Chapter 5 FIVE

Chapter 5

Silence remained between them in the dining room. Zafrix was sitting at the head of the table, while she sat on his left side. He had changed her clothes with something he must have gotten while she was sleeping-a white shirt and boxer shorts. She couldn't eat properly, even though there were so many different dishes laid out. Sofia also felt Zafrix's intense gaze on her as he watched her, so how could she eat properly? She didn't look at him.

"You really remind me of someone..." She heard him say.

She looked at him. "And who might that be? For all I know, I am the only one who owns this kind of face," she said with a small smile.

His gaze got even more intense. "I would really love to teach that mouth of yours how to speak properly in front of me," he said.

Sofia smirked. "I am willing to get taught," she said.

She didn't know where she found the courage, or the guts, to say that. All she knew was that she was determined for this man to fall for her. She returned her gaze to her plate. Then, she felt him approach and stand beside her chair.

Sofia felt him cup her cheek, surprising her a little. She swallowed the lump of anticipation from her throat. She let him move her head to face him. Her breath hitched when she realized that he was leaning too near.

"Y-Yes?" she asked breathlessly, her heart pounding against her chest as she gazed into his cold, gray orbs.

He didn't answer immediately, only staring at her entire face as if studying it. After a moment, he moved back slightly from her. She immediately yearned for the warmth of his palm.

"You are playing with fire, Marianne," he said, his emotionless tone dripping with a hidden warning. Sofia saw his gray eyes darkening dangerously.

"I came straight from hell, Zafrix Wolfe. I'm already used to being scorched a lot," she replied.

"Then let me tell you something. Get ready to be burnt often, because I am the devil himself."

Her eyes widened when he suddenly leaned his face close to hers.

Zafrix was about to kiss her when, like an alarm, the image of her lifeless parents and her hatred for this man suddenly flashed back into her memory.

With that memory, anger quickly surged back into Sofia's heart. She unintentionally squeezed a red wine glass, causing it to shatter. Zafrix stopped moving closer and looked at her left hand, which was resting on the table and holding the broken glass. That pulled Sofia's mind back to the present.

Startled, she immediately straightened up and quickly stood from her chair, stepping away from Zafrix Wolfe. Accidentally, she knocked over a plate, causing it to fall to the floor, shattering into pieces and scattering its contents. The man stopped her by grabbing her left arm.

"You're wounded," he said, staring at her hand which was starting to bleed from the shards embedded in her palm.

"It's nothing," she said firmly and tried to pull away from him, still feeling the fresh anger from the small memory that had returned to her mind. Even though she felt a familiar tingle from the warmth of his hand gently holding her arm.

She didn't like the way her emotions were behaving. It was confusing her even more. She needed to be alone and away from him to rethink everything.

"Come, let's clean that wound," Zafrix said again in an emotionless tone.

"I can do it myself," Sofia refused, but the man no longer listened to her and pulled her towards the other door.

Sofia couldn't fight back, still bewildered by what she was feeling. He led her to a lavish kitchen and went straight to the sink. He immediately turned on the faucet and placed her hand, wounded by shards of glass, under the running water. Only then did she remember the wounds that continued to bleed. She pushed the man away again.

"I told you I can do this alone," she said, but Zafrix's sharp eyes didn't miss what she was trying to hide.

"It's healing on its own."

Sofia paused but didn't answer. She turned her back on the man and cleaned her hand and arm. One by one, she pulled out the shards of glass embedded in her palm. There was no longer any reason to hide from him that she wasn't just an ordinary human. And seeing that she wasn't harmed at all, Zafrix leaned on the counter and watched her in silence, his arms crossed over his chest. He just continued to watch her.

After a while, Sofia felt irritated. She hadn't even fully understood why she felt such a strong attraction to him, yet he was watching her more closely than a guard. And that prevented her mind from thinking clearly.

"Would you mind if I ask you to give me the privilege of leaving me alone?" she asked, feigning necessity, but her insides were bursting with burning rage.

"Why? We are already alone in this house. You should get used to this, me watching over you. And I wouldn't complain watching your every move," said Zafrix.

She couldn't help but gave him a glare.

"To tell you honestly, your highness, I'm not comfortable with that kind of setup," she said, irritation lacing her voice as she went back to rinsing her hand and getting rid of the blood in her hand.

"And just like you said, I am the King, therefore my word is the law." Sofia could detect the smirk in his tone.

"Fine."

Sofia continued what she was doing until her wounds completely stopped bleeding. Even though she tried to hide it, the rapid healing of her wounds, as if nothing had happened, didn't escape Zafrix's sharp eyes.

"Fascinating..." he commented.

She accidentally let out a growl of irritation. The man heard it, which made him stare at her even more intently.

"So tell me now, is being a she-wolf so hard for you to admit?"

She didn't answer.

"It's so obvious that you are also a werewolf."

"Why is it so important for you to know what I am?"

Her aunt had told Sofia that she might have inherited her mother's werewolf genes. This was due to her strength, speed, as well as her sharp senses, smell, and sight. It wasn't surprising then why any wounds she sustained healed quickly. One thing her aunt hadn't explained to her was why she didn't feel pain when she was wounded, except for the ache she felt whenever she fought the emotions from Zafrix.

"You're not human, as I have said so many times, obviously. But what puzzled me the most is that, you have the scent of being one. Fascinating. I thought you are something else."

"And what would that be?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A hybrid, perhaps."

"A WHAT?" she asked, completely confused. Her brow furrowed. That's new to her ears, and Zafrix noticed.

"But I am sure that you are a werewolf."

"And even if your suspicions are true? That doesn't change anything," she said coldly, neither confirming nor denying his statement.

"You being a werewolf makes this whole thing interesting. I know someone like you who is a werewolf but smells like an ordinary human."

Of course that is possible, her smelling like an ordinary human, because her father is only human. She shut her lips into a tight line. He might've learned the truth of what she really is, but she didn't want him to know who her parents were. Things will surely get ugly when that happens.

"I'm not interested in knowing who you're referring to," she said aloofly and moved to walk away from him.

"What I also want to know right now is the whole reason on why you are so intent on trying to kill me. Even though you know that you can't."

Sofia whirled around to face him. Her eyes blazing with fire.

"And who told you that I can't?" I've already told you. I will do everything in my power to be able to get my revenge, whatever the payment is, even if I would need to put my life in the line, she thought, but did not voice it out, not wanting to trigger his anger. She is supposed to be seducing him for goodness sake!

Zafrix stared at her intently, and the effect was making her rooted on the spot. He smirked, seeing how he can affect her with no difficulty.

"That's because I say so..."

"Maybe," she replied sparingly.

The memory from earlier once again crossed her mind. She closed her eyes to suppress her anger. There were so many reasons to hate this man. And she wouldn't let one reason, that he was her destiny, cover that up and prevent her from doing it.

Destiny really knows how to play dirty.

"You know, glaring at me won't do you good. But I've had something in mind that will make us feel good."

She stared at him in disgust. "I've heard your reputation with women, Zafrix Wolfe. And none of your charm will make me kneel down before you, to become one of them," she spat.