Chapter 98: If Anything Happens to You, I’ll Pay With My Life

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: If Anything Happens to You, I’ll Pay With My Life

Heavy breathing echoed within the dim cave.

A red glint flickered in Zerev’s silver eyes. His facial muscles were taut, and a bead of sweat dripped onto Ophelia’s face.

"You’ve been drugged," Ophelia said, sharply noticing his abnormal reaction.

She pushed against the man pinning her down. "Let me go. I’ll go find the clan doctor for you."

"It’s no use," Zerev replied, his large hand caressing Ophelia’s cheek. His voice was hoarse and magnetic.

"How do you know if you haven’t even tried?" Whether it would work or not, she only knew that if this continued, she would be in danger.

"Only you can be my antidote."

Zerev rested his burning forehead against hers. As his lips parted and closed, light, lingering kisses fell upon the bridge of her nose.

Ophelia turned her head away. "No, I don’t want to be your antidote.

"Go find another little female."

Zerev wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. "I don’t want anyone else but you.

"Be my mate, alright? With me around, I won’t let anyone bully you ever again."

"But you’re the one bullying me right now!

"I don’t like you, Zerev, and I don’t want to be your mate. Let me go, now!" Noticing his increasingly fervent gaze, Ophelia struggled harder to break free.

"Why do you like Tyler so much? He’s just an ordinary Dragon Beast. What can he possibly give you?

"As long as you’re good, I can allow him to remain your mate."

Seeing that he refused to listen, Ophelia’s face darkened. "Zerev, if you don’t let me go right this instant, don’t blame me for getting rough," she said sternly.

However, to a male, her struggles were negligible—if anything, they only aroused his interest further. He hugged her waist tightly, pinning her against the cave wall.

"You don’t have a choice, Ophelia. You can only be mine."

Ophelia wanted to hide inside her spatial dimension, but Zerev had a vice-like grip on her waist, refusing to let go. If she entered the space under these circumstances, he would definitely be dragged in with her. Then her secret of possessing a spatial dimension would be exposed.

Ophelia’s eyes dimmed. As expected, in the face of absolute strength, even with a system at her disposal, she was completely helpless.

The sounds echoing in the cave rose higher and higher in successive waves. It wasn’t until about two hours later that the noise finally ceased.

Zerev held Ophelia in his arms, tucking her sweat-drenched hair behind her ears. He pressed a kiss to her face. "Ophelia, you’re mine now.

"Look, this is your Mate Beast Mark." Zerev revealed his arm, where a small Golden Dragon was now nestled against his left bicep.

"You are not my mate. I’m breaking our bond," Ophelia spat through gritted teeth.

"You—"

Before Zerev could finish, the chaotic sound of footsteps echoed from outside the cave.

"Princess!"

"Princess, are you in there?"

"Tyler, I’m here!" Ophelia called out loudly.

As the heavy weight confining her lifted, Ophelia hurriedly straightened her coarse linen clothes and rushed out of the cave. Spotting Tyler’s figure in the distance, she threw herself into his arms with red eyes. The tears she had been holding back finally streamed down her face. "Tyler."

Tyler noticed the scent of another male lingering on Ophelia, as well as the mottled marks peeking out from beneath her linen garments. As a male himself, how could he not know what had just happened? His heart twisted like a knife had been driven through it, overwhelmed by immense self-blame. It was his fault for being useless. He had failed to protect the Princess.

Zerev slowly walked out of the cave, a flash of pain crossing his eyes as he watched the two holding each other intimately.

Seeing Zerev emerge, Tyler let go of Ophelia. He morphed his hands into dragon claws and lunged at Zerev.

Though both were Dragon Beasts, Zerev was a Winged Dragon, whose strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Dragon Clan member. Therefore, Tyler was simply no match for him. Despite fighting with all his might, he couldn’t leave a single scratch on Zerev. Instead, with just a light wave of his hand, Zerev sent Tyler flying backward with a powerful gust of wind.

"Stop! Don’t hurt him!"

Ophelia held a sharp stone to her own arm, aiming directly at the spot corresponding to where the Mate Beast Mark was imprinted on Zerev’s arm.

"Ophelia, what are you doing?" Zerev’s eyes instantly turned red.

"I’m breaking our mate bond!"

"You’re going to break our bond by hurting yourself and sacrificing your own lifespan?

"What exactly is so wrong with me that you despise me this much? If you dare to hurt yourself, I’ll take his life." Zerev raised his hand and grabbed Tyler by the throat, his expression chillingly dark.

"P-Princess... don’t worry about me," Tyler managed to choke out.

Watching Zerev slowly tighten his grip, Ophelia gritted her teeth. "If Tyler dies, I’ll pay for his life with my own."

Seeing her resolute attitude, Zerev felt as though someone had viciously stabbed him in the heart. He forcefully suppressed the surging fury in his chest and released Tyler.

"Fine, just don’t hurt yourself. I won’t kill him. Whether you want to break the bond or not, I accept your decision." He had truly fallen for her completely. Even if it meant severing their connection, he couldn’t bear to let Ophelia suffer even the slightest bit of harm. "But, Ophelia... the bond I formed with you is a life-and-death mate contract."

Tyler was utterly shocked by Zerev’s words. Ophelia was also taken aback, yet she still kept the sharp stone raised high.

"Don’t blame me. You forced my hand."

"Stop! Don’t do it!" Moye rushed over just as the stone was about to slice into her skin. He grabbed Ophelia’s wrist, snatched the stone away, and threw it fiercely onto the ground.

"Little female, you can’t be this cruel.

"The Young Master formed a life-and-death mate contract with you. Breaking the bond will cause him to lose half of his strength.

"He genuinely likes you, and what happened today was a last resort.

"It’s all my fault for taking Miche in, giving her the chance to drug the Young Master. But if he hadn’t done this... he would have died.

"The one the Young Master has always loved is you. He rejected the little females I arranged for him, enduring immense pain just to come find you. Please, try to understand him."

Ophelia bit her lip. Becoming mates with him was truly against her will. But if doing so would really cause Grave to lose more than half his strength, she couldn’t bear it either.

"Let’s go find the Clan Witch and have him help us break the bond. That way, your strength won’t be affected." If both the male and the little female mutually agreed, the harm caused by breaking a mate bond was practically negligible.

"I will never break our mate bond," Zerev declared.

"Are... are you trying to guilt-trip me?" Ophelia asked, a spike of anger in her voice.

Zerev wanted to say yes. He knew Ophelia had a kind heart and couldn’t bear to treat him so ruthlessly. And he had guessed correctly. After a brief exchange, her initial burning fury had subsided significantly. Although Zerev had forced himself on her, he wasn’t completely unforgivable.

As Ophelia hesitated, Tyler gently took her hand.

"Princess, let it be."

"Tyler, what are you talking about?" Ophelia looked at him in disbelief.

Tyler’s eyes were filled with sorrow. "He formed a life-and-death mate contract with you. Your lives are now bound together. If you live, he lives; if you die, he dies.

"Most importantly, this contract allows you to gain half of his strength. From now on, you’ll have the ability to protect yourself."

Ophelia was astonished. Did the life-and-death contract actually have such an effect? She thought it had only meant exactly what the name implied.

"Exactly! Ophelia, look at how deeply sincere the Young Master is. You shouldn’t break the bond with him," Moye chimed in, winking at his master.

"Ophelia, I don’t ask for your forgiveness. I only want to stay by your side," Zerev said softly.

"You now possess half of my strength. This way, even if the mastermind behind the scenes discovers you, they won’t be able to hurt you.

"You have the power to defend yourself now, and if anything were to happen to you, I would pay for it with my own life."