The Dark Side of His Mates

"Let me do it, Master," Aiden repeated his words, this time in an emphasized tone. Aiden's firm hand held Ashley’s wrist, and the human shook his head confidently.

Aiden again showed the same expression as before. And as a result of his punch just now, a bruise appeared on Aiden's forehead and was so obvious that he was almost bleeding from it. He chuckled at Aiden's good intentions. In an instant, he swatted away Aiden's hand, which was trying to take the initiative to help clean up his things.

"Keep your hands–"

"Let me do it," Aiden repeated his words, this time in an emphasized tone. Aiden's firm hand held his wrist, and Aiden shook his head confidently. "This is my job. All you have to do is nothing."

"Suit yourself." He put all his things back on the table, letting Aiden tidy them up while occasionally grimacing and touching his forehead. He crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring Aiden. He let Aiden do his job while he shut his eyes. He returned the color of his eyes to brown iris.

Tiredness was starting to set in, apparently due to him focusing all his attention on today's lecture and working too hard on his fighting skills late into the night, making him unconsciously begin to feel sleepy. His entire body felt exhausted, repeatedly begging him to rest. 

And finally, he lost. He let the exhaustion take over his body, transporting him briefly to dreamland before he felt someone's hand massaging his shoulder. At the same time, he could feel a rosemary-scented aromatherapy fragrance that made him feel calm.

When he opened his eyes, he found Aiden already standing behind him, massaging him with comforting movements, while on his desk, a small bottle of rosemary aromatherapy was open, spreading the soothing scent into the air.

"Are you comfortable now?"

He nodded, letting Aiden massage his shoulders at the same pace. Out of all his errand boys so far, this was the first time he found one who would actually do whatever he asked without protesting. 

Even to the point of taking the initiative to massage his body now. He closed his eyes, letting Aiden continue massaging his body until he sighed softly. 

"Rosemary oil essences will help calm your mind and reduce fatigue," Aiden said in a half-whisper, before the human stopped massaging his shoulders.

Tsk!

He opened his eyes, about to scold Aiden, when suddenly Aiden was kneeling in front of him.

"Your jacket buttons are about to fall off."

"Eh?"

"Please take off your jacket first, Milord," Aiden looked up, looking straight at him with a gentle gaze that he found hard to describe.

"What for?" Ashley's hands fumbled with the buttons of his favorite jean jacket before finding that the two buttons near his neck were about to come undone. "Let them be."

"I am afraid I can't do that, Milord."

"Can you fix them?"

"Of course."

Aiden moved from his spot, coming closer to Ashley. Aiden's dark brown irises looked straight at him without averting their gaze from him, until he could see the reflection of his own face in the human's eyes. 

For a moment, he swore that he felt a strange sensation enveloping Aiden. A sensation that he found hard to describe. A sensation like a combination of shuddering in horror but, at the same time, creating a feeling of security within him. 

It was like a puzzle piece was missing from inside him, and now it was in the hands of that despicable human.

He only found himself unable to do anything. It was like there were strange pheromones enveloping Aiden's body, bewitching him until he could no longer move away from Aiden.

"Just let go first, Milord. Let me fix it."

Only after hearing Aiden's next words did he manage to pull himself out of Aiden’s enchantment. It was Aiden's tone when he said it that sounded like he was telling him to do so that made him realize that he had been lured into the strange thing that enveloped Aiden for too long.

"Who gave you permission to do that, you bastard!?"

Both of Aiden's hands reflexively shot up, signaling him to back off.

"I didn't mean anything bad." Those dark, intense brown eyes still looked straight at his denim jacket. "I just wanted to fix it. My master should be perfect everywhere. In every aspect."

"Master?" He couldn't help but smile a little at Aiden's words. "I like that.”

"So you'd rather I call you Master?"

"Is that something you should ask?"

Aiden quickly looked away. "No."

"Good," he said, crossing his legs, still looking at Aiden. "Besides, why should I take off my jacket? Why do you care so much about my appearance?"

"That's...," Aiden now looked nervous, swallowing with his eyes still glued to Ashley. He could see Aiden's Adam's apple moving up and down. 

What a freak, Ashley muttered to himself upon seeing Aiden's reaction. It was only today that they met. It was also just today that the man volunteered to be his slave. But why was that human so dedicated to him, doing everything without feeling the least bit burdened? He even felt—no, he was certain—that the human was worshipping him as a god.

Not that he didn't enjoy it anyway. He actually enjoyed it because it was rare that he met humans who truly understood where they belonged in the structure of the chain of living things. Where werewolves have the highest position compared to humans. 

Where humans were supposed to worship werewolves. Finding out that the human named Aiden Connor knew where he should belong created a feeling of excitement in Ashley.

Ashley locked his gaze on Aiden's eyes, waiting for Aiden’s reply. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Aiden finally broke the silence that surrounded him. This time Aiden's tone turned into a half-whisper, with the man's body getting closer to him. He no longer raised his hands like before, until the distance between him and Aiden was only a few centimeters.

And with such a close distance, he had no other choice but to smell Aiden's body. The combination of mint and a unique scent he didn't recognize made him flinch for a few moments.

"A person with a noble position like you should not look imperfect. Every detail of yours must not be flawed. There must be no flaws."

Aiden's answer just now managed to create a satisfied smile on his face. He touched Aiden's left cheek, rubbing it gently.

"Oh, you're adapting quickly to your new status, human. I like submissive types like you," he said, then patted Aiden's cheek. "If all humans would obey as easily as you and not try to rebel..."

"In that case, they are all idiots. For not recognizing your power."

His eyes widened for a moment upon hearing the human youth's words, before he returned to his flat face. He was happy to hear Aiden's answer, but he did not want to give Aiden that pleasure. He didn't want Aiden to feel happy. He should be thinking about his own pleasure, not the feelings of his slave.

So that very second, he slapped Aiden's cheek until the reddish mark was clearly visible on Aiden's left cheek. 

"Who gave you permission to answer my question?"

"No one. Forgive my impudence, Master."

Ashley feigned a resentful expression, hiding the fact within himself that he was increasingly attracted to Aiden.

In appreciation that Aiden apologized to him immediately and did not complain of pain from the slap, he took off her beloved denim jacket. Only then did he realize that what Aiden had said was true. The buttons on his denim jacket were almost undone.

Wow. He surely has observant eyes, he muttered to himself as he gave the denim jacket to Aiden. 

"Can you fix it?"

"These are small things, Master." Aiden sounded confident as he said it. "There's no need to worry. Back in the day, my late mother taught me how to fix my own clothes whenever they ripped or came apart, so I didn't have to buy new ones too often. We are not rich.”

"Oh. Whatever. Just make it quick and don't ruin my denim jacket."

"I would not dare to do that."

"Good. That's what I want to hear from your mouth."

***