Chapter 207: The Bet

Liona’s POV

I stopped dead in my tracks right there in the garden, my boots sinking slightly into the soft, damp soil near the rosebushes.

His playful yet deep words echoed relentlessly inside my head, vibrating through my thoughts like a persistent drumbeat.

’Do you want me to follow you there?’

I turned around slowly, my skirts brushing against the low stone border of the flowerbeds.

He was still standing tall in the center of the sunlit garden, his massive arms crossed casually over his broad chest.

That arrogant, infuriating smirk was plastered perfectly across his handsome face.

He looked exactly like a man who had already won the ultimate prize, completely confident in his own charm.

It was as if he knew every single word I was going to say before I even opened my mouth to speak.

I walked right back toward him, abandoning my attempt to escape to my room.

My hands planted themselves firmly on my hips, my jaw tightening as I closed the physical distance between us.

"You really think you can just smirk your way into my head, don’t you?" I asked, glaring up at him with all the irritation I could muster.

He tilted his silver head slightly, his thick white hair catching the golden afternoon light.

The smirk did not leave his lips for even a fraction of a second.

Instead, his grey eyes locked onto mine, tracking my angry movements with pure amusement.

"Let me make something incredibly clear to you, Dragon King," I continued, poking a firm finger toward his chest to establish a clear boundary between us.

"It is Aethryx," he interrupted smoothly, his voice a low, melodic rumble that vibrated through the quiet garden.

"I do not care what your name is," I snapped back instantly, refusing to let him derail my train of thought.

"A real bond, actual love, is not something you get to do by force. You do not get to show up out of nowhere and demand my affection. It has to grow naturally over time."

"And right now... you are just forcing yourself entirely into my personal space."

He took a slow, deliberate step toward me, narrowing the gap until I had to tilt my chin up to keep eye contact.

His sharp grey eyes twinkled with a dangerous sort of warmth.

"Forcing myself?" he asked, his tone dropping into something incredibly smooth and velvety.

"My queen, if I were truly forcing you, we would not be standing out here in the middle of a beautiful garden. I am simply letting our instincts speak for themselves."

He took another step forward, his large form casting a long shadow over my smaller body.

"But if you truly believe you are completely immune to me," he whispered, his expression turning intensely focused.

"Then prove it to me."

I frowned deeply, my instincts flaring as I tried to decipher what kind of game he was playing now.

"Follow me to the training clearing," he suggested, gesturing with a broad hand toward the open path that led away from the main garden.

"Let us see if your racing heart actually agrees with your stubborn words."

I followed him out of the garden.

To this moment, I do not entirely know why I agreed to walk down that dirt path with him.

Maybe I did it simply to prove a point and defend my pride.

Maybe I did it to finally shut his arrogant mouth up once and for all.

Or maybe, just maybe, a tiny, hidden part of me desperately wanted to see exactly what he would do next when pushed to his limits.

We walked side by side until we reached the edge of the pack’s primary training clearing.

It was a vast, open space covered in soft green grass, bordered by towering pine trees that blocked out the rest of the world.

The afternoon sun beat down on us, warming my exposed skin and making the entire situation feel entirely too intimate.

He stopped directly in the middle of the grass, turning around slowly to face me fully.

I kept my arms crossed tightly over my chest, keeping my facial expression completely blank and untouched.

I wanted to look like a solid stone wall, completely impenetrable to his charms.

Aethryx reached down to his hip and pulled out a sleek, magnificent silver dagger.

The polished blade caught the bright sunlight, flashing a brilliant white beam across the clearing.

Then, before my very eyes, his large hand began to radiate a terrifying, visible heat.

The air around his fingers warped and rippled from the sheer temperature.

Within seconds, the silver blade turned a bright, cherry-red color.

Blazing chunks of raw dragon fire curled lazily around the hot metal, sparks hissing as they dropped into the grass below.

I tensed up instantly, my entire body locking into place as my wolf instincts screamed at me to step away from the fire.

He didn’t listen to my internal panic. He walked straight toward me, stopping right in front of my face.

He was too close, invading my space so thoroughly that I could feel the heat washing off his body.

"Give me your hand, Liona," he commanded softly, holding the glowing, fiery blade directly between our bodies.

I stared down at the melting heat of the metal, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.

I forced my voice to remain completely steady and cautious, refusing to let my fear show.

"Are you insane?" I asked, my voice flat.

"I am a wolf, Aethryx. That extreme heat will melt the skin right off my bones."

His piercing grey eyes suddenly shifted, turning an intensely bright, glowing silver color.

His gaze became incredibly soft, almost gentle, cutting right through my defensive walls.

"Trust me," he whispered, his breath fanning across my forehead. "Just for one single second."

He reached out and wrapped his large fingers around my wrist. I didn’t pull away from his touch, completely paralyzed by the intensity in his gaze.

He lifted my hand, flattening my fingers, and pressed the blunt, glowing side of the fiery metal directly into my open palm.

I braced myself for the agonizing pain of a burn.

Instead, the bright red dragon fire instantly cooled the exact moment it touched my skin.

The color shifted beautifully, turning into a soothing, sapphire-blue flame that danced harmlessly across my knuckles and fingers.

It did not burn my flesh. It did not hurt at all.

It felt incredibly warm, deeply soothing, and completely safe.

I looked up at his face, my eyes wide with absolute shock as the blue flames continued to lick across my palm without leaving a single mark. ℴ

"See?" Aethryx murmured, looking down at me with a low, predatory purr vibrating deep within his chest.

"My fire recognizes its true owner. It would never dare harm its rightful queen."

He stepped even closer, his chest almost brushing against my shoulder.

"Now," he whispered, his silver eyes locking onto mine with an unbreakable grip.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me again that you feel nothing."

I was completely breathless.

My palm was tingling intensely from the lingering blue sparks, a strange, electric current rushing up my arm and straight into my chest.

My heart was racing at a dangerous speed, threatening to burst out of my rib cage.

Unable to handle the overwhelming sensory overload, I jerked my hand back quickly, breaking the physical contact and extinguishing the blue flames.

I stood there in the quiet clearing, completely unable to think of a single witty comeback or a sharp insult to throw at him.

My carefully built emotional walls were completely shattered into pieces.

He had seen right through my tough exterior, exposing the raw vulnerability I had been trying so hard to hide since the moment we met.

Aethryx closed the remaining distance between us, refusing to let me escape his presence.

He reached out with a slow, deliberate movement. His large, warm fingers gently brushed against my cheek before sliding upward, slowly tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind my ear.

The moment his skin grazed mine, a massive, explosive spark shot through our fated mate bond, sending a literal shiver down my entire spine.

I gasped softly, my body trembling slightly under the weight of the connection.

"That... that does not prove anything," I stammered, my voice stuttering slightly as I tried desperately to find my lost composure.

"It is just a trick of dragon magic. It means nothing."

Aethryx leaned down completely, his lips brushing lightly against the sensitive shell of my ear as he spoke.

"Keep telling yourself that, my beautiful wolf."

His deep voice was a dangerous whisper, incredibly warm and painfully intimate against my skin.

"But let us put your stubbornness to a real, definitive test," he continued, his breath hitching slightly.

"Tomorrow night is your pack’s annual midnight bonfire festival, is it not?"

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling incredibly dry as I tried to maintain my balance.

"What about it?" I asked, trying to sound wary and uninterested.

He pulled his head back just enough to hold my gaze, that wicked, teasing smirk returning to his handsome features in full force.

He looked absolutely delighted by my struggle.

"Let us make a wager, my queen," he said, his grin widening.

"Attend the midnight bonfire tomorrow night as my official partner for the evening. If you can survive the entire night standing right by my side without kissing me... I will completely leave you alone."

He paused, letting the weight of his offer hang in the quiet afternoon air between us.

"I will stay completely away from you for a whole week," he promised, his eyes flashing with a competitive spark.

"No teasing. No courting. No showing up in your garden. Absolutely nothing."

I narrowed my eyes at him, my mind immediately analyzing the offer.

A whole week of peace away from his exhausting charm sounded incredibly tempting.

It would give me time to gather my thoughts and rebuild my defenses.

"And what happens if I lose?" I asked, choosing my words with extreme care.

His gaze dropped slowly from my eyes down to my lips, his expression shifting into something dark, hungry, and fiercely possessive.

"If you break," he murmured, his voice dropping into a low, commanding register.

"You admit complete defeat. You openly admit to the world that you want me just as badly as I want you."

He stepped even closer, his large frame completely enveloping me until I could feel the rhythmic thumping of his own heart.

"So tell me, Liona," he whispered, his face just inches from mine.

"Are you truly brave enough to take my bet?"

He tilted his head, a challenging glint appearing in his silver eyes.

"Or are you simply too afraid of what you will do to me when the music starts playing in the dark?"