7 7: You, Be My Woman

"Damn it! That Lucca is indeed my blood brother! So vicious!" A red-haired man, bloodied and wounded, leaned against a Wisteria Tree.

His white pearl canines flashed when he grinned. The predatory glint in his golden eyes shone like embers of insanity amid the darkness surrounding him like a cloak.

He was ambushed. Just as he was on his way to the Lupine Pack after years of absence, his dear brother decided to surprise him with a very 'warm' welcome.

And now, he, Lucien Lupine, was wounded by the loyal mutts of his beloved brother. His claws that had retracted just now throbbed upon remembering what happened to the foolish subordinates of Lucca Lupine.

They were all dismembered. Not a single limb was attached to their bodies, not even their heads.

Lucien looked forward to the moment that his beloved brother would matchmake the severed body parts together. Imagining Lucca's grim expression was like a douse of medicine to his wounds.

Lucien touched his chest. Blood stained his palm. His cruel grin did not vanish after seeing the blood flowing from his torn chest.

One more centimeter and his heart would have been pulled out. "My beloved brother finally decides to show his canines."

Closing his eyes as he leaned on the tree trunk, Lucien did not lose the grin plastered on his face.

The pain from his torn flesh could not be seen in Lucien's expression. But the pale face and cold sweat did not hide his sorry state. It was only a pity that he did not bring a pill that would heal him instantly simply because he was too complacent.

He was too complacent this time that his beloved brother managed to hurt him to this extent.

Who could blame him?

The last time Lucien saw his dear brother, that pathetic fool was still a coward hiding from his gentle facade.

Who would have thought Lucca would shred the cordiality and ambush Lucien this time?

'That brother of mine is desperate.' Lucien thought.

This was the only reason that Lucien could come up with why Lucca had done this thing which was not the typical style of that two-faced son of a bitch.

Sliding down his body, Lucien decided to rest under the Wisteria Tree until he could regenerate. Though beastmen were inferior to vampires in restoring wounds, Lucien was still part of the noble Lupine Pack, which counted something.

Awooo!

A howl shattered Lucien's plan of regenerating slowly under the Wisteria Tree!

As a pair of golden eyes opened immediately, a flash of savageness flickered within it for a fraction of a second. After a blink of an eye, it disappeared as if it was never there, replaced by the usual mischievous gleam.

Sighing loudly, Lucien tugged his lengthy red hair as he stood up slowly. His grin widened. "The mutts are back. But why are they coming from the direction of the Vampire City?"

Lucien glanced in the direction where the sound of howls was coming from before he turned around to leave immediately. He knew that he could not rest here anymore, not when the one from the other end was the beastmen of the Lupine Pack — the elite among the elite of beastmen kind.

'I need to hide my tracks.' As someone from the Lupine Pack, it was essential knowledge for Lucien to cover his tracks.

Though wounded, Lucien's back did not lose its imposing stance as he walked away, as if he had not sustained any serious injury. His pace was fast yet calm, and his back was straight and proud yet entirely on alert.

As he left the ground of the ancient Wisteria Tree, not a single trace of blood or scent could be sensed as the imposing predatory man disappeared into the darkness.

"FUCK YOU, LUCCA," Lucien growled as he staggered to the nearest tree trunk. "I will teach you a damn lesson the moment I see you, fucker."

A series of profanity escaped from the pale-looking Lucien. He had walked a good distance from the Wisteria Tree, yet the sound of howls did not leave the parameter of his safe zone.

As time floated, Lucien could feel the strain from his wound. Though it was regenerating at its own slow pace, his energy was almost depleted already!

This was bad! Very bad!

'I cannot let that fucking brother of mine have his way on my precious body! No way!' Lucien could only whine at the back of his mind.

His pace was significantly reduced, and the howls became louder and closer to him. His breathing became rapid. And his vision started to become blurry!

The fucking trees around him were practically dancing! It hurt his eyes that he wanted to close his eyes! But he could not dare close his eyes when the thought of sleep was lulling.

This was getting bad. So bad that Lucien could not manage to pull a grin on his pale face anymore.

"Just you wait, Luc –"

"Are you the Red Wolf?"

A sweet lark-like voice interrupted Lucien from his frantic frenzy of venting his anger. On instinct, Lucien snapped his gaze to his east, where the sweet voice came from.

The moment his golden eyes met a pair of obsidian ones, a hint of primal savagery flashed from the depths of the beast-like orbs.

Her face was small and exquisite. It was like a plum amid snow, so delicate and serene. The moonlight sheen gliding behind the delicate creature slowly revealed her mesmerizing features. It was as if the world's creators took their sweet time crafting this being in front of him.

For Lucien, whose mind went static, he could only come up with one word to describe the enchanting being in front of him.

Ethereal.

His gaze was predatory. He looked at her like how a beast stared at its prey.

"You..." Stumbling from his words for being at a loss as to what to say first,

Lucien's primal need threatened to unleash. The control that he was once proud of crumbled in front of her. "Be my woman."

This was the only way he could describe the need that was etched in his bones, no, in his soul.

Lucien momentarily forgot his wound, the wolf beastmen chasing him, or even his brother. His thought was filled with how to make the ethereal being stay.

The arrogant red-furred beast whined at the back of Lucien's soul, asking for a release from its control.