"Hello, my purple queen," a deep, masculine voice murmured into Violet’s ear, making the hairs on her body stand on end.
The voice was unmistakably Asher’s. It was velvety smooth, yet laced with an underlying edge of danger. The nickname and the warmth of his breath on her skin made Violet’s heart lurch, both in a good and a bad way.
He said to her, "Why do you refuse to answer to your king?"
Violet turned her head just enough to see Asher’s infuriatingly smug face beside her.
"For starters," she said with intentional coldness, "I am not your queen. Stop calling me that. Secondly, get away from me." She wrinkled her nose and nudged him with her shoulder, her annoyance showing. "You smell like blood and dirt. I wouldn’t want you to get that on me."
But like an annoying mosquito, the nudge only seemed to spur Asher on further. His lips curled into a wicked grin, his tone dangerously amused. "Really? Is that so?"
Before Violet could even process what he was about to do, Asher leaned in and rubbed his face against hers. It was a gesture that should’ve seemed intimate, even romantic to everyone watching, but it was anything but. All Asher did was smear his blood, sweat, and grime all over her.
"Aah!!!" Violet screamed, her voice echoing across the lawn like a banshee. She could feel his sweat and the dirt caking her skin, and she recoiled, her face twisted in disgust.
But the psychopath wasn’t finished. Asher, laughing like a child, took it a step further, rubbing his still-bleeding wound all over her, leaving trails of blood smeared across her cheek, neck and uniform.
"Get off me!" Violet yelled, completely losing her composure. She swung her arms wildly, trying to push him away. It felt like her entire world had descended into chaos, the laughter and blood, dirt, and her frustrated screams mingling together.
Asher finally pulled back, a triumphant look on his face as he took a step back. He could barely contain his laughter as Violet glared at him, her face flushed with rage. And just like that, without a word of apology or an ounce of shame, he took off, sprinting away with an agility that only a werewolf could possess.
Violet was beyond furious. Her body shook as she screamed at the top of her lungs, "You fucking asshole! I’m going to kill you today! Do you hear me! You’re dead meat today!"
Fueled by sheer frustration, Violet bolted after Asher across the lawn, desperate to catch him. She was so angry that she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, and nothing else mattered. Not the looks of the by standing students, not the fact that Asher was a cardinal Alpha. None of it mattered. She just wanted to teach him a lesson.
But Asher seemed to enjoy the chase, his laughter ringing out loudly in the lawn, as he effortlessly dodged her attempts to catch him. Whenever Violet thought she was close enough, each time she stretched out her fingers to grab him, Asher would slip away at the last second, leaving her to groan in frustration.
This wasn’t like his usual games. It wasn’t him toying with others through manipulation. This was different. Asher looked... happy, genuinely enjoying himself, a sight that surprised everyone watching, even those who knew him well.
From a distance, Violet’s friends watched the spectacle unfold, wide-eyed and stunned.
Lila’s jaw dropped as she saw Asher teased Violet by coming close to grab but she shove him away, only for him to come right back, his grin never fading.
"The gods help us all," Lila muttered, the realization dawning on her. "He likes her."
Dion, who was leaning casually against the back of the bench, shook his head and spoke ominously. "And that, my dear, means your friend Violet is in deep shit. Of all the cardinal alphas, nothing good ever comes from associating with Asher. The Nightshade household is poison. Anything good dies in their hands."
He took a slow drink from his water bottle, his gaze still fixed on Violet and Asher. "I would say if you were a good friend, you would advise Violet to stay away from him." He paused, a contemplative look on his face. "But it’s too late. Asher has his eyes on her. And whatever the Puppet Master wants, he takes."
Lila glanced at Dion, her heart pounding with worry. There was something chilling about the way Dion spoke, the certainty in his tone. She swallowed hard and asked nervously, "How do you know all that?"
Dion relaxed, his smile widening as if he knew something she didn’t. "You’re a curious one too," he said smoothly, "so you should already know that information is power in Lunaris."
Lila fell silent, her gaze flickering back to her friend who was still chasing Asher, the two of them creating a spectacle that no one was forgetting anytime soon, at least till the end of today.
At this point, Lila could only hope that Violet understood the kind of danger she was walking into by associating with Asher, because there was no turning back now.
Meanwhile....
Through sheer luck, Violet managed to tackle Asher to the ground, his laughter ending abruptly.
They both went down with a heavy thud, the force of their fall knocking the air out of Asher for a brief moment.
Without thinking twice, Violet straddled him, her hands going straight for his neck. Her eyes were wide with fury as she leaned over him.
"Die, you asshole!" she growled, squeezing his throat with all the strength she could muster.
Yet even while she had her hands around his neck, even while she straddled him and tried to choke him, Asher was smiling. Not even fazed. His reptilian eyes gleamed mischievously as his glasses were long gone, forsaken during the chase.
"Why are you laughing, you bastard?" Violet yelled, her frustration boiling over at his infuriating grin.
Asher let out a low chuckle sending a shiver down Violet’s spine despite her fury. "Because you seem to like this position, little purple queen."
Violet froze. Her hands loosened, and she suddenly became hyper-aware of everything, the fact that she was straddling Asher, the closeness of their bodies, and more pressingly, the way his hips shifted beneath hers. There was something hard pressing up, and that realization hit her like a freight train.
She looked down and saw the faintest outline of something that made her heart nearly stop.
"Ahhh!" Violet shrieked, her face flushed in mortified horror. Her immediate reaction was to scramble off of him, but Asher was too quick, too perceptive.
The moment her concentration broke, he took advantage of the lapse. Before Violet knew what was happening, Asher moved like lightning. His hands gripped her wrists, and in one swift motion, he flipped her over so that now she was pinned beneath him, her back against the grass.
Violet’s breath hitched as she found herself staring up at him, his silhouette blocking the sun and her heart racing. Not only was she pinned, but Asher was leaning over her, his face close enough that she could feel his breath against her skin.
The weight of his body pressed down against hers, every inch of him. Every. Single. Inch. Including his very evident, raging erection.
Violet swallowed hard. She had just gone from the frying pan and straight into the fire.
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The competition is getting tougher and tougher. We have less than fourteen hours to help our character "Violet Purple" qualify for the semi finals. Please vote for Violet with your points and push her to the point. There would be a mass release event if we win the competition!