Chapter 8
“Y-You… how did you know that?”
Startled, Heeyeon’s eyes widened. Heon’s expression twisted subtly as he frowned for a brief moment. The reason he had expected her to dream about the Sacred Tree last night was simple—he had experienced the same dream himself.
“Would you… perhaps tell me what kind of dream it was?”
Even as he asked, he studied Heeyeon’s face. His gaze was relentless, as if he were trying to glean something from the slightest shift in her expression.
Heeyeon seemed to notice and averted her eyes slightly before speaking.
“In the dream… the Sacred Tree called to me. I couldn’t hear a voice, exactly, but somehow I felt it. It was… as if it were calling out to me desperately.”
When her words faltered, Heon raised one eyebrow slightly.
“That’s all?”
“Yes. That’s all I remember. Which is why I came to see the Sacred Tree today.”
Heon exhaled slowly, smoothing the tips of his eyebrows. As expected, her dream was completely different from his.
Damn it—the cursed Sacred Tree. He clenched his jaw to stop the profanity from spilling out.
His own dream from last night had been… explicit, to say the least, involving the woman beside him.
He remembered vividly how he had undressed her, how he had pressed against her soft skin. Every intimate part, every tear that had pooled at the corners of her eyes, every whimper he had heard—he could still feel it, every motion, every sensation, as if it were happening again.
A madman. It wasn’t even the season for lust—what the hell was this? Even recalling the dream caused his body to react, stiffening with unwanted awareness.
It was all the Sacred Tree’s doing. That wily tree not only bloomed the flower of a mate but also planted bizarre images directly into his mind to toy with him.
He exhaled again, deliberately slow. Humans were not to be trusted. But strangely, he did not feel revulsion toward this woman. That troubled him.
He had thought that if he couldn’t see her, he would feel nothing. But that was not the case. Sometimes she would slip into his mind, smiling with a calm expression, and now—after last night’s dream—she appeared completely bare in his imagination.
“May I ask… why you are inquiring about this?”
Her innocent question made him feel an unexpected pang of self-reproach. Even knowing what she had been in his mind, could he have asked such a clear question with her pure voice echoing back?
“I had a dream as well. It was different… but the Sacred Tree appeared there too.”
So, he could not admit that he had held her like a madman in his dream. Instead, he spoke with his usual indifferent expression.
“I see. Fascinating.”
Heeyeon, unaware of his inner turmoil, simply brightened at his words. Watching her round, gentle eyes crease with delight, Heon felt a strange thirst rise in his throat, a dry scratchiness that made him swallow hard.
Against his will, his gaze lingered on the pale nape of her neck.
Damn that Sacred Tree. Unable to suppress his rising agitation, Heon subtly kicked at it with his foot.
The enormous tree was unaffected, of course. Anyone else would have failed to disturb even a single branch, but Heon’s exceptional martial skill caused petals to cascade like snow.
“Wow… it’s beautiful.”
Heeyeon, blissfully unaware, gasped in admiration at the falling petals. Watching her, Heon ground a string of curse words silently between his teeth.
The two of them remained in a tranquil silence, eyes fixed on the fluttering petals. How much time passed, he could not tell, before Heon finally spoke, as if remembering something.
“Now that I think about it, I have yet to ask… Do you wish to return to the human world? If so…”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Heeyeon hastily interrupted him. There was only one thing she was certain of: she did not want to return.
She would not willingly go back to a place where she endured cruel words and endless toil.
“If you permit, I would like to live here. I do not wish to return.”
“Is that so?”
That was… a relief. Heon furrowed his brows, forcing down the words he almost spoke.
Was she truly insane? Feeling something like relief at her declaration that she would remain here…
Even if he tried to ignore it, time had already started to alter him. He could not control his feelings toward her—a sensation entirely new to him.
Is it… because she is truly my mate?
Heon knew that keeping her out of sight would not stop these feelings from growing. So what was to be done?
“Now that your wounds have mostly healed, move your residence to the palace. You may be my mate, and I cannot let us remain apart indefinitely.”
If distance would not solve the problem, then he would bring her closer. Only then could he be certain if she truly was his mate. Resolute, he suggested that Heeyeon move her residence.
Heeyeon’s eyes widened at his words. Her pupils darted back and forth as if trying to grasp what he was thinking.
“So, I would… be the mate of the Wolf King…”
Heon could not help but chuckle quietly at her use of the awkward term.
“Call me Doheon.”
“Ah… yes. It’s just… I can’t believe I’m your mate, Doheon-nim.”
Seeing his lips soften slightly made Heeyeon’s heart pound uncontrollably. Her neck burned with a strange warmth.
“I cannot believe it either. But just because it seems unbelievable doesn’t mean I can ignore it. I will treat you as a mate deserves, but I will not force marriage—so do not take this too seriously.”
The tall man with broad shoulders and piercing eyes spoke with surprising tenderness, despite his intimidating appearance.
A mate between beastmen was inevitable. One cannot become a mate simply because one desires it; both must feel the same intense pull.
Heon could speak this way because he knew that if Heeyeon did not want it, nothing could bind them together. And yet, to Heeyeon, his words sounded considerate, even caring.
“And your name… I have not asked yet.”
He tilted his head slightly, casting her a fleeting glance, and Heeyeon felt her mind go blank again. Just telling her name made her heart race.
After a brief pause, she replied,
“Heeyeon. Jeong Heeyeon.”
Heon slowly murmured her name, and her ears flushed crimson. This man surely carried something dangerously enthralling in his presence.
She turned quickly, and her eyes caught the waxing moon in the night sky, golden-yellow tonight more than usual. Following her gaze, Heon’s eyes also turned to the moon.
“It would be best not to go outside on the full-moon night. I do not know if Aseon has warned you.”
Having heard some of it before, Heeyeon nodded.
“On that night, they cannot maintain their human forms.”
She swallowed hard, unable to fully imagine it yet. All of them… were wolves. And on the full-moon night, their transformations would revert to wolf form inevitably.
“You will not be harmed within the barrier, but caution never hurts. You do not seem particularly brave, after all.”
He had surely noticed her nervous gulp. His voice remained even, but his eyes were laughing.
“I… just haven’t seen it for myself yet.”
So she was not timid; she merely had not witnessed it. She spoke carefully to defend herself, insisting she was not as weak as she seemed.
Heon could not help but chuckle. No matter what, he could not make her appear strong. Her gaze at their first meeting had been sharp, but even that would not allow her to fight off a wolf.
He ought to tell her that she was weak, but the words would not leave his mouth. With his other subordinates, harsher words came naturally.
Strange… so strange. Heon stroked his jaw, trying to think of something to say, teasing her.
“Why? Shall I assign you to the Wolf Tribe’s elite unit?”
“Who would do such a thing? I am… just saying I am not weak enough to be out on the full-moon night.”
Realizing he was teasing her, Heeyeon widened her eyes, a sharpness glinting in them. Still, she looked more cute than intimidating.
“Then… we shall meet on the full-moon night.”
“Yes… we shall… eh? What did you say?”
“Why not?”
You claim to be brave, don’t you? Heon asked boldly with a glance. He intended to confirm if she truly was his mate that night.
“I… shall do as you say.”
Feeling oddly caught, Heeyeon could not retract the words she had insisted upon, so she gave that answer.
“Then, let us return now.”
Satisfied with her reply, Heon stepped forward, a faint smile tugging at his lips, and Heeyeon hurried to follow.
Walking away from the Sacred Tree, Heeyeon hesitated before speaking.
“May I ask you just one thing?”
Heon looked at her as if silently asking what it was, and she could no longer suppress her curiosity.
“Doheon-nim… your eyes, I mean.”
“Ah, these.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly. Eyes that turned golden at night were a mark of a beastman leader. He disliked that they seemed symbolic of a predator.
“All beast leaders have these eyes. They overflow with the spirit of the beast.”
Normally, he might have said something harsh, but before her, he had restrained himself to a simple explanation.
“They’re… impressive. They suit you very well.”
Unexpected, Heeyeon’s words made Heon halt mid-step.
“I thought so from the very first time I saw you.”
What did she intend by saying this? Heon scanned her face, but she simply smiled, speaking nothing more than the truth.
Later, after escorting Heeyeon to Aseon’s house and returning to the palace, Heon pulled out a mirror with a puzzled expression.
Taeun, who stood beside him, flinched in surprise. He had never seen his lord use a mirror before and had no idea why he was doing so.
“Do these golden eyes suit me?”
What in the world…? Even as Taeun considered a polite answer, none came, and he could only twitch his eyebrows in silence.
