. After freshening up, she quietly made her way to the spot next to his bed on the floor.

Ever since the day she had dazzled him with her sensual performance, she had been instructed to sleep there, and she willingly complied. It was a significant improvement from her own room's hard floor, as she now had the luxury of a plush rug adorned with a cozy blanket and pillow.

Nestling into her makeshift bed, she clutched her pillow tightly and let out a contented sigh. "Goodnight, Master," she whispered.

She had been bidding him goodnight for several days now, even though he never responded. Yet, she held onto a personal wager with herself that if she persisted, one day he would reciprocate her words.

“You can…” he hesitated, his voice trailing off. “…sleep on the bed... if you want."

Visenya's hearing was damn near exceptional, but even she second-guessed whether she had heard him right. Sleep on the bed? His bed? He had never offered it before.

"Thank you, Master," she answered quickly, not wanting to appear ungrateful.

Standing to her feet, she gently pulled back the covers, creating a space for herself to climb in. He shifted over to the other side, making room for her next to him. However, he maintained a safe distance, staying well on his side of the bed, as if he didn’t want to get too close to her. She might have felt more hurt by that if she wasn't preoccupied with the sheer pleasure of lying in an actual bed.

They both lay there in silence, their gazes fixed upon the ceiling, as if it held the secrets of the universe, captivating them in its allure.

"Why are your eyes like that?" He asked, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"What do you mean, Master?" Visenya inquired.

"Every Lycan I've ever encountered has eyes that turn black when their wolf emerges," Lucian explained. "But yours... they have a reddish-orange hue. They look like… burning embers."

Visenya sighed. "I don't know... they've always been that way, ever since I got my wolf."

"Hmm..." Lucian mused. "What is her name?"

Visenya felt a flicker of excitement in her wolf as Lucian acknowledged her. Despite how he constantly enraged Delilah, even she couldn't help but be intrigued by his interest.

"Delilah," Visenya replied.

Lucian remained silent, staring up at the ceiling with an indistinct expression on his face.

"May I ask you a question?" Visenya inquired.

"Yes," he replied.

"The dragon that Lazarus spoke of... the one who lost her mind. What happened to her?" Visenya asked, her curiosity evident in her tone.

Lucian let out a weary sigh, "She was the complement of a Dragon Lord eons ago. When he discovered her on his eighteenth birthday, she was merely fifteen years old. The Dragon Council decided it would be best to wait until she turned eighteen before carrying out the Unification Ritual. However, a few days before her eighteenth birthday, someone maliciously poisoned her by placing black zaphynite particles in her tea. It was later revealed to be one of his former lovers. The Dragon Lord was inconsolable. Her family and the council had planned to bury her on the same day as the ritual, but he couldn't bear the thought of letting her go. So, he proceeded with the ritual anyway. He blew his fire into her lungs and brought her back from the dead.”

Visenya gasped, marveling at the revelation. “Dragons can do that?”

"A Dragon Lord can, but it didn't come without its consequences," Lucian revealed. "When she woke from the conversion period, she went completely berserk. The Dragon Lord tried to calm her through their link, but she had unknowingly shut him out. She burned down countless villages that day, until the elders were forced to intervene and put her down for good. The young Dragon Lord was devastated, having to endure the loss of her not once, but twice... and since that day, resurrection by means of the Unification Ritual has been strictly prohibited."

Visenya's heart sank, heavy with sorrow. "That is truly heartbreaking."

"It was a long time ago... thousands of years ago, in fact," Lucian continued. "The dragon eventually moved on, had children with another, and forgot all about her."

Visenya looked at Lucian, her eyes filled with doubt. "Do you truly believe that?"

"That's what they do," Lucian replied with a hint of resignation in his voice. "They carry on with their lives, and never speak their names again. That's what he did... and that's what my father did."

Visenya sensed a hint of hostility in Lucian's tone, and it suddenly occurred to her that his mother might be a sensitive topic for him. She had learned about what had happened to her, but the reasons behind her actions remained a mystery. Visenya decided it wasn't the right time to delve deeper into the matter, and perhaps there never would be. Nevertheless, this was by far one of the longest conversations she had ever had with him, and it was actually sort of... pleasant.

Feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her, Visenya let out a long yawn, her body tired from the adrenaline rush she had just experienced.

"Go to sleep," he advised.

She shifted to her side, facing him, and allowed the comfort of his bed to lull her into slumber. "Goodnight," she whispered once again.

"...goodnight," he murmured in response.

A soft smile graced Visenya's lips as she drifted off to sleep.