Chapter 2

02

I didn't die.

Of course, an Incubus isn't as fragile as a human.

Even though I had drained my blood for a month and endured countless lashes for her.

Even though I had broken my own tailbone to trigger the pact.

I was still alive, trapped inside a heavy iron cage.

The bars were covered in glowing runes.

These were the same spells I had once held her hand to teach her.

"I don't want to learn this," she used to pout.

"I have you, my handsome and powerful Incubus husband. Who would dare touch me?"

Madeline loved to act spoiled, and I could never resist her.

But now, her mastery of the runes was perfect.

And I was her very first target.

"Why?" I croaked.

My throat felt like it had been scorched by fire.

Madeline remained expressionless, her voice chillingly calm.

"This is your punishment for doing something wrong. You said you'd never leave me."

"Now everyone knows what you are. You can only stay by my side like a good pet."

She was as stubborn as ever.

She had been this way since the day I first entered the human world.

Back then, she was an outcast from a wealthy family, living in the slums.

We met when I was just a young demon exploring the surface.

She called me handsome and refused to leave my side.

My heart softened, and I abandoned the idea of going home.

I stayed with her for twenty years, helping her reclaim her status and power.

In our most intimate moments, her nails would dig into my back.

"Kendrick, if you ever abandon me, I will hate you forever," she'd whisper.

Looking at her now, I sighed inwardly.

She certainly kept her word.

After a long silence, I tried to give her a subtle hint.

"Do you remember me going to the hospital before I left?"

Madeline looked confused but nodded slightly.

"Your test results came back, and the diagnosis was..."

The rest of the words were choked off by a supernatural force.

That was the catch of the Life-Sharing Pact.

The provider could never reveal the truth to the recipient.

And for it to work, we had to be completely in love.

When I first saw her cancer report, my only thought was to link our lives.

I wanted to use my immortality to extend her life.

Everything happened so fast that I didn't have time to explain.

And that led to this nightmare.

Madeline saw that I couldn't finish my sentence and assumed I was lying.

Her anger flared up instantly.

"Can't finish your little story? Then rot in this cage and think about what you've done!"

"Wait," I forced the words out.

"You can be angry, but I truly did it for you."

"Madeline, you have to keep loving me. If you don't, you'll die."

Blood welled up in my chest as I suffered the backlash for the warning.

"I'll die? Kendrick, you really are desperate, aren't you? Cursing me now?"

"Silas was right. Monsters are cunning. Maybe I should just..."

A cold light flashed in her eyes as she stared at my tail.

That was where an Incubus's core energy was concentrated.

If it were severed, the pain would be worse than death.

It was my only true weakness.

Seeing me flinch, she snorted and turned to walk upstairs.

The runes on the cage continued to drain my strength.

In the absolute darkness, I felt my resolve waver for the first time.

Was the pact I gave half my life for actually worth it?