Maria.
"Don’t say that, Maria. I won’t force you!"
Vincent’s voice ca out rough and strained the mont he managed to regain control of himself. The desperation in his eyes hadn’t disappeared, even though he was trying hard to appear calm.
"Just don’t think about dying," he added quietly.
The words hung heavily between us.
For a few seconds, I could only stare at him.
I was completely dumbfounded.
The intensity of his reaction had caught off guard. His chest rose and fell unevenly as if he had just run a marathon, and his eyes remained fixed on , watching my every movent with frightening attentiveness.
It was then that a realization settled inside .
Vincent wouldn’t kill . No matter how possessive, obsessive, or unreasonable he was, he wouldn’t hurt .
More importantly, he wouldn’t allow to hurt myself either.
The certainty of it beca clearer the longer I looked at him and suddenly, I realized I could use that to my advantage.
A small chuckle escaped my lips.
The sound imdiately made Vincent’s brows knit together.
"If you don’t want dead," I said, lifting my chin slightly, "then tell the truth." My gaze locked onto his. "What exactly have you done to Noah?"
The mont Noah’s na left my lips, Vincent’s entire expression darkened. He sucked in a deep breath and dragged a hand through his hair in frustration.
"Forget about him, Maria." He said, his tone firm. "He is gone."
My stomach tightened.
"What matters is you and I." He added, his eyes never leaving mine. "And I am ready to take it slowly."
For a brief mont, his expression softened.
"I know you love , Maria."
I almost laughed.
"You just don’t know it yet."
I rolled my eyes so hard they nearly hurt.
Unbelievable.
Vincent was honestly impossible.
Even now, he was still clinging to that ridiculous belief.
"Quit your nonsense, Vincent." My voice was sharp and cold. "You already killed Noah." I added, the words feeling bitter on my tongue."There is no reason for to live again."
I forced myself to keep a straight face, and to appear serious, to make him believe every single word and the effect was imdiate.
Vincent closed the distance between us in seconds and before I could react, his hands wrapped firmly around my waist.
The grip was possessive and desperate, as though he was terrified I might disappear if he let go.
"Is Noah that important to you?" he asked, his voice losing its confidence.
His eyes searched mine relentlessly, looking for sothing, or anything—a lie, a hesitation and a crack in my resolve.
But I gave him none.
"Yes, he is." I said, without blinking, nor looking away, as I held his gaze without the slightest sign of fear. "He is." I repeated.
The answer seed to hit him harder than I expected.
"Since you killed him," I continued steadily, "how about you kill too?" I added, my voice remaining calm, steady and unshaken.
Yet Vincent’s face instantly lost all color, as his eyes widened. The horror on his face was impossible to miss.
Before I could even process the look in his eyes, he suddenly moved. His lips crashing against mine, as the kiss wasn’t gentle, It wasn’t tender.
It was fueled by desperation, frustration, fear, and emotions he could no longer keep bottled up.
I imdiately pushed against him. My hands pressed firmly against his chest as I tried to create distance between us.
But Vincent refused to let go. His arms tightened around my waist, holding securely against him.
"Don’t say that again, Maria." His words ca out between kisses, broken and pleading. "I will never kill you."
The firmness in his voice contrasted sharply with the fear lingering in his eyes. "Never." His forehead brushed mine briefly before his grip tightened again."It’s not a cri to want you to myself."
The confession left his lips in a low whisper, filled with possessiveness and desperation.
As though, in his mind, wanting this much was reason enough for everything he had done.
Vincent imdiately pulled away the mont my teeth sank into his lower lip.
The movent was so sudden that I nearly stumbled backward.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
He simply stared at .
His hand slowly rose to touch his injured lip, and when his fingers ca away stained with a tiny drop of blood, his gaze darkened.
Yet he wasn’t angry, at least, not in the way I expected.
His expression was complicated.
Far too complicated.
There were too many emotions swirling behind those eyes for to decipher—Possessiveness, frustration, longing and obsession.
And sothing else that I couldn’t quite identify. The intensity of his stare made my stomach twist uneasily.
"I am the only one who deserves you, Maria."
His voice was calm.
The certainty in his words sent a chill down my spine. There wasn’t a single trace of doubt in his expression.
As far as Vincent was concerned, what he had just said was an undeniable fact.
"And I hope you realize it soon."
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. The smile should have looked harmless, but iInstead, it made him appear even more terrifying.
"As for Noah..." he continued.
My entire body imdiately tensed.
"If he isn’t dead, then I will bring him to serve us."
He said it so casually, as though he wasn’t talking about another person’s life. As though Noah were rely a piece on a chessboard.
The smile on his face widened slightly.
"You see, Noah should actually be grateful to you." His eyes remained fixed on . "Because I have shown rcy."
I felt my heart skip a beat.
Before I could respond, Vincent suddenly turned toward the door.
"Anyone there!" His voice echoing loudly through the room.
Almost imdiately, an oga rushed inside.
The young man lowered his head the mont he entered.
"Lycan Prince," he greeted respectfully.
Vincent didn’t waste a second.
"Go tell Alak that I ordered him to withdraw the three groups I sent after Noah."
My eyes widened instantly.
Three groups?
Vincent folded his hands behind his back.
"Tell him to spare Noah."A dark chuckle escaped his lips. "That is, if he isn’t already dead."
The oga bowed deeply. "Yes, Lycan Prince."
Without another word, he hurried out of the room.
The door closed behind him, and a heavy silence followed.
And I just stood there.
Frozen.
Three groups.
Three.
The information slamd into like a physical blow. My heartbeat beca painfully loud in my ears.
No wonder Vincent had been so confident. No wonder he had spoken about Noah’s death as though it were already guaranteed.
Even if Noah sohow survived the first group, he would have been injured, exhausted and weak.
And before he could recover, another group would appear, then another.
The odds were horrifying.
For the first ti, I truly understood the extent of Vincent’s determination.
The extent of his madness.
"You see, Maria..." Vincent’s voice pulled from my thoughts. "This shows how much I love you."
As he spoke, he slowly walked toward , every step seed deliberate and calculated.
My stomach churned.
"You are crazy."
The words escaped my lips imdiately, as there was no hesitation and no attempt to soften them.
Vincent simply smiled, as though my insult had sohow pleased him.
"For you."
His answer was imdiate, and effortless.
The smile never left his face, and sohow, that made everything worse. Just then, another oga appeared at the doorway.
The door had remained slightly open from the previous oga’s departure.
The newcor stepped inside and imdiately lowered his head.
"Lycan Prince."
Vincent shifted his attention toward him.
"Alpha Daniel is here."
The oga’s voice remained respectful as he bowed.
Then he stepped back, waiting silently.
My entire body stiffened.
Alpha Daniel?
What the hell was Daniel doing here?
The question exploded inside my mind, as confusion imdiately replaced every other thought.
My gaze snapped toward the door.
And for the first ti since Vincent had entered the room, my attention was no longer focused on him.
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