“Put it in…”

Daniel let out a low laugh. Selenia might have been born solely to drive him mad. He buried his face between her hips. Regrettably—for her—it was still not time. Daniel wanted to see her struggle a little more.

His nose was crushed against her as he pressed in, then he slid his tongue into her slick heat. Selenia jolted in surprise, thrashing. Daniel held her fast with unyielding strength.

“Hah—!”

The sensation was like waves crashing down on her; Selenia released a long, trembling m*an. Helpless, she was dragged to her cl*max by Daniel’s mouth.

Shameless sounds spilled from her parted lips. Daniel eagerly drank in the wetness she shed, savoring it. The obscene, wet sounds echoed through the room. Selenia burst into tears. Daniel shattered every last wall she’d built.

Only after Selenia crested once more did Daniel sheath himself at her entrance. Selenia panted, burying her face into the pillow.

“Hoo…”

Daniel slid himself in slowly, his eyes gleaming.

Selenia clenched the sheets. Sensations too intense to endure crashed over her like a storm, refusing to let her go. She wanted to flee—yet at the same time, she wanted to collapse with him into that distant, dizzying place.

Daniel thr*st up into her.

Selenia screamed despite herself.

Pleasure poured through her. It felt as though she were being swallowed by the sea. Pale and trembling, Selenia cried out, her m*ans bursting like fireworks.

Daniel claimed her thoroughly, lingering and deep.

To Daniel, Selenia was nothing less than the only drug the gods had ever allowed him.

Everything about her was sweet.

“…From now on, we’ll be together forever.”

Daniel kissed the fourth finger of Selenia’s left hand.

Onto that empty finger, he would place a ring—
and sign the documents that would bind Selenia to him for eternity.

Le Pah had given Daniel many things.

And among them, the most precious of all was Selenia.

Daniel intended to keep Selenia enclosed within his arms—
to protect her, and to devour her endlessly, forever.

There was no need to define what this feeling was.

All Daniel and Selenia desired from one another was rest, peace—
and simply being together.

What mattered was that, even at this very moment, the two of them were together.

Daniel suppressed the beast surging inside him, the one that glared up at him, restless.

No one could interfere with this time.

***

At that same moment—

The heretical temple of Ulus.

A sanctuary belonging to those who had long been branded as heretics by the imperial family, forced to operate in the shadows.

Ulus was the name of the great archmage who had once branded the imperial family as sinners and shackled them with a curse.

It was a very distant past.

A time when the Empire was first founded,
when its foundations were still being laid.

At that time, the land of Parlo was inhabited by indigenous people—
a race that lived close to nature, alongside magic and the gods.

The first Libertás hunted them down, staining their lifeblood in blood.
The once-brilliant forests were dyed red.

Libertás planted his banner upon that land and laid the foundations of the Empire.

Ulus was the last surviving mage. He was so formidable that he came to be known as a grand archmage. Pledging his very life, he cast a curse upon the imperial bloodline.

“O sacred ones, exact the price from the sinful imperial family!
As long as the blood of Ulus flows, the sinners shall never be freed from their shackles!”

Before the altar of Ulus, the priests who were conducting the rite snapped their eyes open.

“…O Ulus.”

Their lips trembled as they spoke.

“…The sinner has awakened.”

At last, Ulus’s magic was complete.
After crossing an age-long span of time—finally.

The chains that had bound the imperial family were severed, and the day arrived when they would become monsters in the truest sense.

“O Ulus! Release your resentment and enter your rest!!”

The priests of Ulus bowed and slammed their foreheads against the floor.

Their blood spilled across the altar.

The altar glowed faintly.

It was the sign that the curse had been fulfilled.

‘The descendants of Ulus shall bind you perfectly.
O sinners! We shall cast your souls into the abyss and condemn you to live as beasts for all eternity!’

The priests burst into tears. It had been a truly, unbearably long wait.

The bloodline of Ulus had fulfilled its mission.

There were two branches to Ulus’s lineage.
One was a daughter—beautiful and fragile, yet strong.
The other was a son—coiled tight with vengeance and hatred toward humankind.

From the daughter’s line came Selenia Marco, who became the very soul of Ulus and ensnared Daniel.
From the son’s line came Rosend Bernarde, who became Ulus’s hands and feet, sacrificing his own life to complete the curse.

It felt as though a wolf’s howl echoed through the darkness.

“Their souls shall never be forgiven. O Ulus… rest in peace.”

From now on, they would wander in search of the fragments of Ulus—
for the sake of their own peace.

But how could they ever hope to find the descendants of Ulus, scattered and thinned by time?

They would be condemned to eternal suffering.

And thus began the legend known as the Wolf’s Mate—
the tale of those who become wolves at the full moon,
and of the single mate who alone can soothe them.

Daniel and Selenia thus became the beginning of a legend.

But they were together—and the future was something to be left to their descendants.

***

Le Pah completed its voyage and returned to Parlo.

Crowds gathered at the harbor to celebrate the successful maiden run. The people did not know everything about the brutal events that had taken place aboard Le Pah.

They knew only the story of a wounded, beautiful woman—and the Grand Duke who had saved her.

“Long live Grand Duke Daniel!!!”

A romance of the century was written into history.

Photographs of the two descending Le Pah hand in hand were splashed across the newspapers. Whatever truths lay hidden behind them, the pair looked happier than any couple in the world.

And perhaps… they truly were.

So long as the truth lurking in the darkness did not tighten around their throats.

—The End—