The Princess

Chapter Six – Ayato’s POV

Tch. Figures.

There she was, out in the damn garden again, kneeling in the dirt like some fairy-tale princess, her crimson hair glowing in the sun like fire. April. Always finding ways to make me chase her without even trying.

I leaned against the stone pillar of the veranda, arms folded, watching her. She didn’t know I was here. She never noticed until I wanted her to—and I liked it that way. Her blue eyes were fixed on the roses, like the stupid flowers were worth her time.

Ore-sama hated those roses. Too delicate, too perfect. They reminded me of Reiji’s lectures, all neat and polished, just waiting to cut you when you got too close. But April? She touched them like they were treasures.

My teeth clenched. She shouldn’t be wasting her smiles on flowers. Or on Shu’s lazy stares. Or Reiji’s scolding. Or anyone but me.

“April…” I muttered under my breath, the name burning on my tongue.

She wasn’t a little brat anymore. I remembered when she used to trail after me, begging to be included in my games, clapping when I won, laughing when I boasted. Back then, I thought she was just another shadow, another audience for Ore-sama’s greatness.

But somewhere along the line—hell if I know when—that shadow got too bright.

Now, every time she looks at me, every time she says my name, I feel it. That pull. Like she’s daring me to prove she belongs to me.

And she does.

She has to.

The thought of her looking at one of my brothers the way she looks at me—nah. I won’t allow it. Not Reiji with his stuck-up lectures, not Kanato with his creepy whining, not Laito with his perverted games. And definitely not Subaru, that hotheaded bastard who thinks punching walls makes him her knight in shining armor.

No. April’s mine.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, smirking to myself as I watched her tilt her head back, eyes closed, face turned toward the sun. She didn’t even realize how tempting she looked. That soft throat exposed, that perfect body framed by light. My pulse kicked hard in my chest, hot and demanding.

I wanted to bite her. Right there. Sink my fangs into that pale skin, mark her so deep no one would ever doubt who she belonged to.

But it wasn’t just blood I wanted.

No, I wanted more. I wanted every laugh, every tear, every whispered word to be mine. I wanted her to say my name not because I forced it out of her, but because she couldn’t help it. Because she wanted me.

The smirk slipped from my lips for a second. Damn it. I hated thinking like that. Made me sound weak. Vulnerable.

And Ore-sama doesn’t do vulnerable.

Still… watching her down there, looking like she belonged to another world, I knew one thing for sure.

I’d tear this whole mansion apart before I let anyone else have her