A soft gust of wind blew past the two figures on the west part of the massive garden. With the full moon as their light and the howling of the wind as their music, the woman trembled in fear.

"Please, take me."

She gazed up at the man before her, clasping the grass tightly until her nails dug into the ground. His brow raised, arms crossed, tilting his head as he studied the woman, who was kneeling two meters away. Despite that her body that was littered with bruises, her eyes gleamed with clarity.

His eyes fell on the severed rope around her neck, indicating she was someone else's property. He could see her shoulder tensed up under his gaze, but her eyes never left his pair of crimson eyes.

"Woman, did you, perhaps, come to me knowing who I am?" the man simpered, looking amused at the situation. He was just walking in the garden for some fresh air since the world summit — the gatherings of the sovereigns from empires to smaller kingdoms to talk about peace — that was being held in this neutral land suffocated him. But he never thought a woman would spring up out of nowhere.

Her lower lip trembled as they parted, but her words were stuck in her throat. Of course, she had a vague idea of who he was. From his clothing adorned with real jewelry and a golden brooch, she could tell this man was an important individual who could kill her right here and now. But she would die anyway if she got dragged back to her 'owner.'

The man let out a dry chuckle and marched towards her. He squatted down with maroon eyes glinting in interest, lifting her chin with his index.

"I don't remember ripping out your tongue for you to keep silent... but whatever," he commented, making her swallow, which echoed in her ear. "You want me to take you in?"

Aries nodded profusely, as she didn't care anymore. She wouldn't go back to that detestable man who held her captive for two years.

"Hmm... are you good in bed?"

Her breath instantly hitched upon the question, making her grip on the grass tighten as her jaw locked. "No, but... I can learn."

"Hah! How honest! If you're not pretty enough, you should be good in bed to make up for that! Or, at least, pretend you are!" he intoned with a sigh, clicking his tongue continuously.

'If I lied, won't you kill me if you find out?' were the words she wanted to speak, but the building tension in her throat kept her from speaking. All she could do was stare at him as her chest heaved heavily.

This man was dangerous, she thought. Staring at him up close confirmed her initial guess he was someone even her owner wouldn't offend. If he took her in, she would do everything to please him and survive. It may not be any different from that monster, but at least this man wasn't the person who slaughtered her family.

"Mhm..." the man hummed a long, deep tune while studying her. His eyes then raised at the frantic soldiers searching the area. Just one look and he already knew which country these soldiers came from. This caused the side of his lips to curl up into a smirk, shifting his eyes back to her.

"So, your owner is from Maganti Empire?" he hooked a finger in the rope around her neck, pulling her closer. "My advisor told me not to cause trouble during the world summit... but how can I turn a blind eye to such a pitiful creature?"

"Pl — please... I will do anything," came out a shaking voice with her ragged breathing. "I don't want to go back there."

He nodded, closed-lipped. "You don't want to come back to your owner? Are you sure?"

She nodded profusely once again, showing her determination to be taken in by him. Her immediate and desperate response caused the side of his lips to stretch into a wide, devious grin. The man let her go and stood up. What he did next left her mind blank as her body froze.

"You! Are you looking for her?" her complexion instantly turned pale while his eyes drooped evilly. He watched the soldier he called approach and sported a polite smile.

The soldier gazed at the woman kneeling on the ground, then back at the man who called him. As soon as he distinguished who the man called him was, he beckoned a neck bow.

"Greetings to the shining sun of Haimirich Empire. Please forgive us if this caused you inconvenience." She slowly turned her head to the soldier as he apologized with a bow. Her heart sank as there was no doubt this soldier was from that person.

"Mhm. It's fine." The man waved nonchalantly and glanced at her. Seeing her pale complexion made him smile, pleased at what was unfolding before him.

"Thank you for your benevolence, Your Majesty. I will take her away right this instant and rest assured this will not happen again."

"Be my guest." The man, the emperor of Haimirich, Eustass Silvestri Abel Bloodworth, gestured his arm as he cocked his head to the side. His amicable demeanor gained the trust of the soldier as the latter carefully approach the runaway pet of the crown prince of Maganti.

"No..." the pet, Aries, shook her head in panic, trying to crawl away from there. "... I won't go back."

"Don't make this hard for us," said the soldier in irritation, bending over to grab her bicep to drag her away. They couldn't irk the man who found this lady, and the soldier knew the consequences if they did. But just as the soldier's hand could touch her, Abel spoke.

"Wait."

The soldier stopped and turned his head to him. His brows furrowed when he saw Abel crook a finger.

"Come here. She's the pet of the crown prince of Maganti, correct? I want you to send a message to him regarding this incident," Abel explained. The soldier who found this logical withdrew his hand and marched towards him.

When the soldier was within his reach, Abel brushed the soldier's shoulder with the back of his hand. "Tell the crown prince of Maganti that this lady..." Abel trailed off as he suddenly grabbed the soldier's neck.

Caught by surprise, the soldier held Abel's sleeve on instinct. He tried to struggle, but Abel's grip tightened as he lifted him from the ground.

The corner of Abel's lips curled up devilishly, staring at the soldier's eyes and watching how life slip away from it.

"Nevermind. I don't think you will be able to send the message, anyway." As his grip tightened, Abel gazed down at the terrified Aries and simpered. "Well, now, look at you... trembling in fear while realization kicks in... albeit a little too late."

SNAP!

Abel snapped the soldier's neck and abruptly let him go. The soldier's body instantly collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Aries jolted back, staring at the soldier, wide-eyed. She was a bit confused at the sudden turn of events, but all she could do was look up at the sovereign of the Haimirich Empire. Her eyes instantly landed on the sinister smirk on his lips. And in that instant, fear she never felt before swelled in her chest.

A devil. A cold-blooded man who never showed remorse in taking a man's life. The worst of the worst.

"Listen here," he dawdled, strutting towards her and squatting down. The tip of his finger pressed against her throat lightly, tracing it up to her chin.

"What's with that look?" His smirk stretched broader, cupping his jaw. His pair of maroon eyes glinted with malice. "You're not thinking of going back to the crown prince now, are you?"

Aries could only stare at him as he hooked his finger in the rope around her neck, pulling her closer. "Mine now," he whispered.

Before she could react, he already tilted his head and planted his lips on hers, marking the beginning of her life as the pet of this crazy emperor who had tons of loose screws in his head.

----

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello everyone! alienfrommars here :) Welcome, welcome!

If you are a reader of my previous works and ongoing ones, I would like to say, it's nice to see you here as well. Hugs~!

If this is my first work you will read, please check out my other novels as well! Also, welcome to the spaceship to Mars. Please tighten your seatbelt and relax before we take off.

Anyway, enough with the hugs and kisses and onto the important stuff. I would like to leave some reminders of what to expect from this novel.

First things first, if you don't violence, mature content, and strong languages such as profanities, this novel is not for you. The Tyrant's Pet contains a lot of those, as this is a dark-themed novel. It's a work I had been writing for months before I published it. I also had second thoughts about sharing this story because of the content. (the content in here made me write a light-hearted story that is still not published to clean my soul.)

Second, both leads are not pure. But what I can promise you is the female lead is definitely not a pushover or someone easy.

Third, the male lead is a tsun... and krazy. I had been wanting to write a character where the opinions would be split. I personally don't know what to feel about our male lead, Abel, because he is a complicated character. If you don't know what I am talking about, go read it and be the judge. You might hate him or love him.

Lastly, this is a fast-paced story. There will be a lot of schemes, smut, deaths, and topic you might find disturbing.

That's all for now. If you decided to proceed after reading this note, welcome aboard! I hope you enjoy this crazy story with me.

AUTHOR'S OTHER WORKS:

The Duke's Passion - completed

Villainess for the Devil - under revision (the first volume completed)

True Alpha's Chosen Mate - completed