Scarlett woke to sunlight streaming through the windows and a body that felt like it had been thoroughly, completely claimed.
Everything ached. Her thighs, her hips, her back—muscles she didn't even know she had were protesting yesterday's activities.
She shifted slightly and winced, feeling the pleasant soreness that was proof of last night's intensity.
Oh god. Last night.
Her face burned as memories flooded back. The jealousy. The boldness. The way she'd invited him. The way he'd accepted. The way they'd finally, completely come together without any barriers between them.
The things he'd done to her. The sounds she'd made. How many times he'd—
"Good morning, kitten." Her eyes flew open to find Sylus awake beside her, propped up on one elbow, looking devastatingly handsome with his silver hair mussed from sleep and his chest bare. He was playing with her hair, twirling a strand around his finger with a soft smile.
Then his eyes traveled lower. To her neck. To her collarbone. To her exposed shoulder.
His smile turned predatory. Satisfied. Very dragon-like.
Scarlett followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at—her skin was covered in marks. Kiss marks, bite marks, evidence of his claim scattered across her like a constellation. Her neck, shoulders, collarbone, and she could feel them lower too, hidden beneath the sheets.
"You marked me like barbecue!" she squeaked, face going impossibly redder.
"I mark you like mine," Sylus corrected, voice rough with sleep and satisfaction. He leaned down and kissed one of the marks gently. "And you liked every second of it."
She had. God help her, she really had. Every kiss, every bite, every possessive claim had sent fire through her veins. Had made her feel wanted and treasured and completely his.
"You're shameless," she muttered, pulling the sheets up higher.
"You love it." He kissed her softly, slowly, a good morning kiss that made her toes curl despite her soreness. "How do you feel?"
"Sore," she admitted. "Everything hurts."
Guilt flashed across his face. "I was too rough. I'm sorry. I tried to be careful but—"
"No." Scarlett touched his cheek. "It's a good sore. A 'this really happened' sore. I'm okay. Just... need to not move much today."
Relief flooded his expression. He kissed her forehead, then reluctantly pulled away.
"I need to shower and handle some business. A meeting this morning that I can't postpone."
He stood, gloriously naked and completely unselfconscious about it. "Stay in bed. Rest. I'll have Mrs. Chen bring you breakfast and anything else you need."
"You're leaving?" Scarlett pouted, already missing his warmth.
"Just for a few hours." He pulled on pants, leaving his chest bare, and returned to kiss her again. "After last night—after a very, very long night—you need to rest. Doctor's orders."
"You're not a doctor."
"Dragon's orders then." He grinned at her deepening blush. "Stay in bed, kitten. Let your body recover. I'll be back before you know it."
He turned toward the bathroom, then paused, looking back at her still in his bed, wearing his shirt that she'd pulled on at some point during the night, surrounded by evidence of their lovemaking.
His expression softened into something almost vulnerable. "I love you."
"I love you too." Scarlett smiled. "Even though you marked me like a territorial animal."
"Especially because I marked you like a territorial animal," he corrected with a smirk, then disappeared into the bathroom.
Scarlett lay back against the pillows, listening to the shower start, her face still impossibly red.
She was sore. Marked. Thoroughly claimed by a dragon.
And she'd never been happier.
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The meeting started normally enough.
Sylus sat at the head of the conference table on the second floor, five business colleagues around him discussing trade routes and shipment schedules. Weapons from Eastern Europe, territory agreements in the southern districts, the usual negotiations that kept his empire running smoothly.
He was distracted, mind still on the woman sleeping in his bed, but managed to maintain his usual facade of focused attention.
Then he noticed it.
The way one colleague kept glancing toward the door. The way another's hand drifted toward his jacket. The way the tension in the room had shifted from business discussion to something else entirely.
Something dangerous.
"I want continue," one of them said—Chen Wei, a mid-level player in the weapons trade—"we'd like to discuss a different matter."
"Oh?" Sylus leaned back in his chair, every instinct suddenly on high alert. "And what matter is that?"
"Your wife." Chen Wei smiled, but it was cold. Calculated. "We've heard she possesses a rare healing Aether core. Such a valuable asset shouldn't be kept by just one person. It should be... shared. Or sold to the highest bidder."
The room went absolutely silent.
Sylus picked up his champagne glass, swirling it lazily. His expression remained neutral, but his eyes had gone predatory.
"I see. Is that the purpose of this meeting then? Not business. Betrayal."
"Not betrayal," another colleague—Liu Han—said, standing. "Just business. Hand her over willingly, and we'll let you keep your territory. Refuse, and—"
Five guns appeared, all pointed at Sylus's head from different angles.
"And we take her by force," Chen Wei finished.
For a moment, Sylus didn't move. Just sat there, champagne glass in hand, looking at the five men who thought they could threaten him in his own home.
Then he laughed.
Dark. Low. Absolutely chilling.
"You want to take my wife?" He set down his glass with deliberate care. His smile was all teeth, no warmth. "Dream harder."
Everything happened at once.
Sylus moved faster than humans should be able to, the table flipping as he launched himself forward. His hand caught the nearest gun, twisting it away while simultaneously driving his elbow into the man's throat. A second attacker fired—the bullet missed by inches as Sylus spun, using the first man as a shield.
The door burst open and his own men flooded in, weapons drawn, having been on standby the moment they'd noticed something off about this meeting.
Chaos erupted.
Gunfire. Shouting. Bodies colliding. The conference room became a war zone in seconds.
Sylus fought with desperate fury. These men wanted Scarlett. Wanted to take her, sell her, use her like property. Wanted to undo everything—the freedom, the healing, the love they'd finally built together.
Sylus would die before letting that happen.
Would kill every single person in this room before letting them touch her.
"GET TO MRS. QIN!" he roared to his men between dodging bullets. "PROTECT HER ROOM! NO ONE GETS THROUGH!"
Three of his guards immediately broke off, running for Scarlett's bedroom. The rest stayed with him, eliminating threats with brutal efficiency.
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Scarlett had just started to drift back to sleep when the gunshots started.
Her eyes flew open, heart immediately racing. No. Not again. Not—
BANG BANG BANG
Closer this time. Shouting. Men's voices raised in anger and pain. The sounds of violence she'd hoped to never hear again.
Scarlett scrambled out of bed, ignoring her soreness, and ran to the door. Locked from the outside. Of course. For her protection.
But it meant she was trapped. Unable to get to Sylus. Unable to know if he was okay.
The sounds continued—gunfire, crashes, someone screaming. Orders being barked in Sylus's voice, but she couldn't make out the words. Just the tone. Commanding. Fierce. Alive.
He was alive. He was fighting.For how long?
"Please," Scarlett whispered to the locked door, hands pressed flat against the wood. "Please be okay. Please don't die. Please—"
Thirty minutes passed like an eternity. Every second stretched into hours. Every gunshot made her flinch. Every crash made her imagine the worst.
Sylus dead. Sylus bleeding out. Sylus—
The lock clicked.
Scarlett yanked the door open and ran.
She didn't care about the blood on the floors. Didn't care about the smell of gunpowder thick in the air. Didn't care about the bodies—some she recognized as Sylus's men, some she didn't—scattered throughout the hallway.
She just needed to find him.
The conference room door was open, half hanging off its hinges. She ran through it and stopped.
Five bodies on the floor. Her men standing around looking battered but alive. And in the center, holding what looked like an ID card, was Sylus.
His shirt was torn. Blood spattered across his chest—some his, some not. His silver hair was disheveled. He looked like he'd just fought through hell.
But he was alive. Smiling that dark, satisfied smile as he examined the ID.
"Interesting. He was connected to the Shadow Syndicate. Same group that hired Chen Le." He looked up at one of his men. "Find out who else—"
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Scarlett.
Their eyes met across the destroyed room.
Scarlett ran.Didnt care about the blood, the bodies, the danger. Just ran straight to him and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
"I thought they killed you," she gasped against his chest. "I heard the guns and I thought—I thought—"
"Shh." Sylus's arms came around her immediately, one hand cradling her head against his heart. "I'm fine. I'm okay. They didn't even come close."
"You're bleeding!" She pulled back, seeing the cuts on his arms, his side.
"Barely. Nothing serious." He cupped her face, thumbs brushing away tears. "You shouldn't be down here. You should be resting."
"I needed to see you." Scarlett clutched at his torn shirt. "I needed to know you were alive. That you were okay. That they didn't—"
"They're tried to take you," Sylus said, voice going dark. "These men. They came here pretending to negotiate business, but their real goal was to kidnap you. To sell your Aether core to the highest bidder."
Scarlett felt ice flood her veins. "What?"
"They're dead now." His tone was matter-of-fact. Final. "All of them. And I'll find anyone else connected to the plot and eliminate them too. No one threatens you. No one takes you from me. Not ever."
"Sylus—" She didn't know what to say. Was horrified by the violence. But also... grateful? Relieved? He'd protected her. Killed to keep her safe.
Just like always.
"I'm sorry you had to hear it," he said softly. "Sorry you had to be scared. But I promise you—" His arms tightened around her. "I will always protect you. Always keep you safe. Even if it means painting these halls red a thousand times over."
Scarlett buried her face in his chest again, breathing in his scent beneath the blood and gunpowder. "Just promise me you'll be careful. That you won't die protecting me."
"I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "Dragons are hard to kill, remember? Especially dragons with something precious to protect."
Around them, his men were discreetly cleaning up. Removing bodies. Documenting evidence. Giving their boss and his wife space.But they were all smiling slightly. Because the boss's wife—tiny, delicate Scarlett—had run through a battlefield to get to him. Had ignored danger and blood and bodies just to make sure he was okay.
She really was perfect for him.
A dragon protecting his mate. A mate who'd run through fire to reach her dragon.
Exactly as it should be.
"Come on," Sylus said, scooping Scarlett up despite her protests. "You're supposed to be resting. Back to bed."
"But—"
"No arguments. You're sore, exhausted, and just ran through a crime scene in bare feet wearing only my shirt." He raised an eyebrow. "Which is very cute, but also dangerous. Bed. Now."
She sighed but didn't fight as he carried her back to their room. Laid her down gently. Climbed in beside her despite the blood on his clothes.
"You need a shower," she pointed out.
"Later. Right now I need to hold you."
His arms came around her, pulling her close. "Need to feel you safe in my arms. Need to stop seeing you running through that battlefield like a crazy person."
"You would have done the same for me."
"In a heartbeat." He kissed her hair. "In a thousand heartbeats."
They lay there in comfortable silence, hearts gradually slowing, the adrenaline fading.
"Sylus?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for protecting me. Always."
"Always, kitten. Across lifetimes. Until the stars burn out." His hand found hers, lacing their fingers together. "You're mine to protect. My mate. My wife. My everything."
"And you're mine," Scarlett whispered back. "My dragon. My husband. My home."
Outside, his men cleaned up the aftermath of betrayal and violence.
Inside, the dragon and his mate held each other and remembered why all the fighting was worth it.
For this. For them. For love that survived death, resurrection, and everything in between.
Forever.
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To be continued.