After the Wolf King Brought Me Back to His Nest - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I understood what Granny Yu meant that very night.

Qi Ye didn’t sleep on the bed.

He leaned against the stone wall, eyes closed as if resting. But in the middle of the night, I was startled awake by the sound of faint, heavy breathing.

I opened my eyes and saw that the fire had dimmed considerably.

Qi Ye was still sitting in the same spot, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, and his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

His knuckles had grown elongated, and his nails glinted with a hint of black, as if he were on the verge of transforming into his beast form at any moment.

But what made my skin crawl the most were his eyes.

In the dim firelight, they glowed a brilliant gold.

They were terrifyingly feral.

He looked like a beast pushed to its absolute limit, desperately restraining himself from pouncing.

My breath hitched, and I instinctively backed away.

The moment I moved my foot, a black tail wrapped around the edge of the animal skins suddenly lashed out and coiled around me.

In the next instant, I was dragged across the floor and fell directly into his arms.

I was so terrified I nearly screamed, but he clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Don’t make a sound.”

He leaned close to my ear, his voice impossibly hoarse.

“There are people outside.”

My whole body froze.

Sure enough, the sound of light footsteps soon echoed from outside the Stone Nest.

“Is the King having another episode tonight?”

“Judging by the scent of blood in the air, it’s about that time.”

“Is that human really useful?”

“The Shaman says so. As long as she’s here, the King won’t completely lose himself to the madness.”

“Once the Moon Hunt Festival begins, it’ll be time to draw her blood.”

“Keep your voice down, don’t let the one inside hear you.”

The footsteps faded into the distance.

I felt a chill run through my entire body.

Blood?

Draw what blood?

I instinctively looked up at Qi Ye. His jaw was clenched tight, and a surge of violence swirled in his eyes; he had clearly heard them too.

But he didn’t explain.

He only held me tighter, his tail coiling around my legs loop after loop, as if afraid I would run away immediately.

After enduring it for a long while, I whispered, “Is what they said true?”

“Which part?”

“That I’m only here so you can bleed me?”

Qi Ye closed his eyes, seemingly suppressing his temper.

“No.”

“Then what is the Moon Hunt Festival?”

“You’ll find out when the time comes.”

I almost laughed out of sheer frustration.

“Is everyone in the Wolf Clan so fond of half-truths and secrets?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Especially when you’re always trying to escape.”

He answered with total deadpan seriousness.

I nearly choked on my own breath.

But just as I was about to snap at him, the hand clamped around my waist suddenly tightened, and he let out a low, muffled groan.

The sound was so suppressed it made my heart ache.

I looked up at him and realized his shoulders and back were trembling slightly.

This man was clearly in agonizing pain.

I bit my lip, unable to help myself, and asked softly, “What’s actually wrong with you?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he buried his face in the crook of my neck, his breath burning hot against my skin.

“Ning Yin.”

“You’d better not move right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t really feel like pretending to be human anymore.”

I instantly went still.

I stayed awake until dawn that night, not even daring to turn over.

But what truly kept me from sleeping wasn’t fear.

It was that I was starting to lose track of exactly what it was that Qi Ye was trying so hard to endure.