Chosen Mate Of The Beastmen Empire

"Word is a big-shot investor's here today. Even our Cosmic Entertainment execs are kissing up-I dunno his deal," the girl whispered.

Messing up in front of a VIP was a nightmare. One sour word from him could tank their careers. Nyx knew she meant well and nodded thanks.

Seeing Nyx stay put, still flipping through her script with no sign of changing her sign-up, the girl opened her mouth, then shut it, dropping the subject.

'Maybe she's just here for kicks-not serious about auditioning. Probably wants attention, she thought. With looks like that, playing the crowd worked better for her. If she got lucky, the big shots might notice and toss her a role.

The group exchanged glances, mood shifting. The way they looked at Nyx lost some warmth. The chatty vibe cooled off.

Nyx sensed the misunderstanding but hesitated, not bothering to explain. She kept skimming her script to kill time. Soon, auditioners got split by role for the first round.

Too many people-each step cut folks out. Just intros weeded out half based on vibe and looks. The rest faced basic line and acting tests, with even steeper cuts.

Nyx had no training, all instinct. She figured she'd tank round two, just there for the ride, but somehow bluffed her way through.

The girl from earlier popped over, genuinely impressed. "Your acting's awesome!"

"Thanks," Nyx said, rubbing her nose awkwardly, unsure if it was praise or shade. The girl's earnest eyes confirmed it was real.

'Am I actually good at this? Maybe it's from playing dress-up with my kitty,' she thought.

After two rounds, the crowd thinned. Only four, including Nyx, were left for the shadow guard's final audition.

Stepping into the room, Nyx's stride hitched as she spotted the figure in the main seat. Wig, colored contacts, hat, mask-all the sneaky bits. But she knew Seafarion instantly. She'd know him even as ashes.

So it turned out he was the mystery big-shot investor. After a quick glance, Nyx looked away, acting like she didn't know him, and sat toward the back of the waiting area. A hot gaze trailed her like a shadow.

She casually looked around, zoned out, watched others perform, listened to the director—anything but meeting his eyes. Seafarion pressed his lips together, feeling a pang of disappointment.

When they called Nyx's name, she stood and walked to the center. His heart started racing again. Zachary, next to the main seat, noticed Seafarion's shift and gave Nyx an extra look.

That look lit him up. Perfect looks, young but poised-ideal for the fallen princess. Before she even started, he was 80% sold

his on casting her there. Picking up her resume,

froze.

gaze

"Nyx?" Zachary took a deep breath, softening his tone to not spook her. "You read the script?"

She nodded, and he got more puzzled. "You're auditioning for the shadow guard?"

"That role's got a lot of fight scenes," he said sternly. "I'm picky-it's not just wirework or dance moves."

Her resume claimed martial arts training, but he brushed it off, not buying it. Fudging resumes was standard-watching one online class could count as "trained." Nyx was probably that type.

"You could try another role-something more your fit. You've seen the script; you know which one. Coming from Zachary.. that was unheard-of favoritism-never happened before.

Everyone in the room gaped. Even the daydreamers snapped to, staring at Nyx. Used to the spotlight, Nyx still felt awkward.

"Let's just do the audition," a clear voice cut in, bailing her out.

The investor spoke. The masked bigwig opened his mouth for the first time, instantly stealing all eyes.

Nyx looked up at him too. In a sea of gazes, Seafarion only felt hers. He sat up straighter instinctively. But Nyx's glance breezed past, still not clocking him.

She drew a scene slip, memorized it in a minute, grabbed props, and nodded. "I'm ready"

Zachary saw her pick and his heart sank, eyelid twitching nervously. She had pulled the toughest fight scene.

"Go ahead. Be careful," he couldn't help saying.

Worried she'd wreck that pretty face-or that a slip-up would get him grief from the investor. She picked it herself! Not my fault!' he thought.

At the director's "start," Nyx's whole vibe shifted. Zachary barely blinked before she leaped high, light as a feather, drawing her sword midair. With a flick, she spun the sword, striking with fierce precision.

Strike after strike flowed seamless, weaving a silver net. The prop sword-thin, unsharpened-whistled through the air in her hands. No real opponent, but everyone could tell she'd "killed" several foes in seconds.

The room's tension spiked, gripped by her intensity. Then she froze, staggering down-

Gasps echoed from all sides. Some even jumped up to catch her.

Nyx clutched her "arrow-shot" chest with one hand, gripping her sword tight with the other, her gaze sharp and icy ahead. -Dead silence fell. Then it clicked-she wasn't hurt, just acting.

A pure fight scene, no lines, three minutes long, and it floored everyone. Zachary's jaw hung slightly open. He hadn't seen such smooth, gripping action in ages-especially from a young, gorgeous actress.noveldrama

Before he could catch his breath to comment, the novel's author-turned- screenwriter slammed the table and shot up. "Yes!"

"That's it! That's what I wanted!" He clapped like a seal, plopped back down, and hammered his keyboard, inspiration exploding as he mumbled incoherently. No one caught much, just that he wanted to beef up Nyx's role and give her more

scenes.

Zachary was rendered speechless. A crazed writer was a handful. Good thing the big money daddy wouldn't mind. He glanced at the top boss-Seafarion had his head down, half his face shadowed by his hat, looking not so excited.

After Nyx's killer performance, the other three contenders bailed. They knew they couldn't match that-they'd just embarrass themselves.

"Sorry!" the chatty girl clasped her hands, apologizing for missing Nyx's talent. Thinking back to her bold claim that Nyx couldn't beat her, her face burned, itching to hide.

"Where'd you learn that? Been training since you were a kid?" she asked, mimicking Nyx's wrist flick, awed by those perfect sword flowers.

Not just the swordwork-Nyx moved so light. Just jumping, nothing crazy, but it felt

like flying. For a seco believed Nyx could fly.

Facing the girl's starry-eyed grilling, Nyx's gaze drifted. "Yeah, trained for years."

e almost

12:33 Tue, 18 Mar w

Not from childhood, though-her partners taught her hands-on. She'd picked up real combat skills, plus some flashy moves in ancient times for fitness. Blended together, she knew how to nail a fight scene.

"Man, classic child prodigy," the girl sighed, not pressing for her teacher's name. Too late for her to catch up anyway.

She whipped out her phone to swap contacts, typing her name-Jenny Thomas- into Nyx's friend list. "Want to grab dinner later? My treat."

Nyx liked her vibe and didn't mind making a friend. Plans shifted, though. As she left, the production team held her back. asking her to stay late. The writer wanted her for inspiration on new scenes, and the director wanted her for another role.

They hadn't cast the fallen princess-none of the auditioners fit. Not that they weren't pretty-some were too old, others too intense. None matched Zachary's vision. After seeing Nyx, who fit head-to-toe, everyone else fell short "The princess doesn't have much screen time-one scene and done." Zachary pitched. "The shadow guard's masked anyway -you could do both."

"Yes, yes!" The writer piped up, eyes gleaming. "I'm merging them into one. You've gotta do it!"

Nyx was speechless. In the end, she couldn't dodge the princess gig. But the writer's tweak-faking death, masking up as a guard, plotting payback-made it interesting. She didn't mind giving it a go.

Seeing Nyx agree, Zachary breathed easy, one worry down. He sized up the young girl, more pleased by the minute. 'Seafarion's got taste,' he thought. Everyone else had cleared out, leaving just the core crew. Zachary squinted, fishing for gossip. "So, what's your deal with Seafarion?"

He and Seafarion were tight privately-otherwise, he'd never dare ask. Seafarion clenched his fists, ears perking, face red.

"No deal," Nyx said breezily, shrugging with a smile. "What's a tycoon got to do with a D-list actress?"

At her level, she shouldn't even cross paths with Seafarion. His empire spanned everything-entertainment was just a tiny slice. Industry folks topped out at Cosmic Entertainment execs, nowhere near his Tanis Group.

The untouchable Tanis Group chairman showing up here today spooked everyone-wild guesses flew, fearing project trouble or pulled funding. Only Zachary, sharp as a tack, sniffed out the truth. Nyx wouldn't admit it, but Seafarion's reaction didn't lie. After years of knowing him, Zachary had never seen Seafarion this rattled. He'd pegged him as some love-proof monk before. After Nyx left, he couldn't resist a smirk, "Your girl's interesting. Her acting was top-notch-stone-faced, like she didn't know her sugar daddy."

"She's not my girl," Seafarion said, voice low, no trace of a smile. "She's right- we've got no connection."

Start to finish, Nyx's eyes never lingered on him. Maybe she didn't recognize him- or did but didn't care. Just days ago,

she'd chatted with him, twirling in a cute skirt on video, saying she hoped he'd like

her.

Seafarion shut his eyes, chest tight. He couldn't blame Nyx-it was his own doing. He'd said they weren't a fit. Nyx was just sticking to their confidentiality deal.

She was so young, vibrant, free-she shouldn't tie herself to an older, crippled guy like him.

Even during her audition, when he thought she fell, his heart stopped, but his legs wouldn't move to catch breathing shook as he gripped his knee hard.

Cutting ties like this was fine-they shouldn't be together. But he couldn't let go.

Seafarion's

12:34 Tue, 18 Mar

Nyx had dinner with Jenny and crew, made some new pals, and stayed out late before strolling home,

Reaching the 15th floor, the elevator dinged open. Her eyes locked on a bouquet on the hallway cabinet. Satin ribbon wrapped vibrant petals-each bloom full and striking, impossible to miss.

Nyx stared a bit, then checked her phone. Sure enough, "Lancet" had messaged

her and sent her flowers to congratulate her on her audition win. Her lips curved. She bent to pick them up.

Nyx: [Thanks for the flowers, Lancet.]

Nyx: [Why not give them to me in person?]