CHAPTER 926: ORION AND KATE (PART-6)

She wasn’t just experiencing the effects of the drug that was giving her a high sex drive. Her entire body started transforming.

Then, her pupils flared crimson. Orion froze as he saw her skin grow pale, her veins darkening faintly beneath it, and her nails extended into claws. He took a step back in alarm.

He muttered under his breath, "What the hell is happening to her? Is she also a shapeshifter? Feels like a vampire and yet a human at the same time..."

Meanwhile, Kate’s breath came in ragged, her body trembling as she fought for control. "Get out," she groaned, clutching her temples. "I am going to lose it."

He knelt beside her, his voice low and steady. "You’re not going to lose it. Focus on me. Breathe."

"Why the hell do you come near... Damn it... I don’t think I can control it anymore..."

Kate’s hands found his coat with frightening strength, and she pulled him down in a sudden movement. Before he could react, her lips slammed into his, locking him.

Orion froze in shock, and desire flickered for a heartbeat. His eyes closed for a second, and he was about to cooperate, but right then, Luna’s face flashed through his mind, and the line he drew for himself snapped tight. He backed away in an instant, creating distance between them.

"Kate—no." He said in a flat tone.

She lunged again, more frantic this time. "C’mon, I don’t blame you for this, tomorrow. Just take me..." She shredded her dress with her claws, baring her underwear.

Orion didn’t wait for her to strip down anymore, seeing Kate filled with lust completely. He stepped inside her reach, but not to make out with her. Instead, he caught her wrist and, with one practiced motion, applied a precise, nonlethal choke hold for a second to cut her struggle without hurting her, enough to drop her to the bed.

As she fell unconscious while turning back to her human form, he then laid her gently on her back and covered her body with the blanket, backing away again with a sigh.

"You did well to restrain yourself rather than giving in to the temptation and making it worse." He then knelt, palms hovering near her temple, and poured a careful thread of soul energy into her, trying to nullify the drug effects. He then let out a deep sigh once again.

The next day;

The morning light crept thin through the curtains. Kate woke with a groan, feeling a bit headache as if she was feeling a hangover.

But then, she blinked, and the room snapped into sharper focus. Not far away from her, Orion slept in a sitting position on the couch, wearing a t-shirt that hugged his body and showed off his muscles beneath it.

And then as she looked at herself, she saw herself wearing a shirt that wasn’t hers, reaching down to her knees. It was Orion’s black shirt that he wore yesterday.

Then memory hit like a cold hand. Her face drained of color. She sat bolt upright, clutching the shirt at her chest. "Oh, God..."

Orion stirred and opened his eyes at her groan. He blinked, then saw her. "Hey," he said softly as he got up. "It’s okay. Nothing happened last night."

Kate’s breath came out ragged. She tried to form a smile, but instead let out a long, shaky apology. "I’m— I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. It must have been quite..."

He waved a hand, interrupting her with a forced but calm smile. "Don’t be. You weren’t in the right condition. Nothing happened afterward, and that’s what matters."

She let out a small, shaky laugh of relief. After the pause, she pushed her hair away and asked, "No, it wasn’t just that... I threatened him last night with all those big words, but if he doesn’t break up the engagement, I don’t think I have much of a chance without solid proof. After all, His father has eight percent in our company — that’s over a billion credits. My parents won’t move on words alone. And if he feigns ignorance, I will be the one to become a joker."

Orion then slightly leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, watching her closely, "What about the hotel CCTV?" He asked.

Kate shook her head. "I doubt they would leave behind obvious evidence in the banquet hall."

Orion’s mouth tightened at that. "No, I don’t think so."

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brows.

He tapped his fingers once. "When I got to the room, I saw Mark had a smartphone recording. He intended to have something to blackmail you with. That phone is obviously going to be used as leverage for that."

He met her eyes as he continued. "With me ending up dead in the hands of his goons, he was confident that no one would be able to save you. So, there is a high chance that he might not take those cameras into consideration, but yes, there is a high chance of taking the hotel staff’s help in turning off the cameras at that moment, too. After all, when I left, I saw they were moving. But luckily for you, there are two witnesses."

Kate rubbed at her temple, "Then I guess we’ll have to force the truth out of those collaborators."

Orion stood and reached for his jacket. "I’ll go now. I’ll look at the hotel feed and see if any staff logs or blind feeds exist."

She watched him for a second, gratitude and something fiercer flickering across her face. "Be careful," she said, almost softly.

As he left, Kate got up and walked into the restroom.

She stared at her reflection, water dripping down her cheeks. "Orion..." she murmured under her breath, voice barely audible to herself. "He’s really a gentleman, isn’t he?"

The memory of the previous night replayed vividly in her head, how her fiancé tried to take advantage of her and how Mark saved her at the right time. Even when she had tried to tempt him under the control of a drug, he had pushed her away and maintained a gentlemanly manner.

And in the earlier days, during the outing, his patience had also never wavered regardless of her teasing.

A small, genuine smile tugged at her lips. "He’s trustworthy... at the very least. Someone I could count on. Someone I could... " She shook her head slightly, feeling the heat of the thought, "friendship, yes... friendship first."

She took a deep breath, splashing her face again to clear the last traces of thought.

With a determined nod to her reflection, she whispered, "Alright... let’s try our best, Orion."

Elsewhere...

In a traditional-type tavern located in the old City, Mark was seen shaking hands with someone with a mohawk-style haircut. "1 million credits sent as an advance. The remaining, after the job is done." He said in seriousness.

The other party smirked as he looked at his smartphone, staring at Kate’s photo, "The lady certainly looked like a beauty. It is a pity to kill her, but alright. A job is a job, after all. Scorpion Gang will kill her before she takes off the plane, as you said."

Mark’s face hardened as he gave off a warning. "Don’t forget that her bodyguard is suspected to be a Rank-6 or even Rank-7, considering he finished a Rank-6 and a bunch of rank-5 experts in under two minutes."

"Relax... It’s not like we are killing the bodyguard." The other party still remained relaxed. "We just need to keep him busy with numbers while we take care of her. And these days, the technology has developed to the point that we no longer have to worry about one’s rank. As long as they aren’t a Rank-9, we have nothing to worry about it. All we need is a few EMP blasters to take care of him."

Mark smiled at that. "Good. Call me after the work is over."

Roughly half an hour after the gangster left the tavern, Mark finally stepped outside and walked along the alley that smelled of old beer and rust.

Just as he passed one of the alleys, a shadow emerged from the corner. Mark felt his senses tingle, but before he could turn, something struck the back of his neck. The world tilted in the next instant; his legs gave way. He hit the ground hard, his head ringing. A thin, glassy dart stuck out from the small of his back.

A hooded man stepped out into the light at last, lowering the silenced pistol in one gloved hand.

Upon reaching him, the hooded man crouched beside Mark and drew a phone. His voice was calm, businesslike as he put the call through.

"Target down," he said into the line. "The buyer took the advance, and one of our men is locked onto him. The dealer’s identification confirms it was a commission to Scorpion Gang."