"Mine," he whispers, "You're finally mine."
And then I slip into the deep dark black where there's nothing else at all.
5
Creature
I've finally found her.
My precious dawn. My life. The one I will never let go.
I've been searching for a whole year. Flying through every borough, every street, following phantom traces of her soul that would slip away the moment I got close. Each night I'd tell myself, “She's out there, you'll find her.” And then nothing. Nothing but empty air where she should have been.
Now, here she is, in my arms. And I can’t feel anything other than rage because she almost died!
I look over at the broken body of the worthless piece of trash that tried to take her from me, that almost succeeded, and snarl. If I had been just one second later, I would have lost her and destroyed myself immediately after.
I trace my claws so carefully, so gently, over her soft skin, take a deep breath, and try to leash the fury within me threatening to break free.
She's here now. She didn't die. I found her. Finally, she's mine.
Cradling her close, I lean down to pick up her belongings, a purse and some small necklace. The lingering magical traces of a cloaking and protection spell flick against my senses, and my body begins to tremble.
This thing hid her from me.
My precious dawn.
My woman.
My mate.
At the thought of that word, the mate bond flares inside me, overwhelming even my indignation. It doesn't disappear—it transforms, becomes something hungrier, more desperate.
Need.
It burns through my veins, reshaping me from within. My wings twitch with the urge to envelop her, shield her from everything that isn't me. My claws itch to erase any trace that she was ever anywhere but at my side.
The mate bond demands me to complete the process I started when I bit her to save her life. To steal her, keep her, take her now.
The scent of her—cinnamon, pumpkin, spicy and sweet, with just a hint of vanilla and jasmine—mingles with the metallic tang of blood, and the combination makes every cell in my body sing.
I want her.
I want to stroke her perfect, beautiful body. Taste her pink lips. See if they're just as soft and delicious as I imagine. I want to see her beautiful green eyes widen when I enter her. Feel her breath against my skin as she pants and cries my name.
She was already a temptation. Something I longed to touch but also feared that if I did, I'd taint her with my hands. But now with the bond ignited? She's sin itself. And I'd be happy to hand myself over to her, give her my soul, if she so much as deemed it worthy.
That is the only thing holding me back. That I do not deserve her. And even if I were to spend the rest of my life trying to, I never would. So, I will not take her, not like this.
Her chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. So innocent, so peaceful, completely unaware of the monster holding her or the devious thoughts invading my mind. And I will keep her that way.
I would tear apart mountains to keep her safe. Drain oceans to see her smile. Bring her the moon if she wished it. There is nothing I wouldn't do, nothing I wouldn't become—anything she needs of me.
I've waited centuries for her, millennia, and I will continue to.
But I will not give up. I will not surrender. I will do whatever I must to win her heart.
That is how much she means to me.
