Holly shifted her seat, but Felix sat beside her instead. He trapped Holly with both hands. Holly froze, if she moved even just an inch, their nose would touch each other.
"You lied to me," Felix said with a growl.
"What do you mean?" Holly turned her eyes the other way, too scared to see Felix's piercing eyes.
Felix's hand suddenly gripped Holly's jaw. It wasn't too rough, so it wouldn't hurt Holly, but strong enough to make her unable to move her head as she wanted. Felix tilted Holly's head and then sniffed at her neck again, this time closer than before.
Holly gave up and couldn't move anymore. She bit her lip to keep from shaking. This position was too close for her.
"I smell human on you," said Felix. His lips almost pressed against Holly's neck, making Holly shiver.
"I… I was…" Holly couldn't make any excuses under these circumstances.
Felix's brow furrowed. He didn't like this smell. The fact that there was a foreign smell on Holly's body pissed him off.
Felix let go of Holly's jaw, and then his hand grabbed Holly's hair and kissed it. The human smell grew stronger, destroying Holly's sweet scent that he liked.
Felix growled. Holly swore, out of the corner of her eyes, she could see his eyes turned darker. Holly was shaking, not from fear but because their closeness made her heart beat fast, and her body felt weak.
"Who did you meet?" Felix's voice was cold and firm.
Holly held her lips to speak. She couldn't tell Felix now. She had to make sure Arthur was safe. However, in a situation like this, tricking Felix was useless.
"I can't."
Felix tilted his head back. His heart hurt with Holly's refusal. She should tell him everything, and he should know anything about her. But she refused.
The wolf in him cried, "Bite her and make her yours!" But his sense told him not to do it.
Felix wanted to pin her down and bite her neck. But he restrained his desire. He didn't want to do it without her consent, and of course, Holly wouldn't let him do that.
"You met another human without my permission."
"Are there any other humans who dare to live here?"
Felix was silent. Indeed, there was no other human he knew here beside Holly. But with the current state of Dark Hill, a human could come here. Felix felt betrayed because Holly hid something from him when he voluntarily told her everything.
"Why do you hide that human? That wasn't Arthur. Who was that?"
Felix still demanded an answer, and Holly stayed silent. Holly didn't mean to hide it from Felix. Sooner or later, Felix would find out. It was just not the right time.
Holy did not dare to look at Felix in the eyes; she looked down at the carpet. Felix was bothered by that. He grabbed Holly's chin, forcing her to look up to see his eyes.
"Tell me, who was that human and why their smell is on you. What are you doing?"
Holly was wide-eyed. She shook her head quickly. "We did nothing. We were just talking."
Holly was afraid that Felix would think differently about her. They were just talking. The smell must have stuck because the old woman had held her hair. Holly didn't know Felix's nose could be this sharp.
"So it's true that you met other humans secretly."
"Not! Not like that! She just an old lady, she came to look for fruits, and she just likes my hair."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "An old lady? Is it make sense for an old human to climb over this hill? She had to walk for hours."
Holly held her breath because Felix's scent greeted her nose. Felix brought his face closer to Holly, his hand still holding her chin. He watched Holly's face turn even redder, looking for signs of a lie.
"I don't know. Look at those fruits. I got them from that lady."
Finally, Felix let Holly go. He looked at the fruit basket on the table. It seemed Holly had told the truth.
"Then why did you hide it from me?"
Holly looked down again. She squeezed her dress nervously. "I'm just afraid you'll hurt her. After all, you are a werewolf," she said quietly. She hoped Felix didn't catch her lie.
Felix sighed. He was very disappointed because Holly didn't believe in him yet. He was still a scary beast in front of her eyes, which hurt him the most.
"Fine. But for your safety, let me know if you meet a stranger. Whatever creature is that," Felix said.
"Adda!" Felix shouted loudly.
A few moments later, Adda came in panic. She looked at Holly, who was slumped on the chair but didn't dare to asked why.
"Clean her and get rid of that stench," Felix said as he walked away from her room, slamming the door really hard.
Inevitably, Holly spent the night soaking for hours in aromatherapy water.
***
The day had come. Tonight Holly had to meet that old lady.
Holly peeked through her bedroom balcony. Since being caught meeting another human, Felix has tightened his guard. Many guards were passing around the castle. Holly was lucky that Gilbert wasn't on guard tonight.
Holly waited for the guards to move away from her balcony. She carefully pulled out the rope made from the blankets she had tied.
She hooked the rope to the balcony railing. She looked down, quite high and scary, but the blanket managed to touch the bottom.
Holly took a deep breath and then turned to ensure the fruit basket was still on the table. If something happens, Felix could search for her by the smell of the fruit. But if she could come back safely, she would get rid of those fruits.
Holly began to climb onto the balcony railing and slowly came down, hanging on a rope. It wasn't as easy as Holly thought. She had to support her own weight and be careful not to fall.
After a few struggles, Holly managed to land safely. She crept towards the exit of the castle. She just found out if there was a castle side door that led to the forest.
Holly cursed herself for forgetting not to bring the torch. She was lucky because the full moon was very bright, and she could walk in the forest a little easier.
Holly's feet suddenly stopped when she saw a figure standing before her, leaning against a tree. She couldn't see who it was, only a silhouette that showed it was a man.
[Is that the old lady's errand boy? But I'm not halfway to the lake yet.] Holly wondered in her mind.
That man walked over her calmly. Holly still paused until she caught this smell.
The scent of fragrant spring flowers.
"Where are you going?"
It was Felix.