My phone screen lights up, displaying hundreds of notifications, as if trying to make it explode.

Someone has made the party video public. With my face on display, everyone recognises me as the woman David abandoned for someone from his past. Everyone has identified the woman in that video as me.

"Dammit, who leaked it?" I whisper, trembling.

I throw the phone onto the sofa, rubbing my face in frustration.

Reporters have swarmed the entrance to my apartment building like a school of piranhas, drawn by the scent of blood. Yet, my fear of the cameras is nothing compared to the dread seeping into my marrow when I think of Xavier Sterling.

Every time I inhale, the memory of his cedarwood and musk scent invades my senses, as if he were standing right behind me. My hybrid blood surges, defying my rationality. His touch in the car that night wasn't just ordinary passion; it was the call of a predator recognising its prey.

I couldn't stay. If reporters managed to locate me, it would only take Xavier a mere flick of his fingers to drag me back into his enslavement. I had to leave. I couldn't be associated with a man who could make every werewolf clan on this continent tremble.

***

I arrived on the southern coast under a gloomy sky, as if I were mourning the chaos of my life. This fishing village is extremely remote, silent, and hidden and still largely unknown to the world. This island was the ideal location for my escape from the David scandal and the looming threat of Xavier Sterling.

I gaze at the vast, beautiful, mesmerising ocean before me. But my heart is too numb to appreciate it.

The wooden cabin I rented stands in silence on the shore, facing the roaring expanse of the sea directly.

Here, I hoped the solitude would be a balm. But I was wrong. The silence only amplified the madness in my head.

Nights on the beach feel like endless torture. Every time I close my eyes, the sound of the waves transforms into the husky baritone of Xavier's whispers.

I'm transported back to that car cabin, feeling the intoxicating heat of his body, his demanding tongue, and the small nips on my neck that felt like they were tearing my soul out.

My dreams become wild and uncontrollable. In my sleep, I see myself with him under silvery moonlight, surrendering all my dignity under his dominant hold.

I wake with a violent start. I wake up gasping for breath, my sheets damp with cold sweat, and an intense thirst seeping through every nerve, especially in my pulsing core.

"Dammit..." I curse, my voice hoarse and strange to my ears.

I scramble out of bed, my steps unsteady as if the earth were shaking. In the bathroom, I splash my face with cold water repeatedly, trying to extinguish the fire burning beneath my skin.

I stare at my reflection in the foggy mirror. My eyes glitter strangely, with an unusual flush on my cheeks.

The cause is the heat. This is an unbearable phase of arousal, a pain I have never experienced in my three years with David.

The magic stone seal on my neck feels warm. I can see hairline cracks on its surface. That brief encounter with Xavier has damaged my defences, awakening my long-dormant animal instincts.

"I must be going insane," I whisper to my reflection, my trembling fingers touching my lips that still feel the phantom pressure of Xavier's. "This can't be. I cannot succumb to my instincts. I have to forget him! He's dangerous, Rose. He is your ruin!"

I grip the edge of the sink until my knuckles turn white. I hate the reality that while my common sense screams danger, my body is thrashing, yearning for the predator I'm supposed to avoid.

***

That morning, I try to find a sliver of peace by walking along the shoreline. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks should be a soothing melody, but my hybrid instinct remains on high alert, sensing something is wrong.

The cold sea wind hits my face but does nothing to cool the fire blazing under my skin. The wet sand slips between my toes, offering a small sense of reality amidst my fading sanity.

Suddenly, my steps halt.

The air around me abruptly changes. The atmospheric pressure feels heavy, as though the presence of something massive has just sucked out the oxygen here. My sense of smell, now ten times sharper due to the cracked seal, picks up a scent.

It's a strong, cold aroma, mixed with an overwhelmingly dominant masculine fragrance. Cedarwood and musk. This scent has been tormenting me in my dreams for several nights.

"Impossible..." I whisper, my heart pounding so hard it's painful.

I slowly turn towards the rocky cliff at the edge of the beach. There stands a figure whose presence can dim the morning sunlight.

Xavier Sterling.

He stands there arrogantly, his unbuttoned white shirt billowing in the sea breeze, revealing a glimpse of the broad chest that kept me awake with desire last night.

"Hey, how could he be here?" The danger instinct inside me screams. Before he notices me, I have to leave.

I immediately turn and walk away, hoping he hasn't noticed my presence.

Regrettably, just as I'm about to arrive at my cabin, a voice abruptly stops me.

"Finally, I found you, Rose."

Thud.

My body freezes. Just hearing his voice, I already know who stands behind me.

Calm down, Rose, calm down. Act normal and pretend to be surprised.

I turn around and see Xavier standing a few steps behind me.

"M-Mr? Goodness, it's a small world, isn't it? To think we'd meet again here." I try to stay calm, accompanied by a forced, unnatural laugh.

His sharp gold eyes lock onto my gaze. He doesn't reply to my foolish words. He just walks slowly, erasing the distance between us. Each step has the rhythm of a predator who knows his prey has no escape left.

The wind carries his heavy baritone voice, "A rather far escape, Rose", right to the pit of my stomach.

My feet feel rooted to the ground, despite my desire to run. Violent tremors begin to attack my knees. "Ha ha... escape? "From what?" I know my dry laughter sounds very suspicious.

Xavier stops right in front of me. The distance is so close I can feel the radiating heat from his powerful body. He leans his face down, inhaling the air around my neck in an intensely possessive manner.

"I don't know. From what?" he whispers in a voice that sends shivers down my spine.

***

His breath against the skin of my neck makes all my remaining defenses crumble in an instant. I close my eyes, attempting to swallow the lump that has formed in my throat.

The arousal from the heat phase I had tried to suppress now explodes again, demanding satisfaction that only the man before me can provide.

"Maybe running from this torturous thirst?" Xavier whispers again. This time, his lips don't just brush my earlobe; they release a warm breath that makes the hairs on my nape stand up.

His large, warm hand creeps slowly to my waist. He doesn't grip me roughly. Instead, he pulls me with a gentle yet certain pressure, as if giving my body time to choose. And damn it, my body betrays me by moving closer, as if pulled by a magnet into his embrace.

I can feel his powerful chest pressing against my sensitive breasts. Every friction of his shirt fabric sends electric sensations shooting through my nerves, making my knees feel like jelly.

"I've been waiting for you to contact me, but you ran away here instead," he murmurs softly. There's no anger in his voice, only a possessive, intimidating tone, like a predator praising its prey's cleverness before the pounce.

I try to brace my hands against his chest to create distance. But my fingers end up clutching the fine fabric of his white shirt, feeling the intoxicating heat of his body. "Sir, please... let me go. This is a public place."

Xavier lets out a low chuckle. The vibration of his voice travels from his chest straight to my palm, making my heart beat even more wildly. He slowly tilts my chin up with his index finger and thumb, forcing me to look into the molten gold of his eyes.

"A public place? Didn't you usually care about the place? Wherever it was," he taunts in a lowered voice, reminding me of the wild passion that nearly erupted in the car that night.

Instead of pulling away, Xavier lowers his head a little more. He doesn't kiss me. He just lets the tip of his nose graze the skin of my neck, inhaling my scent deeply as if I were the drug he needs.

"You know, Rose..." he whispers right at the pulse point on my neck that makes my hair stand on end. "This magic stone of yours... it's tired of working so hard to hold back something that truly wants to come out."

He places a feather-light kiss near the stone seal, just a whisper of a touch from his lips, yet it feels more explosive than a rough kiss.

His hand slowly rises from my waist, gently stroking my back in a circular motion that simultaneously soothes and ignites my skin.

"I won't force you," he murmurs, his lips now grazing my jaw as he speaks. "I'll just stand here until you yourself beg me not to stop."

This man is truly dangerous. He doesn't use his physical strength to hold me. Instead, he uses his pheromones and temptations that attack the very core of my hybrid instinct. I should get away from him, but every part of my being screams for surrender, wanting to drown in his captivity.

Staring into his darkened eyes, I search for the last remnants of my sanity, swept away by the waves. "Mr. Sterling, this is not right."

"Then why does your body say it's so right?" he asks with a faint smirk, his fingers now touching strands of my hair, while his cedarwood scent completely paralyzes my logic.

"I..." I struggle to find the right words. I wish to assert that this is merely a biological response to this intense heat wave, yet each time his fingers make contact with my hair, the words seem to vanish.

Xavier doesn't stop. He only reduces the distance further, letting our bodies press together until I can feel his calm yet strong heartbeat clashing with my frantic one. He slips his hand to my nape, supporting my head gently, while his thumb slowly, torturously, strokes my trembling lips.

"Be honest, Rose," he whispers, his voice now sounding like dark, deep velvet. "You want me desperately, don't you?"

That question deeply penetrates my heart. I try to turn my face away, but his gentle grip on my chin keeps me locked on his molten gold eyes.

"Look at me, Rose. Tell me your body is screaming for my touch," he urges again, his voice growing husky with the desire now spreading from me. "Tell me my scent makes you want to surrender right now."

The touch of his pheromones grows denser, filling my lungs, making my head dizzy with a pleasure I've never known. I can feel the cracks in my magic stone widening, releasing a warm sensation that spreads through my chest. I want to lie. I want to say no. But the betrayal of my body is far more honest than my lips.

"Xavier, I beg you..." I moan unconsciously. I don't even know if I'm begging him to leave or to end this sweet torture with a union immediately.

Xavier only smirks, his gleaming gold eyes watching me with a look of both adoration and hunger. "Begging for what, Rose? Say it clearly. I don't like guessing people's desires."

His fingers, which were at my nape, now slowly descend, tracing the line of my neck until they stop right over my wildly racing pulse. The roaring waves behind us completely sweep away the last shreds of my sanity.

"Say it," he urges once more, his voice low and filled with logic-destroying temptation. "Admit it, Rose. Admit that you want me as much as I want you."

I stare at his lips, then back into his gold eyes. My defenses collapse completely. That cedarwood scent is no longer a threat but an addiction I want to savor forever.

With trembling hands, I grip the collar of his shirt, pulling him to erase the last distance between us.

"Yes..." I finally whisper, a confession that brings a victorious smirk to his handsome face. "I want you, Xavier."

***