Maria.

"Vincent, did you hit your head?" I asked slowly, my voice deliberately measured as I narrowed my eyes at him.

I studied his face carefully, searching for even the slightest sign that he was joking, exaggerating, or simply speaking out of turn.

Because at this point, nothing he was saying was making any sense to me anymore.

Not even the smallest part of it.

Absolutely nothing.

Vincent drew in a deep breath, the kind that suggested patience he clearly thought he needed to maintain. Then he stepped closer toward me, his movements steady and controlled, as though he was carefully choosing every step he took.

His expression did not waver. It remained calm, almost unsettlingly so, especially for someone who had just said something so outrageous.

"Maria, you need to understand that the position of Lycan Princess cannot be left empty."

The moment those words left his mouth, the seriousness in his tone only managed to irritate me further, tightening something in my chest.

I scoffed loudly, the sound sharp and immediate, as I folded my arms across my chest. My disbelief wasn’t just present anymore—it was fully written across my face, in my eyes, in the way my body stiffened.

"Then fill it up," I snapped without hesitation, my voice rising slightly with frustration. "What does it being vacant have to do with me, Vincent?"

The irritation in my chest only grew stronger as I spoke, spreading through me with every second that passed. I didn’t even bother trying to soften my tone. There was no point. His words were already too ridiculous to be taken calmly.

"And I’m pretty sure you are aware that I am practically married, right?" I continued firmly, my words coming out even more controlled now, though the anger underneath them was still very clear.

The thought of Noah alone made my chest tighten painfully.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger bubbling inside me.

"Why bother making things difficult?" I asked again, this time quieter but no less frustrated.

But Vincent said nothing immediately, as he simply stared at me.

That silence alone unsettled me more than words would have.

"Forget about Noah, Maria." he said, his voice cold, firm and certain. "You aren’t going back to him...and he isn’t coming back to you either."

The moment those words left his mouth, my heart skipped painfully.

Something about the confidence in his tone instantly made dread creep into my chest.

Before I could even process his words properly, Vincent suddenly closed the distance between us.

Too fast.

And then his lips crashed against mine possessively.

I froze immediately.

Shock completely rooted me in place for one brief moment.

My eyes widened as my brain struggled to process what had just happened.

Vincent’s hand tightened against me slightly as he attempted to deepen the kiss, acting as though I would actually respond to him.

But the shock disappeared almost instantly, replaced by anger—Pure anger.

I shoved him away from me forcefully without hesitation.

The push caught him off guard enough to make him stagger slightly backward, momentarily losing his balance.

And before he could recover fully, my hand connected sharply against his face.

The slap echoed loudly across the room.

The force behind it stung even my own palm.

"Don’t you ever repeat this again!" I declared angrily, breathing heavily as rage burned through me.

My entire body trembled from fury and disbelief.

How dare he?

How dare he touch me like that?

But surprisingly...

Vincent didn’t look angry, not even slightly. Instead, something unreadable flickered across his expression—almost amusement, almost satisfaction.

That alone made me even more uncomfortable.

Slowly, he turned his face back toward me after the slap, his eyes settling directly on mine.

"Maria," he said calmly, almost too calmly. "Did you realize that Noah would pay for this slap?"

The moment those words left his mouth, everything inside me froze completely.

It felt as though the air around me had suddenly turned cold and heavy, pressing tightly against my chest until breathing became difficult. My heartbeat stumbled painfully, and for a brief second, I genuinely forgot how to inhale.

The anger burning inside me moments ago instantly collided with a sharp wave of fear.

My eyes widened slightly as the meaning behind his words settled heavily inside my chest, dragging an uneasy weight down with it.

What exactly did he mean by that?

The question echoed loudly inside my head the second Vincent mentioned Noah paying for the slap.

My heart tightened uneasily.

Noah was still at Moonfall Pack—far away from here and far away from Vincent.

So how exactly could he possibly suffer for something I did?

Unless...

No.

The thought hit me so suddenly that my stomach twisted violently, but I immediately shoved it away before it could settle properly in my mind.

I refused to think about it.

Refused to believe Vincent could possibly mean something worse.

But the calm expression on his face only made the fear growing inside me even stronger.

That calmness terrified me more than anger would have.

Because Vincent was never truly dangerous when he yelled, It was when he became quiet.

When he spoke with that cold, controlled calmness.

That was when he became frightening.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself, refusing to let him notice the sudden panic threatening to show on my face.

"I am the one who slapped you, Vincent," I said firmly, though I could already hear the slight tension hidden beneath my voice.

I forced myself to keep staring directly at him despite the unease clawing violently inside my chest.

"Why would you pin it on someone else?"

I raised my brows in irritation, trying to appear unaffected, trying to hide the growing fear slowly creeping beneath my skin.

But inside, my thoughts were already spiraling.

Why Noah?

Why mention him specifically?

My fingers curled tightly at my sides as I fought to remain calm.

"Noah is innocent, so don’t drag him into this," I added sharply.

But Vincent’s expression didn’t soften.

If anything, it darkened further.

"He is more than guilty, Maria," Vincent replied coldly, his eyes fixed intensely on me.

The way he said those words made my stomach twist unpleasantly.

"How could he desire..." he paused briefly, his jaw tightening, "or rather try to marry what belongs to me?"

The anger in his voice startled me.

For a second, I simply stared at him in disbelief.

Belong to him?

What exactly was wrong with this man?

"I don’t belong to you, Vincent!" I yelled this time, unable to control my frustration anymore. "What’s wrong with you?"

My chest rose and fell heavily as anger surged through me.

Everything about this situation felt insane—the entitlement in his voice, the possessiveness and the way he spoke about me as though I were some object he had every right to claim.

It made my skin crawl.

But Vincent remained disturbingly calm.

"Trust me, Maria," he said slowly, deliberately stressing every word. "When I say you do...then you do." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

His confidence only made me angrier.

Then he took another slow step closer.

"Haven’t you heard?" he questioned calmly, his tone almost casual, as though he was stating something universally accepted.

A faint, irritating smirk tugged at the corner of his lips before he continued speaking, clearly unfazed by my reaction.

"The Lycan Prince owns everything in this world."

The words landed heavily in the space between us.

For a second, my brain struggled to even process them properly.

And then, something inside me nearly snapped completely.

"Arrrrrrgggghhh!" I screamed internally, the frustration boiling so intensely that it felt like it was burning straight through my chest.

My hands curled slightly at my sides, resisting the overwhelming urge to lash out physically.

At that moment, I genuinely wanted to grab him by the collar and slam him against the nearest wall repeatedly until that unbearable arrogance wiped clean off his face.

What kind of logic was that?

What kind of twisted belief made someone speak like that so confidently?

My eyes narrowed at him sharply, disbelief and irritation mixing into something almost suffocating.

Seriously...

How could someone stand there so calm, so composed, and say something that absurd as if it were law?

As if the world itself revolved around him and his title alone justified everything.

The sheer arrogance of it was almost unbelievable.

The worst part was the certainty in his eyes.

Vincent truly believed every single word he was saying.

That terrified me more than I wanted to admit, but no matter how powerful he was, no matter what title he carried, there was one thing I refused to let him take from me.

My freedom.

My choice.

Myself.

"Well," I answered firmly, forcing myself to stand straighter despite the anger boiling inside me, "not everything belongs to him."

My voice came out stronger this time, sharper and more determined.

"Because I don’t," I declared without hesitation. "And the sooner he realizes that, the better for him."

The words hung heavily in the air between us, and despite the fear crawling beneath my skin...I refused to look away from him.