Her pupils narrowed.

With a hiss, she spun around. Claws broke through her fingertips. The hair at the back of her neck stood on end.

Behind her towered a massive figure. The faint moonlight that filtered through the windows was completely blocked.

Even with her predator’s eyes, she could barely make him out. All she saw were two glowing yellow eyes, golden swirls moving within them, pulling her deeper and deeper in.

Her lungs burned, reminding her to breathe. She drew in air with effort.

’Shit, I was too careless.’

Silas leaned down toward her, and Mirabelle instinctively leaned back — further and further until the door pressed against her back.

But nothing stopped the panther.

He came so close that their noses almost touched. His breath brushed over her face, and she caught the scent of mint and honey.

To keep looking at him, she had to tilt her head up.

Their gazes locked. Neither willing to look away.

It felt both threatening and intimate at the same time, and the lynx female instinctively tried to turn aside.

But the panther beastman did not miss the slightest movement of her muscles. In an instant, his arm moved past her.

Before she could turn, his hand landed beside her head, braced against the door, caging her in.

Mirabelle shrank slightly.

A pull stirred in her stomach. Discomfort? Or something else...

"Afraid?"

His melodic voice vibrated in the air between them.

The question lingered longer than she liked.

His tail flicked.

She did not see it, but she felt the shift in the air.

She realized that he enjoyed this. Dominance. Power. Control.

The primal instincts of beastmen.

She had no intention of letting him get away with it.

Even though her heart pounded in her throat, she forced her voice to remain steady:

"Only of wasting time."

She picked up her earlier remark again, and it did not miss its mark. A quiet chuckle escaped him.

Her modern heart could not quite handle the position they were in. And his laugh must have been toxic, because it turned her knees to water. Suddenly, she was grateful for the door behind her.

’If I keep looking into those eyes, he’ll consume me.’

She lowered her gaze, staring at his chest. But she could not make out much. It was as if the panther beastman was wrapped in shadows.

With his free hand, he suddenly grasped her chin and forced her gaze back up to his.

"And what about my time? Do you enjoy playing with us — humiliating us?"

Now there was something sharp in his voice. The atmosphere shifted.

Mirabelle frowned, confused.

"Humiliating...?"

’Is he talking about the buffalo?’

His fingers slid from her chin down her throat. She swallowed. Her tail twitched nervously.

Slowly, deliberately, he took his time, as if he knew exactly what he was doing.

Small sparks seemed to dance across her skin. Each one surged through her with such intensity that her mind nearly short-circuited. What was he doing?

He did not stop until his hand rested at her throat. Silas did not press hard, and yet it made breathing difficult.

Now fear rose within her, pushing upward against her lungs.

Her vision flickered. Though it had more to do with the tension than a lack of oxygen.

Then he let go.

With one long finger, Silas tapped lightly against the stone of her necklace.

"That..." he leaned closer to her ear, his breath brushing against the sensitive hairs there,

"...is the beast core of a panther."

His words sank into her skin. Her thoughts, which had just been frozen, began to race.

Tara had chosen the necklace deliberately to send a message. That Luchsenstein was in no way inferior to its guests, that their beastmen were just as strong. But now Mirabelle had to pay the price for it.

She had not known. Had not paid attention.

The former Mirabelle had only been vaguely aware that many of the stones were beast cores, but she had never been able to identify them. To her, the tiger’s-eye stone had simply been beautiful.

Tara, on the other hand, had likely assumed she understood.

Mirabelle swallowed, trying to moisten her dry throat.

This was dangerous. The panther looked genuinely angry. She could feel the tension in him vibrating.

In a situation like this, attacking was the only way to defend herself.

Silas was still bent close to her ear, so she had no trouble grabbing his head and pulling him slightly closer.

The fact that she managed it only showed how little of a threat he considered her.

’I’ll show you what kind of threat I am.’

For the first time in her life, she chose to step into the danger instead of away from it.

Now Mirabelles lips hovered near his ear, and she made an effort to speak as softly as possible. Her voice deepened, as if trying to pull the beast before her down with it:

"Do you want me to provoke you?"

A/N: I know it’s cliché, but I couldn’t resist. I’m so excited. (≧▽≦)