Author's POV 

A wet, hot breath against her neck skin made her stir in her sleep. Her lashes fluttered as her eyes slowly opened, trying to adjust to her surroundings. The first thing she saw was a cracked ceiling, the faint peeling paint.

Her instincts worked as she felt the wet lick against on her jaw. Now she jerked herself from the mattress, trying to regain her senses. She was gasping, like she was just waking up from a nightmare, but the nightmare just started when she opened her eyes.

Her gaze found Xavier's brown ones; they were already locked into her, hungry and consuming, and the intensity inside them made her breath hitch in her throat.

The faint smell of blood and raw meat clung to the room, making it harder for her to breathe the air.

Her heartbeat raced wildly as she tried to crawl backward, trying to get away from him.

But a growl snapped at her. It wasn’t a normal an animalistic growl. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to find where the sound was coming from. The room was dark, with only a faint light falling on the bed from the lamp beside it.

The growl grew louder, as if the hunter had found its prey. From the shadows of the dark room, a shape slowly emerged. Xavier’s entire focus was on her, capturing every flicker of emotion on her face. He bit down on his lip while watching her, a cruel curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

Her whole focus was on the dark shadows slowly getting clearer to her, and her eyes went wide. A scream tore from her throat at the sight of the.

Hyena…..

Taking the dangerous step towards Iris, the hyena coming toward her, drooling, its wild, untamed eyes locked on her like it would devour her the very next moment.

She screamed in fear, trying to get away from the hyena that was getting closer with every passing second. Her eyes moistened as the cruel memories she was trying to forget started to reflect in her mind.

She crawled backward with her hands. The hyena came so close to the bed that Iris pulled her legs closer to her chest, trying to distance herself from the dark, predatory eyes of the hyena.

She curled her whole body into a small ball, into the corner of the bed.

In one swift move, the hyena climbed onto the bed, and Iris screamed, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut as tears ran down her face.

Iris mumbled, “Please…stop, don’t come closer,” she pleaded to the hyena, but her words didn’t seem to reach it. It didn’t stop.

She finally said his name, “Xavier… please stop, please.”

Xavier’s lips curved into a smirk. “But I think she likes you. She wants to eat you….tear your flesh from your bones, devour you alive.”

The fear ran through her like a living thing. “Please….stop it, please.” She begged, her voice was cracking in words.

The hyena stood inches away now, its eyes fixed on her, waiting…..just waiting for one command. One word from him, and it would tear her apart, leaving nothing behind.

The hyena growled at her. Iris cried in hopelessness; her sob echoed a thin layer of sweat covering her forehead.

Iris tried to get up and run aimlessly in the room, desperately trying to escape.

The hyena snarled as it got down from the bed and chased her, its claws scraping against the floor. Xavier watched her stupid attempt, but by doing so, she only made herself more danger to herself as the hyena ran behind her, catching her in the corner. 

Iris screamed in fear; her heart was trembling in her chest, ready to split open and jump out. Sweat covered her body as tears streamed down her face.

“Please…. do-n’t eat me, ple-ase stop.”

The fear was so consuming that she started to see the black spots in front of her eyes.

The hyena roared, ready to pounce.

But before it could strike, one sharp, commanding voice cut through heavy air.

“Stop.”

It was Xavier who stepped out from the dark shadows of the room, stopping the hungry hyena.

He came closer as the hyena moved toward him, its tail twitching. With one silent command of his finger, it sat down like a trained pet.

“I know you’re hungry,” he said to the hyena, his tone low and calm. “But she’s only for me to eat.” He said as if she were like a piece of meat that only he was allowed to devour. 

He walked toward Iris, who was crying, her head buried in her knees, broken sobs echoing through the room. Her body trembled with each breath.

Xavier knelt in front of her. His hand shot up, grabbing hers, and he pulled her toward him. Her hand shot up, clutched at his shirt, trying to protect herself from crashing into him.

He looked at her face, streaked with tears, flushed red from crying, her long hair sticking to her wet cheeks.

For Xavier, it was something he imagined in the dirtiest way: her on her knees, taking him deep into her throat, his hand tangled in her long, silky hair, her innocent hazel eyes fixed on him.

“Fuck,” a curse left Xavier’s mouth as he tried to adjust his pants.

His hand ran over her cheeks, wiping her tears as they ran down. His breath intertwined with hers as he said, “Little thing, you are more fragile than I thought. I had planned so much for you, and you’re so afraid of this only,” he said, mocking.

Iris's hand curled into fists as Xavier continued,

“You know you are precious to me, and if I give you the punishment I have planned, I’m sure you will die, and I don’t want that. Not this early.”

She said nothing; the tears flowed as she remained trapped in his arms. He murmured, “I’m imagining how you’ll take me when you’re this small,” his voice low, a smirk touching his lips.

In a swift motion, he grabbed her in his arms, walking through the dark. He threw her onto the bed and hovered over her. Her breath hitched as she tried to move, but he grabbed her hands, pinning them down, his lower body pressing against hers as he grinned at her futile attempt.

“You can’t win, little one. Not in strength, not in anything,” he said.

“Stop it all and leave me,” Iris struggled to say.

“I can’t…..and I will never leave you.” His voice was low, dangerous. “If I want, I can have you here and now. No one can stop me, not even you.” His words are filled with lust.

He leaned closer, his words sharp against her trembling lips.

“You are mine. Get that into your tiny head little wife.”