Zamora sat on her bed, staring blankly around the room. She was trying to convince herself that this was truly her own room—not some figment of her imagination.
"Damn it! That dream again," Zamora muttered, roughly rubbing her face.
But then, a burning pain flared up in her neck, making her jerk in surprise. She touched her neck and found a burn mark still hot to the touch.
"Oh my God! What is this? What happened? Was that real? Not a dream?" Zamora hurried to the mirror and saw a reddish-black mark proudly resting on her slender neck.
"Why won't this disappear?" she panicked, gently rubbing the mark with her fingers.
Squinting, Zamora tried to read the tiny letters within the mark, but the writing was too small and blurry to make out.
"What did he do to me?" she whispered, her voice trembling as tears slipped down her cheeks.
Bang!
"Zamora! Didn't you hear me calling?!" Aunt Merry barked from the doorway, hands on her hips after roughly opening the bedroom door.
"What are you doing?" Aunt Merry asked, spotting her niece standing frozen in front of the mirror with her hand still on her neck.
"N-nothing, Auntie. I—"
"What are you hiding on your neck? Show me!" Aunt Merry demanded as she approached Zamora, who still stood rooted in place.
Slowly, Zamora lowered her hand and revealed the mark she'd been trying to erase. Aunt Merry's brow furrowed as she stared closely at the pale skin.
"You're just worrying me. Don't go doing strange things out there!" Aunt Merry snapped, then turned toward the door.
"Auntie, didn't you see this?" Zamora asked, confused by her aunt's indifferent reaction.
"See what? There's nothing on your neck. You want me to praise your pale skin? Ridiculous!" Aunt Merry grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Now, go change your clothes and wash the dishes. They've been calling your name for hours," Aunt Merry said, then walked away.
"A-Auntie," Zamora called again.
"What now?" Aunt Merry snapped.
"W-why am I in my room?" Zamora asked cautiously.
"Because you came in here yourself. Don't you remember when you came home?" Aunt Merry replied, but Zamora only shook her head.
"You came home carrying roses. They're right there by your bed," Aunt Merry said, pointing to a small basket filled with flower stems.
Zamora stared at the basket for a long moment. It felt unfamiliar—she hadn't brought any flowers when she went to the mountain.
"How could I have brought those flowers? I got scolded just for picking one," Zamora thought, unaware that the middle-aged woman by the door was giving her a strange look.
"Zamora! What's wrong with you?! Go wash those dishes, dinner will be ready soon!" Aunt Merry shouted, snapping Zamora back to reality.
"Y-yes, I'll go to the kitchen after I change," Zamora stammered.
Honestly, she was still caught between disbelief and acceptance of what she was seeing. Could this still be a dream?
"That girl's getting weirder by the day. I just don't understand her," Aunt Merry muttered as she left Zamora's room, closing the door a little too hard.
Zamora looked back at the mirror. "What have you done to me? Why did you leave this mark?"
Then, she remembered what her aunt had said earlier.
"Aunt Merry didn't see the mark? But why?"
Her mind spun out of control as fear crept through her entire body. She began regretting her decision to enter that mysterious flower garden. She should've known—how could there be a flower garden deep in a forest where almost no one dared to go?
"From today onward, you belong to me, and you will forever be mine. No matter how far you run, I will find you. I have chosen you to bear my offspring, and you cannot refuse. Now, come home."
Zamora shuddered at the whisper of the cloaked man before she lost consciousness and woke up in her room.
Covering her trembling mouth, Zamora's emotions churned wildly. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
"Damn it! Why me?! Why not some other woman?! Why did you have to choose me?! Damn it! I'm not even happy, and now you want to ruin my life even more?!" she screamed at her reflection, furious she hadn't confronted the creature directly, but terrified of meeting it again.
"Why doesn't anyone care about my life?! Why does everyone want me to suffer?!" she shouted before collapsing onto the floor.
For Zamora, losing her parents at a young age had already shattered her world, and she never once felt any love from her aunt.
"Argh! It hurts! What is this?" Zamora clutched her neck as the intense pain returned.
"Zamora! Are you trying to get locked outside?! Go wash the dishes! You—" Aunt Merry, who had just come back into the room, stopped mid-sentence when she saw Zamora lying on the floor, writhing in pain.
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Zamora! What's happening?" Aunt Merry panicked, rushing to her niece.
Slap!
A sudden slap landed on Zamora's cheek, instantly calming her down.
"All right, tell me what's wrong! Don't scare me like that! I don't want any possession cases in my house!"
Stunned, Zamora stared at Aunt Merry's worried face, then her vision blurred and she lost consciousness as darkness engulfed her sight.
"That man is a demon," Zamora thought before drifting back to sleep.
"Hey! Zamora! Wake up! Oh my God, is this girl possessed? Hey, wake up!" Aunt Merry kept tapping Zamora's cheek softly.
"Did I slap her too hard?" Aunt Merry wondered guiltily. "Oh my God, what have I done? Hey, Zamora! Come on, wake up!" she pleaded again.
---
Zamora didn't go to school that day. She sat silently in her room, staring off like someone deep in despair. After fainting the night before, her body temperature spiked, and she had a fever.
Click!
The bedroom door creaked open, and Aunt Merry entered carrying a tray with a glass of water and a plate of food.
"Are you awake? Here, eat something. I made you some porridge," the worried woman said.
"No need to bother, Auntie. I'm fine," Zamora replied weakly.
"Don't talk so much! You need to eat this porridge so you can feel better."
"Thank you, Auntie," Zamora said as she took the plate, slowly feeding herself.
"Let me know if you need anything else," Aunt Merry said before leaving.
Zamora was alone again, her long lashes gazing out the open window where sunlight streamed in.
"What kind of creature is he, really?" Zamora wondered, sighing deeply. She felt utterly exhausted.
---
Meanwhile, the handsome creature walked into a chamber within his castle. He wore a dark red robe, streaked with black.
He entered a room reserved for the leaders of the Incubus and Succubus clans and took his throne.
"Dante, how's the girl? Have you marked her?" a handsome man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Done," Dante replied nonchalantly.
"Excellent. I didn't expect you'd finally find a girl to bear your children," the newcomer laughed.
"Brother, is she beautiful?" asked a tan-skinned Incubus, his face glowing with excitement.
"Very beautiful," Dante smiled faintly.
"Even if she is beautiful, she's still a troublesome girl! I don't like her!" grumbled another Incubus who'd been silently sitting on his throne.
"You better keep quiet, Eden. I don't need your opinions about my chosen girl," Dante snapped at his brother.
"Save your words. I won't let you touch her," Dante growled.
"Whoa, calm down, brother. You like her?" Eden smirked.
Dante stayed silent. Unnoticed, a Succubus watched him with a displeased expression.
"Don't linger too long! Impregnate her and bear our descendants," said an Incubus with ocean-blue eyes, sounding uninterested in the argument.
"I know! Mind your own girl, Mike!" Dante retorted, grinding his teeth at the interruption.
Mike smiled triumphantly, having clearly annoyed Dante.
Sibling rivalries were just as fierce in the Incubus world as in the human one. Dante and Mike were brothers who never saw eye to eye. And then there was Eden, who always got on Dante's nerves.
---
Back in her room, Zamora lay on her bed, sleepy but too afraid to nap. She feared reliving the same nightmare and felt herself losing her sanity.
Time and again, she forced herself to keep her head off the pillow, avoiding the unknown world behind her eyelids.
"Don't sleep! I mustn't sleep," she whispered, fighting to stay awake.
A sudden tapping at the window caught her attention. The glass pane had been open since morning.
She gasped when a head suddenly peeked inside, smiling at her.
Zamora grabbed the talisman she kept under her pillow. It had been with her since childhood but lately, she'd ignored the small bundle.
She gasped, "Argh! It burns!" clutching her neck as the scorching pain returned. The tighter she gripped the talisman, the worse the burning grew.
"What do you think you're doing, huh?!" Dante shouted as he appeared beside her in seconds.
Dante's gaze was unreadable, but suddenly his eyes glowed red, shifting from their usual blue.
Fear surged through Zamora, but she pushed it down and faced the demon with the last of her courage.
"I know who you are! I won't die at the hands of a demon like you! You disgusting demon! What have you done to me all this time?!" Zamora yelled.
"You're the most disgusting demon I've ever known!" she spat fiercely.
Dante said nothing, silently watching Zamora rant.
"I won't bear your offspring! I refuse!" she screamed.
"I have chosen you. Whether you like it or not, you will do this."
"You don't know my life is already broken, huh? And you come to make it worse? Oh God! You'll be cursed for breaking an orphan like me. You ugly demon!"
"Stop it, Miss Zamora. I do not want to destroy you. I only want to borrow you to bear my people's offspring," Dante said softly.
"You heartless evil creature! You—"
His red eyes glowed brighter. Was that a sign he was angry? Zamora didn't know.
"What did you say? Evil creature?" Dante sneered, baring his fangs.
"Oh no," Zamora thought.
Slowly, Dante moved his sharp fangs toward Zamora's neck. She was frozen, unable to move or even close her eyes, forced to watch what he was about to do.
Bang!
"Zamora! Why are you screaming like that?"
Merry burst in, scolding, just as Dante vanished. Zamora began to move again and cried uncontrollably, leaving Aunt Merry confused. Zamora wanted to tell her everything—but she knew her aunt wouldn't believe her at all.
---