Vengeance in His Bed

The stinging scent of antiseptics was the first thing that drilled into Dorrent’s consciousness, tearing him away from the dark world of his blackout. His eyes snapped open, refracting the harsh, blinding light bouncing off the ceiling of the hospital.

Instantly, agony flared across his midsection. Heavy layers of medical bandages were wrapped tightly from his stomach all the way around to his lower back, binding the multiple bullet wounds that had nearly shredded his S-tier organs the day before. His breathing was shallow, his chest heaving as he forced his biological core to re-stabilize. But his physical pain didn’t matter. His mind didn’t care about the lead that had been dug out of his flesh.

"Jannah..." Dorrent rasped out, his voice a dry fracture that barely cleared his throat. He strained his neck against the pillows, his eyes wildly scanning the room. "Where... where is Jannah?"

Instead of the dark eyes he was desperate to find, his vision locked onto a face hardened with fury. Himelda Grefo stood right beside his bed, her designer coat draped elegantly over her shoulders, but her features were twisted into a mask of rage.

"Spare me the absolute madness, Dorrent!" Himelda snapped, her voice cutting through the quiet room like a blade. She slammed her purse down onto the bedside table, her eyes flashing with disgust. "Look at you! You are lying there wrapped in bandages, nearly slaughtered by a pack of slum dogs, and the very first word out of your mouth is the name of that cursed girl? Have you completely lost your mind?!"

Dorrent’s jaw clenched so hard the muscles in his face turned rigid. He ignored her shouting entirely, his fingers digging into the sheets as he forced his upper body to sit upright, a low groan escaping his teeth as the stitches across his abdomen strained. "I asked you a question, Mother," he delivered, his voice dropping into a freezing, authoritative register despite his weakened state. "Where is she? Where is Jannah?"

"You will see her later!" Himelda shrieked, her hands flying up in frustration as she stepped closer to block his movement. "She is in the next room! She isn’t hurt at all—just a minor case of shock from your ridiculous pheromone blast, and the doctors say she is doing perfectly fine. I bet she’s resting comfortably while my son is lying here bleeding out because of her presence!"

The moment the words ’next room’ left his mother’s lips, Dorrent stopped listening.

Without a single second of hesitation, he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress. The sudden movement sent a spike of agony tearing through his bandaged stomach, the red stains of fresh blood immediately beginning to seep through the white linen wraps.

"Dorrent, stop! What do you think you are doing?!" Himelda cried out, stepping directly in front of him, her hands pressing against his broad shoulders to force him back down. "Get back in that bed! You are lucky you possess an S-tier Alpha biology, you foolish boy! Any other man would still be in a coma after taking that much lead to the torso! Do not get your body into further danger and ruin your recovery just for the sake of that cursed slum rat!"

"Move, Mother," Dorrent growled. He didn’t care about his recovery. He didn’t care about the internal bleeding warning flashing in his head. Using his massive frame, he simply bypassed her completely, his solid shoulder brushing her forcefully to the side as he forced his trembling legs to take one step after another toward the door.

"Dorrent!" Himelda shouted behind him, her voice trembling with frustration. "You are being completely reckless!"

"I won’t die that easily," Dorrent delivered coldly over his shoulder, his silver eyes fixed forward as he pushed the door open, leaving his furious, defeated mother behind in the room.

Every single step down the short, sterile corridor felt like a rusted knife twisting inside his gut. He gripped the handrails along the wall, his chest rising and falling heavily as he dragged himself to the next door. He didn’t knock. He turned the handle and pushed it open.

The room was quiet. Jannah was lying on the bed, the crisp white blankets pulled up to her chest. Her dark hair was splayed across the pillow, her face calm and peaceful in her sleep. The medical monitors around her hummed softly, showing a perfectly stable, healthy rhythm. The doctors had clearly worked on her well, and she was simply resting.

Seeing her breathing softly, completely whole and untouched by the violence of yesterday, Dorrent let out a long, heavy exhale. A massive weight he hadn’t realized he was holding in his chest suddenly dissolved. She was safe.

He closed the door quietly behind him and dragged his feet across the floor until he stood right over her mattress. Looking down at her soft, pale lips, a sudden, familiar hunger flared within his veins. He leaned his upper body down, his shadow completely enveloping her frame as he lowered his mouth to claim her tight lips in a kiss.

CHOMP!

"Ugh—!"

Dorrent let out a sharp, strangled wince, his body instantly jerking backward as a flash of hot pain exploded across his lower lip. Jannah’s eyes were wide open, burning with a sudden, lethal venom. She hadn’t been fully asleep; she had been waiting for his movement. The moment his mouth touched hers, she had bitten down with all her might, drawing fresh blood that instantly mixed with the split on his lip.

And she didn’t stop there. With a wild, furious shriek, Jannah brought her right fist up and slammed it directly into the center of his bandaged stomach.

"Ah..." Dorrent groaned heavily, his hand instantly flying to his gut as he stumbled back two steps, his face turning completely pale as the stitches underneath his wraps threatened to burst. A dark crimson stain bloomed across his midsection. He glared at her, his breathing ragged. "You... you heartless little enemy."

Jannah scrambled backward against the headboard, her dark eyes flashing with anger. But the moment her gaze dropped to his torso, her breath hitched in her throat. He was covered in thick, tight layers of medical bandages from his ribs down to his waist, and the center of the cloth was rapidly turning red where she had just struck him.

For a split second, a tight, agonizing knot twisted inside Jannah’s heart. A sudden wave of intense guilt washed over her soul—she hadn’t known the true extent of his state. She hadn’t realized he had taken so many bullets for her until she saw the bloody wraps with her own eyes.

But as quickly as the pity came, Jannah dismissed it, her jaw hardening into a rigid line. No. She couldn’t feel sorry for him. This was the monster who had planned to trap her into a forced marriage. This was the monster whose hands brutally slaughtered her mother and father nine years ago. He didn’t deserve her tears, and he certainly didn’t deserve her sympathy.

"Heartless?" Jannah rasped out, her voice breaking with a mixture of anger and hidden trembling. "Who can possibly be more heartless than you, Dorrent?! You use your wealth, your power, and your ruthless strategy to keep me locked up around your body like a prisoner! You destroy my life, and then you dare call me heartless?!"