King of the Clouds

The rest of the night was blurry.

That high from absorbing the dingo's soul energy returned, but 10x more strong. Hyeon's body was floating on air while sinking further into a watery depth at the same time. Images of Marcus's past victims flashed through his mind. They ranged from humans to dýrs, children to elderly, and didn't discriminate on gender. Hyeon could feel the savage emotions that Marcus felt after ripping out various throats and discarding their bodies into Australia's roasting Down Under. These feelings were now his as if he was the one who committed such atrocities.

There were sporadic periods when his mind came down from sky-high. Briefly, Hyeon would realize his surroundings:

Being dragged through the forest.

Sani gathering Haruma and a passed-out Shika from the hotel.

Attempting to get everyone into the SUV with Blue's help. It was like getting toddlers to calm down enough to get buckled in.

Driving through the national park.

The pink and green aurora. Were they returning already? They were only on Stewart Island for 24 hours.

Running back through the haunted woods.

A demon caught up with them. Blue made it retreat.

The castle was up ahead.

The few spirit servants who were awake this early eyed the disheveled group. Hyeon could sense their soul energies. Each spirit had their own personal glow that swirled within their chests. It was the first time noticing. He really wanted to consume everything in sight that had any sort of soul. The servant walking by them was extra potent.

*A harpy,* he salivated. *How much stronger would I be after I eat it?*

Without realizing what he was doing, Hyeon dove at the spirit. The craving to suck every drop of that harpy's yellow aura overtook his humanity. He grabbed her throat and inhaled her soul. New vitality coursed through him. She scratched at him with her talons and screeched an eagle's cry to defend herself, but it was moot.

A powerful force threw Hyeon off of his prey. He went soaring to the other side of the hallway.

"He needs to be dealt with NOW, or I'm sending him to the basement until I figure out what to do," Sani shouted at someone. "We're going to have serious issues with the Australian deities if they find out who killed their subjects—"

*Wah wah wah,* Hyeon mimicked in Charlie Brown's teacher's voice and glared at Sani. He felt extremely bitter about the interruption. *That Coyote is always in the way.*

"Look at the way he's looking at me! He's reverting to how feral demons think since he got his first taste of a dangerous soul. Don't forget the Viking proverb, 'That which has a bad beginning is likely to have a bad ending.' This won't turn out well if things continue the way they are."

A hand gripped the back of his neck hard and led him away. This person was beyond strong. The animal in him instinctually knew he'd lose if he fought back. At the same time, he didn't feel threatened by the forcefulness.

The same hand then lifted Hyeon's chin gently upward. The person's face was right in front of him, but his vision still swirled from the influx of the dingo's soul energy and a smidge of harpy.

"Do you know where you are? Do you remember why you're experiencing this ecstasy? Unfortunately, I can't let you go anywhere without a leash."

He didn't respond. More like COULDN'T respond. His human voice was gone.

"Can you at least tell me my name?"

Despite not knowing 100% who was with him, he didn't hesitate to think about the answer.

*My mate.*

Hyeon lurched forward and kissed them roughly. His tongue plunge past their lips to greet the other's tongue. The carelessness caused their sharp fangs to accidentally pierce Hyeon's bottom lip. A trickle of blood ran down his chin. It soaked into his shirt's collar; it didn't matter since his clothes were stained with dingo blood. He brushed his palm against their black hair and stiff ears.

*I know who this is.*

Their bodies clashed. One was trying to lead them to the bedroom, the other was pushing towards the desk on the opposite side. The fight for dominance was at a standstill. It was sexually frustrating.

A growl thundered from their chest and rumbled through the darkened room. Hyeon responded naturally with a small human-mixed-animalistic growl.

*Fenrir.*

When he recalled the name, his body grew unbearably warm. Balls of fire and sparks didn't erupt from him this time. There was no flurry of ash falling from his body. Why was he so hot if it wasn't his phoenix?

"You're summoning me," Fenrir noticed. Hyeon's clouded eyesight could barely make out the insignia on his own wrist. The Norse initials glowed. The high was gradually returning to land.

A sweaty Fenrir had enough and pulled Hyeon to the floor. Ironically, it was the same spot where he was attacked by the god when Hyeon first arrived at Festr Castle. When Hyeon tried to take over, Fenrir topped and straddled his knees next to Hyeon's hips to secure them in place. Their hard dicks bulged against their restraining pants. They both growled again at each other. His phoenix blood piqued in interest. It needed a partner that was on the same league and could keep up with its developing strength.

Their eyes gleamed.

The wolf wasn't going to let the phoenix become the alpha.