"Predators in silk"

February 5th, 2026

At Shigeyoshi residence - 8:20 AM

Ray stood at the edge of the porch, arms crossed and jaw tight, the chill of the early morning air brushing against his skin.

His eyes were vacant, staring out into the distance, but his mind wasn't in the present. The image kept replaying in his head like a broken film reel: Risa. His mother. The throne. The metallic restraints. Her kiss.

He winced.

He couldn't forget it.

The sensation of her lips on his still lingered in his memory like a venomous aftertaste. Ray shuddered. T

hat dream, no, nightmare, had etched something inside him - a violation of comfort, a crossing of boundaries that should never be even dreamed.

Just....what the hell was that? What was the meaning of that dream? he thought, his fingers twitching at his side.

Then, without warning, a pair of delicate arms slid around his waist from behind. He froze.

"Uhmm..." Ray turned his head slowly and was met with a familiar sight: Sakura.

Eyes closed, her head resting on his back as if she belonged there. "I know something has made you feel... off," she murmured softly, pressing herself against him. Her hands moved gently, intentionally, tracing his chest and abs with a slowness that made his skin crawl. "Everything will be okay."

Ray cleared his throat, trying to step forward without jolting her. "Uhmm, can you please let me go?" he asked, a tone of discomfort in his voice.

Sakura chuckled, low and warm. She slowly pulled away, but not before letting her fingers slide down the ridges of his stomach one last time.

"Warm and hard," she whispered.

Ray blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing, stepson," she replied, her expression unreadable as she smiled. "Anyway, I'm going to visit your father. Wanna come?"

"I can't," Ray replied, trying to keep his composure. "My friend's still here."

"He should come too, if you want."

"I'll visit him... when I feel like it."

"Okay, dear," she said, her voice draping the word with unsettling affection.

She walked off the porch, but then stopped mid-step and turned back around, her hips swaying confidently with every move.

"Oh, if you want to visit me... or my daughters, you can come to our house." She handed him a card. The paper was thick and elegant, and the address printed in gold.

Ray took it with a furrowed brow. "For what?"

Sakura smiled. "To know me. To know your stepsisters." She turned around without waiting for a response and stepped into her black sports car.

Just before closing the door, she looked at him again - and smiled.

But this smile was different. It wasn't warmth or politeness. It was a look that chilled his bones.

Her gaze...something's off.

As if a gaze that said "I've caught you. You're mine now."

It was.....a predator's gaze.

She was looking at him as if he was her own prey.

He knew it because he is a predator too, in the battlefield.

The engine purred and the car sped off, leaving Ray alone on the porch again.

He looked down at the card. The address seemed to weigh a thousand pounds in his hand.

---

In a strip club in Shinjuku city - 10:05 PM

Nightfall blanketed Tokyo, a city of neon gods and hidden sins. Inside one of its most exclusive, discreet clubs - a lavish, dimly lit strip club tucked behind skyscrapers and guarded by silence and wealth - Reina Himura sat like a queen upon her throne.

Her throne, in this case, being a velvety booth in the corner, where only the elite dared linger.

A black tank clung to her athletic frame, exposing toned arms and collarbones sharp enough to cut glass. Her short jean shorts revealed long, muscled legs that crossed with careless grace, and heels that glimmered with the hint of danger.

The room pulsed with music, but Reina wasn't dancing. She was commanding.

Around her sat a group of equally powerful women - heiresses, CEOs, influencers - who listened as Reina casually swirled a cherry lollipop in her mouth, her lips wrapping around it with sultry precision.

"So," one of her friends leaned forward, curious. "You've been... quiet. That's rare."

Reina exhaled softly and leaned back. "I met a man."

Gasps and raised brows followed.

"What kind of man?"

"A foreign one," she said, her voice like velvet and smoke. "Alpha. Confident. With this silver-eyed, wild charm."

"Reina," one of them teased, "Are you... swooning?"

She smirked. "Swooning? No. Thirsting? Maybe."

The booth burst into soft laughter.

Reina popped the lollipop from her lips and twirled it between her fingers.

Then she suddenly screamed her thought."God, I just want him to break my back, you know."

Her friends stopped. The laughter faded.

There was something off about her tone. It wasn't playful or flirty. It was... feral.

"You okay, Rei?" one asked.

Reina ignored her. She raised a hand and waved over a man - one of her trusted allies, a bodyguard who did more than guard.

"You know someone who can stalk people, right?" she asked casually.

The man nodded. "I do."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, flipping it to show him a photo - a snapshot taken of Ray standing in front of her his light - silver eyes were sharp. She took it yesterday when Ray wasn't having a conversation with Sakura.

"Follow him," she said, licking the lollipop again. "Every day. Every night."

The man took the phone, puzzled. "Why?"

Reina's smile was wicked.

"I want to know everything about him. His likes. Dislikes. What time he sleeps. What he eats. What music he plays in the morning. Everything."

"If he has....someone." She said, her eyes darker and ominous.

"You planning something?"

Reina leaned in close, her lips grazing his ear.

"When I decide to make him mine," she whispered, "I want to know which parts of him beg to be touched first."

The man shivered.

Reina sat back, her smile sly and dripping with dark amusement.

This wasn't a crush.

It was a hunt.