The Dragon King's Substitute Bride

Chapter 28

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Tsuneo

Agony. A searing inferno pulsed in my shoulder, spreading like wildfire through my veins. Claws. That's what they felt like razor-sharp talons ripping through my flesh, tearing at the very

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essence of my being. My vision blurred, the opulent confines of my chambers morphing into a swirling vortex of pain.

Through the haze, a distant voice pierced the cacophony in my head.

"Tsuneo?" Female. Familiar, yet distorted. My throat felt like sandpaper, words refusing to form on my parched tongue. Leave. Get away from me.

The primal scream echoed in the depths of my mind, but my lips remained stubbornly sealed. My body shuddered and tensed with a feral, uncontrollable energy. I was a puppet on strings, pulled by an unseen, malevolent force. I had thought the poison was wearing off. Then, a touch. Cool. Calming. A pair of arms wrapped around me, anchoring me to the storm. raging within. The touch, surprisingly gentle, sent a jolt through my system. A flicker of recognition sparked in the abyss of my mind as the scent hit my nose. It was Morgan.

Her presence pulled at my mind. Slowly, ever so slowly, the tendrils of rage loosened their grip. The inferno in my shoulder subsided to a dull ache, and the blinding vortex in my vision faded to reveal the familiar surroundings of my chambers.

With a grunt, I wrestled back control, forcing my eyelids open. Morgan's face swam into focus, etched with worry and concern. Relief, warm and sweet, washed over me, battling the lingering remnants of the poison's insidious grip. "Morgan," I croaked, my voice hoarse and unfamiliar.

A shaky smile broke across her face. "There you are," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "I was so worried. Are you alright?"

The concern in her eyes, so genuine and raw, sent warmth spreading through my chest. In that moment, amidst the throbbing pain and lingering echoes of the monstrous transformation, a single thought flickered to life I couldn't let her see me like this, Not like... that. CH28

I turned away from her, trying to block her view of my shoulder, wincing as the movement sent a fresh jolt of pain through my shoulder.

"I'm fine."

"And bleeding."

it's just the poison," I

darted to my shoulder, the black veins stark against my pale skin. "How

situation, the near descent into oblivion, crashed down on me.

before I could answer, she cupped my face and stared

at least with me

I nodded.

I looked away. She shifted to look

my shoulder. Her touch was soothing as if it was healing

voice full of concern. "But I know we don't

together now, so you're going

hotter than the lingering embers of the poison. I wanted to confess, to explain what it felt like when it was like that, the way my instincts

devised the coma to keep me from ripping myself apart, it hadn't been so bad, but it wasn't working as well as it used to. Mustering every ounce

"Morgan,"

my voice hoarse and unfamiliar, "1...

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unable to meet the concern burning in her eyes. Part of it was shame the shame of succumbing to the poison's control, of nearly becoming a mindless beast before her eyes. But the larger part was the raw, throbbing pain that still pulsed

gaze on me, a mixture of worry and something else I couldn't quite decipher. Finally, she spoke, her

began, "you need help. This poison... it's clearly affecting you more than you're letting

thought of her witnessing another descent into that primal rage filled me with dread. "I... I'll be fine," I lied, my voice barely above a whisper.

frustration crossing her features. "No," she said, her voice firm. You're not fine. And you won't

"He's gone until tomorrow."

"Fine."

the room and reaching for a small pouch hanging on the wall

rasped. "Don't need that. It's just a... a

passing thing that's turning your veins black?" she countered, her voice