In an instant, suffocating pheromones spread thickly in all directions.
My skin tingles and cold sweat trickled down my entire body.
I remembered something someone had once told me long ago:
If you want to live a long life, stay far away from carnivorous beastkin.
Weak herbivorous types like me wouldn’t even leave behind bones if we stood in front of them.
As a child, I didn’t believe that.
“If we fight back, won’t we be fine? We’ve got strong legs that can leap to high places and cooler horns than anyone!”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t know how terrifying they really are. The moment you let your guard down, your body will be torn to pieces right before your eyes.”
“That’s not true! My dad was strong—he even taught a tiger beastkin a lesson once!”
What did that person say in response back then?
Did they just smile without a word?
Or did they scold me for not understanding reality?
I couldn’t recall exactly.
But whoever they were, their words had been absolutely right.
The moment my eyes met those of the wolf beastkin, his blue irises gleamed with the hunger of a predator refusing to let its prey escape.
A chill ran down my spine.
A fear I might actually die surged over me.
Just as I instinctively tried to back away, a cold voice cut through the air, chilling even the wind itself.
“Who sent you? The emperor of the neighboring country, Berdil? Or was it Commander Joseph?”
Sharp fangs peeked out between his lips.
Goosebumps rose on my skin.
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
His muscles—far more developed than mine—bulged threateningly.
If I got hit by one of those swinging fists, at the very least a few bones would break.
Apparently annoyed by my silence and trembling, a hint of irritation crossed his face.
“If they wanted my head, they should’ve sent a trained assassin. And instead, they send someone who doesn’t even know the basics?”
The misunderstanding was spiraling out of control.
But who could explain anything properly in a situation like this?
Worst of all, I was holding a vial of elephant estrus pheromones—known to revive even a dead elephant.
At this rate, forget completing the mission—I’m going to die here…!
I glanced around, trying to discreetly pull out the return stone I had tucked in my pocket, but the wolf beastkin noticed something was off and moved quickly.
Thud!
With a heavy sound, both of my hands were suddenly restrained.
He leaned in so close our lips nearly touched, and my heart pounded like it might explode.
“Baa…!”
“‘Baa’?”
Gah—!
The sound had slipped out before I realized it, and I bit my lip hard.
His eyes shimmered with intrigue.
As I tried to slink away, he grabbed me by the nape and yanked me up.
I couldn’t breathe.
His blue eyes, burning with fury, stared directly into mine.
“If you tell the truth now, I might grant you a slightly less painful death.”
And right then, the man’s lower abdomen began to stir.
It was a truth I never wanted to know, but this man clearly had… a very large endowment.
I cursed my past self.
Why, of all things, did I not just use a single drop, but dump the entire bottle?
Why did I do something so unbelievably stupid?
The enormous object rose proudly, towering toward the sky.
When it finally grew large enough to press against my stomach, I knew.
Ah… there’s no way I’m making it out of this alive.
The man holding me started breathing heavily.
Still gripping my wrists tightly, he trembled between clenched teeth.
“Kh… What kind of vile trick is this? Poison doesn’t work on me, you know.”
Well, that’s because it wasn’t poison—it was elephant estrus pheromone.
It seemed the effects were finally kicking in properly.
Even the slightest movement of his body seemed to bring him pain.
He panted and let out a flushed, feverish moan.
His threatening lower half swelled with even greater intensity than before.
I wanted to explain, but even I had to admit—it was an unspeakably awful thing to do.
“I, uh…”
“Did you sneak in here like a rat with this kind of plan from the beginning? What were you promised in return for barging into my chambers?”
His gaze now dripped with blatant contempt.
I had no idea how to deal with this situation.
A wild urge to leap out the window overtook me.
I’d come way too far to fix this mounting misunderstanding.
W-What do I do?
I had two choices left.
One: tell this man everything and beg for forgiveness.
Two: pretend I know nothing and run for my life.
If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve said it was just a “health tonic.”
After a brief mental struggle, I made up my mind.
I’d try to escape again—and if I failed, then I’d confess everything and apologize.
My vow to behave like an honorable sheep had already been tossed into some dark corner of my mind.
“Please calm down for a moment… I’ll explain everything. So…”
I pretended I was about to reveal who was behind me while subtly trying to slip my wrist from his grasp.
But just then—while shifting my body—I accidentally brushed against his already-rigid manhood.
“Huugh…!”
A stifled moan escaped him, and sparks lit up in his eyes.
His blue irises gleamed like those of a madman, trembling with heat.
He glared at me with a ferocity that made it seem like he might devour me at any second.
“I didn’t realize your ‘explanation’ would be physical.”
Great.
I’d just made him more furious.
His grip on my wrist tightened further.
I had no way out now.
I was just about to come clean about everything— but then, the pheromones he’d been releasing started getting thicker.
They tightened around my throat, spreading a feverish heat through my body.
My vision blurred, and my head began to swim.
“Uuh…”
I’ve never felt pheromones this intense before.
My body wouldn’t stay still.
Before I knew it, ragged breaths spilled from my lips.
My lower abdomen clenched, an uncomfortable heat coiling deep inside.
“Please… do something about it…!”
The man in front of me seemed flustered by my trembling, yet he made no effort to rein in the pheromones flooding the air.
Instead, he pressed harder, his dominance crushing down on me.
“Tell me who’s behind this. Now!”
His voice, gritted between clenched teeth, was eerily beautiful—a stark contrast to the pain twisting his features.
I thrashed in the scorching flames of his scent, breath hitching as suffocation crept in.
It was agony—unlike anything I’d ever known.
One by one, my thoughts snapped like brittle threads until my lips moved on their own.
‘My mission… is to… you—’
Just before the next words could escape, something buried in my memories began to crack.
Crack—!
A distant voice, sharp and chaotic, whispered at the edges of my hearing.
It sounded tender one moment, furious the next—words I couldn’t decipher, swirling just out of reach.
‘Ah—ah…!’
In an instant, the pheromones searing through me raged uncontrollably.
I didn’t know what to do, lost in the storm of sensation.
The chaos clashed with the oppressive scent, merging into something darker, thicker.
The blue eyes watching me wavered.
“You really think these damn pheromones could—?!”
Instinctively, I reached for him.
My body burned, aching beyond words.
There was no reason to resist the sweet temptation before me.
“Hah… please… hurry…”
“Tch—you smell too good. Why the hell am I—? Damn it!”
His anger dissolved into the heat, every twitch of his scrunched nose, every shudder of his body, maddeningly intoxicating.
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“I’m starving. And you… look delicious.”
His tongue dragged slowly over my lips—a deliberate, predatory gesture.
Even the glint of his sharp fangs didn’t matter now. I craved the storm that would quench this fire.
“Please… do it. Now… I’m burning up… I can’t take it anymore…”
I begged without knowing what I wanted, only waiting for what came next.
The beast hovering over his prey finally shed his patience.
At last, the wolf bared his fangs—and without hesitation, sank them into the tender flesh of my neck.