Chapter 27. Even when you’re under me
****
"Is my leniency in letting him live invisible to you?"
Kayan let the frenzied momentum drain out of him, as if he were barely holding back the rage that was building.
His demeanor was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and for a moment Netira could only curl her lips in response.
For now, however, she needed to assure Kayan of her position as Lord of the Bayate family.
"Hulkan is a Bayate man, after all, and I will not allow him to be treated this way."
"If Hulkan wishes to remain in the shadow of Bayate, let him, but if he causes trouble for the Black Wolf again, I will not look the other way."
"Don't forget, Kayan, that the Black Wolves belong to the Bayate."
"The Black Wolves don't belong anywhere."
"That was Master's way of saying that he didn't want blood ties or families to get involved and destroy the Black Wolf's reputation."
The clarity of his answer, the way he drew a line in the sand, stung Netira's pride.
No longer was it likely that invoking the status of Lord Bayate and the role of Hulkan would work with Kayan.
Looking into Netira's eyes, Kayan said something unintelligible.
"I know how close Hulkan is to you, and in some ways, even closer than I am."
"What...... What do you mean?"
Netira's expression slowly tensed at the unexpected words.
Could it be that Kayan knew something about her and Hulkan's relationship?
No, I don't think so.
I've been so careful not to let anyone know.
Even as she told herself that, her heart was beating like a ship in a storm.
His nonchalant tone continued, whether he realized it or not, as her heart fluttered with anxiety.
"Literally, just to be clear, this is a black wolf thing."
"..."
"There is no reason for the head of the Black Wolf to take orders from you."
"Kayan...."
"I'd like you to leave now."
Netira started to protest, but Kayan cut her off, not wanting to hear more.
This was not the Kayan who had always been so generous with herself.
Somehow, she felt wronged, but Netira decided to stop arguing with him.
She was already confused enough by his words.
Hulkan's affairs were no longer on her mind.
Standing in front of the slammed door, Netira took a deep breath and tried to calm her precariously flailing mind.
***
"Hmph, ha, ha, ha."
The seductive breathing of the woman in heat aroused the man on top of her even more.
"Aaaah!"
A sweet scream followed as the man greedily sucked on the woman's coveted nipple.
As he claimed the woman's mouth as his own and thrust his tongue in, the screams could not escape, but only echoed inward.
As Netira shuddered and tried to bring herself to climax, her opponent's thrust intensified.
Lips wet with saliva she didn't recognize licked at the nape of her neck.
"Hmph, hmph, ka, Kayan!"
Hulkan's face contorted at the unpleasant name that burst from Netira's mouth, just before he was about to come.
"What?"
Nethira looked up at Hulkan through half-closed eyes, exhausted.
"What?"
Nethira hadn't realized what she'd said, and she was annoyed at Hulkan for his abrupt halt.
"What's wrong?"
Firmly angry, Hulkan turned Netira's body around roughly.
He grabbed Netira's voluptuous breasts, hard.
"It hurts!"
Hulkan didn't even bother to listen to Netira's complaints as he picked her up with a ferocious grip.
Her angry demeanor softened at the pleasure she felt below.
She let out a nasal moan, matching Hulkan's rhythm again.
"Aaah!"
In Netira's imagination, it was Kayan who was making her so ecstatic, and the more viciously Hulkan drove into her, the more pleasure she felt.
The lewd act went on for a long time, and finally, with a gulp of lust, Hulkan collapsed on top of the sweaty woman.
They tangled in the humid air, breathing raggedly.
After she finished with Hulkan, Netira always felt an unspeakable sense of emptiness at the realization that it wasn't Kayan.
She wondered what it would be like to be with the real Kayan, even as she wore him down.
But apart from that, sleeping with Hulkan was always satisfying.
Sometimes, when she was plagued by uncontrollable lust, Hulkan was a great tool.
Hulkan, who had had an unusually strong appetite for the female sex since childhood, knew the woman's body well, thanks to his frequent experiences.
Though he had no romantic interest, Hulkan was perfect in bed.
So much so that she had a hunch he would be invited into the bedroom often if she and Kayan were married.
That was why she'd turned a blind eye when she realized he'd been messing around with the slaves without her knowledge.
"You still haven't gotten over it, have you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You called me that asshole name while you were panting under me."
Netira paused for a moment at Hulkan's bitter words.
She did?
Come to think of it, perhaps she did.
Netira touched her aching breasts.
"Is that why you went rough?”
"You deserve it for screaming like a dog in front of the man who soothes your needy body."
Hulkan retorted, pulling on the top he had removed.
"Then again, you don't have much to complain about when you're banging a bunch of the women slaves every day, do you? At least I only have you to contend with, and I'm the one who's losing."
Hulkan couldn't be more pointed, because Netira wasn't wrong.
He didn't have any feelings of affection for Netira, but sometimes he felt an inexplicable sense of possessiveness.
It was more like a misguided desire for something he couldn't have, and the main culprit was Kayan Bayate.
The only warrior recognized by the Odant Bayate.
He did not deny that Odant regarded him as a son.
But that didn't bring him the honor and authority of a warrior.
It was no secret that Odant, a wolf warrior on par with Rakhil Shabob, had chosen Kayan to succeed him early on.
Hulkan had always resented that fact.
How his father died.
A bitterness weighed on his heart that would not be relieved even if he inherited this Bayate family in its entirety.
The pathetic old man had bequeathed the black wolf to a bastard from whom he knew nothing.
He was annoyed at the father and the daughter, Nethira, who had said it was all good if it was Kayan.
Hulkan knew his limits early on.
There was an impenetrable wall between him and Kayan, and it was beyond his power to break it.
It was frustrating, but it was reality.
That's why he'd kept quiet about it until now.
And Kayan had put Doa in charge.
It was a position he deserved, both in terms of experience and skill.
Hulkan was technically a member of the Black Wolves, but Kayan refused to recognize him.
Hulkan, who should have worked his way up from the bottom, had been favored by Odant and had risen through the ranks without much effort.
From Odant's point of view, he had given Hulkan the right position for his skills, but it was a decision that went far against the principles of the Black Wolves.
And now he was losing out to a weakling (Doa) who couldn’t even kill an old soldier.
With Odant gone, Hulkan realized that his place in the Bayate was shrinking.
It would be hard to survive being a puppet.
He was an outsider within the Black Wolf, and if Netira married Kayan, he would have a hard time staying in the Bayate family.
A breakthrough was needed.
A trick that would turn this whole situation upside down.
‘The emperor has a grudge against the black wolf.’
Since Hashad's ascension to the throne, the war hero Kayan had been unofficially excluded from the central organization and distanced from politics.
In effect, he was demoted to the status of a Bayate.
The Emperor's pressure grew more and more overt, and soon he seemed intent on sweeping the Bayate family under the rug.
Emperor Rakhil respected the Black Wolf led by Odant Bayate, but his son was not like his father.
There was no way the Emperor could have been unaware that Kayan had a better sense of leadership than he did.
Even as a crown prince, Hashad had never made a distinct major.
The fact that he had accomplished nothing of note, unlike Rakhil, who was superior in every way, confused the Anut to the point that they were unwilling to recognize him as Emperor.
The warriors were forced to support Hashad outwardly, as he was the only heir recognized by Rakhil, but the imperial court was uneasy.
While the Anut warriors ostensibly supported Hashad because he was the only heir recognized by Rakhil, they also deeply admired Kayan, who had earned Rakhil’s praise: "It is a pity he is not my son.”
Under these circumstances, if the Emperor believed Hulkan to be instrumental in capturing Kayan, he would enjoy a satisfying benefit that was nothing compared to his time in Black Wolf.
Hulkan calmly gathered his thoughts on what he would say to Hashad.
***
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