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You didn’t kill her though. She’s still alive.
I’d been cursed for more than five hundred years. The realm of Terraheim was self-governing now, awaiting my return if I was ever of sound mind again. I hadn’t ventured east in a long time. I knew that I was better off alone. The less that people were around me, the less they got hurt.
And that way, they couldn’t hurtmeeither.
I hadn’t dared allow myself to get close to a human, nor did I allow myself to shift into my dragon form because my curse didn’t only apply to my life as a man. I couldn’t afford to be careless. I had too much power at my disposal to lose control of it. I’d put too many lives at risk if I did.
Even now, I tried not to think about the painful events that had led to my curse.
I’d loved once. I vowed never to do it again.
Her face flashed before my eyes, and I gritted my teeth, a volley of emotion spearing right into my heart with the savagery of the tip of a blade.
Her name had been Elenwen, a beautiful elvish girl that had stolen my heart from the moment we’d met. I hadn’t been enough for her. She’d fallen prey to Helheim’s promises.
I wasn’t sure who the sorcerer was who was responsible for my curse, but Elenwen led them right to me when I was at my weakest, in the middle of the night when I was asleep in my human form. She’d betrayed me to him, and I’d woken up to find her standing over me, my curse already firmly in place. In my anger over her treachery, I’d shifted and taken flight, soaring over the city of Taverna as I tried to reign in my raging instincts, but to no avail.
Terrified, the men of the village gathered every sword, pitchfork, and knife at their disposal. Their challenge had pushed my fury over the edge, and I’d lost control. It had resulted in a confrontation that had ended with so much bloodshed that I’d shied away from human contact ever since for fear of making the same mistake.
I’d ripped through them with my claws and teeth, and when I was done with my assailants, I’d burned the rest of the village to the ground with my poisonous green flames. I’d come to amongst the devastation and made a vow to never again hurt the people of my realm, so I went west to the overgrown forests that surrounded the rift.
I’d carried the guilt with me ever since.
After that fateful day, I’d kept to myself, not trusting my feral nature around any human, elf, fae, or dwarf. The only other living creatures I’d seen this far into the forest were orcs, werewolves, hellhounds, and a range of terrible creatures sent through the rift by the Dark King himself.
The forests served as a natural barrier to keep out those that escaped through the rift, but over the years, that had started to fail, too. It was only very recently that the Dark King had started to escalate the number of forces he was sending through, and it was everything I could do to keep up with the threat.
None of that explained her.
I didn’t know where this beauty had come from, but there hadn’t been a single ounce of fear in her eyes, not like all of the others.
This one was somehow different. Had he sent her too? What was this?
I reached for her and brushed a single lock of dark hair off her forehead and behind her ear. My heart pulsed for her, like there was a magical tie between us and I didn’t understand it. I moved away at once, needing to gather myself before I decided on my next move.
She’d been lucky to survive me once. I wouldn’t put her at risk again. I’d have to reign in my control even tighter, so she didn’t end up dead.
Why wasn’t her mere presence sending me into a frenzy right now, though?
I should want to tear into her or rut her into oblivion, but none of that was pulsing through me. Instead, there was a sensation that felt distinctly foreign.
I wanted to protect her. Not only that, but I needed to know she was alright. A part of me knew I should walk away, that she’d be safer that way, but I was drawn to her in a way that demanded I listen.
Even if I thought it was a bad idea.
For a long while, I just watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful.
I couldn’t leave her here. She didn’t stand a chance against the beasts that roamed these wild lands.
She should be scared of you the most.
I gritted my teeth and turned my head. It was selfish of me to want to keep her, but the idea of leaving her felt far worse. I chanced moving a few feet towards her, testing if closing in on her would threaten the boundaries of my control. When it didn’t feel like my consciousness was fraying apart, I took another several steps towards her until I was within reaching distance.
She was absolutely breathtaking, like a glowing gemstone sparkling under the moonlight.
I couldn’t live with myself if another creature destroyed her.
While she was still asleep, I carefully lifted her off the ground and carried her off. I’d take her to my home, where she would be safe from the monsters that roamed these woods under the cover of night.
