Elias could smell it. He had become a monster. All his strength had heightened, not just his newfound abilities but his senses.
Fresh blood.
Warmth.
A human.
His mouth watered in hunger. He was so attracted to it that he wanted to rush towards whoever it was and rip out the flesh.
His fingers twitched.
Fuck.
The monster inside him growled low and deep, demanding to feed.
Elias closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath, fighting the primal hunger clawing at his rotten brain.
"Get a grip," he muttered, clenching his jaw.
"I'm not one of them. Not yet."
The footsteps grew louder.
Closer.
Elias turned toward the door, muscles tensed, heart pounding.
The monster inside him snarled again.
He bared his teeth in a grim smile.
If he was gonna survive this nightmare...
He'd have to master it first.
Or die trying.
The door creaked open, and the figure stepped inside...
And the air snapped tight.
.
.
The sharp stink of blood and rust filled the church's crumbling walls.
Elias sat on the broken altar, shirtless, his pale skin glowing faintly under the fractured stained glass.
And beneath the tattered jeans clinging to his hips, something monstrous twitched awake at the sight of the figure who walked through the door.
"Fuck... this body's insane," Elias muttered, his voice rough and deep. He couldn't deny it. He looked like a goddamn sex symbol. If gods still existed.
Footsteps echoed in the hall.
She approached, slow and wary. Her simple white robe clung to her curves, the cloth dirty and torn. Her hands gripped a rusted crowbar like a cross ready to strike down a demon.
"You..." She stopped a few feet away, biting her lower lip, eyes wide. "You are not... normal."
"No shit," Elias smirked. His voice dripped casual mockery, but inside, his instincts screamed. The sweet scent of her blood, her heat called to him harder than any hunger.
He shifted, trying to adjust the uncomfortable tightness between his legs.
"I should kill you," she whispered, gripping the crowbar tighter.
"Maybe you should," Elias said lazily, leaning back on his elbows. "But you won't."
Ivy swallowed hard. Her gaze slid unwillingly down his chest, over the deep grooves of muscle, lingering way too long before she forced herself to look away.
Goddamn, she's checking me out, Elias thought, amused.
Even in the apocalypse, even facing a half-zombie stranger, he was desired.
He stood slowly, towering over her. Her hands tightened, but she didn't swing.
Not yet.
"I saved your life," he said simply. "Maybe that means something."
"Maybe it doesn't," she snapped back, but her voice cracked a little. "I could handle those creepy things on my own,"
Their eyes locked. The tension snapped tight, an invisible thread pulling between them. For a moment, the ruined church, the dead city, the rot of the world... all of it disappeared.
The air changes, similar to what happens in movies when the male character and the female character meet each other for the first time, with pretty flowers falling in the background and falling in love.
It was crazy familiar, except that there was no flower falling in their background. They were in ruined areas, and no flowers were available.
All that existed was heat.
System Notification:
> > [Temptation Aura Activated]
[Target: Ivy Ferre | Lust Level: 8% | Loyalty Level: 3%]
[Warning: Corruption +0.5%]
A small smirk tugged at the corner of Elias's mouth. "You're staring," he said, low and teasing.
"I hate you," she whispered, cheeks burning.
But she didn't step back.
She also didn't lift the crowbar to hit him, nor did she run.
Elias tilted his head.
"Hate me harder, sweetheart. I can take it."
Something inside her snapped.
With a choked sound, Ivy lunged... not to strike... but to shove him. Hard. Her small hands hit his chest, but Elias didn't budge an inch. Her palm pressed against solid, burning muscle. He was surprised at how hard it was. Sucking her lower lip in as if she was turned on, her fingers twitched.
"F-Fuck," she gasped, and her voice broke into a helpless little moan.
The tension exploded.
Ivy's body pressed against his, her soft curves colliding with his hardness. Elias grunted, grabbing her hips instinctively. His fingers dug into her, feeling the shape of her ass under the thin robe.
Soft. So fucking soft.
His cock throbbed against the tight denim, aching. His mind buzzed with two instincts: claim her or protect her.
He forced himself to pull back a little, struggling to breathe through the raw hunger surging through him.
"Fuck... I can't," he muttered, more to himself than her. He couldn't just slam himself to a person he just met for the first time. He was starting to blame the system or the body he was possessing.
Ivy's breath hitched. She looked up at him, her face flushed, pupils wide.
"You're not... going to eat me?" she whispered.
Elias chuckled, rough and low.
"Eat you? Not the way you think, Sister."
She shivered at his tone, her legs wobbling slightly.
System Notification:
> > [Target: Ivy Ferre | Lust Level: 16% | Loyalty Level: 8%]
[Warning: Corruption +1% | Current: 2%]
[System Recommendation: Engaging with humans reduces Berserk Risk.]
Elias let go of her gently, stepping back.
He ran a hand through his wild hair, heart pounding, jaw clenched.
"You're lucky I'm still half-human in here," he muttered, turning away.
"Otherwise, I'd fuck you against that altar without asking."
The dirty thought almost made him groan out loud.
But he shook it off, biting it down deep.
"Rest," he said roughly. "You'll need it. We're moving at dawn."
"What makes you think I'd follow you?" She raised a brow.
"From the moment I saved your ass, you became mine. Don't worry, I won't eat you," he grinned as he started walking away.
"And if I don't trust you?" Ivy asked, voice shaking.
He flashed her a crooked smile over his shoulder.
"You'll have to trust that I don't bite... unless you beg me to."
---
Outside, the wind howled through the broken windows, carrying the moans of the undead.
Inside, the church pulsed with a different kind of hunger.
And Elias knew... it was only going to get harder to resist.
In every possible way.
[END OF CHAPTER THREE]