So fucking tragic.
I began to chuckle when she held the bottles in her hands and sobbed like a fucking child.
I timed it, eight minutes of tears before she dragged both boxes from the doorway into the room. She carefully placed the bottles into the open box and lifted them up. She carried them like a hearse to the bed and sat there going through the merchandise.
It took her twenty-three minutes to drag her sorry ass to the bathroom.
I closed the laptop.
Exhilarated.
???
I double-checked the handle to ensure it was secure before I strode toward the boathouse. Each day, her body grew stronger, but her fear never wavered. She remained in her room and followed my instructions. Every night, I lay beside her, gradually losing the battle against her scent.
No one dared ask what had happened to the guard. His body was wrapped in a tarp on my boat, ready to be tossed into the sea. I needed to dispose of him before the stench seeped from the cabin.
I nodded to the guard as I climbed aboard. He made to follow, and I raised my hand.
He stopped at the dock and returned the nod.
The corpse was locked away below deck, weighted down. I didn’t know his name, but I was grateful for his sacrifice. I hadn’t realised until now what a burden it was to keep Fenrir anonymous.
The engine hummed to life as I waited for the guard to untie the boat. I hauled up the anchor and pushed the lever until the boat lurched forward. I remained standing, allowing the cool sea mist to coat my face.
Fenrir joined me as we sailed out. He wanted to savour the scent of his kill the same way I did each time I entered her bedroom.
The sea was calm for now, but the farther I sailed, the darker the clouds grew in the distance. We bobbed on the ocean, recalibrating our strategy. Fenrir might not wholly approve of my methods, but he most definitely wanted a taste of Lielit Tolera—the first female he’d ever taken an interest in.
It was laughable that he had once convinced me she could have been a powerful enemy, when she broke at the first glimpse of Fenrir’s true face. Our true nature.
It took mere seconds to dispatch the guard, and as Caer Virel Island came into view, our eyes settled on the estate.
I would bet my entire fortune that she hadn’t stepped a single foot out of her bedroom.
???
Our heartbeat pulsed harder as I opened the laptop. The brisk walk and the journey into open sea hit like a punch to the gut—a reminder of the elements and the raw nature surrounding us. Away from the noise and pollution of the city. Away from the games played to ruin others, using them as stepping stones toward greatness.
She paced the length of her room, occasionally going to the bathroom or to the window. The restlessness was delicious to observe. It felt like payback since I caught her scent at the awards ceremony.
Every day I’d leave her my used shirt, and every day she'd wear it. Today, it was white, and it looked fine on her. The contrast of her smooth, bare legs below and the crown of her hair above made Fenrir rumble in our chest.
In all the time we were out at sea, and even though I locked her in the house, she never wandered towards the gaping doorway outside of her cage.
It was time to take what we were owed.
???
That night, I sat in the armchair, waiting for her to finish bathing and emerge from the bathroom. I could smell the floral, herbal, and spice notes of Her Glow, but none of them could mask Lielit’s true scent.
That infuriating scent that made every other woman smell like horseshit.
I clenched my jaw until my molars ground together.
It was Friday.
I glanced at the clock. Almost nine p.m.
