After losing so much blood, it was no surprise that the girl became as white as sheet and corncerningly cold like a pseudo-corpse barely hanging on with life.
Asha's vision slowly darkened, collapsing in a limp heap on the cold marble floor with her broken body finally giving in to the pain she received from torture.
The last thing she remembered was the feel of blood trickling down her face, Claire's voice—dripping with venom—seeping into her ears like poison and her fierce grip on her hair.
And then—silence engulfed her along with the endless shadow, pulling her unconsciousness away.
---
Two days later…
The doors to Claire Velnos' private office were flung open with a deafening crash, startling the aides nearby. Papers scattered. A decorative vase shattered on impact with the floor.
Standing in the threshold was a young man like a force of nature.
Lustus Velnos.
(A/N: Genos Beasts don't have surname, so they if they do, they most likely receive the last name of their mothers. Like a noble privilege if they hail from a family related to a Spirit Beast Maiden. Hybrid females don't.)
His presence alone seethed with energy—like a thunderstorm barely restrained in human form. Fiery blond hair clung to his face like the sun rising, soaked with a blend of cold rain and unrelenting sweat. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, muscles twitching beneath his soaked cloak as he glared with blazing fury at the woman seated calmly behind her polished desk.
"Mother! What did you do to my wife?!"
His voice thundered through the chamber, shaking the air like a whipcrack. Claire didn't even flinch.
"Lustus." Her tone was clipped. Annoyed. "Close the damn door."
He didn't move and remained brooding.
"You laid your hands on her? I told you not to touch Asha Hale!" He was trembling, not from weakness—but from a rage he was barely holding back. "Mother, I beg you before I left! For almost a year that I was gone, because I was out there fighting off an entire nest of bloodmanes in the Western stronghold, holding that cursed border so the monsters wouldn't tear through our lands. I trusted you to watch over her. Not to mistreat her—"
Claire's lips curled into a sneer. "Watch over her? I'm not your nursemaid, Lustus. I did what had to be done! That girl crossed a line."
"A line?!" he snarled, slamming his fist onto her desk so hard it splintered the wood. "You nearly killed her! Do you not even see the state you put her into?"
Claire didn't answer as though she never really bothered knowing as long as the girl was still breathing.
Lustus was so frustrated and held his throbbing forehead before shotting back angrily.
"Mother! Do you really wish to forsake me by trying to kill my future mate?! You left the girl barely alive! It's been over two days since I received the news! I still found her unconscious in the medic ward with a fractured skull, bruises, bleeding—and not a single damn soul dared touch her unless you said so. What the hell were you thinking?!"
Claire stood now, slowly, deliberately. Their identical features clashed—his youthful, furious, and aching with betrayal; hers cold, sharp, and imperious.
"You don't understand the games we play here, boy. That girl is reckless. She was meeting with another Enigma, not even bothering to show you or this family the respect we deserve."
Lustus' eyes darkened. "You think status matters more than her life?"
"She's weak," Claire said, voice like ice. "And if she can't survive this, she has no place beside you. Besides... Do you even know which wretched dog left her room the night before I thought her a lesson?"
Her voice trailed off as she observed his reaction like a watchful vulture. She smirked.
"Creus... Your Father's bastard went inside your precious female's room smothered with her pheromones in the middle of the night. Ha! Don't you know what that means?"
Hearing this, the man was clearly shaken that even his broad shoulders went stiff.
"C-Creus... Went to see Asha?"
Lustus was stirred. His breath hitched as he clenched his hand into a fist—and then turned to fire. The very reaction she wanted him to have.
"Asha! Asha! Asha! All you ever say is Asha!What did that wench feed you for you to act so man stupid? Look at yourself! Look at how ridiculous that sight of you, chasing after the dust and rain just to return and see that wench while that pig of a woman is being seen in her disheveled robe running after a man on the dead of the night! That woman already soiled by your father's bastard!" Claire Velnos gritted.
Her lips tugged upwards in a disdainful scowl and spoke roughly with blaze. "How low can you go just for that wretched female, Lustus? I did not raise you so hard just to be spat on the face and be run over by some bitch!"
However, it didn't take long before the spark she purposely fanned on her son's nerves seemed to have swiftly extinguished by his firm belief and affection for the young woman.
"Enough!"
Lustus' eyed her as though he was staring at a stranger, not the person who put him into this world.
"Whatever choice I make doesn't concern you at all! Please leave me and the female out of your beef with Creus, Mother. I don't wanna hear anymore of your taunting. I will ever jump on your boat and live in hate just like you did. So stop pulling my leg by dragging Asha to stir me! You don't get to decide what should be done to her. She's mine. My choice. My future wife. Not a pawn in your bitter schemes."
"Bitter schemes?!" Claire's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who do you think raised you single-handedly with these damn schemes?! If she doesn't toughen up and learn the hard way, that pathetic, weak-minded woman will only continue to be a burden. She'll be crushed by this world and bring you down with her! You think your enemies will hesitate to strike her if you coddle her like this?"
Lustus took a step forward, rain still dripping from his coat.
"She survived a year in this place with nothing but her spirit and will. She didn't need to be forged in your cruelty to earn her place, Mother." His voice trembled with restrained grief and fury. "I don't care what rules you think you made here. I will tear this entire house apart before I let you hurt her again."
Claire stared at him. For a long moment, the room crackled with tension.
Then—she scoffed and turned away.
"Fine! Do as you please, then. But don't say I didn't warn you. The world outside isn't kind to soft hearts, Lustus."
He clenched his jaw, already turning toward the door.
"I'm not asking the world to be kind," he said coldly. "But if anyone dares lay a hand on her again... they'll find out how cruel I can be."
And with that, he vanished down the hall, storm still following in his wake. Leaving the icy woman with a daunting expression across her elegant face.
Claire sat slowly behind her desk and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
"Sooner or later, you would realize that I'm doing all these for your sake." She glanced at the broken family portrait where a beautiful blonde was holding a pair of cute boys grinning from ear to ear and a flash of darkness envelope her gleaming jade eyes. Claire gnashed her teeth and covered her vengeful eyes.
"You will surely thank me, your mother, for all it's worth, my foolish son. You will!"