Page 6 of The Soulbond and Her Beloved

Zaiper stiffened, turning to glare at Ottai. “I may mess around with slaves because I don’t see humans as living beings, but I do not hurt our females. I do not mount them without their consent, and I certainly do not keep going when it's obvious they are in pain, begging me to stop!”

“Lies!Lies from the pits of hell!” Ottai was so furious, he was on Zaiper in an instant. “Everyone in this fortressknowsyou are the worst of the worst. The king of depravity, the veryembodiment of evilwhen it comes to hurting women and younglings! You should be the last person to stand here and talk about morality!”

“How dare you, Grand Lord Ottai!” Zaiper’s voicedrippedwith outrage. “How dare you accuse me of such baseless filth without concrete evidence!?”

“And how dare you stand here and slander Daemonikai?!” Ottai roared. “Knowing fully well that he couldnever,everintentionally hurt Emeriel?!”

“He hides behind righteousness, but in truth, he is nothing more than a sick, twisted,insanemale!” Zaiper’s eyes flashed that of his beast, his pupils narrowing into yellow slits. “If there were an institution for the mad, he would be locked away in it for good!”

Vladya sawred.

Leaping to his feet, his fist flew before he even realized it. The punch landed squarely on Zaiper’s face, making a loud crunch sound as bone connected with bone.

At the same time, OttaishovedZaiper hard, sending the grand lord stumbling back.

The court went up in flames of uproar.

High Lords dove from their seats, scrambling toward the podium to break up the fight. Servants bolted for the exits, fleeing with the speed of light.

Zaiper roared and shifted. Bones cracking and elongating, his body transforming into his beast.

Vladya didn’t hesitate, and with a snarl of his own, he let his beast take over too.

They clashed and collided in a blur of claws, fists, and snarls.

The fight turned bloody, brutal, blood spraying across the floor.

Knowing he only had seconds before the High Lords pulled them apart, Vladya aimed strategically… going for vulnerable spots.

His claws raked across Zaiper’s shoulder, tearing into hard muscles. He didn’t aim to kill, but hedidaim to hurt... andhurt badly.

Zaiper wasn’t holding back either, clawing Vladya’s arm, tearing through flesh.

His fangs came dangerously close to Vladya's shoulder before Vladya shoved him off with a bone-jarring strike to his ribs.

The fight was vicious... but short-lived.

As always in the court, it was only a matter of time before a group of beasts intervened, and a sudden surge of bodies overwhelmed them.

Several High Lords in beast form swarmed the podium, their massive claws gripping Vladya and Zaiper, tearing them apart.

Vladya struggled for a moment, his beast roaring in defiance, but the sheer number holding him down forced him to revert back to his male form.

Panting heavily, Vladya spat out a mouthful of blood. His lip throbbed, and he could already feel the ache of a bruise forming along his jaw.

Fighting in court was no minor offense, and he hadn’t done this with Zaiper inages.

Back then, Daemonikai was always there to step in. To throw them apart and bark orders until they cooled off.

But not today.

Vladya’s gaze shifted to Zaiper, back in his male form, still being held down, snarling and snapping like a feral beast.

Looking at him brought satisfaction to Vladya’s bruised face. Zaiper lookedworse.

His eyes were swelling rapidly, the skin already darkening into bruises that mirrored the ones from three days ago. Only this time, there weremore.

Zaiper's lip was split and bleeding, his chest heaving with the effort to breathe through the pain.

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