Mate.

Hazel's gaze turned fierce.

As she watched the fox masked man, made his way towards her.

She could feel the intense power emanating from him. And after series of jumbled calculations her tired mind could cope with. She knew that she neither had the strength to kill him nor run away.

But she wasn't going to give up.

How could she? After a year of torturous continuous falling in perceivable darkness with crushed hope of ever seeing the light.... Now she had glimpsed freedom in the light. She wasn't going to give up without a fight.

She cracked her neck. Gripping her spear pointing it at him. She then grinned. Her elongated bloodied fangs flashed out from the smile. Her gaze then turned feral.

She rather die fighting than letting her freedom get stolen away from her again.

"Step away from me. And I won't kill you."

Oh no...she instinctively spoke in her Elvish tongue. He won't understand her.

Hazel prepared to correct herself trying to recall the human language that Sirae forced her to learn while in the darkness. Which were both wearisome and complicated. A diverse contrast to the simple languages of intelligent monsters in their realm. At least how she saw it. Though it was a bit surprising she could remember the Elvish language when she had lost her memory or other important languages in the monster realm.

She open her mouth to correct herself.

But the low, sexy chuckle that came from the masked man stopped her on her tracks.

The sound turned her insides into jelly, her weak legs felt weaker and wobbly. She struggled to stand, digging her feet in the ground to support her weight from falling. Clenching the spear along with her dignity that threatened to fall too. She had never felt anything like this...

This weakness.

And she had to make sure he didn't see how much he affected her.

Her senses were dulling rapidly.

"Do you think you can do that..."

His crimson eyes shimmered in amusement. As he saw her wide ones.

Hazel was appalled.

"Can you really kill me as you are now?"

Her eyebrows twitched a bit at his arrogance. If she was rested both body and mind. She would kill him with the flicker of her wrist. But how does a human know the Elvish language?! Has he met a ninetailed fox? Or was it a common language in the human world too.

'Sirae!! Who the hell is this man?!'

She needed answers. She didn't understand what was going on and she needed to find out.

Now.

She got a whimper instead. Horrified, she breathed out. Inhaling as deeply as possible. She couldn't allow her fatigued, sleep-deprived state along with the shock she was receiving, lure her into making the wrong decision.

Firstly, she had to know what the hell was wrong with Sirae. She never thought the proud, imposing fox would turn into a restless, yielding mess.

It was then that a dull intoxicating scent seeped into her nostrils. She couldn't catch the scent because of how tired she was. But she could smell it now.

She bit back a moan that forced it's way at the back of her throat because of the mouth-watering scent. Her fox instincts made her want to gobble it all at once.

The source of the scent.

Her pink sapphire eyes had tints of red as she stared at the man who possessed the scent. Her eyes didn't stray away an inch from him. Her dull senses were now keenly aware of every part of him.

What was going on with her.

Her neck strained upwards looking at him. Suddenly noticing how he got so close to her without her seeing it before.

'Sirae talk to me, why am I feeling like this?'

Hazel struggled to gain control of her body and her strange becoming thoughts.

Strange thoughts like how appealing his flawless, masculine neck was. And how much she had the urge to sink her fangs and suck on it.

She licked her lips. For a moment, saw his eyes darkened a bit before returning to normal leaving her confused whether she conjured everything in her mind.

She cursed herself internally. What was happening to her.

'Mate.'

Sirae's soft whisper echoed her mind.

"What?"

She muttered slowly.

Her mate? No way, right?

It didn't seem her mate knew she was his. So he wasn't a fox. Throwing away one of her suspicions of why he knows the Elvish tongue. But that didn't stop the fact her mate wants to kill her. Hardening herself.

She drove the spear towards his heart with a powerful thrust. Ready to impale it.

There was no way she would allow her freedom slip away from her. Mate or not.Though her mind was completely blurring in a fast pace.

He casually caught the spear's powerful blow. The only evidence of how strong the blow was, was the small cut on his palm which healed in the blink of an eye as if it had never there. The blood that escaped, dripped onto the ground.

"You are too weak now. Later we can experiment on the ways you can kill me. For now...Sleep, Kitten."

His voice was deep and enchanting. Seducing her like a lullaby. As if all the cells in her body listened to him and him alone, waiting for that one command. Her heavy eyelids fluttered closed, her body shutting down and falling like a sack of potatoes.

He caught her.

Lifting her body with ease in his arms.

He then heard familiar footsteps. Without turning knew it was Theodore, still wearing his joker mask.

"Master. Any commands regarding the government officers?"

The fox masked man turned towards him. His crimson eyes shifted to the deepest, glowing amber eyes. The black mask weirdly changed color too. The black disappeared into white. But leaving the frightening red markings along with few spots of stale blood from the Corpse Tyrant.

"Silence them. If they refuse to let go. You silence them.... Forever."

Theodore licked his candy, unbothered like they were talking about the weather. Both well aware of the approaching officers.

Theodore paused a bit, before asking without batting an eye.

"Are you now okay, Levi?"

His mirror eyes, serious. Reflecting the calm, steady amber gaze that stared back at him. He was now asking as a close friend.

"The Old prophecies are true, Theo. I have finally found the way to die."

Levi, The Devil of Terraheim and Young Duke of Russex, calmly looked at the breathing, sleeping woman in his arms. His vile, hardened heart that was saturated with a terrifying darkness. For the first time in his entire life trembled.

He restrained the urge of listening to the darkness' plea of marking and chaining her with him to his scorching hell.

Theodore nodded, his mask hiding his expression.

"I will take care of everything here."

He toke a step back. Watching wisps of darkness ooze out of Levi encompassing their figure before disappearing along with them into thin air.

He then turned to the two officers that ran there at the last minute calling after them.

"Where did the Duke disappear to?!"

Theodore recognized the bearded man who Carolina mentioned was Mr. Jake and the one dabbing his sweat-drenched face with his handkerchief, Mr. Fred.

"Far away. Somewhere am afraid you can't reach."

He responded nonchalantly. Looking ready to leave their discussion.

Infuriated by the response, Jack flared up in anger.

"What do you mean?! That monster that came out of the gate is dangerous. The Hunters Government Association can't allow such a ticking bomb lie in unauthorized hands!!"

Theodore toke a casual lick of the candy that was about finishing. Before looking up at Jake's face that was red in anger.

"Unauthorized, you mean?"

Jake then stuttered. Stumbling on his words feeling something invisible, grabbing his neck tightly.

Fred, who was quiet since, sensing the situation interfered.

"Excuse me, Mr...?"

"Theodore Reigns."

Their eyes widened as they identified the name that was rumored in the Northern Kingdom's Undergrounds that had a frightening reputation, but it was unsure cause those that encountered him didn't live to see the next day and no one knew his ability nor his face. He was a frightening entity after the Duke of Russex. Only the members of the Undergrounds knew him.

Jake knelt to the ground, unhesitatingly.

"Am sorry for not recognizing you, Sir. Please do forgive me."

Goosebumps filled his entire body as he face turned deadly pale.

"I don't care about anything else you have to say but your pledge of not interfering with Reigns family's business."

"But... Our Superiors will oppose to this. It will be too noticable...To cover, afterall there were many hunters who saw what fell out of the Gate."

Fred pleaded his case. But Theodore only gave him a blank stare.

"Order your men to shut up, if they disagree and try to disobey you...."

He came nearer to Fred who shivered.

"Eliminate them."

He whispered softly into his ear.

"Or you are ready for the news of the documents you stole from the HGA to be exposed in the Empire?"

Fred's composed facade drastically fell. He looked at Theodore dumbfounded on how he found out something that just happened yesterday. Something nobody in the secret department noticed in the HGA, yet.

He awkwardly smiled.

"There was nothing that fell out from the Gate, Jake. Let's not waste Mr. Reigns' time."

Jake nodded abruptly standing before following Fred as they left hurriedly. The hunters that were confused were all standing awkwardly staring at each other wondering whether what they saw was real or not.

Theodore sighed, throwing the candy stick on the ground. Bringing out another candy from his pocket.

"The countdown begins."

He popped the unwrapped candy that tasted of apples into his mouth.

Before disappearing to find the crazy shapeshifter.

He had as a brother.