Chapter 4

His chest heaved violently, guttural gasps escaping his throat.

The comments immediately streamed across the screen:

【What the hell? This guy is so disgusting and scary, covered in tattoos like a freak!】

【Seraphina Shaw isn't going to fall for this monster, is she? Liam might have betrayed her, but at least he's a cold, handsome guy!】

I ignored the taunting comments, slowly crouching down on the other side of the wire mesh.

"Take me with you." His voice was hoarse. "My name is Ryder Blackwood. Take me with you, and my life is yours."

I raised an eyebrow, looking at those wild, untamed eyes brimming with fervent devotion.

"Willing to be my dog?"

He nodded frantically, his pupils burning, his breath trembling.

I stood up, looking at the stunned owner, and said calmly:

"Deal. He's the one."

After Ryder was brought back to the Shaw estate, he exhibited a terrifying vitality and absolute obedience.

I gave him the best medical resources.

On the day of his bone-setting surgery, the doctors had prepared general anesthesia, but he gripped the edge of the operating table, stubbornly refusing any anesthetic injections.

"Why aren't you using it?" I asked coldly through the intercom from outside the sterile room.

He was drenched in cold sweat, the veins on his neck bulging from the intense pain, but his dark eyes stubbornly gazed at me through the glass:

"With the medicine, my mind would be dull. I can't... I can't lose consciousness in front of Seraphina."

He was afraid I'd abandon him while he was unconscious.

I said nothing, just quietly watched him endure three grueling hours of bone-setting and suturing.

Throughout, he bit through his lip, but didn't utter a single cry of pain, his gaze never leaving me for a second.

Less than a week after his injuries healed, I threw him into the Shaw family's bodyguard training camp.

Liam had grown up in the Shaw family, trained systematically, and it took him three full years to pass the ultimate bodyguard leader assessment.

Ryder, however, took only half a month.

He was like a tireless, pain-immune killing machine, madly absorbing every skill for killing and self-preservation.

Combat, firearms, counter-surveillance, extreme off-roading… He grappled in mud and blood.

Every time he fell, just hearing my name would inject him with a fervent adrenaline, making him shakily stand up again and pin his opponent fiercely to the ground.

The comments section was full of mockery and disdain:

【This isn't a person at all, it's a soulless monster, isn't it?】

【He's covered in disgusting tattoos and scars. How can he compare to our aloof and noble Liam? Seraphina Shaw is truly blind.】

【A wild dog is just a wild dog, never fit for polite society. Just wait until Liam recovers; he'll teach him a lesson!】

【Watch out, this mad dog will eventually turn on its master. Seraphina Shaw is playing with fire.】

I looked at these idiotic comments and took a sip of the black coffee on my desk.

Aloof and noble? In an arena of death, nobility is the most useless thing.

What I needed was an absolutely sharp, unwavering blade, not a bleeding-heart do-gooder.

A month later, at New York's annual elite charity gala.

I turned down invitations from other escorts and made a high-profile appearance with a transformed Ryder Blackwood.

As soon as we entered the ballroom, the previously bustling venue fell silent for a moment.

"Is that the Shaw family's new bodyguard? His presence is terrifying…"

"I heard that the previous one, Liam, was crippled and kicked out. I thought Seraphina would be heartbroken for a while, but I didn't expect her to replace him so quickly."

"This new guy looks much more ruthless than Liam. Truly Seraphina Shaw's style…"

I picked up a glass of champagne, effortlessly handling the guests who came to make polite conversation.

Just then, my peripheral vision caught a commotion in the corner of the hall.

I turned my head and met a pair of shocked and humiliated eyes.