I sat on the couch in the living room and unlocked my phone.

I pulled up the seller's chat window.

It was one in the morning.

"Are you there? I need to return him."

The reply came instantly. "What happened? Did the werewolf hurt you?"

My fingers were trembling as I typed.

"This is worse than that. I think he's lost his mind."

"He doesn't sleep at night. He sneaks into my room and stares at me."

"His body temperature is so high you could fry an egg on him. He won't stop panting."

"He's been sniffing my clothes and saying he wants to bite me."

"And most importantly, he keeps grinding his teeth at my neck. The way he looks at me… it's like he wants to devour me."

"Is this rabies? Or some kind of werewolf plague?"

The screen showed typing.

It took a long time.

Then a voice message came through. I could hear faint laughter in the background.

"We don't recommend returning him."

"He's not teething, and it's not rabies. Werewolves only feel the urge to bite the back of their mate's neck for mate-marking during their rut phase."

"His rising body temperature means he's nesting. He's courting you."

"He smells your clothes because he already considers you his mate. Your scent calms him."

"To put it simply. He's not sick. He wants you. He wants you to bear his pups."

The words on the screen made my mind buzz.

Rut phase?

Marking?

Pups?

I instinctively glanced at my bedroom door.

I remembered the way he looked at me.

That naked, undisguised possessiveness.

It wasn't a predator eyeing prey.

It was a male looking at a female.

And the jerky I had shoved into his mouth earlier.

No wonder his expression had been so strange.

I had basically insulted a top predator in rut with a snack.

Another message popped up.

"If a werewolf's rut phase isn't relieved, the pain can become unbearable. In extreme cases, blood vessels may rupture, leading to death."

"Of course, if you truly cannot accept it, we can arrange a return. However, returned werewolves who fail in courtship are typically humanely euthanized."

Humanely euthanized.

Those words stung.

Adrian might be fierce, but he had worked hard this past month and made me a lot of money.

And aside from being overly clingy, he hadn't actually hurt me.

Just then, a loud crash came from the bedroom, as if something heavy had hit the floor.

Followed by Adrian's pained, guttural growl.

I didn't think. I dropped my phone and ran in.

The room was in chaos.

Adrian had fallen to the floor, wrapped tightly in my blanket.

His muscles were drawn tight to the point of trembling, his skin flushed an unnatural red.

When he heard me enter, he jerked his head up.

His eyes, once deep green, had turned dark red.

Dangerous. Predatory.

But he was retreating.

Forcing himself into the corner.

"Jade… don't come closer."

His voice sounded dragged out of his chest.

"Leave. I'll… hurt you."

Veins bulged across the back of his hand as his nails dug into the floor, carving deep scratches.

He was fighting it.

Using every shred of reason to battle instinct.

I stood at the doorway, staring at the man who could lift six hundred pounds without blinking, now fragile under the weight of desire.

The seller's words echoed in my mind.

If it wasn't relieved, he could die.

I was a businesswoman.

I didn't make losing investments.

But I also didn't want my employee dying in front of me.

And…

I had to admit it.

Looking at Adrian like this—restrained, wild, barely holding himself together.

Something in me stirred.

I drew in a deep breath. Closed the bedroom door.

Locked it.

Then I walked toward the man crouched in the corner.

"Adrian."

I said his name.

"If I don't return you, can you promise you'll work for me and me alone for the rest of your life?"

Adrian froze.

His pupils shrank sharply as I approached.

"You…"

I crouched down in front of him.

I reached out and gently touched his burning cheek.

"Answer me. Can you promise me that?"

He was breathing hard, his cheek rubbing against my palm.

Something inside him snapped.

He lunged forward and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest.

His body was blazing hot.

He buried his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply.

Then his teeth pressed lightly against the back of my neck.

"Yes. I'll give you my life."

The next second, he pinned me beneath him.

Those dark red eyes burned with a fire fierce enough to consume me whole.

"Jade. I want to bite you. Now."

Pain.

That was the only thing I could feel.

The sharp tips of his canines pierced the skin at the back of my neck, and hot blood spilled down from the wound.

He didn't stop.

He bit deeper.

What flooded into me wasn't venom, but something else—something uniquely werewolf.

A pheromonal surge, fierce and domineering, forcing its way through every inch of my nerves.

My whole body trembled from the pain. I clutched the muscles along Adrian's back, nails digging in hard enough to draw blood.

He didn't seem to feel it.

Or maybe the pain only drove his instincts further.

He breathed low against me, a deep, satisfied rumble vibrating in his throat—louder than ever before.

The sound resonated through my chest.

"L-let go…"

The words scraped out of me. Tears streamed down before I could stop them.

At the sound of my voice breaking, Adrian finally paused.

He released his bite—but he didn't move away.

Instead, his rough, burning tongue traced over the wound at my neck.

Once. Twice.

There was comfort in it. And something disturbingly devoted.

Under his tongue, the bleeding slowed. The pain faded into a tingling warmth.

"It's marked."

He lifted his head. His eyes were still dark red, fixed on me with an intensity that felt almost sacred.

A smear of my blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.

"Jade. You're mine now."

His voice was hoarse, but there was no hesitation in it. Only triumph.

I didn't even have time to call him a mad dog.

He lowered himself over me again.

This time, not at my neck.

But face to face.

A werewolf's rut phase was never just about marking.

It was the eruption of something long suppressed. Primal. Demanding.

My small bedroom became his hunting ground.

And I was the only prey.

There was nowhere to run.

Adrian's stamina was terrifying.

The same powerful build that once made me think he could haul six hundred pounds of packages without effort now became my undoing.

He didn't tire.

He didn't stop.

Every brush of his skin burned hot enough to make me gasp.

Sweat tangled with sweat.

The world narrowed to sound.

His ragged breathing. And the same obsessive murmur against my skin.

"Honey."

"Jade."

"Mine."

For a fleeting moment, I wondered if I hadn't bought labor at all.

But a man who had been restrained too long.

By the time the first light of dawn crept in, I finally slipped into unconsciousness.

The last thing I saw before everything went dark was Adrian's eyes, finally returned to their deep green.

Clear. Satisfied. And filled with a love intense enough to unsettle me.

He pressed a kiss to the corner of my eye.

"Sleep. I'm here."