Yvette's face turned ashen, and she instinctively wanted to run.

But she quickly sensed something was off.

Just as she neared the male werecreature by the fireplace, his aura of malice and aggression briefly weakened for an instant, and at that moment he became much calmer.

This change was subtle, yet clear enough for her to notice.

Yvette froze in place.

The male werecreature, seated in the shadows, slowly lifted his eyes, his gaze falling on her for the first time.

The next second, his aura became intimidatingly chill again.

A thin crack split the wooden table beside the fireplace, and the flames suddenly shot higher.

Yvette's breath caught in her throat, and she felt her legs nearly buckle beneath her.

The male werecreature gripped the armrests so hard his knuckles turned pale, veins bulging along his temples because he was trying to control himself.

His eyes slightly turned red, making him look utterly dangerous.

"I will say this one last time," he said, his voice low and hoarse, thick with barely contained patience. "Get out."

Yvette knew that she should just leave immediately.

But the moment she turned, beasts' roars echoed from outside the door.

Those outcast werecreatures dared not barge in, yet they refused to give up on her as their prey.

Yvette clenched her fists tightly.

If she stepped outside, the outcast werecreatures would drag her away. If she stayed, she would be facing a high-ranking werecreature who was losing control.

Either choice was extremely dangerous.

But she found that at least for that one fleeting moment, she had genuinely calmed him.

Seeing that she hesitated, the male werecreature's gaze darkened completely. "Do you really wanna die?"

Yvette trembled under his glare, yet she forced herself to speak. "I can help you."

Silence fell over the cabin for a heartbeat.

The male werecreature let out a cold snort, as if what she said was laughable. "You can help me?"

He rose slowly to his feet, his towering frame blotting out nearly all the firelight from the hearth, and advanced toward her step by step.

He was cold and dominant, radiating an unmistakable aura of aggression.

Yvette's breath caught, but she did not retreat again.

The male werecreature loomed over her, his voice icy. "You're just a fragile human woman, yet you dare to claim you can help me?"

As he spoke, his eyes had already turned fully red, as though he might lose control at any second.

Yvette trembled all over out of fear; even her fingers did. Yet she slowly raised her hand and carefully reached toward his arm.

Her fingertips finally touched him.

The male werecreature's body went rigid instantly.

Yvette froze in place.

She could clearly sense that the male werecreature's raging beastly instincts calmed a little as he drew near her, as if instinctively drawn to and soothed by her presence.

But this calm did not last long.

A few seconds later, the male werecreature's breathing grew heavy again, and a suppressed growl was forced out from his throat.

He seized her wrist abruptly and yanked her close.

Yvette crashed into his chest, instantly enveloped by his strong scent.

She noticed his body temperature was abnormally high.

Outside the cabin, growls kept echoing in the woods, mingling with the sound of claws scraping against tree trunks, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

And the cabin's wooden door was pounded again and again, while the whole cabin was shaking.

...

In the grand hall of the Hawthorne family, Lena sipped her tea slowly and deliberately.

Vera Hawthorne, Yvette's stepmother and Lena's mother, stood by the window, looking utterly at ease.

"It has already been a whole night," Vera murmured. "Once a woman loses her virginity, she is utterly ruined. Edwin will not want her, and the Hawthorne family will never acknowledge her again."

Lena curled her lips into a smirk, malice gleaming in her eyes. "If she is foolish enough to bring this on herself, she has no one to blame but us."

Vera smiled faintly. "Besides, that is werecreatures' turf. She might not even make it back alive."

At that very moment, inside the cabin in the Dark Forest, Yvette found herself pinned against the cold wall, while the male werecreature had wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.

He lowered his head toward her, his breath alarmingly heavy, the last trace of clarity vanishing from his eyes.

Panic finally gripped Yvette.

"Calm down," she pleaded.

The male werecreature stared at her, his golden eyes now filled only with desire that he could barely suppress.

In the next instant, he slammed Yvette onto the ground, and his hand touched the hem of her clothes.

Dawn crept in gradually, and Yvette slowly regained consciousness.

To her horror, she realized she was still tightly cradled in the arms of that dangerous male werecreature whom she had stuck with last night.

Fragmented and eerie memories from the night before flooded her mind all at once.

She also felt sore in her body and deeply unwell.

Her face turned pale immediately, and her breath quickened.

The male werecreature seemingly remained asleep, eyes still closed.

Yvette stiffly lowered her gaze.

She remembered how, last night, he had crazily and ceaselessly bitten and nipped at her neck.

When her fingers brushed against the distinct teeth marks on the back of her neck, her breath hitched.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she frantically tried to wriggle free from his embrace.

But when she was doing that, she suddenly noticed the dark silver mask covering his face.

Everything had been too chaotic the night before; she had never gotten a clear look at him.

Yvette's breath slightly caught.

After a brief hesitation, she slowly reached out her hand.

She had to see what he, who had taken her virginity, actually looked like.

She touched the edge of the dark gray mask.

Just as a flicker of excitement sparked within her and she began to lift it off, a huge force hurled her across the room.

"Ah!" she screamed.