Chapter 83: Crazy Bitch

"What are you waiting for, Prince Kage? An invitation?" Starlight drawled, goosebumps crawling over her skin at the sound of her own tone. Seriously, the things she had to go through just to teach this idiot a lesson.

"Ha!" Kage straightened, looking far too pleased with himself. Things were getting really interesting. "I knew you would come around, my queen." His grin widened as he gave her a confident wink. "Wait for me. I’m coming."

With that, he immediately started shrugging out of his jacket. He unzipped it with dramatic slowness, letting it slip from his shoulders before catching it at the last second. Holding Starlight’s gaze the entire time, he folded it over one arm as though he were performing for an audience of thousands instead of a single irritated girl in a swimming pool. He kicked off his shoes next, then tugged at the drawstring of his track shorts. Moments later, he stepped out of them as well, leaving himself in nothing but his fitted trunks.

Starlight watched the entire performance in silence, her expression giving absolutely nothing away. Seeing her eyes fixed on him sent a rush of pride through Kage’s chest. He could already imagine the look on Okami’s face when he found out about this and could not wait to brag about it.

The idiot would never hear the end of it.

Father, I’m doing this for you, he thought shamelessly. Kage ran a hand through his long white hair, pushing the strands away from his face before gathering them and securing them with a rubber band at the back of his head. Then he rolled his shoulders, stretched his neck from side to side, and flashed Starlight another grin.

"Here I come, my queen." He leaped into the pool, crashing into the water with a massive splash that sent water exploding in every direction. Waves rolled across the surface and rushed toward Starlight. She shut her eyes briefly as droplets splashed across her face, preventing the water from getting into her eyes.

Moments later, Kage broke through the surface a few feet away, slicking the water from his face, his eyes gleaming with victory. "Now, where do—"

"You’re so far away from me. Why?" Starlight asked, still maintaining the drawl in her voice despite how much she hated it. Her tone carried a subtle, dangerously sweet edge. "Come closer, please. You’re the one who said you wanted us to bond, right? We can’t exactly bond with you standing all the way over there."

As she spoke, she blinked rapidly at him through damp lashes and tilted her head slightly, a faint pout tugging at her lips as she treaded water several meters away. Her expression was the picture of innocent expectation.

Kage nearly forgot how to swim as his heart slammed against his ribs. A surge of pure, unfiltered pride rushed through his veins, hotter than any pre-workout high. He still couldn’t quite believe his luck. From everything he had seen and heard, Starlight Dawson was supposed to be impossible to approach. But here she was, practically begging him to narrow the distance.

He couldn’t believe he had once thought he was out of luck because of her fierce personality.

He couldn’t have been more wrong. She was exactly the kind of girl he liked. This was going even better than he had imagined. All he had to do was maintain this smooth rhythm, leave an unforgettable impression, and he would stay ahead of the competition. The thought filled him with a ridiculous sense of satisfaction.

He could practically taste victory already. The prize was practically falling right into his lap.

Trying and failing to suppress the grin stretching across his face, Kage pushed through the water and swam closer until he closed the gap between them, stopping about three feet away.

"I am right here, my Red Queen."

Starlight tilted her chin, her green eyes sweeping over him with that same deceptively sweet gaze. "A bit closer," she purred softly, her tone dripping with artificial warmth.

A dark flush instantly crept up the back of Kage’s neck, burning all the way to the tips of his ears. His pulse spiked. A bit closer?

He swallowed hard, his mind immediately spiraling down a path of reckless possibilities.

If he moved any closer, their chests would practically be pressing against each other. The cool water would be the only thing separating them. Damn, he thought, his throat suddenly dry despite being submerged in a pool. The sheer number of shameless couples he had caught in this complex over the years flashed through his mind, the very same people he had judged for their complete lack of restraint. He had sworn he would never become one of those idiots making out in the shallow end. But as he looked at her red hair floating around her shoulders like silk, and those eyes fixed on him with what looked suspiciously like expectation, he found his resolve crumbling almost instantly.

I mean, why else would she want him this close?

She wanted him. There was simply no other explanation. "Whatever you wish, my queen," Kage murmured, his steel-blue eyes darkening as he kicked his legs again, closing the remaining distance until he was standing barely an arm’s length away from her, thoroughly convinced he was about to receive the reward of a lifetime.

"Son of a bitch." The innocently sweet expression vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sharp, unadulterated coldness.

Before Kage could even comprehend the sudden shift, Starlight lunged.

Kage’s eyes widened. "What the—"

His words never finished as Starlight twisted sharply, using his own forward momentum against him. His body lurched sideways as her inner elbow locked tightly against his throat in a brutal chokehold. In one smooth motion, she rotated behind him, dragged his back firmly against her front, and hauled him beneath the water. The pool swallowed them both.

Bubbles exploded from Kage’s mouth as he thrashed violently against her hold. Panic flared in his chest as his hands scrambled desperately at her forearm, his legs kicking furiously against the water. He knew he was vastly stronger than any human, let alone a human girl, but her hold was terrifyingly precise.

Starlight held him down with unyielding leverage. Her self-defense coach had drilled this exact technique into her, teaching her that a werewolf’s superhuman strength was directly tied to their respiratory intake. If you cut off their clean air supply and denied them the deep, rhythmic breaths required to circulate their internal energy, their raw physical power plummeted rapidly. It was an obscure vulnerability that very few humans ever learned, and while she had no idea how her coach had come across such specialized knowledge, she was thoroughly enjoying putting the theory to the test.

Kage’s eyes bulged as the water around them churned violently. Bubbles exploded from his mouth as his throat tightened, and his mind scrambled wildly through the chaos.

How did things go from me claiming my future queen to being drowned like a stray dog?

He had genuinely believed they were having a moment, that he had somehow unlocked her soft side, only to wind up on the receiving end of her utter cruelty. If he survived this, he was never going anywhere near her again. He was officially forfeiting the competition. He did not care what his father commanded. This girl was a complete psychopath, an absolute monster, and entirely not his type.

Just as Kage’s vision began to blur around the edges, Starlight abruptly released her grip.

Kage shot to the surface, breaking through the water and frantically swimming away from her. He clung to the tiled edge of the pool, coughing violently as he clutched his raw throat, his chest heaving while he desperately fought to regulate his breathing. His chest burned fiercely, each breath scraping through his lungs as though he had inhaled fire. His throat felt swollen and painfully raw from the pressure of Starlight’s hold, while his lungs ached from the desperate struggle for air. Every breath came in ragged, shallow gasps that barely seemed to satisfy the burning demand for oxygen. Water dripped from his hair and face as he bent over the edge, one hand gripping the tiles while the other remained pressed against his throat.

Meanwhile, Starlight swam calmly toward the shallow ledge and pulled herself out of the pool. Ignoring the trail of water dripping from her swimsuit, she reached for the jacket she had left on a nearby chair and turned back toward him. The prince of the Apogee Clan was flushed completely red as he continued to choke and gasp for air. A sharp, amused smirk tugged at her lips. "I hope you enjoyed our bonding, Prince Kage," she drawled smoothly. "I would not mind a repeat performance sometime."

Kage’s eye twitched. "Fuck you!" he wheezed out between ragged coughs, glaring at her with watery, furious eyes. "Stay the hell away from me, you wicked, crazy bitch!"

Starlight chuckled lightly, threw her jacket over her shoulders, and strolled casually out of the swimming complex without looking back.

Left entirely alone in the quiet facility, Kage leaned his forehead against the cold edge of the pool, dragging in shallow, burning breaths.

"Fuck," he choked out, his voice hoarse and shattered. "What the hell is wrong with that girl?"