Adriel froze for a moment when she heard the question, and her head jerked back after the young man named Daniel released her hair, which he had been gripping. This was nothing new for her; such torture was something she could never avoid, and even her father often punished her. So what Daniel did didn't hurt her at all and only made her stronger, though she hated wherever she was. Whether in the pack, the Lycan kingdom, or now in the human world, she still received poor treatment. Mr. van Marsell said she belonged to him.

A look of confusion appeared on Daniel's face as he asked again, "Do I need to go, sir?" he asked, and the man gave him a sharp look. Adriel stared at him, at Daniel, sharply, and for a moment, their eyes met. Daniel's dark eyes and Adriel's bright, beautiful eyes met briefly, then with a displeased look, Daniel diverted his gaze from Adriel and said, "Okay Tian, I should leave now." Daniel stepped out of the room, closing the door tightly, while Adriel felt something strange was happening. Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. What was this man going to do?

She could only kneel on the floor, unable to look at the middle-aged man with light brown skin, slightly small eyelids, not too small, but his eyes were blue, just like Adriel's. In his thick hair, some strands had turned white, not many but enough to show he was getting older. He had thin lips with slightly darkened edges due to smoking and heavy drinking. His body was quite good, slim, not showing a disheveled middle-aged man, but his hair was unkempt, he looked exhausted and troubled, or a man who didn't care about grooming. There was awkwardness between Adriel and him, but he seemed very calm with the silence. He was busy doing something with a pen on paper, whether writing or drawing something, then his eyes, busy between the paper and the table, now lifted and looked at her, at Adriel who swallowed her saliva several times.

Adriel was confused and wondered what was wrong with him, why he was acting so strangely. Was he human? Was he a king and the one in power here? These were all questions for her. And she dared not look into his tired eyes, now bowing her head again. And she was still kneeling. "What's your name?" he asked, surprising Adriel, and she didn't want to look at him. "I ... Adriel, sir." Adriel's gaze was only on the floor, she heard the chair being pushed back, a sign the man was now standing, she heard footsteps walking towards her. And without realizing it, she was startled, soft fingers touched her chin. Making her lift her face, and the man gently lifted her chin while Adriel stood in front of him. She really didn't know what would happen to her. She was scared and wanted to scratch the face in front of her. If this man did anything, Adriel would turn into a werewolf and tear him apart. She couldn't just sit while a man was acting so strangely in front of her.

"Adriel who?" the man asked in a cold and heavy voice. "Just Adriel, I don't like using my father's name, he was too cruel to me." Adriel answered honestly, the man with thick falling hair raised his eyebrows, showing he was quite surprised and also curious. "So you're saying you're on the run from your father whom you don't like?" he asked. Meanwhile, Daniel stood at the door, stiff but curious about what was happening inside. Inside Mr. Nikolai's room, he was worried something might happen to the girl.

Inside, Adriel felt very uncomfortable. She didn't know how to show she was okay, as her fingertips still trembled in fear of the man in front of her. "Maybe so, sir." Nikolai nodded and said, "That's why you entered my territory and one of my men shot you, and he brought you here, and I feel ...." Their eyes met, and Adriel couldn't look at him for too long, lowering her gaze again. The man walked around her as if observing her or just enjoying the sight of a young girl. At least she looked very young to him. Meanwhile, Daniel had a guest, an older man hurriedly approached him and asked, "Is the master inside?" Daniel nodded.

"Yes, what's up?" Daniel asked while the man explained the situation. "There's an attack on our base, the master must know this, we can't just sit while they attack us continuously, Daniel." Daniel, hearing that, felt panicked. How could he enter while the master was inside with his guest? This caused unrest in the young man. He didn't want to disturb the master with his guest, but this matter was very important for Nikolai to know.

Nikolai's gaze turned to Adriel's delicate fingers as he took her hand, feeling the trembling fingers, he chuckled and asked, "Are you afraid of me, young lady?" he asked, and Adriel, slightly gasping and breathing quickly, looked at him with teary eyes. "Yes, sir." She nodded. The man chuckled again and said, "No need to be afraid, I'm not a wolf that eats living creatures." A smile appeared on his lips but it looked a bit scary to her, "If you need a place to stay on your run, you can stay here." Adriel was certainly interested and said, "Really?"

"With one condition." Words that made Adriel feel weak, she knew that ordinary humans were known for their unfaithfulness and high desires, so she knew where this conversation was heading. "Condition?" Nikolai nodded, smiling as he stepped closer to Adriel, closer than before, whispering something with his hand on the hem of the worn dress Adriel was wearing, he said in her ear, "I'm a painter, miss, and I like to paint something beautiful. You can stay here if you allow me to paint your beauty, but this dress looks terrible on you." He sakd with gentle word and make Adriel look at him slowly.