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Then I remembered the large, terrified eyes looking up at me. The way she’d nearly gone into shock. Leaving her alone was still the best option. She didn’t need my presence complicating things further. One of her sisters might have more success at getting her to understand, then maybe I could take over from there.
I just had to wait things out.
I found the small shack I’d called home through my formative years and landed outside of the front stoop in a small clearing. There, I changed back into a human and made my way inside.
“It’ll be fine,” I said to myself as I walked into the kitchen to splash some water onto my face. I groaned. “Who am I kidding? It’s not going to be fine. She hates me.”
It had been all over her face. Not just fear, but loathing as well. She’d called me a demon! That was how she made sense of my shifting ability, jumping to the worst conclusions.
And she might have been right. A monster’s blood coursed through my veins. My father had been a terrible creature. He’d banished Dymitri and I when we were children, leaving us for dead. He’d preyed on the people who relied on him for their survival. Everything he did was for his own selfish gain, no matter the cost or who got hurt along the way.
As much as I wanted to be a better man—as much as my brother told me Icouldbe one—I wasn’t a fool. I was doomed to repeat my father’s mistakes.
There’s a reason the phrase “like father, like son” existed. Perhaps Dymitri lucked out and most of his nature came from our mother. I hadn’t, though. I’d seen parts of my father in my soul in the past. The fact I couldn’t control my dragon was another sign. I refused to be like him anymore.
If I couldn’t mate, then I couldn’t have my own children, and that meant I couldn’t keep the cycle of his insanity going.
Katerina deserved someone who was able to love her to the fullest and provide the best future possible. I wasn’t capable of either of those things. I wasn’t worthy to even try. Failing her would kill me more than her rejection.
No, I would spend the rest of my days alone, living in the memory of our one night. At least then one of us could have a chance at happiness.
Chapter 4.
KATERINA
Oh my God! Oh...my...God...
Did I just see what I thought I saw? One moment, Lucian was his tall, handsome, sexy self, staggering around the room naked like he had a stomachache. The next, his skin melted into scales and his long limbs became wings growing from his body.
He’d turned into some kind of dragon, right in front of my eyes! I’d said demon, but a dragon felt a lot more accurate somehow. But there was no way dragons could be real. They belonged in fairytales and movies, not real life!
I didn’t wait for anyone to come to me. I threw on my clothes from the night before and ran from that room with my shoes in hand. Not the morning walk I’d planned on taking, that was for sure.
I’d been hoping for a more subtle approach to leaving Lucian’s room. One that didn’t scream the “bridesmaid just fucked the best man!” cliche to the whole damn castle. Instead, I’d screamed my lungs out, and probably woke everyone up.
There was a definite lack of commotion in response, which to me seemed odd. A scream and a roar should have had everyone scrambling to help. At the very least, spark an investigative curiosity. I didn’t run into a single soul until I was halfway down the grand stairway.
“Kat!” Nadia ran to me and flung her arms around me tightly. “Are you okay? I thought I heard you scream but wasn’t sure you needed help.”
“Took you long enough,” I said, breathing heavily.
Nadia squeezed me harder. “I was on the other side of the castle eating breakfast. It’s kind of huge, if you hadn’t noticed. Are you okay?”
“I’m not hurt,” I said. Not physically, just my pride. Tears pooled in my eyes. “I’m not okay, though.”
