Ileus rolled with her and pinned her beneath him. "Anastasia, what is wrong with you? Why can't you simply do what I ask you to? It is not safe to be alone even though we are close to Ixoviya!" 

The way his body pinned her, it was so possessive. He held her wrists above her head and his weight on her made her squirm. "Stay close to me." 

His breath fell on her cheeks making her squirm and reminding her of his woodsy smell. The more she squirmed, the more he pinned her under his weight. His one leg was over her and the other beside her. It was as if he was doing it out of anger, out of urgency to protect her and dominate her. 

"Ileus, you weren't listening to me!" she shouted at him, trying her best to free from his grasp, but the man was too strong. "I wanted to talk to you."

He rested his forehead over her temple. His warm breath continued to fall on her cheeks that reminded her of the cavern and all the shenanigans associated with it. He pressed a kiss on her cheeks and said, "Ana, do you know what it is to be a werewolf's mate? I have this strong urge to protect you and dominate you fiercely at every level. When I lost you for two weeks, it was the worst fear I faced in my life."

"You are mad, Ileus," she said in a low voice. "Get over with it. I can take care of myself. I have been trained as a warrior!" 

"Maybe, but I also know that you love my madness. But what I don't understand is why do you defy me, why do you defy my orders?" He grazed her neck with his fangs making her heart throb wildly. 

She pushed against him to get up but he pressed her more and wedged his leg between hers pinning her completely. He held both her hands over her head with one hand while with the other he clawed her shirt to expose her mark. 

"You should stop blaming yourself for whatever happened to us. It had to happen. Theodir had hinted. Why can't you understand that it was part of our destiny?" It was becoming difficult to reason with him. 

He sucked his mark over there and she almost cried out. "Ileus, stop it!" 

He only kissed her over there again and again and then seized her lips. When he left, he licked her and said, "Don't go against my orders because it makes my wolf want to make you submit to me all the more."

"Are you even listening to me?" she shrieked with frustration. She tried to struggle free from him once again. His grip became loose and he left her. He slumped to the ground beside her, his chest panting heavily. She rose and slapped against his chest. "I don't like when you are behaving like this. It affects me. I want you to open up to me, talk to me. Forget what happened. I discovered something—" she stopped speaking when from the corner of her eye she saw movement. "Can you smell something different?" 

Ileus' eyes became wide. He got up immediately. "Fuck. Rogue vampires." 

"B— but I thought we were far from the rogues." 

"Why would you think that, Anastasia? Rogues are everywhere." Frustration laced his tone. "I told you already that rogues have infested the jungles everywhere." He pulled her closer to her. "They have scented their next meal, which is you!" 

"It's not like I knew they would be here," she snapped. 

"You defied my orders without realizing the gravity of the situation." His voice was cold and harsh and full of irritation. "And how are you going to defend yourself against these vampires, warrior girl? Why did you go against me?" 

Heavy footfalls sent a shiver down her spine. "This is not the time to discuss it. I am not your slave to agree to all your orders!" 

"Oh you better agree!" he rasped. 

She stared at him with disbelief. "There is something wrong with you. You are acting insane!" 

"Yes, I have gone insane thinking how to protect you and you keep yourself getting into trouble!" he lashed. 

A hiss sounded, which was followed by crunching of twigs. Ileus jumped to his feet and pulled her up. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his chest. He pulled his dagger out of its sheath. "Do you have yours?" 

When she nodded, he pressed a kiss to her temple. When he pulled away, his golden eyes were glowing. "Then kill as many as you can sweetheart." 

A smile crept on her lips when she stared into those luminous eyes that glowed in the middle of the night with rage, with thrill. Anastasia realized that his confidence had wavered a lot and he wanted it back. She would slay as many as possible. A hiss close to them broke their trance. She pulled out her dagger. 

The vampires emerged from the trees around them, about a dozen, with red hungry eyes and bared fangs. Their clothes were tattered and their claws were elongated. They became ready with their daggers pointing at the vampires. 

The vampires slowed their pace as Ileus shoved Anastasia to his back yet still holding her hand. Suddenly the first vampire attacked her. He screamed and with a wide mouth that showed his fangs, he lunged at her aiming for her throat. Anastasia's dagger met him when he was midair. It sliced his throat, which lolled on the ground. His body fell beside his head. She flung her hands out and the dagger came back to her. "Prolaati vampir!" she hissed. Bloody vampire. 

Ileus had burst into shadows. He threw blades of shadows at the two who had charged him and they got mutilated instantly. Anastasia couldn't help admiring him. He was the type of man who could win a kingdom alone if he unleashed his powers. He surely was a dark man when it came to killing enemies and protecting her. 

She sliced more who dared to come next to her. When she slayed the next one, a vampire managed to dodge her dagger and came at an arm's length to her. It bared its fangs and screamed on her face in the shrillest pitch she had ever heard. Perhaps a woman vampire. She attacked her, but the vampire dodged her again and charged at Ileus. Anastasia froze with terror when she saw the vampire lunging at him with her claws aiming for his neck. Filled with rage, she plunged her dagger in the back of her neck and twisted it with her hands. Blood spurted on Ileus' neck and back and on her face. 

When the vampire slumped down, Ileus turned sharply. "How many?" he shouted as he thrust his dagger into one who was trying to attack his chest. 

"Seven." 

"Great!" he said and pierced the last one's neck with his dagger.

Anastasia was panting when she looked around the massacre, the gore. Suddenly the tree above them  quivered and a lot of leaves fell over them. She stepped back,  heaving, trying to catch her breath. "Who the hell is there?" 

Ileus caught her hand and said, "Run!" 

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