Neville’s consciousness surfaced slowly; the first thing he noticed was the unfamiliar softness of the bedding. The duvet was so warm and fluffy that it felt like it was urging him to sleep some more. The experience was practically nothing like the one he had in his room.

Hm?

Neville furrowed his eyebrows, then quickly shot his eyes wide open. His eyes met the unfamiliar ceiling. He turned his head to the side to see the blackout curtains shut completely with only the dim lighting around him.

’Where is this place?’

Neville sat abruptly, silk sheets pooling around his waist. His head spun slightly from the sudden movement. Then he spotted a familiar advertisement nearby.

"Staredison Gwesty?" he murmured. "I’m still in the hotel?"

He winced as he felt pain coming from his hand. His hand was obviously professionally wrapped with blood stains seeping through. Then the pain rose to his head. He pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to piece together the fragments of memory from the previous night.

Right. He had been dragged by Mick into this hotel. There was an alpha party. A fight broke out, and Grayson appeared. His fresh water pheromones, which seemed to be extremely angry, overwhelmed his senses.

Then... then what? His memories became hazy, like trying to grasp smoke. His instincts were telling him that it was important. But every time he tried to remember, nothing came up besides the pain.

Seeing his battered self, he decided not to dwell on it much. If Grayson came, it must’ve been solved one way or another.

Neville tried to sit up properly but immediately regretted it. The room instantly swirled before he unconsciously lay back down on the bed.

He lay back there staring at the ceiling. He thought, ’Since they left me alone sleeping in this hotel, did they remember to pay for my room? They’d better do, else I’ll file a complaint to HR if the hotel management asks for payment.’

Neville was about to go back to sleep again, thinking he would just say he was too sick to file a sick leave, when he remembered something.

"Shelly?" His voice came out rough, scraped, and dry like a desert.

Neville tilted his head, confused. Usually, when he called out like this, Shelly would immediately pop out and gossip about what happened. Especially if it had something to do with Grayson and him.

"System?" he called out.

And there, the system interface popped out. It looked like Shelly was the only one missing. The rest of the system was still functioning properly.

Since it had already happened before, although he did not remember if this was part of the original timeline, Neville didn’t panic. Shelly had never been gone for more than a few hours. He figured that Shelly would just pop out later when he woke up again.

And there, Neville dozed off back to sleep.

But then, when he woke up again, Neville instantly knew he fucked up. The dryness of his legs, the weakness—he knew very well what this feeling was. His bare feet hit the plush carpet as he stumbled, running towards the bathroom. He already bought the sea salt in the system mall. He just needed to get the water running to the tub.

The bathtub was extremely spacious and luxurious. Neville didn’t understand the mechanics or whether there were any hidden functions on this bathtub like the ones he owned before. He just knew there was a button to push to get the water running.

After a heck of an exhilarating situation, Neville managed to rest his head on the tub and freshen up in the process. But then he felt something was missing after leaving the bathroom.

Shelly was still nowhere to be found.

A chill ran down Neville’s spine. He had spent enough time with Shelly to know that she had never failed to appear in emergency cases—like the one in the bathroom. She had always been reliable, but was a big fan of taking a big interest after helping.

"Shelly?" he tried again, his mental voice more urgent. "Shelly, this isn’t funny. Where the hell are—"

The words died in his throat.

His reflection stared back from the mirror. For a moment, Neville didn’t recognize himself. His hazel-brown hair stuck up at odd angles, sure, but that was normal morning chaos. When he meant freshen up, he only washed his face.

Also, this wasn’t normal casual clothes. These were branded clothes that he could just wear outside normally. These probably cost more than his whole furniture set. His nerd glasses sat folded on the marble counter, leaving his ocean-blue eyes exposed and vulnerable.

Someone had changed his clothes.

His heart rate quickened, sending his hands scrambling to check. Everything seemed intact, no pain or discomfort beyond that.

But still.

Someone had undressed him, redressed him, put him to bed like a child or a doll or—

Who had changed his clothes? Just the thought of it was—

No. He couldn’t panic. He needed information.

Neville went back to the bathroom. He hurried to the big mirror there, gripping the sink for support. His reflection stared back at him—

He looked... fine. Unharmed. Maybe a bit pale, but otherwise—

"System," he commanded, and relief flooded through him as the familiar holographic screen materialized in front of him.

At least that still worked, even if Shelly herself was being unresponsive. But the relief was short-lived as his eyes scanned the display.

The favorability progress bar...became 10%?

"What the hell?" Neville breathed, leaning closer to the screen as if proximity would somehow make the numbers make sense.

How the hell did he gain this much favorability after sleeping in one night? Will sleeping again raise it?

He knew he was being silly, but the evidence glowed right there, undeniable. Two separate increases logged in the system history—one at 11:43 PM (+1%), another at 11:44 PM (+1%).

During the time he had absolutely no memory of.

"What the hell did I do?" He pressed his palms against his eyes, trying to force his brain to cooperate, to fill in those crucial missing hours. "What—"

His gaze caught on something new—a gift box icon with a small red notification dot. Neville touched it hesitantly, half-expecting it to explode or reveal some horrible catch. Instead, the screen erupted in virtual confetti and golden letters spelling out **CONGRATULATIONS** while tinny celebration music played that felt wildly inappropriate given his current state of confusion.

[10% Favorability Milestone Reward Unlocked!

Congratulations, Host #143!

You’ve unlocked: Basic Transformation Pill.

Effect: Maintains human form for 20 hours without risk of transformation, even when in contact with water. Hydration is still required for health maintenance.]

Under different circumstances, Neville might have been thrilled. The ability to maintain his human form without the constant fear of his tail appearing at an inopportune moment? That was huge. But right now, all he could focus on was the glaring question of how he had earned 10% favorability while unconscious.

"Hmm... let’s check it," he muttered, scrolling through the item description.

The pill appeared on his hand, a small pearl-like object that gleamed with inner light. Twenty hours of guaranteed human form. He just needed to stay hydrated, but even full submersion wouldn’t trigger his transformation.

He reached for the faucet to refill the tub. That was when he saw a glimpse of a mark on his lips.

Neville leaned close, tilting his head for a better angle. His heart started to pound uncontrollably. There, on his lower lip, was a clear mark. There was a bruising in a distinct pattern—teeth marks. His brain supplied helpfully, that’s definitely teeth marks—with the surrounding skin flushed pink like it was bitten rather aggressively.

No way, there’s no way...It must’ve been just me.

But, "What the hell happened?!"

His shout echoed off the bathroom walls, probably loud enough to wake the entire floor if not soundproofed. But Neville didn’t care. He prodded the mark gently, hissing at the tenderness. It was obvious on his lips; he couldn’t hide it unless he put a patch on it.

The point was that someone had bitten him. Someone had marked him. Someone had changed his clothes while he was unconscious and—

His legs gave out, and he sank to the cool bathroom floor, back pressed against the bathtub.

How can you be unconscious? A traitorous part of his mind whispered. Those favorability increases didn’t come from nowhere.

"Think, Neville, think," he whispered to himself, pressing his palms against his eyes.

But even as he said it, more details seemed to escape from his mind each time he tried to reach.

Neville grabbed a washcloth, running it under cold water and pressing it against the mark like he could erase it through sheer determination. "Okay. Okay, think. You’re smart. You can figure this out." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

First: Grayson had somehow rescued him from Hewitt. That much was clear.

Second: Somehow, between then and now, the favorability had jumped ten percent.

Third: He was now in a fancy hotel room, in designer clothes, with a bite mark on the lower lip.

Fourth: Grayson was nowhere to be seen.

Could Grayson have...? But no, that was ridiculous. He wouldn’t... right?

But then, why?

"Shelly, please," he tried again, his voice desperate. "I need you to tell me what happened. Did Grayson... did we...?"

The silence was deafening.

Then his light brain buzzed with notifications. Few work emails from Bryan, forty-three messages in the department group chat, and one single message from Grayson.

[Take the day off. Doctor’s orders. We’ll discuss the situation when you’re recovered. - G.M.]

"We’ll discuss the situation," Neville repeated, utterly confused. "What are we going to discuss?"

He switched to the department group chat, scrolling through the messages:

IrisA: Has anyone seen Hope? He didn’t come to work.

SGCutie: OMG IS HE OKAY???

IrisA: Stewart, didn’t you say the boss went to find him?

BStewart: ....

BStewart: I’m sure everything’s fine.

SGCutie: STEWART, WHAT AREN’T YOU TELLING US

BStewart: (’v’)

IrisA: Sarah, stop using all caps.

BStewart: The boss has it handled, and Hope is off today. That’s all I can say.

SGCutie: HANDLED HOW???

BStewart: (’v’)(’v’)(’v’)

IrisA: STOP THE ALL CAPS!

The messages devolved from there into wild speculation, Sarah making all sorts of novel-worthy scenarios. Meanwhile, Iris was maintaining order and stopping Sarah from using all caps all the time. Bryan just kept replying with a smiley face whenever he couldn’t say anything back.

A new message popped up as he watched.

BStewart: Oh, look, Hope’s reading the thread. Morning, sleepy head. How’s the five-star accommodation?

Neville typed back furiously.

YourHope: How do you know where I am?

BStewart: (’v’)

YourHope: (￣ﾛ￣;) please, sir. ＿○几＿

BStewart: The boss asked me to send you something. The doctor emphasized rest as the top priority.

BStewart: Also, housekeeping will bring breakfast if you call. All-expense paid vacation. Have a nice one-day vacation~(oꈍ∀ꈍ)ﾉ

Neville opened the curtains and saw the mesmerizing view. Not too far from here, he could see some interesting things to do in this place.

Such a rare vacation, might as well enjoy it.