CHAPTER 475: A GOOD PARTNER... A GOOD MENTOR.

The sound of man and wife colliding with passion resonated through the training hall, sharper than any blade. Sparks spat against the padded mats as Nikolai forced Leona back, only for her to twist like a whirlwind, her daggers flashing in overlapping arcs.

Leona...

She was fast, much faster than Anya, faster than Ryan’s desperate lunges. Each motion flowed into the next like a beautiful waterfall. Controlled and lethal, nothing wasted. Her eyes shone as her ponytail whipped like a banner of fire.

...You’re so beautiful right now.

"Darling," she said through a smile that was half-snarl, half-bliss, "you’re too slow."

Nikolai’s grin spread across his face, forcing his aura around him, boiling the air until the walls trembled. "Too slow? Then catch me!"

He stomped, then vanished in a blur.

The floor cracked under his sudden charge, fists sweeping for her shoulder. But Leona’s narrowed eyes saw him in the last moment. She slid beneath his arm, daggers crossing in a bright X of green aura.

A shallow cut split his ribs open, steaming with a hiss as his regeneration healed the wound.

Nikolai laughed, unbothered by the sting. "You’re actually trying to kill me!?"

"That was the point," she said, tail lashing as she danced back, heels skidding against the mat. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, sweat shining along the edges of her tight black suit. "Don’t think I’ll let you bully me like you do the others. I am going to put you down, then fuck you senseless."

From the bench, Clara clutched her knees to her chest, wings trembling. "She’s incredible..." she whispered, awe flooding her face as she watched Leona press forward.

But Nikolai only howled in laughter, catching Leona’s next strike mid-air. Their bodies collided, chest to chest, heat radiating from them both like wild beasts too in love with the fight to stop.

His claws pressed her daggers aside, their lips almost brushing as he growled, "Then you better try harder."

Leona shoved back, her fangs gleaming with her wide grin. "Gladly."

And the hall shook as they launched at each other again.

***

The training hall exploded with the thunderous clash of aura and steel. Leona’s daggers cut Nikolai’s flesh, with silvery green arcs snapping through the hazy black aura. Meanwhile, Nikolai roared, ignoring the damage and overwhelming her with sheer force.

Thud!

The mats rippled as their auras collided.

Shockwaves so intense the wooden slats cracked, racks overturned as dust flew into the air, crackling with static.

"Nikolai, when did you become so strong!?"

A breathless voice filled with nothing but desire, longing and complete delight.

"I don’t know when... but I understand why!"

Bang!

Nikolai’s shin smashed through the guard of Leona’s daggers, lifting her off the ground as she gasped from the force and saliva shot from her mouth.

Her body flung at the wall the moment his leg snapped back.

Nikolai’s grin split wide, black aura swirling thick around his limbs. He shot towards her with an explosive force before wrapping around her body and hugging her tight.

Their bodies slammed into the mats, rolling dozens of times before coming to a stop, his muscular forearms covered in burns from the mat.

"Haa..."

Leona’s body tingled when his hot breath blew into her ears, each sigh making her more aroused and wet... "N...Nikolai."

Their fight had changed; no longer sparring.

It was almost like foreplay.

Passionate and full of their hidden emotions and desires.

"You still good to go?" He asked while holding her body in his arms, their sweat mixing, both hot and almost steaming.

"Of course, don’t think your cheap shot was enough to stop me!" Leona snapped back, biting his neck with a playful nibble.

"Hmph!"

The two reset their positions, Nikolai with his guard up and Leona, both daggers prepared to attack. Nikolai’s breath formed visible clouds of steam, with a black aura swirling thick around his limbs.

He rushed at her again, claws tearing black gouges through the mats.

However, Leona spun above him, her body arching into a fluid crescent; one dagger cut down, across his shoulder with a shallow flick.

Leona landed lightly on her toes, daggers raised in reverse grip. Her ponytail whipped behind her as her green eyes narrowed. "You told me once, if I wanted to stay at your side, I couldn’t just love you. I had to keep pace with you." She licked her lips with glinting fangs on display.

"Well, darling—"

She vanished in a burst of wind.

Nikolai ducked instinctively as a blade shrieked past his ear, carving a line through the wall. She reappeared low, her second dagger aiming for his thigh, but his knee shot up to block it.

Clang!

Her eyes widened at the sheer force of his counter, but she flowed with it, twisting on her heel. Her elbow smashed into his ribs, the crack echoing across the hall.

"Kh—" He staggered back half a step, shock flashing in his black eyes.

She pressed forward instantly, aura swirling in jagged bursts, twin blades flashing in relentless rhythm. Each strike carried not just strength, but precision honed from years of training.

A wolf’s instincts sharpened to a razor’s edge.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Nikolai parried, his grin returning, blood dripping from shallow cuts across his chest and arms. For the first time tonight, he looked alive and vibrant.

Not the bored predator swatting cubs, but the beast thrilled to meet a true rival.

"You’ve been hiding this from me all along?" he snarled, excitement burning in his tone.

"How can I help it!? You’re the one that made me so serious, Nikolai - My beloved husband!"

Leona understood he could crush her if he wanted.

That his power surpassed hers, but he held back, matched her power... and it drove her crazy. He was everything she had dreamt of when growing up in the mansion. Strong. Affectionate. Passionate and, of course, amazing in bed.

"I’ll never let you drift away from me, even if I have to compete with the princesses!"

"Did you think I would let you escape!?

All of you. You’re all mine! My treasures!"

***

The mats quaked again as their blades and claws met in a blur—each strike overflowed with heat, sweat, and hunger. Leona’s breath became ragged; she panted heavily with her daggers a fraction slower, her aura fraying at the edges.

Nikolai noticed instantly.

Leona...

"Nikolai...!"

She forced herself to keep moving like the wind, untamed and quick, but his black flames slowly devoured her stamina. Her chest heaved, black suit torn and revealing her nude skin marred in bruises, soaked in sweat that traced down the curve of her breasts.

"You’re a little slower, why not submit. Go on. Get on your knees and open your mouth wide."

"!!!"

Leona hissed back, whipping her dagger upward to deflect his punch. The strike shifted wide, with a hollow ring. "Shut... up!" she snarled, stubbornness fueling her movements even as her legs trembled.

He loved it.

That fire that she had.

The way she pushed past her limits, even when she knew the fight was lost.

Bang!

Nikolai’s foot slammed the mat, the shockwave rattling her bones.

Her aura shuddered, and one of her daggers slipped from her hand, skittering across the floor with a metallic clang.

"Damn it—!"

Her other hand still swung, desperate, but he caught her wrist mid-strike. Their bodies collided, chest to chest, heat burning hotter than the fight itself.

His claws dug gently into her arm, not breaking skin, only holding her.

Leona glared up at him, teeth bared, sweat dripping down her flushed cheeks. "Don’t you dare... pity me!"

Unlike the other women who loved him, all with special bloodlines or noble clans to back them up.

Leona was a mutt born out of wedlock.

A low-tier maid who fought from the bottom with the thinnest blood in the entire maid group.

"How could I pity you?" Nikolai’s smirk softened.

His black eyes gleamed, not with mockery, but with pride. "Leona, you are my pride. I am proud to be married to a woman like you."

Her lips parted at the words, her body sagging slightly in his grip, limp from exhaustion. The last of her aura flickered out, green sparks fading into nothing. She slumped against him, her forehead pressed to his chest, throbbing from exhaustion.

"You bastard... even when you held back so much, I tried my best... I tried so hard to win."

His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close until their soaked bodies fixed together. "I just wanted to dance with you for as long as possible."

A weak, but genuine laugh slipped from her lips, muffled against his chest. "You’re insufferable."

"Mm." He tilted her chin upward with one claw, his thumb brushing her flushed cheek as green met black. She blushed, feeling his desire... his heat and firmness against her stomach, different from usual.

Bigger.

Thicker.

And Wild.

"Leona..." His voice dropped to a growl. "You’re breathtaking when you fight."

And then he kissed her.

Their lips parted at last, both of them panting, foreheads pressed together. Nikolai’s grin lingered, sharp and wolfish, while Leona’s cheeks burned with color, sweat glistening like diamonds on her skin.

But then, with a sly smile, she slipped from his arms.

Her knees touched the mat with a soft thud.

Nikolai blinked, frowning slightly as her hands slid up the length of his thighs, slow and deliberate, her touch tracing the lines of his muscles. She leaned forward, her fiery hair sticking to her flushed cheeks as her breath warmed the bulge pressing against her husband’s crotch.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice rough with surprise.

Leona tilted her head back, her green eyes shimmering like molten emeralds. Her tongue darted across her lips, leaving them glossy, wet, and utterly obscene.

"Didn’t you order me to get on my knees?"

The smile she gave him was pure allure — dangerous, hungry, unrestrained.