[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]

After that emotional storm, it's been a week. Grayfia's condition has improved, but not too much, as she… has been clingy.

Every ten minutes or so, she would come and sit on my lap and kiss me.

Heck, even Gabriel, in her infinite curiosity, tried to replicate it. For a moment, I was about to give in, thinking she was Grayfia—

—and that was when I felt a shadow fall over us.

"…Darling."

A voice colder than a cryogenic chamber slid down my spine.

I froze.

Gabriel froze.

Even the damn air froze.

Slowly—very slowly—I lifted my head.

Zeraphira stood there.

Arms crossed.

Eyes glowing faintly crimson.

Smile, absolutely not a smile.

"Z-Zera…?" I managed.

Gabriel squeaked, wings fluttering anxiously as she shuffled three steps away from me like a startled baby duck.

Zeraphira's gaze tracked her until Gabriel physically hid behind a chair.

Then—

That crimson gaze snapped back to me.

And lingered.

And did not look pleased.

Not even slightly.

She took one step toward me.

Then another.

The temperature of the room dropped with each click of her heels.

Selene peeked from the corner like a gremlin witnessing a rare species approaching its prey.

"Oooh, it's happening," she whispered excitedly. "Jealousy Arc unlocked."

"Selene," Zeraphira said sweetly.

Too sweetly.

A deathly sweet.

"Do you want to be turned into a pile of ashes?"

Selene clamped her mouth shut instantly.

Then hid behind Gabriel.

Gabriel hid behind a vase.

The vase hid behind me.

Zeraphira reached me.

She leaned down—

Her face inches from mine.

Her long crimson hair fell like a curtain around us.

Her scent—fire, wrath, and something dangerously intoxicating—swallowed the air.

Her voice was velvet, sharpened with a blade.

"Darling…" she whispered, crimson pupils dilating. "You have been… busy."

Oh no.

Her tone.

Her tone was exactly the one a yandere uses right before stabbing the male lead for petting another girl's head.

"H-Hey, Zera—"

"Grayfia sits on your lap."

"That's— I mean— yes, technically—"

"Every ten minutes."

"…She's recovering."

"She kisses you."

"…She's clinging."

"You let Gabriel try to kiss you."

"THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT—"

Zeraphira exhaled slowly.

A very slow, very measured inhale and exhale—

Like a dragon preparing to release a breath of pure nuclear annihilation.

Then she straightened, her arms still crossed under her chest, making her presence feel even more imposing.

"You are mine too."

My throat tightened.

"I didn't say I wasn't—"

"I don't need you to say it."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I can feel it."

She stepped closer again.

Too close.

Close enough that her breath brushed my cheek.

"Darling."

"Y-Yes?"

"I have been very patient."

I swallowed.

Selene peeked over Gabriel's wing again."Dom is sooo dead," she whispered.

Zeraphira continued, her voice dropping to a husky, jealous whisper.

"Grayfia gets kisses. Gabriel gets affection. Even Selene sits in your lap!"

"Wha—?! When did that happen?!" I turned sharply.

Selene froze mid-sneak-attack toward my lap.

"…uh," she said.

I glared.

She slowly slinked backwards toward Gabriel like a raccoon caught stealing food.

Zeraphira grabbed my chin and turned my face back to her.

Her grip was gentle.

Her eyes were not.

"I," she said, tone low and dangerous, "am done waiting."

My pulse jumped.

"Zera—"

"No."

Her voice was absolute.

Commanding.

Possessive in a way that made the room shake.

"You gave Grayfia love."

I swallowed hard.

"I—yes, I did."

"You told her she's home."

My heart skipped.

She leaned closer—so close her lips almost brushed mine.

"I want mine."

"…Your… what…?"

"My moment."

Her eyes flashed.

"My kiss."

Her grip tightened.

"My claim."

She tugged me slightly forward, making me meet her gaze head-on.

"And my words and my moment."

"M-My words…?"

"Yes," she breathed, voice hotter now, jealousy melting into desire. "The same ones you gave her."

My heart exploded into panic.

Ah.

Ah.

She wanted that.

She wanted me to tell her—

I love you.

And her moment—

Sex.

My heartbeat went feral.

Not because Zeraphira was angry—

—but because she was focused.

A predator who had finally decided to stop circling and start taking.

Her fingers slid from my chin to the back of my neck, nails grazing lightly, sending a short-circuit of heat through me.

"Say it," she whispered."Give me what you gave her."

I swallowed.

The air felt thick.

Too thick.

"Zera… listen, it's not—"

"Ssshhh."

Her finger pressed to my lips.

"You don't get to pull away."

Her eyes softened slightly—not losing their intensity, but shifting from wrath to something deeper, older, aching.

"Do you think I don't feel it?" she murmured. "The way you look at me when you're not trying to… solve everything."

My breath hitched.

"You think I haven't noticed the way your heartbeat changes when I touch you?"

…Wait, what?

"I can hear it, Dominic." Her lips curved in a slow, deadly smile. "I am Wrath. Emotion sings louder to me than mana."

She leaned forward until her forehead touched mine.

"Yours sings for me."

My breath stopped.

Completely.

Zeraphira's voice lowered, deepened—a warm, heavy flame sliding over my skin.

"And yet…" she whispered, "you hold back."

I opened my mouth—She pressed her thumb against my lower lip.

"Don't deny it. I can feel your hesitation. Your restraint. Your fear."

Her eyes narrowed, but not in anger.

In something almost… wounded.

"You think I'm too much for you."

My chest tightened.

She said it so quietly it felt like the words cracked inside her before they even reached me.

"You think I'll burn you." Her voice dropped further. "Or devour you. Or break you."

That—

That wasn't true.

But she didn't let me speak.

Not yet.

"I watched you fall apart in Grayfia's arms," she murmured. "Watched you open up. Watched you whisper things I've waited a thousand years to hear."

Her jaw clenched.

"And a part of me was happy for her."

Then her voice sharpened.

"And another part of me… wanted to destroy the walls of this manor for letting me witness something I had wanted for myself."

I inhaled shakily.

"Zera—"

"No." She pressed a finger to my lips again. "I am not Grayfia. I do not break quietly. I do not tremble. I do not shatter then cling."

Her breath ghosted against my mouth.

"I burn."

She leaned in—

Her lips brushing mine, barely, just enough to make my thoughts scatter like ash.

"But I burn for you," she whispered. "Only you."

Her fingers tangled in my hair.

"And now…" She pulled me closer. "…I am done being patient."

She tilted my face up, eyes dark with a hunger that was not just physical—it was emotional, raw, vulnerable under the fire.

"I want my moment."

My pulse hammered so loudly I was sure Gabriel heard it.

Zeraphira's gaze bore into mine.

"I want you to kiss me," she said, voice shaking with a desire she usually hid behind flame and ferocity. "Not out of obligation. Not out of pity. Not because everyone else is doing it."

Her voice dropped into a husky whisper.

"Because you want me."

I froze.

Not because I didn't want to.

But because the weight of what she asked was…

Heavy.

Real.

Zeraphira looked at me—really looked—and her breath hitched.

"…Dominic?"

She saw it.

The flicker in my eyes.

My silence.

My hesitation.

Not rejection—not even close—but hesitation.

And that—

That hurt her.

A crack appeared in her expression, tiny but unmistakable.

Zeraphira stepped back half a step.

Just half.

But it was enough for the flames in her eyes to dim.

"…I see."

No.

No no no—

"Zera—wait—"

But she smiled.

A small, soft, painfully beautiful smile that was absolutely not a smile.

"It's fine, darling."

Her voice was gentle.

Too gentle.

"Take your time."

She turned slightly, crimson hair swaying like a curtain.

"I forgot," she murmured, soft enough that Gabriel and Selene couldn't hear, but I could. "You don't owe me anything."

My chest tightened painfully.

She began to step away.

Just one step—

I grabbed her wrist.

Hard.

She froze.

Slowly, she looked back at me, eyes widening just a fraction.

"…Dominic?"

I pulled her closer—not roughly, but firmly.

She blinked, crimson eyes flickering in surprise and something like hope.

"…What are you—"

"I never said no," I breathed.

Her breath caught.

Completely.

"Zera," I whispered, "I wasn't hesitating because I don't want you."

Her lips parted.

"Then—"

"I was hesitating," I continued, lifting her hand, "because if I kiss you…"

Her heart pounded against my palm.

"…I won't be able to stop."

A shiver ran through her entire body.

Selene gasped in the background like she had just witnessed a legendary cutscene.

Gabriel squeaked and covered her eyes with her wings.

Zeraphira stared at me, stunned.

Not angry.

Not jealous.

Not demanding.

Just—

Shocked.

"Dominic…" she whispered, voice trembling for the first time since I'd met her. "Do you… Mean that?"

I stepped closer until her body pressed lightly against mine.

"I mean every word."

Silence.

Heavy.

Electric.

Then—

Her breath broke.

Just once.

Soft.

Shaking.

"Then kiss me," she whispered, leaning in. "Please."

And I did.

I kissed her.

Not gently.

Not softly.

Not cautiously.

But with every ounce of pent-up intensity that had been building since the moment I woke in this world and saw her crimson eyes staring into my soul.

She gasped into my mouth, fingers clutching my shirt, claws scraping lightly—not to hurt, but to anchor.

Her lips burned.

Her breath burned.

She burned—

—but not to destroy.

To claim.

To connect.

To feel.

When we finally pulled apart, her forehead rested against mine, her breath uneven.

"Dominic…" she whispered, voice trembling in a way I had never heard from her. "…don't ever hesitate with me again."

I exhaled softly, brushing my thumb against her cheek.

"I won't."

Her eyes shimmered with something fierce and fragile all at once.

"…Good," she murmured. "Because I'm not letting you go."

She kissed me again—shorter, softer, but still hungry.

Then she pressed her lips to my ear, her voice a molten whisper.

"And one day…""…you will say the words."

My heart jumped.

"But not today," she added softly. "Today… this was enough."

She stepped back slowly, controlled again—but her cheeks were faintly flushed, her eyes brighter, her aura calmer.

Gabriel peeked out.

Selene squealed.

The vase continued being a vase.

Zeraphira smirked.

"Darling…"

"Y-Yeah?"

She smiled.

A real one, this time.

Not the deadly kind.

The soft, dangerous, intimate kind.

"…You're mine too."

She turned—and walked away, posture proud, steps lighter, aura blazing with satisfaction.

And I…

I stood there, heart pounding like a drum.

Completely, utterly ruined.

***

Sorry, I know it's too much slice-of-life content. But worry not, fighting is not far wink* wink* Next chapter will start the arc of Vampire King.

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