[A/N: Fixed the Exorcism Level issue in the previous 2 chapters.]
[Chapter 215: Both Love and Fear]
He took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, then dialed Anne Hathaway's number. The call was answered almost immediately.
"Daniel! You finally remembered me?" Anne's voice held surprise, tinged with a hint of resentment. "I sent you a message when I got back yesterday, but you didn't reply!"
"I was a little busy. Are you free now? I'll come find you." Daniel was straightforward.
"Now? I'm home, just woke up... Wait, your voice sounds different...?" Anne keenly sensed the unusual, restrained energy in Daniel's tone.
"You'll know when we meet. Wait for me." Daniel hung up.
...
An hour later, at Anne's house.
"Daniel, you seem... different. Your muscles are more defined... God, what is that nice smell? So unique." Anne circled him, her large blue eyes filled with astonishment.
She reached out and poked his arm, curious. It felt hard yet springy, as if holding infinite power.
Daniel didn't explain, just smiled and lifted her up by the waist.
"Ah! What are you doing!" Anne exclaimed, her face instantly flushed crimson.
Seeming to understand something, her eyes glistened with moisture. "So eager... mmph..."
...
Daniel didn't answer with words; he answered with the sudden, overwhelming pressure of his body against hers. As he set her down, he didn't let her go, instead pinning her against the cool surface of the hallway wall. The contrast was immediate -- the chilled plaster against her spine and the radiating, furnace-like heat emanating from his chest.
The scent she had noticed earlier intensified, a heady mix of sandalwood and something primal, something masculine that seemed to vibrate in the air.
He leaned in, his breath hot against the shell of her ear. "Different is an understatement," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that she felt in her own pelvic floor.
He didn't wait for her to process the change. His hand, now larger and smoother, slid from her waist to the nape of her neck, tilting her head back to expose the pale line of her throat.
When he kissed her, it wasn't llike the previous times; it was an excavation. His tongue swept through her mouth with a possessive hunger, tasting of salt and heat, while his other hand migrated downward to grip her thigh, hoisting it upward to lock her hip against his.
Anne gasped into the kiss, her fingers digging into the new, hard ridges of his shoulders. The muscles there felt like carved granite, pulsing with a strength that felt barely contained.
As he shifted, she felt it -- the heavy, rigid length of him pressing against her thigh, straining against the fabric of his trousers. He was thicker than she remembered, a solid pillar of heat that made her core ache with a sudden, wet urgency.
"Daniel," she whimpered, her voice breaking. "What did you do?"
"I evolved," he whispered, his lips migrating to her collarbone, biting softly.
He reached down, his fingers hooking into the waistband of her skirt and tugging it down with an effortless flick of his wrist.
As the fabric pooled at her ankles, he stepped deeper between her legs, the friction of his denim rubbing against her soaking wet lace panties. Anne let out a strangled moan, her head hitting the wall as a wave of pleasure crashed through her.
He didn't give her time to recover. He reached inside her underwear, his fingers finding her center already slick and swollen. With one slow, deliberate motion, he slid two fingers deep inside her, the girth of them stretching her walls in a way that made her toes curl.
He moved with a rhythmic, punishing precision, his thumb circling her clitoris with a pressure that pushed her toward the edge of a cliff.
"You like the new me, Anne?" he groaned, his voice thick with lust.
"Yes... God, yes," she sobbed, her hips instinctively bucking against his hand.
He let out a low growl and suddenly hoisted her up again, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her toward the bedroom. He slammed her back onto the mattress, the frame groaning under their combined weight. He stripped away his clothes in one fluid motion, revealing a body that looked like it had been sculpted by the god -- dense, vascular, and humming with an unnatural energy.
When he pushed inside her, it was a revelation. He filled her completely, stretching her to her absolute limit, the sheer mass of him creating a sensation of fullness that bordered on pain before dissolving into an intense, searing pleasure.
He began to drive into her with a raw, primal power, each thrust echoing through the room, his muscles rippling across his back and glutes with every surge.
Anne felt herself shattering, the friction and the power of him overloading her senses. She clung to him, her nails drawing blood on his shoulders, as he drove her deeper and deeper into the mattress, claiming her with a strength that left her breathless and broken.
The sound of the headboard splintering against the drywall was the only warning she got before he shifted his grip, flipping her onto her stomach with a sudden, heavy thud. The air left her lungs in a sharp gasp, her breasts pressing flat against the sheets, but the loss of breath was eclipsed by the renewed pressure of him.
Daniel didn't slow down; he shifted his angle, hooking her hip to tilt her pelvis upward, driving into her with a renewed, rhythmic violence. The sensation was visceral -- the thick, sliding friction of his girth stretching the walls of her vagina to their absolute breaking point.
Every time he slammed home, the impact reverberated through her entire pelvic, a blunt force that felt as though he were trying to merge their skeletons.
He reached forward, his large hand gripping the back of her neck to hold her pinned, while the other found the curve of her waist, his fingers digging into her flesh to anchor her for the onslaught.
The sound of their bodies colliding became a wet, rhythmic slapping that echoed in the room, punctuated by the guttural, animalistic grunts tearing from his throat.
Anne was drowning in it. The feeling of being completely filled -- overwhelmed by his sheer mass -- sent waves of electric heat crashing through her. She could feel the pulsing throb of him inside her, the vascularity of his length rubbing against her most sensitive nerves with every plunging stroke.
She arched her back, her toes curling into the mattress, as the friction built into a searing, white-hot tension.
He felt the internal clench of her orgasm beginning to ripple around him, and it triggered something primal. His pace became frantic, a blur of raw power and desperation. He lunged deeper, his chest slamming against her back, the heat of his skin searing hers as he let out a low, vibrating roar.
With one final, devastating thrust that seemed to reach the very root of her, Daniel stiffened. He groaned, a sound of total surrender, as he flooded her with a hot, pulsing release that left them both shaking.
He collapsed atop her, his heavy frame pinning her into the bed, their labored breaths the only sound left in the wreckage of the room.
...
Over the next few hours, Anne Hathaway deeply experienced what it meant to see a man in a whole new light after just a few days apart -- not just changed, but completely transformed.
"Are... are you a monster?" she breathed out, her voice hoarse and barely audible.
Daniel smiled and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Rest well. I'll come see you next time."
Anne didn't have the strength left to roll her eyes; all she could manage was a faint, disgruntled hum through her nose.
...
In the days that followed, Daniel's "power tour" unfolded one by one.
At Megan's house, once known for her vibrancy and flexibility, now she melted into a puddle of exhaustion.
Scarlett Johansson uncharacteristically took time off, canceling a commercial shoot.
Her agent publicly blamed "sudden gastrointestinal discomfort," but privately, Scarlett's assistant saw her curled up on the sofa all day, hugging a blanket, eyes vacant. When she glanced at something specific, her cheeks flushed involuntarily, and her legs weakened.
Even Liv Tyler, shaken recently by the Ram Cult incident and under Daniel's focused "comfort," forgot the curse mark burned into her back after the intense encounter.
She slept soundly for over ten hours straight.
When she woke, she looked at the radiant Daniel with a look that was part infatuation, part awe -- a strange relief, as if she'd survived a disaster.
"Daniel... have you eaten something magical recently?" several women wondered aloud, at different times and places.
Daniel only smiled mysteriously, refusing to answer. He kept his achievements and power well hidden.
Only the Succubus, Chris, busy (and begrudgingly) repairing the training room and tidying the backyard, whispered to herself: "Hmph... wasting resources... squandering heavenly treasures... There are definitely more efficient ways to use them."
Of course, she dared only to mutter quietly.
...
One foggy morning in Beverly Hills, Anne stood on her terrace, staring at the distant mountains, subconsciously rubbing the back of her neck.
The faint red mark that had once appeared there had long since vanished, replaced by smooth, silky skin.
"He's becoming less and less human," she whispered.
Inside, she found Daniel sitting at the dining table drinking coffee. He sat still, but the air around him felt heavy with an oppressive energy.
Lately, Anne had begun to feel a little afraid of Daniel. No, more than afraid. She both loved and feared him. It wasn't just her; Scarlett, Amanda, Megan, even Miranda felt the same way.
They missed him when he wasn't around, felt a rush of excitement and anticipation at first meeting.
But after a while, a primal fear would settle in.
Daniel looked up and caught Anne's gaze.
Her body stiffened momentarily before she quickly forced on a warm smile and came closer.
"The production team has been pushing me hard. I have to go out to a location shoot near Los Angeles today," she said.
Squatting beside his leg, she looked up at him. "I might be gone for a week."
Daniel set down his coffee and ran his palm over the top of her head.
Anne shivered. Heat radiated from his palm like electricity, nearly knocking her off balance.
"Go," Daniel said flatly.
Anne obediently nodded, her eyes a confusing mix of adoration and fear.
---
More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The biggest buzz in Hollywood was the official launch of the large-scale sci-fi project, Transformers, a DreamWorks and Paramount joint production.
Director Michael Bay announced a worldwide open casting call.
That afternoon, Megan called excitedly, "Daniel, it's finally starting."
Daniel replied, "Come over tonight. You'll leave from here tomorrow morning."
"Okay," Megan answered without hesitation.
...
Early the next morning, worried Megan wouldn't wake up on time, Daniel reduced the number of rounds for the night.
Megan felt both grateful and a little disappointed.
"Daniel, what should I do? Should I just go to the audition like this?"
"If you go like this, you have a very high chance of failing," Daniel replied smoothly.
Although Megan had played the female lead in Transformers in another world, that was for different reasons.
Now that she was with Daniel, she had no direct connection to Michael Bay.
The chance of being chosen was low.
Hollywood might hold open castings, but anyone who thought they were completely fair was naive. The unspoken rules and backroom deals here were practically public knowledge. For industry giants like DreamWorks and Paramount, projects with budgets over $100 million were tightly controlled.
They wouldn't let Michael cast wildly; even his picks had to fit the character's profile.
Independent companies, on the other hand, were chaotic and rife with corruption beyond imagination.
Megan's expression shifted with worry. "Then what should I do?"
Daniel smiled. "Go get a glass of water."
"Okay."
Megan hurried to the kitchen and returned with a cup of water.
She noticed Daniel already holding a prayer seal.
By consecrated seal, let every burden of misfortune be lifted.
Let lingering malice be dispersed and every hindrance removed.
By sealed authority, let blessing and providence be restored to their rightful course.
Judgment affirmed. So ordained.
Boom!
The seal flared silently.
Daniel dropped the prayer seal into the water. Soon, the water transformed, shimmering with a grayish hue.
He handed the cup to Megan. "Drink."
"Huh?!" Megan blinked but took it anyway.
She gulped it down in one go.
"Is there anything else I need to do?" she asked.
Daniel waved his hand, and a set of clothes appeared on the bed.
Denim shorts, a tight T-shirt, and a pair of flat white sneakers.
"Change into these."
Without hesitation, Megan slipped into the outfit right before Daniel's eyes.
Her presence than ever before was captivating. No, because of Daniel, she was even more alluring than her original movie image.
Daniel smiled. "Alright, go."
"That's it?" Megan asked, surprised at how simple it was.
Despite the rush, she chose to trust him.
*****
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