"Since you don't need me, I'm leaving."

The Bloodkin Prince stood there, scanning the area, and sighed lazily. "No idea where Bolis's head got tossed. I still need to pick it up. You stay here and suffer slowly."

His "kind" concern made Ouyang want to ignore him completely.

The heartless guy really planned to leave her here to suffer alone.

"You—wait—right—there...!"

She squeezed the words out. Ouyang swallowed hard, stared at the Bloodkin Prince watching for laughs, and felt timid.

She was the one suffering, scared it would be like last time—too shameful to describe, a scene too vivid to recall.

"Relax. I’ve got zero interest in outdoor fun in this pine forest."

Her thoughts lay bare in front of the Bloodkin Prince, and his look of disdain made it even more humiliating.

He gently flipped Ouyang over and sank four sharp fangs into her neck without mercy. The feeding dragged on painfully long.

She remembered how she bit him—just a sip. Totally unfair treatment.

Compared to last time, the force and placement were different. It even hurt more.

Was this guy just stabbing around again?

She recalled last night when he jabbed right into her breast. It hurt so much she couldn’t sleep.

"This is payback. However you bit me, I bite you back."

"Are you a child?!"

Ouyang snapped, furious at his self-righteous tone.

"Your feeding technique is absolute trash."

Not yet sated, the Bloodkin Prince licked the blood at his lips, eyeing the two Wolfkin bodies on the ground. "Once we find the head, I'll teach you how to feed."

"I don't want to learn."

If it hadn’t been urgent, Ouyang would never have bitten the Bloodkin Prince herself.

Still fuming, she tried to move forward. The moment she stepped, she toppled straight into the annoying guy’s arms.

Weak and dizzy, Ouyang hadn’t thrown herself at him on purpose. From above, his "kind" voice came down:

"Normal reaction to blood loss."

He didn’t bother with another word. He bent, slid his right hand under her knees, and lifted her in a princess carry again.

"Put me down... I can walk."

She hated being carried like that. It was mortifying.

To hide her blush, Ouyang ducked her head low.

"With what you're wearing, the pine forest is a pain. Don't push it."

His last words shut her up. She stayed quiet as he followed Bolis’s scent through the nighttime pines.

From the dark, silent forest came a wailing cry for help. As it grew closer, they both saw Bolis’s head dangling from a branch.

"If it had fallen and some animal carried it off, I’d be bringing bad news back."

"Hahaha... Bloodkin Prince, you jest. I’m hard to kill."

Having been sealed in a jar for years, Bolis hadn’t fed in ages. His strength instantly lagged far behind the Wolfkin brothers.

The fact the Bloodkin Prince got Ouyang here safely meant the Anderson trio had been wiped out. It was over.

He’d already moved the two Wolfkin corpses back to the castle. "While the blood’s still warm, I’ve prepared a lavish Anderson-brothers blood feast. Let’s head back."

"One is enough for me. Send the other to brave Miss Ouyang."

"I just..."

Seeing Ouyang hesitate, the Bloodkin Prince added, "I just dropped your power back to D-rank again. Drink this Wolfkin’s blood, and you can scrape up to C-rank."

Noting her spark of interest, he asked earnestly, "Wanna try?"

His tempting tone planted a seed of doubt in her.

"Pure-blood Mosterians are rare in the Northern District."

The Bloodkin Prince’s lips curved. "You don’t want outsiders seeing your dumpster-fire feeding technique, do you?"

Back at the castle, before drinking the Wolfkin blood, he took Ouyang to a room. Using her body as a demo, he explained Blood Clan feeding.

"When you feed, always start from the tastiest spot."

He leaned in. Ouyang watched nervously as his nose found her carotid. He took a gentle sniff.

"We can smell which parts have richer blood."

She saw him part his lips, eyes pleased, treating her like a test subject. He spoke warmly:

"Our teeth are razor-sharp. No need to force it. Just a light tap, like this..."

Her neck was pierced again. A sharp sting, blood draining. But unlike before, she felt another liquid flooding in.

"What did you inject into me?!"

She tried to push him off her shoulder. He only let go when he was done.

Anxiety spiked. The Bloodkin Prince explained, pleased, "I’m teaching you. Feeding not only empowers us. It can make the prey feel pleasure."

Ouyang guessed nervously that what he injected would kick in soon.

"To claim a mate completely, the Blood Clan secretes affection into the body. The more you inject, the more they crave, the more they can’t leave you."

"You...!"

She didn’t need that at all. She raised a fist to swing, but her head suddenly swam.

As she got close, her body turned soft, almost melting against him.

Inside, a mad little beast woke. It smelled his scent and sought his arms.

His cool hands rested atop her hair, stroking back and forth. His voice turned gentle. "Like the white mark that will soon be mine inside you."

"I’m warning you—don’t push it..."

Ouyang grabbed his descending arm, panicked, stopping the next move.

That sweet scent from him made the little beast in her want to leap into his embrace.

The pain he’d caused wasn’t forgettable. He’d used “stretching exercises” as an excuse to grind her down several times.

This time, he meant it.

"Relax. A Blood Clan body isn’t like any Mosterian’s."

He noticed her tense face and moved to calm her.

"Spring, summer, and autumn are your safe seasons. Winter is different."

The Bloodkin Prince said solemnly, "Your final deadline is winter."

He paused the lower advance under her repeated resistance, then set his hands at his chest and cradled her close.

From behind, at her hips, a warm, firm pressure pressed to her skin, like a king oyster mushroom poised to launch at any moment. Ouyang shivered, alarmed.

Not grasping his “final deadline,” Ouyang heard his detailed explanation:

"Our bodies have a perk. In the first three seasons, nothing takes. Come winter, we can conceive before marriage."

He feared she’d bolt after hearing that, so he clamped her tight in his arms and refused to let go.

"Once there’s a child, a mom can’t be without a dad, right?"

His expectant whisper at her ear froze her in place.

"No..."

She’d thought he meant their bodies wouldn’t conceive no matter what. Then the keyword hit, and she realized something serious.

No wonder he wasn’t in a rush. He was willing to play the long game, send her back to the Northern District, back to the human world...

Turns out the Blood Clan’s breeding season is winter.

Six months until winter.

When winter comes, Ouyang will hide somewhere the Bloodkin Prince can’t find her. She’ll sneak back out in spring...