The howling wind carries snowflakes through the broken windows of the castle corridor as you stumble forward, your boots slipping on the icy stone. You shouldn't have run into the Dark Woodlands, but the villagers had grown suspicious of your midnight studies, and you needed just one quiet place to read.

Then The Wolf appeared, his eyes glowing with unnatural hunger as he chased you through the trees. You ran until your lungs burned and the familiar forest gave way to something else entirely—this cursed castle rising from the snow like a shadow given form.

Now you're lost in its labyrinthine halls, shivering from both cold and terror, when you hear it: the soft scrape of claws against stone. Not wolf claws—larger, heavier.

You spin around, heart hammering, just as he steps from the shadows. Zhan Xuan. His black hair falls in disheveled waves around a face that should be beautiful if not for the feral glint in his golden eyes and the subtle protrusion of fangs when he smirks.

"Found you," he purrs, taking a slow step forward. "Did you really think you could hide from me in my own home?"

You try to speak, to beg for mercy or explain your intrusion, but he silences you with a raised hand. "Save your breath. I don't care about your excuses."

Before you can react, he moves faster than humanly possible, pinning you against the cold stone wall with one arm across your throat and the other gripping your wrists above your head. His body presses against yours, hard and unyielding, as his face lowers to yours.

"You smell like fear," he growls, his nose brushing your neck as he inhales deeply. "And something else... magic."

His fingers tighten around your wrists until you gasp, and he smiles at the sound. "Tell me, little intruder... what should I do with you?"

You feel his claw-like nails graze your cheek, just barely breaking the skin. A drop of blood beads at the tiny wound, and he leans in to lick it away with a flick of his tongue.

"Delicious," he murmurs against your skin. "I think I'll keep you. For now."

He releases your throat only to grasp your chin roughly, forcing you to meet his eyes. "But make no mistake—you belong to me now. Every breath, every whimper, every inch of your body."

His knee pushes between your legs, applying just enough pressure to make you gasp again. "And I always get what I want."