~Chapter 87 ~ The Morning After
Zagan watched Varna for hours admiring the way her hair flowed over her bare shoulder to land in the middle of her back. The violet ringlets were soft in his fingers and his heart constricted in his chest. His orange gaze hovered over her peaceful face, her color had returned and she seemed to be in a calm sleep. Holding her in his arms had been something he thought would never happen again, and now she was sleeping beside him where she belonged. His fingers caressed her arm and moved over her soft skin. She was not the same female that had opened the portal to bring him home. Yet, in the back of his mind, Zagan wondered where the power had come from. Having witnessed the transfer of power with his own eyes, he knew it would take a strong blood line to give her the kind of energy to call a portal to another realm. As his eyes roamed over her sleeping form, a shiver ran down his spine. His father was in the room that night, slumped against the marble wall as if he had been struck by something or someone.
Stirring from a deep sleep, Varna opened her eyes and noticed Zagan staring down at her. Immediately feeling self-conscious, she pulled the covers over her exposed body and felt the heat of a blush flow over her skin. Avoiding his eyes, she looked around the room noticing they were at the ruins by the ocean. The potent salt air stung her lungs when she took in a deep breath and let it out. She loved the ocean and all it had to offer. She turned her head towards the sunlight blossoming just beyond the stone window.
“How long have I been asleep?”
It was the wrong question to ask, maybe it was the memories of Zagan making love to her flickering through her mind, which made her feel even more exposed to him.
“I’ll get dressed and we can return home. I’m sure everyone is wondering where you are”.
She looked down at her hands, and then at the wrinkled sheets on the bed, and suddenly she didn’t know what to say.
Grabbing Varna by the arm, Zagan pulled her back into the bed before she escaped. “We have things to discuss, pet. You’re not going anywhere until we settled a few things”. He looked down at the sheets and froze when the brand on her inner thigh reminded him of all the things that were unsettled between them.
“The realm will flourish without us there to hold it up. What I want to know… “
He looked up at her with conflict in his eyes, both concern and anger glistened in his darkened gaze, but he had no intention of letting her avoid the conversation.
“Where did that brand come from and where is the silver chain I gave you when we were young? I told you never to remove it and it is not here”.
He stiffened his hand on her arm, holding her in the bed, after noticing the change in her eyes. Varna usually did as Zagan commanded, even if she didn’t like it, yet now things seemed different.
“Did my father do this to you?”
Raw and agitated, Zagan couldn’t avoid the emotion in his tone. Everything had happened so fast and now it was time to pick up the pieces.
When Zagan grabbed Varna’s arm to keep her in the bed, her spine stiffened and she turned to look at him.
“You know he did this to me and removed anything from my body that signified I belonged to you. I was branded as a reminder that he commands my body now. Even if you take me away from him, this thing will always be between us”. Lowering her head, she pulled the covers over her thigh, and swallowed slowly to bite back the raw emotions threatening to choke her. “I can’t make it go away, Zagan…”
His name sounded foreign on her tongue, but Varna refused to let it stop her from expressing what he needed to hear.
“Yet when I commanded the portal to open, you returned with a female and I am just supposed to forgive that?” Expecting him to hit her for challenging his return, she braced her body for the pain, and waited. She could feel the jealousy seep into her veins at the thought of the fiery red head being significant to her master.
“A lot has changed since you have been gone…..”
“I’m not such a fool to know things have no changed, pet. I just don’t know what I’m going to do about it”.
Zagan loosened his hold on her arm and allowed her the security of her own space. The jealousy didn’t go unnoticed which brought a grin to appear on his lips.
“The female’s name is Aezriana and she is just as much a prisoner in our realm as I was in hers. She came here to escape death and I will not send her to an early grave because her presence here makes you uncomfortable”.
Reaching out to touch Varna’s cheek, he turned her eyes to look at him.
“What happened last night was what we both wanted. Don’t make it less than what it was because you are worried about another female that might need my help.”
It was the closest to a confession of loyalty Zagan could get and the look in her eyes caused his heart to constrict and his protectiveness to surface. They had come too far to let his father or Aezriana to keep them from letting the reality of their relationship to falter again. He wouldn’t let her run from him not after finally finding their way back to each other. Lowering her eyes, Varna avoided the heat that began flowing over her skin again. She reached for his hand against her cheek and pressed it against her warm skin.
“Can you really forgive all that has happened? I was stolen away by your father and forced to be his slave while you were gone”
She looked at him with fear in her eyes knowing this wasn’t going to be easy to talk about.
“And I can’t even imagine what happened to you in that place you were exiled to. How are we going to move past this?”
It wasn’t such an unusual question considering it had been months since they had seen each other. Varna had nearly killed Zagan’s father the night she drank the blood sending her into a crazed blood rage and now she was sitting in bed with the Duke’s son pretending everything was fine. Zagan listened to what she had to say, the questions she asked were the same as his, but he wouldn’t let them dictate his feelings. He could hear the concern in her voice, and knew it was going to take time to prove to everyone he was ready to take back his realm once more. His thumb caressed the side of Varna’s cheek before he leaned forward to kiss her soft lips. The warmth of the caress turned to sudden heat; his free hand wrapped around her small frame and pulled her towards his chest. There was time for talking when they got home, but now all Zagan wanted was to take pleasure in her body and forget the collateral damage.
“Is this the way you plan on getting past our problems? By seducing it away until I can’t think of anything but what your hands on my body?”
Although Varna was teasing in her questions, there was truth hidden behind them. Zagan was known for avoiding his feelings, and it usually led to sadistic acts or erotic play. His hands were magnetic in their care, seducing all thoughts from her mind, and chasing away the memory of another on her body. She moaned against the kiss, taking all that he offered and gave it back in return. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she settled into his lap, and there was no mistaking the hard cock pressed against her silken core. She lowered her head over his lips again, pulling him against her body and her thighs stretched wide to accommodate his manhood. Her body knew his body, it called to her like a siren in the night, and she wanted to feel him deep within her womb.
“Is it working?”
His husky voice caressed her ear, his hands lowered over her back and when his hips lifted to take what she offered, a feral growl escaped from deep within his chest. Zagan knew she felt it as much as he did. Even with all the things they had been through, this moment in time, all that mattered was being together. He shifted her body and then lowered her over his hardened length, stretching her inner walls with his deformed tip until they were joined as one. When Varna thrust her head back, he leaned his head forward and rakes his teeth over her sensitive skin. She purred in his arms, moving her hips to accommodate their joining, slow and languid he took possession of her body claiming it as his own. She seemed different, not the same female he had known in his youth, but stronger in mind and body. He watched her through darkened eyes, the flames of his inner demon danced in his pupils, while he thrust up and deep against her swollen petals wrapped protectively around her core.
“Yes, it’s working… “
The moans that escaped her lips were of pure pleasure, not pain, and Varna never wanted it to end. His hands gripped her hips, while his showed her how to please him. Moving her in rocking motions, while she lifted her body up then down, she stroked his cock to perfection bringing him closer to the edge. She watched his eyes, feeling the power of his inner beast begin to surface, and she wanted to feel the magnificence of the power that hummed in his veins. Her nails raked over his back, digging deep to bring some pain which heightened the pleasure for both of them. His hands were more aggressive on her body, wrapping her in an erotic euphoria that caused her to lose control. Her whimpers became screams; the air grew thick with salt and power, mixed with the crashing of the waves that mimicked the rocking of their bodies.
“Zagan… please… “
He shifted their bodies, lying her down on the bed, while he thrust hard and deep against her core. Varna’s wrapped her legs around his hips, while he took their love making to another level. She raised her hips bearing down on his cock, and took him deeper into her womb. She was lost in the moment, their bodies joined as one, and meeting his thrust with urgency, until she felt a surge of pleasure course through her veins. The mattress was soft against her back, while his hips pounded against her core, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was drenched in sweat, his eyes blazing orange, and there was something more feral reflected in his facial expression. He was close; she could feel it, as her body fought to retain some control. But she lost that control, when his cock jerked inside her, spreading his demon seed into her body. Her release was not far behind his, and she gripped his arms with her nails dipping deep into his flesh. He growled into the room, howling like a wounded animal, and she had to bite back a slight giggle when they found their release together. His thrusts were harder, deeper and erratic, taking every last drop of her silken honey before he fell over her body. Her legs remained wrapped tight around his hips, holding him close to her body, while they trembled in each other’s arms. If this was how he dealt with his problems, she would prepare for long nights of sex and hope that would be enough. Her hands caressed his shoulders, rolling her hips against his cock as it remained deep inside her body.
“I wasn’t sure you would ever want me again after everything that has happened. I don’t expect things to be like they were before but…. “
Zagan froze in her arms, the words brought back things he wasn’t ready to deal with, and he lifted his head to look down at the only female he had ever truly believe belonged to him. Now as his cock remained buried inside her body, the cloud of pleasure began to dissipate and he saw her clearly. Her violet eyes were full of emotion and his heart constricted in fear. There were too many things that needed to be sorted out, his father, his mother and now his lover. How was he ever going to get it sorted with Varna looking at him like that?
“Give it time, pet. I need time to figure it out and we need time to get to know each other again”.
He lifted his weight off her body, and moved to lie beside her. All his instincts said give her a chance, but deep down he wasn’t sure he could. She had been his father’s slave while he was gone, months of implications that he didn’t even want to think about, were on the threshold of exploding in his mind. He loved her, there was no doubting that now, but could he forgive all that had happened while he was away? Only time would tell.
Varna felt like she had been kicked in the stomach, her heart was breaking all over again, and once more she was confused. Zagan had brought her to the ruins, a place he knew she loved, and now he was talking about taking things slow. It wasn’t fair, to be this exposed to him and not know if he would take her back. She didn’t want to face any existence without him, to know he could never forgive what she had no control over, and now while he was lying next to her, she had never felt more alone.
“I won’t be treated like I was before, Zagan. I won’t go back home and be the dirty little secret”.
She rolled away from him, feeling the cool air from the open window breathe into the room, and then he was holding her. It was the slightest touch, but enough to make the coldness not so bitter against her skin. She leaned into the warmth of his chest at her back, while his body spooned around her naked body. His cock was still thick after their love making, pushing its way into the intimacy of her core as if it belonged to him. She could feel the tears slowly bubbling in her eyes and she closed them quickly to avoid him knowing he had hurt her. She had nearly died to bring him home, risked the anger of the Duke and the destruction of their realm in search for her master.
“You are not my dirty little secret, Varna. I will not allow you to be shunned or treated less than what you are”.
Her words incensed him, brought a protective streak from deep within his being, and anger as well. She had said these words to him before and it angered him to hear them on her lips again. Zagan felt her tremble in his arms, felt he hot tears as the flowed from Varna’s eyes, to land on the arm wrapped around her. He pulled her tight against his chest, needing her warmth as much as her love, but still not sure how to express it. He would never understand why it meant so much to her, to need a confession, when his actions should have been enough. She smelled of sex and salt, the ocean air had branded their bodies, while the storm began to roll in. They needed to return to the realm, to pick up the pieces and try to make sense of it all. His father would need to be dealt with and there was Aezriana to take care of. The legions needed to be addressed and the possibility of war to map out. All these things would give him the distraction he needed, but the longer he held Varna in his arms, the more confused he became. He breathed in her scent, the sweet vanilla and ginger had never been so comforting, but his feelings were suffocating him.
“Sleep pet. We will return home tonight. I’m sure they have missed us while we have been away”.
There was no mistaking the heavy tone as it caressed Varna’s ear. She knew this was his way of running and she would have to let him go if there was ever going to be hope of getting him back. Her lips trembled while she fought to keep her feeling trapped in her throat. His scent engulfed her like a brand that would bleed to her heart forever, but would it be enough to get them through the next couple days, she wasn’t sure. She concentrated on the sounds of the waves crashing against the sand. She would hear the distant thunder echoing over the ocean, a beautiful sight to behold, but all she wanted to do was hide in her lover’s arms. He would withdraw from her once they returned home and she needed to be prepared. For now, she would take comfort in the warmth his body gave her and the intimacy they had in those few moments of sexual intercourse. She would remember his smile and the way he looked at her. He may not be able to say the words, but she felt it none the less. Slowly she gave into her exhaustion brought on by sex and her emotions. She was strong and she would get through it no matter what.
~Chapter 86~
Suffocating, that is what Aezriana had been doing since the moment Zagan had disappeared from the realm and left her alone to deal with the darkness surrounding her. Like a rock thrust into a pool of darkest night, she felt her power rage against the confines of her new prison. She had walked along the dreary halls of the realm, finding it difficult to think of anything other than escaping. The last experience she’d encountered in the dark was with the male held up in his room. She had made it a habit to pace outside his door, curious about his healing and for some reason desperate to see him again. The rumors whispering in the air was that the Duke had succumbed to madness and refused to leave his room. She brought her fingers to her lips and remembered the warmth or was that possessiveness that tempted her body into fiery temptation. Many nights she had fought with the images wrestling in her mind and was determined to avoid him at all cost. Yet, as the days trickled by, she always found her way back to his quarters. Her hand languidly hesitated on the door with a desperate plea silent on her lips.
Grima stood in the deep shadows outside Haures’s room and watched the female dare to knock on the door. The long flowing gown wrapped around the female’s curves sensually and a pang of jealousy pricked at her gut. Although she was the only servant to enter the Duke’s room, she took it with great pride that it was her blood that gave strength to his body. Many nights she had sat at his bed side, coaxing him to feed, when his stubborn nature refused to eat or drink. Now as she stood in the dark watching the female fight the desire to knock on his door, the jealousy gave her courage to step into the soft glow of the torches to make her presence known.
“What are you doing here? You have no business disturbing the Duke at this late hour”.
Her words were harsher than she expected, but Grima was determined to keep Haures and this female apart. She stood in the corridor hearing the gentle whispers on the air and a shiver raked down her spine. The female was beautiful in the soft glow of the light, her long auburn hair flowed perfectly over her pale skin, but there was fire flickering along the hem of her dress. The creature had kept her presence hidden since coming back with Zagan, but she refused to believe that the Duke would be interested in entertaining such a creature.
Haures heard words outside his door, muffled beyond the old oak, but he was intrigued. There had been times of late when he felt like he was being stalked from outside his door, but he had no energy to breech the entrance to find out whom or what came to watch over him. He stood by the fireplace, the warmth of the embers chased away the ghosts that haunted his mind, and he waited to see if his visitors would find someone else to torment. His demeanor had changed slightly since the last time a visitor had graced his room. He could still recall what she smelled like and many nights he had recalled the way she felt in his arms. He had been cruel in his life to those he loved, betrayed a deceased wife and isolated a son, but after days of being alone in his chambers, he had time to reflect on the wrongs in his life.
The way the elderly woman addressed Aezriana frightened and incensed her at the same time. It was no secret this female had command over most of the female demons while Zagan was away. She raised a brow and tried to control her tongue as best she could when she spoke. The audacity of some females around the realm was nothing like where she came from, and it took all her strength not to accost the female in the darkened corridor.
“I wanted to make sure he was alright and it is none of your concern why I am here”.
Her tone was brass, a little high pitched from her frustration, but it was her thundering heart beat that coursed the blood through her veins like a raging river.
“Are you his watch dog? Last I remember it was Zagan that rules here not you”.
She had probably pushed too hard, and in the back of her mind, she expected to be punished for being so bold. Not having an ally she could trust, it was no surprise this female would accuse her of disturbing the male inside instead of keeping him much needed company. The flare in the woman’s eyes caused Aezriana some alarm and her hands gripped the flaming material that continued to glow around her. Her nature had been out of control since entering this realm, and the longer she remained in the dark, the less control she had over her elemental powers.
“Watch dog?”
Grima’s tone was defensive, unlike most demons in this realm, having her actions questioned especially from an outsider didn’t sit well with her. Her eyes darkened matching the anger raging through her veins, but if she raised her voice too much, she was sure Haures would come barreling through the old oak door.
“I have lived in this realm longer than you have been alive. How dare you question why I am here?”
Stepping closer to the female currently defying her questions and refusing to leave, Grima stared into the emerald eyes of the only female in the realm that could take the Duke’s attention away from her. She was determined to make her claim even if deep down she knew she had no right.
“Leave this corridor and never come back. You have no right to be here.”
Snarling like a feral beast, Grima could feel the demon beyond her soft flesh scratch against her instinct to appear in the corridor.
Turning towards the door, Haures’s eyes lingered on the dead vines that protected the old oak door that led to the corridor. He had a feeling something was wrong and by the sound of the voices outside there was no better time than the present to check it out. His boots were heavy along the cobblestone floor when he stalked across the room. It was warm in his chambers making it natural for him to only be dressed in a pair of breeches and boots when he sent a command for the door to open.
“What is the meaning of this?”
It hadn’t taken long for him to recognize the two females standing outside the door. Grima looked like she was about to take the disagreement to another level and as Haures looked at Aezriana his crimson eyes flared at the flicker of flames along her dress.
“Grima leave us.. “
He wasn’t sure where the protective streak came from. He had no reason to want this female to stick around. Grima had been providing the care he needed to physically get back on his feet, but it was the other female that stirred his desire to feel alive again.
“I will not need your care tonight and I will make sure the female gets back to her chambers unharmed”.
Grima’s jaw practically dropped when Haures appeared in the entrance to his chamber. His bare chest, expansive and muscular, took her breath away, but she kept her composure. That was until he dismissed her as if she didn’t matter. She would have another opportunity to get the female for the disrespect the Duke had given, but for now she would leave the two of them alone. Her eyes moved from the Duke to the female, before she took a few steps away and disappeared down the corridor.
Aezriana was about to speak, when the male appeared and then her mouth went dry. When the elderly female was sent away, it felt like a chill had stolen what warmth she felt, and now she had one more enemy to worry about. She watched the female disappear into the darkness and felt a pang in her stomach.
“You didn’t have to do that. I could have handled it without your interference. Now she will find every reason within her power to make my life here miserable”.
Internally she was shaking, and her voice showed that slight trepidation, as her words flowed into the musky air. Her hands were clammy when she finally had the nerve to look the male in the eyes. He was a magnificent being, his eyes crimson, his raven hair which hung along his broad shoulders, and she could barely think with him staring at her like a piece of meat. She couldn’t control the flames on her dress as they inched up with every breath she took. She stepped away from him in fear the flames would burn him and because he intimidated her.
“I don’t need a protector. I need someone to help me get home”.
Once Grima was out of the way, escaping down the hall like a child that had been scolded, Haures took the female’s words into consideration, but didn’t agree with her assessment of his behavior.
“If she gives you trouble, she will deal with me”.
Adamant about this female being under his protection, he gave her his full attention noticing the way she avoided being close to him. The flames seemed to be out of control, and he wasn’t sure how to calm her nerves, but maybe a peace offering would help. He heard the concern in her voice, the way she tried to be strong, when underneath that beauty was a creature missing her home, but what could he really do to ease her sorrow.
“If you would like me to walk you to your room I can manage or if you’re not afraid I might devour you for dinner, my chambers are at your disposal. I promise no harm will come to you.”
He waited to see if the female would allow him to at least offer his company. He didn’t know how to address the subject of ‘home’ when his son was the one that brought her here in the first place. Patience wasn’t an virtue he had these days, but the thought of her being under duress worried him.
“I don’t want to go back to my chambers, but being in there with you isn’t a good idea either”.
She felt vulnerable, her emotions reflected in her inability to control her power, and inside she was screaming to get away. How can these two emotions exist together? Aezriana wasn’t sure, but the longer he watched her harder it was to refuse his open invitation. Before she had time to think it through, she was walking through the entrance to his chambers and hearing the slight chuckle echoing behind her. The flames gathered around her dress seemed to calm when she entered his living quarters. She refused to look at the male directly, and instead kept her eyes on the fireplace.
”I’m not the enemy here, female. It would do wisely for both of us if you would try to accept that”.
Haures followed behind her, watching the way her body moved with the soft material of her dress, and noticed the flames seemed to relinquish their hold once she was settled in his chambers. He moved over to the fire and watched the flames dance in the silence of the room. He lifted his head and turned to look at her with hooded eyes.
”How many nights have you come to my room? Grima would not have thrown such a challenge had you not been here before.”
It wasn’t something Aezriana had expected to asked, and when her eyes lifted to meet his curious gaze, she felt heat flow over her skin. She swallowed slowly before she answered his question.
”I haven’t slept well since I have been here. I know I was told to stay in my room, not to explore the halls, but I always find myself outside that door”.
She wasn’t about to explain she was drawn to him, not when everything inside her screamed to keep her emotions to herself, but she was new at this. She licked her tongue over her lips, wetting them in nervousness, and wasn’t sure what more he wanted to hear.
”If she is mad at me for being here, then I guess she has a right, but you invited me in, so .. what does that mean?”
She held his gaze, his body was wrapped in the glow of the fire flickering behind him, and yet she couldn’t take her eyes away from his face. Was that a slow grin she saw threatening to break beyond his stoic features? She wasn’t sure, but she would love to see such an emotion cross his lips for once.
“It means, I have a weakness for females who believe I need to be the one protected.”
It was unusual, but Haures could actually relate to her inability to sleep, having had his own nightmares to awaken him at night, but her confession was surprising. He extended his hand and beckoned her to come closer to the fire.
”Come here, female. I promised you I wouldn’t hurt you and I am a demon of my word”.
Suddenly take back by his words, she hesitated at his request, but found her feet moving forward. She wanted to believe she was safe in his chambers, but all she could remember was the way he greeted her the last time they were together.
”I am no one’s protector”.
She grinned at him and her words were a gentle whisper on the air. After finally getting the flames along the hem of her dress to extinguish, she attempted to relax her shoulders.
When the female stepped forward, there was part of Haures that knew he had made some head way. There had been nights when her vision had been the only thing keeping him among the land of the living, and half the time he wasn’t even sure she was real. Now as she stood next to him with the fire embers giving off small warmth, she was the most exquisite female he had seen. Her bright emerald eyes looked at him with want, something he noticed the last time they were together. He was sure that after that night, that one passionate kiss, that she would have avoided him like the plague.
“Perhaps we can protect each other, Aezriana.. “
Her name rolled off his tongue easily enough, but as his crimson eyes lowered over her body, his body regained the arousal that his dreams created. His voice was thick and low in tone, which made it quite clear he wanted another taste of the morsel standing timidly beside him.
“I don’t know what you have heard around the corridors of this place, but I am not the devil as everyone wants to believe. I have been lost in my anger, and maybe have done a few things I regret, but I’m not a complete monster. “
Why Haures needed her to believe that, he wasn’t sure, but as he watched the reaction flow over her features, he wanted to believe that maybe she could see him differently. “I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I would never hurt you.. “
“I’m the last person to place judgment..”
She liked the sound of her name on his lips, the way his tone deepened and his eyes watched her. She turned away from the heated look and concentrated on the glow of the fire place.
“I was sent to keep Zagan occupied. To keep him distracted so I think you and I are even in making wrong decisions. Can we call it a truce and let it go for now”.
She was feeling self-conscious and suddenly she wanted to hide.
“Maybe I should leave.. I mean I really shouldn’t have come here.. “
She turned to leave like a scared rabbit and her mouth turned dry when she noticed his bed was still turned down and the plate of food on the table had hardly been touched.
“I don’t belong here.. “
His hand was on her wrist before she had a chance to move to far, and she turned to look back at him with fear, confusion and surprise in her eyes. She didn’t know him, only what she knew through Zagan and the rumors whispering around the realm, and now she was trapped in his chambers with no escape. Sadly enough, she didn’t want to escape as much as she wanted to understand how these emotions could be suffocating her thinking and causing her to flee to a demon that could hurt her.
His hand moved faster than he expected, but when she said she wanted to go, Haures forgot all caution when panic began to sit in. He had been in his chambers for what felt like an eternity, a kind of darkness swept over his life, but now with this feisty red haired beauty in his room, brought something alive in him that couldn’t be explained.
“If I let you go, will you come back? I don’t want to face this room alone anymore.”
Confessions weren’t something he was good at, his secretes were his own, but now he felt like this one female could be the answer to finding his way again. “I want you to promise I will see you again.. “
Where was this coming from? Wasn’t he a monster, wasn’t he the reason Zagan was a mean demon, and yet there she stood before him and his pleading eyes glared at her. She wasn’t cut out for this, not when all she wanted was to go home, to see her family and be free of the darkness. He was darkness incarnate, the brooding devil of her nightmares, or so the rumors spoke and yet here he was pleading with her to come back. She looked down at the tight grip on her wrist, the pain slightly crept up her arm, until she lifted her eyes to truly see him for the demon he is.
“Everything inside me is screaming to never come back, to leave you here and yet .. “
A heavy sigh escaped her lips, that last time she saw Zagan he was in anger at the things his father had done, and now she was looking at a different side her friend’s agony.
“I’ll come back… “
He hadn’t expected to grip her wrist so tight, but frustration at his son’s name dripping from her soft lips brought out a mane streak that was hard to control. He had things to figure out, maybe things would never change, but the thought of never seeing Aezriana’s beautiful face was all he could think about and it made him slightly insane. He released the hold he had on her arm the moment the words of agreement escaped her lips. Maybe he was asking too much, maybe he had no right to want to spend time with this creature from another world, but she had made an impression and he wanted to know more about her.
“Then you may go.. “
His wrist let go of her arm matching his words that she was free to go. She swallowed slowly and then made her way across the floor without another word. Her heart hammered in her chest when the groan of the dead vines revealed the opening of the door and then she ran into the darkness. She had enough control over her body to dissolve into a soft mist and then made her way back to her room. She had no business wanting to spend time with Haures at all, now Grima would be all over her and her life would get more complicated. She needed Zagan to come home, to be there to help her adjust, but more importantly she wanted to go home.
Haures thought about what the female had said about his son. She had been sent to distract him, to keep him occupied, but occupied from what? And who had sent her? She was gone in a matter of moments, anxious to get away from him, but he could tell it was more of a fear of what might happen, than actual fear of what he was. His eyes lingered over the door as it closed and then he turned his attention back to the fire. So many questions lingered in the air, but right now, all that mattered was that she would come back and chase away the darkness that was slowly sucking the life out of him.
In a dark parking lot just after work, Tamika stumbled with finding her keys in her purse, before something grabbed her from behind. A tight grip, clawed and painful, thrust her head back against a leather clad chest to drag her away. There was no time to scream, not time to fight, because one minute she was in a parking lot the next she was in a meat locker. Her eyes shined with tears, her throat ached from the grip wrapped securely around her wind pipe. Smaller in frame compared to the monster holding her hard against his chest, she was dragged across a cement floor. The four inch heels that completed her dress suit slipped from her feet bringing her toes to a freezing cold. A growl followed by another door opening and closing took her deeper into the freezing cold. Whimpering in pain, she fought hard to stay away, the air way to her lungs was slowly being suffocated from her body. Her eyes opened and shut, as the lights flickered above her; bright and sensitive to her irises.
It dragged her further into a dark abyss, the scent of blood and spoiled meat permeated her nostrils. If she wasn’t mistaken the creature was limping as well, dragging his leg around like a stump, which made her body thrash in awkward movements. One she was at her destination, he lifted her body and before she had a chance to look around the room, her shoulders were pierced with sharp nails.. or where those hooks. The pain was excruciating and she screamed blood murder into the silence of the room. Echoing like a grand concert hall, her screams caused the creature to laugh hysterically, growling and snarling like a feral beast. Blood dripped down her back, cold and thick, while her body thrashed against its bindings.
The flesh at her back tore causing more horrific pain, her screams went from banshee like shrills to soft whimpers while her body slowly exasperated its last strength. Her body was slowly succumbing to the pain; the heavy hooks caused her body to twirl around in circles until claws reached up to rip off her clothes. Her dress jacket became a tattered mess on the floor, followed closely by her white blouse she had bought at the local mall. Her skirt, a deep hunter green was ripped from her hips, to land in the pile at her feet. The under garments seemed to excite the creature, and soon they were banished as well. A growl escaped the beast’s lips before his claws raked over her soft skin. She kicked her feet to no avail, she was in no shape to fight what was about to happen. A nightmare beyond her imagination was slowly devouring her sanity and she couldn’t do anything to stop it.
The claws were sharp against her flesh, cutting her nipples that had become hard against the chill in the room. What little light was in the room, gave very little to the imagination, as the creature’s scarred face looked like a mask of flesh sewn together by some kind of black stitching. Her gag reflex brought vile to suffocate her throat, causing her to cough and gag, but the room was spinning and her fear was paralyzing, making a plan of escape difficult to devise. Her arms were numb from the pain at her shoulders, something about silver hooks being ripped through her muscles that made it hard to lift them or fight back. As a piece of meat hanging from a ceiling there was very little hope Tamika would make it out of this hell alive.
Blood painted her skin like a canvas of modern art, splattered in just the right way, to insight the imagination. Then her time in the air was over and she was lowered to a table that was ice cold at her back. Moving her head from side to side, she tried to scream but her mouth was like cotton. Her blood shot eyes continued to reap tears of agony and fear, but she couldn’t move or ask why this was happening to her. The creature moved across the cement floor, pulling his deformed gate with a growl from his lips. Soon she heard something being pulled from across the room before her body was in cased in a thick plastic. Her legs were lifted and placed in a bag, the material was smooth against her skin, but she used what little strength she had to kick against it. A snarl echoed in the room, and a hand gripped her thigh nearly breaking through the skin. She stilled immediately as the bag as slowly pulled up her body. He lifted her hips and used the other hand to continue to engulf her frame in a sheer coffin. “No.. please.. no.. “
The words escaped her lips, whispers and pleading to be let free, but once the bag was up her torso to threaten her lips, she knew this was the end. It was warm in the bag, as if the plastic was a cocoon wrapped around her skin. Her were eyes blinking, stinging and tearful, until the plastic was over her head. Then a god awful sound burst through the room, a machine of some sort growled into the air. It sucked what little air she had between her lips and the plastic until it was glued to her body and the last promise of life slipped beyond her reach. Gagging and suffocating, her lungs burned with every intake of breath until she couldn’t hold on to life as she knew it. Her last gasp came at the edge of a knife splitting through her gut with a cleaver slicing through her small frame like butter. It was supposed to be a normal day, a day like any other, but no more. Lying in death, with no hope of being found, the creature took pleasure in the slaughter.
(Source: crimsontears1171)
Horrified beyond imagination, wrapped in the warmth of her arms, Greta remained paralyzed on the altar of sacrifice. It was the only thing she could think after being snatched from the psych ward of the local metal institution. Like a thief in the night she was plucked from her bed, her bindings ripped from the frame, and thrust into the air by a gigantic creature. Her screams remained on deaf ears when the glass of her window shattered to thousands of shards on the white tile floor of her room. The beast, dinosaur in size, carried her thrashing body across the sky before dropping her on a slate high above the earth. Cradled in terror, like a baby huddled in its mother’s womb, she waited for the creature to come back for her.
Barely believing this was how it was to end, Greta thought back on her life, like any human about to meet their maker. Her life had been filled with disappointment, mental illness and despair leading her to a five year battle against doctors who swore she was insane. Insanity or not, the wood at her back and the feathers softly flowing around here had nothing to do with a mental break down. Of all her ears of fighting the demons in her head, never had she found herself in such a predicament of insanity. They had taken everything away from her, her hair, her beauty and now this? What monster could find satisfaction in killer her in such away?
Raising her head slowly, Greta looked around her body with one eye barely breaking the comfort of her warm skin. It was nearly sunrise, the monster had not come back, but as she peered over the side of the wood floor, she realized it was worse that she had thought. Was this her imagination playing tricks on her like the doctors said or was this delusion a dream conjured by a damned soul? Her eyes grew wide, but she huddled down close pulling her legs tight against her chest with a whimper in the air.
In the distance the harsh flutter of wings flickered in the air, the kind of noise that could wake the dead, but Greta refused to give her delusion the satisfaction of fear. She waited, waited for the monster to grab her or worse kill her instantly with no recourse, but as the moments turned into minutes, minutes to hours, it felt like a century had gone by. In the back of her mind, she begged for forgiveness for whatever fiendish crimes she had committed to bring her to this place. The wind whirled around her as the creature hovered around her naked and exposed body.
~Kill me .. kill me you bastard.. Do it!~
Over and over again she called to the beast in her mind, never opening her mouth to give claim to the insanity that must be taking hold of her completely. She waited, and waited more, until a sharp prick of pain laced up her arm. The pain drew her back to reality, the beast slowly disappeared, her body floated from her wooden prison back to the white padded walls of her cell. Suddenly her arms and legs were back in their leather bindings and nurse was standing at her side with a syringe in her hands.
“Sleep Greta… You were having a nightmare”.
As if the delusion wasn’t painful enough, Greta watched the duty nurse exit her room as if nothing had happened that night. The drugs had silenced her ability to speak, or maybe that was the delusion taking hold of her mind. In the stillness of her room, tear fell gently from her eyes, as they stared up at the ceiling. She would never escape this place, never feel the air on her skin, or the warmth of the sun on her face. Nightmares were all she had, the reoccurring dreams of a mind lost and woman destined to die alone.
(Source: crimsontears1171)
“Trust Me”
These are the words expressed between a man and a woman
“Touch Me”
These are words that go deeper than the flesh,
Beyond the conscious mind
To the very soul of a woman’s being
To be bound in ropes with a man who is asking you to trust him is a very scary thing. There is nothing romantic about it.
Nothing gentle, nothing heart felt,
It simply is what it is
Trust
“Trust me. Touch Me”
Intimacy on this level is more about trust
Vulnerability expressed between a woman and a man
The woman trust’s him not to hurt her
The man promises the touch will bring her to arousal in ways she never dreamed
With a commanding voice
A firm hand
And yes… he is asking her to trust that he can reach beyond her body to the very heart of her soul.
To bring her to ecstasy
A fragile teeter totter that at any moment can be shattered to oblivion
The tighter the ropes,
The more trust she gives
The firmer the hand, the harsher the voice
In its polar opposite of everything a woman is taught
It is shaped in the relationship between this man and this woman
Do you get it? Would you trust it? Can you feel it?
“Trust Me… “
“Touch Me…”
“I am yours”
(Source: crimsontears1171)
The silver stung as it rested against the creature’s throat. Fangs sharp and bloody, the creature fought against the master’s hold on his body by thrashing against the chains that bound its limbs to the wall. It could still taste the flesh of the human it had devoured before the master found him in the woods. Prowling the moonlit night was like a magnetic draw to the creature’s nature. Part wolf and part man, the beast cried out against strangle hold of control and howled for release. The wind whirled outside like a cyclone of putrid evil. The depths in which the creature was in slaved went beyond flesh and blood. A pestilence among its kind, the master had appeared to his pack and demanded retribution for crimes their predatory nature caused among the living. Now in the bowels of a dungeon filled with the scent of earth, fire and blood, the creature begged for its release to return to the pack. But the master had other plans for this creature and the power the beast possessed. Soon the master would create more of these creatures and sweep the humans from the face of the earth.
The chain shifted causing the flesh to sizzle and tear. The blood flowed and the pain coursed beyond the surface. A feral growl permeated the air when the master approached, but there was no escape. The master appeared in the cell, draped in black velvet and a hood flowing over its head. The stench of death followed behind suffocating the creature’s nostrils while vile appeared in his throat. Thrashing savagely against the chain, the flesh continued to tear and burn against the silver bindings, but the creature wouldn’t give up his fight. Eyes of a wolf were in great contrast to the soft flesh of a male’s face. Where the animal began and the human ended was not clear as the master approached cautiously.
“Stand down or die!”
It was a small threat considering the creature’s blood was needed to transform the master’s demonic army into a stronger force. The transformation would be brutal, but for those that survived, it would bring great satisfaction to the annihilation of the human realm.
Growling and ravenous, the creature didn’t understand the master’s words and continued to thrash against the chain. The pain fed its need to escape, knowing the pack would be under attack, and freedom was the only way to save those left behind. The creature’s legs, thick and strong, wrapped in tattered jeans shifted against the wall to give a solid footing. Pushing hits heels against the wall, the creature used its upper body to pull the chains from the walls even as the pain sliced through his limbs like a chainsaw through soft flesh. The burning continued, but it did not deter the creature for its goal. It would rather die fighting then to submit to the gangly master’s draped in a shroud of darkness. There were no words to express the ravenous hunger and cravings that hummed below the surface. If the creature got free, the master would be ripped to shreds and the threat against its kind would be over. The master was too arrogant to realize the pet was about to escape, but sometimes patience could be a virtue. Maybe not this very moment, but death was sweeter to those that had no clue it was coming.
Calling upon the power of the devil itself, the master called for a whip which instantly appeared in its clawed hand. The scent of leather permeated the darkness of the room before the creature felt the crack of the barb tear the flesh across its chest. The pain cut through his flesh like a knife to butter and blood burst from his body. Howling and thrashing, the creature refused to give into the pain. Again the whip stung like a thousand shards of piercing glass, but it would not give into the insanity of the moment. In his mind, the creature saw its mate and cubs. Surely this torture could be overcome if that meant its family would be saved. Blood pooled from the creature’s body, while the master attempted to break its spirit. The power gripped the room in a suffocating stillness, but still the creature pushed his heels against the wall and caused the chains to buckle. The master grew angry, while the creature continued to thrash against the silver chains, and his frustration built to a crescendo of evil. Calling upon the darkest of magic, the master continued to torture the beast to the point of agonizing pain. The howls echoed against the four walls of the cell, piercing the air like a banshee in the wind, yet the master continued to whip the creature over and over again.
The blood pooled from the creature’s lips, its fangs dripped with saliva and the crimson blood of the human it killed as well as its own. The buckles attached to the walls began to give and soon the beast would be free. The muscles just beyond the surface dripped with creature’s life essence, but there was no giving up. The master was lost in the frenzy of torture, ignoring the stones as they began to crumble at the creature’s feet. The solid flooring was the creature’s only anchor before the beast was free of first the left chain and then the right. The silver burning against its wrists and throat slowly numbed when the creature’s feral predatory gaze found the master standing across the room. Gripping the chain around its neck with the strength of hundred wolves within its veins, the creature threw the last remaining symbol of his entrapment to the ground before lunging at the master.
The whip dropped to the floor and the master was on the ground. The creature thrust his fangs into the master’s throat ignoring the sharp talons that permeated his flesh. The master’s growled like a monster, thrashing about on the floor, and tearing at the creature’s flesh. The blood flowed freely on the stone floor while the creature drank greedily from the master’s throat. Which creature would win this gruesome battle, it was hard to say, but both fought feverishly to kill the other. The taste of metallic nectar coursed across the creature’s tongue as the power of the master was devoured into his body. The grasping curses from the master’s voice barely penetrated the creature’s ears before the last of the dying breath escaped the master’s lungs.
Relinquishing the hold the creature had on the master’s body, it howled in victory while the storm continued to whirl outside. With the master dead, the doors to its cell opened and the creature was free to go. It took no time for the creature to escape out the door and down the corridor. The walls began to weep with the loss of the master and then a bright light appeared. The creature escaped through the portal with the brilliant light and soon the creature was back in the forest where its family lived. Not sure what luck had graced its life at that point, but the feral creature wasn’t going to question fate. Running off to find the family it nearly lost, tripping and stammering until finally another appeared. The warmth of tears caressed its cheeks and when the creature opened its eyes heaven reflected back. Reaching beyond the pain and anguish to the female creature staring down at it, if the creature could smile there was no mistaking the emotions in its face. This was what it had fought for and now its family was safe in the woods free from the tyranny of the master’s hold.
(Source: crimsontears1171)