Chapter 74: Anita

The creature growled, pressing its front paws against the window as though it intended to break through. Hazel quickly moved away from the glass, wondering how the demon had managed to find her in the Dragon Kingdom, but before it could enter, the bedroom door suddenly opened.

Caius walked inside.

Hazel immediately turned her back toward him and lay down, pulling the blanket over herself as if she had been sleeping peacefully the entire time.

Caius frowned when he noticed the strange feeling in the room. His senses were too sharp for him to ignore the dark energy that seemed to linger near the window, but when he looked toward the bed, Hazel was lying quietly with her back facing him.

He walked closer, studying her for a moment before asking, "Were you with something or someone earlier?"

.Hazel nodded without turning around, completely unaware that Caius wasn’t looking at her when she answered. He waited for a response, but when she remained silent, he assumed she was ignoring him.

Deciding not to waste any more time, he went straight to the reason he had come.

"The demon wolves seem to be taking an interest in the Dragon Kingdom," he said. "Your silver moon chain might be the solution we need to protect the people here. If you could let us use it for—"

"No!" Hazel’s answer came so quickly that Caius paused.

She finally turned her head slightly, still holding the blanket close to herself. "No, Caius. I’m not giving anyone my chain."

He looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Noted."

Then he turned and walked out of the room without arguing or trying to force her to change her mind.

Hazel stared at the closed door in disbelief, slowly sitting up as she wondered whether she had heard him correctly. The old Caius would have demanded an explanation, reminded her that he was the Werewolf King, or found some way to make her understand that refusing him wasn’t an option.

But this time, he had simply accepted her answer and left. She stared at the door for several seconds, beginning to wonder whether the man she knew was slowly changing or whether she had finally learned how to deal with him.

Unfortunately, before she could reach a conclusion, a low growl came from beside the bed.

Hazel’s smile disappeared. She turned her head slowly, and her eyes widened when she saw the same dark wolf standing inside the room, its body covered in black smoke and its red eyes fixed directly on her.

The creature had somehow entered the room without making a sound.

And this time, there was nowhere for Hazel to run.

Hazel screamed the moment the demon wolf moved closer to her bed, but before she could even think of what to do, the silver moon chain around her neck suddenly began to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter until the entire room was filled with a strange silver glow, and the demon wolf barely had time to react before the light struck its body like burning fire.

The creature let out a painful growl, stumbling backward as black smoke rose from its body. Its red eyes flashed with anger, but the pain was too much for it to bear, and it quickly turned around and escaped through the window, leaving a trail of dark smoke behind.

Hazel remained frozen on the bed, staring at the open window before slowly lowering her eyes to the chain around her neck.

"Wow..." she whispered in amazement.

She touched the silver chain carefully, wondering how something so beautiful could hold so much power. She had always known there was something special about it, but she had never imagined it could burn a demon wolf without her doing anything.

For a moment, she considered running after the creature, but common sense quickly reminded her that chasing a dangerous demon wolf without knowing what it could do was a terrible idea. Instead, she hurried out of bed, dressed properly, and rushed out of the room to find Janet.

She needed to tell someone what had happened, especially since Caius had mentioned that the demon wolves were becoming interested in the Dragon Kingdom. If one of them could enter her room so easily, then the others might already be moving around the palace.

However, Hazel hadn’t gone very far when she heard familiar voices coming from the garden.

"You’re better off stopping your attempts to get close to him because he doesn’t like you anyway," Anita said, standing in front of Janet with a proud smile.

Janet chuckled, looking completely unimpressed by the human girl. "Are you done?"

Anita’s smile widened as she folded her arms. "You thought I would die quickly because I’m human, didn’t you? Please, I’m not that weak human. There are ways to become immortal, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want."

Hazel slowed down as she approached them, curious about what the woman was saying.

Anita continued speaking as though she were giving a speech to an audience. "Do you know my rules? If I want something, I’ll get it. I’ve read a lot about Ethan in the human world, and since I haven’t been able to summon him to me, I’ve decided to come to him instead. I’m not going to give up just because he keeps avoiding me."

Janet stared at her for a moment before letting out a tired sigh.

Hazel could no longer hold herself back. She walked closer and looked Anita up and down before shaking her head.

"I’ve never seen a girl as cheap as you before. Isn’t it obvious that he doesn’t want you? Why are you embarrassing yourself like this?"

Anita turned toward her and rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you’re her friend? I should have known. Birds of the same feather flock together."

Hazel raised an eyebrow, wondering how someone could be so confident while making herself look foolish. However, before she could reply, Anita lifted her chin and continued speaking.

"I’ll be coming to the Majesty Palace today or tomorrow, so you should get used to seeing me around. I won’t allow anyone to stand in my way."

"Oh, wow, that’s wonderful!" Hazel replied with a bright smile. "We don’t mind having another human maid in the palace."

Janet covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, while Anita’s expression darkened.

"Keep laughing while you can," Anita warned, pointing a finger at Hazel. "My backer will arrive soon, and your happy days will come to an end."

Hazel’s smile faded slightly as she studied the woman’s face. She was beginning to wonder what kind of person could give Anita so much confidence, especially when the girl couldn’t even get Ethan to speak to her without looking annoyed.