Chapter 3

"Why? Are you scared?" Dominik taunted.

He arched an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. At that moment, he was like a wolf sizing up its prey.

But my beastly instincts told me that he didn't actually want to kill me. He'd slain so many people that killing intent naturally radiated from him.

"No. You're way too handsome for me to be afraid," I replied.

I was completely honest. At my words, Dominik's grip on my chin loosened a little.

He was actually stunned for a moment before he found his voice again.

"Aren't you a bit too brazen?" he asked.

Probably because my gaze was so brazen, he hastily tied a piece of cloth around his waist.

"Do women from Bruiville check out a man's crotch the very first time they meet one?" Dominik teased.

I corrected him softly, "Actually, this is our second meeting."

As if exasperated by me, he let out a chuckle.

He flopped down onto the tiger-skin-draped armchair and tore into a hunk of meat.

"That's not the point," he said.

I took a whiff of the meat. And sure enough, the rumors were true—he really was eating raw meat.

"Why am I brazen? Am I not allowed to look?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

The Gulisson family hadn't had the chance to teach me about boundaries between opposite genders.

My question left Dominik speechless.

"Why can't I look?" I persisted when he remained silent, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Outside the tent, a group of people burst into laughter upon hearing my question.

They were all soldiers on night watch.

But I was genuinely puzzled.

"Shut up!" Dominik roared.

I guess he'd probably never met a woman like me before—one who wasn't afraid of him and even had the nerve to keep pestering him with questions.

He motioned for me to crawl over to him. Then, he picked up a hunk of raw meat and held it out to me.

"You can look. Eat this meat, and I'll let you look every day. But if you chicken out, I'll gouge your eyes out right now," he said.

His threats always came with deceptive lightness. Narrowing his eyes, he waited to see me squirm.

The soldiers outside couldn't help but prick up their ears, curious to see if I, a woman from Bruiville, could live past the first day.

I stared at the raw meat before me, and suddenly my mind was flooded with memories of those days I spent surviving in the forest.

During my first year at the Gulisson residence, I couldn't stomach cooked food, so I'd always sneak into the kitchen to eat raw meat.

Once, I just couldn't resist it. I bit a chicken to death.

When Kimberly caught me, she shrieked in horror as if I were a monster.

The Gulisson family mocked me for being an uncivilized savage, unworthy of their noble bloodline.

Even Kimberly, who used to cling to me, avoided me for a long time. "You're so revolting! How could you eat raw meat? What kind of monster does that?" she exclaimed.

For a time, I truly believed I was unworthy of being human, thinking that I was worthless and vile.

It wasn't until the Gulisson family sent me to North Romdale that I finally realized everything. Their so-called kindness and decency were nothing but masks hiding their true, predatory instincts.

They might not eat raw meat, but they could still devour me alive with smiles on their faces.

"Do you not have the guts to eat it?" Dominik asked.

His voice snapped me back to reality. As he moved to take back the venison, I swiftly grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"I do," I said.

I was raised by a kind wolf mother. The moment my teeth came in, she taught me to scramble for meat with the rest of the pack.

I was just a runt back then, and unlike the other wolf pups, I didn't have their sharp fangs.

I was always hungry. My wolf mother would repeatedly break the pack's rules—even baring her fangs at the alpha wolf—just to snatch meat and fill my belly.

As I came of age, I joined the pack in their hunts.

But the pack never had enough meat to go around. My wolf mother grew old. She'd stumble and stagger in the fights over food, so she always ended up hungry.

I cradled her in my arms, vowing then and there that tomorrow, I'd get her the choicest cut of meat, no matter what.

I finally managed to hunt down a stag on my own, but when I dragged its carcass back, all I found was my wolf mother's lifeless body.

She died of hunger and old age. In the wolf pack, many old wolves like her died quietly and unnoticed.

From then on, I treasured every bite of food all the more.

I thought I'd eat my fill every day for my wolf mother so that she could rest easy.

Dominik stared at me as I expertly tore into the raw meat with my teeth, the teasing look in his eyes gradually giving way to genuine curiosity.

I devoured the entire chunk of meat, and my lips became smeared with blood.

Dominik wiped the blood from my lips with his calloused hand. He remarked, "You're truly a different breed from other women.

"It looks like you might just survive out here. Heck, you might even thrive here."

I nodded, then let out a burp.

"All right. Everyone, you're dismissed. The show's over!" Dominik announced.

No sooner had he spoken than the soldiers outside let out a collective groan of disappointment before scattering in all directions.

"Are you still planning to sleep?" Dominik asked me.

I nodded. Honestly, if he hadn't come in just now, I'd probably have slept through the night.

Dominik then said, "But there's only one bed here."

I immediately caught the hint. With quick movements, I wrapped myself in the sheepskin and scurried back to the corner I had slept in just now.

"I'll just sleep right here. I promise I won't disturb you," I said.

Dominik gave a brief nod, washed his hands, and extinguished the lamp.

Before long, steady breathing filled the tent. He was already asleep?

That sure was fast. Before I knew it, I had drifted off, too.

However, I couldn't sleep soundly that night. I didn't know if it was because of the bumpy journey or something else, but I kept tossing and turning, my body alternating between hot and cold.