The mountain path stretched before them like a scar carved into the earth—narrow, uneven, littered with loose stones that crunched under their boots.

On either side, skeletal trees clawed at the gray sky, their branches twisted and bare. The air carried a chill that bit at exposed skin, making Viktor's breath come out in faint white puffs.

Behind him, Kaida walked with her arms crossed, her red eyes scanning the surroundings with the practiced wariness of someone who'd survived too many ambushes.

Her scarred face was set in a permanent scowl, jaw tight enough to crack teeth.

Bella trailed a few steps back, her cat ears swiveling at every sound—the rustle of dead leaves, the distant cry of a crow, the soft scrape of their footsteps against stone.

Her tail curled nervously around her thigh, and her small hands clutched the edges of her cloak like it might protect her from more than just the cold.

Viktor's boots squelched in something wet.

He glanced down. Mud. Or at least, he hoped it was mud.

The smell hit him a second later—rank, pungent, unmistakable.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he muttered, lifting his boot to inspect the sole. Brown. Chunky. Definitely not mud.

Kaida noticed immediately. Of course she did.

"What's wrong?" Her voice dripped with mock concern, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward in a smirk. "Step in something soft, noble?"

Viktor wiped his boot against a rock, grimacing. "People have been shitting out here like animals."

"Villagers don't exactly have fancy outhouses," Kaida said, her smirk widening. She stepped carefully around a suspicious brown pile near a tree root. "Welcome to the real world, 'Lord' Viktor."

He chuckled despite himself—a low, rough sound that echoed off the rocky walls. There was something absurdly funny about it.

It was the way Kaida suddenly became so friendly with him that made him feel she was on track for the mission—catch the red-haired hot woman trap.

"What's so funny?" Kaida's voice sharpened.

Viktor glanced back at her, still grinning. "Nothing. Just appreciating the ambiance."

Her red eyes narrowed. "Are you 'happy' seeing what you eat?"

The smile on Viktor's face halted. Froze. His expression shifted from amused to flat in an instant.

He turned fully to face her, one eyebrow raised. "You know what? You are a 'very' dirty woman."

Kaida's jaw dropped, her face flushing red—whether from anger or embarrassment was unclear. "I'm 'less' dirtier than you!"

"There's a difference," Viktor said, his tone infuriatingly calm, "between 'creating life' and talking about poop, you idiot."

Kaida stopped walking. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Creating life? The fuck? Sleeping with women and doing 'disgusting things' to them is creating life, you bastard?"

Viktor shrugged, rolling his shoulders like the conversation bored him. "You won't know until you experience it."

That did it.

Kaida's face twisted—fury and frustration warring across her scarred features. Her mouth opened, a sharp retort on her tongue, but before she could spit it out, Viktor moved.

He nudged her with his elbow. Casual. Teasing.

Like they were old friends.

"Stay away from me, you fat-ass bastard!" Kaida snarled, shoving his arm away.

Viktor tilted his head, his smirk creeping back. "How much do you curse, you know that?" He patted his stomach—flatter now than it had been weeks ago, the weight melting off thanks to herb-enhanced metabolism and constant physical labor on his wives bodies. "And I'm not fat. Wanna see?"

He lifted the edge of his shirt slightly, revealing a sliver of pale skin stretched over what was no longer just soft flesh.

There was definition there now—faint, but real. The beginnings of muscle carved by survival.

Kaida's eyes flicked down for half a second before snapping back up, her face burning crimson.

"You are dead," she hissed.

And then she moved.

Fast.

Her hand shot out, grabbing the collar of his shirt with enough force to yank him off balance. Viktor stumbled backward, his boots scraping against loose gravel, and then his back slammed against a boulder jutting out from the mountainside.

"Khuck—" The impact knocked the air from his lungs, but he didn't resist.

Kaida pinned him there—one hand gripping his collar, the other dropping to the hilt of her dagger. She pressed close, her body taut with coiled violence, her scarred face inches from his.

Her breath came hard and fast, hot against his skin.

Their eyes locked.

Hers—red, blazing, dangerous.

His—dark, amused, unflinching.

"Why," Viktor said slowly, his voice low and deliberate, "do you always pin me against walls?"

Kaida's grip tightened.

"Do you have some kind of wall kink?"

Her face—already flushed—went nuclear. Red flooded from her cheeks down her neck, spreading like wildfire. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again.

"You—I—'what'?!"

"Because I'm starting to notice a pattern," Viktor continued, his smirk widening. "First the manor where you rubbed your thighs on my dick then in carriage gave me footjob. Now this rock. Next time, should I just stand naked and wait?"

Kaida's hand trembled on the dagger hilt. Her teeth ground together so hard he could hear it.

"I am going to gut you," she whispered, her voice shaking—from rage or something else, he couldn't tell.

"Promises, promises."

Her eyes widened. Her grip loosened just slightly, confusion flickering across her face.

What the hell was wrong with this man?

Before she could say anything—before she could stab him or kiss him or figure out which one she actually wanted—a quiet voice cut through the tension.

"Um... I found some traces."

Both of them froze.

Kaida's head whipped around, her hand still fisted in Viktor's collar.

Bella stood a few meters away, crouched low near a patch of disturbed earth. Her small hands hovered over the ground, fingers brushing the dirt. Her cat ears were flat against her head, and her tail curled tight around her leg.

She looked up at them—her wide, golden eyes flicking between Viktor pinned against the rock and Kaida pressed against him like a coiled spring.

Her face went scarlet.

"I—I'm sorry," Bella stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. She ducked her head, hair falling forward to hide her expression. "I didn't mean to interrupt—"

"You didn't interrupt anything," Kaida snapped, jerking away from Viktor like he'd burned her. She released his collar and stepped back, her breathing still ragged. "What did you find?"

Bella hesitated, her gaze dropping to the ground. Her fingers traced invisible patterns in the dirt, a nervous habit.

"Traces," she said quietly, her voice gaining a bit more confidence as she focused on the task. "Footprints. Recent. Maybe... half a day old?"

Viktor pushed off the rock, adjusting his shirt with a casual tug. He walked over to where Bella crouched, Kaida following a few steps behind with her arms crossed and her face still burning.

Bella pointed at the disturbed earth—boot prints, several sets, leading deeper into the mountain pass. "They were moving fast. Not trying to hide their tracks."

"Bandits?" Kaida asked, her tactical mind already working.

Bella shook her head slightly, her cat ears twitching. "Maybe. But..." She leaned down, bringing her face close to the ground. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she sniffed the dirt.

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