Chapter 7 CHAPTER 7
Dmitri's POV
The corridor stretched ahead of me, torches guttering in their sconces as I passed. Each flame seemed to shrink back, as if even fire knew better than to burn too bright in my presence.
Her. Need to see her. Now.
My Lycan's voice was not words, never words. Just raw demand scraping against the inside of my skull like claws on stone. A constant pressure building behind my eyes, threatening to crack my control wide open.
Closer. She is closer.
My hands flexed at my sides. Claws pressed against the tips of my fingers, threatening to break through skin. I could feel them, sharp points pushing, testing the thin barrier of flesh that separated man from monster.
Not now. Not here.
I forced them back, jaw clenched so tight something popped in my temple. The pain was a bright spark, grounding me for half a breath before the pressure returned.
A servant rounded the corner ahead, arms full of linens. Young. Maybe twenty. Her humming cut off the second she saw me.
Her eyes went wide, whites showing all around like a spooked horse.
The stack dropped from her hands, white fabric pooling at her feet like snow. She did not even try to pick it up. Just turned and ran, her footsteps echoing off the stone walls in frantic rhythm.
Smart.
Everyone should run.
Two guards stood at the next intersection, stationed at their posts. They took one look at my face and pressed themselves flat against the wall, heads bowed so low their chins touched their chests. Neither one breathed. Neither one moved.
Statues would have been more lifelike.
I did not acknowledge them. Did not slow. Did not need to.
They knew what I was. What I could do.
Good.
My boots struck stone in measured beats. Each step echoed, too loud in the oppressive silence that followed me like a shadow.
Why are we walking? RUN.
The beast surged again, pushing against my control. Heat flooded my veins, thick and molten. My vision blurred at the edges, red creeping in like blood seeping through gauze.
The walls seemed to pulse. The air turned thick, pressing down on my lungs.
No.
I dug my nails into my palms. Pain. Sharp. Immediate.
Blood welled up between my fingers, warm and slick.
The red receded. Barely.
Control. I have control.
But it was a lie, was it not? I could feel it slipping, that thin thread I had been clinging to for two days fraying with every step closer to her.
My Lycan was getting stronger. More insistent. Every step toward the healing wing made it worse, like getting closer to her was feeding something I could not name. Something primal and possessive and completely foreign.
Mine. Ours. OURS.
The word hammered through my skull like a war drum.
"Shut up," I growled, the words tearing out of me before I could stop them.
A guard at the end of the hall flinched, his spear clattering against stone.
I kept walking.
Another maid ahead, carrying a tray of glass vials and medical supplies. She was older, more experienced. Should have known better than to use this corridor at this hour.
She glanced up from her task, distracted.
Then she saw me.
The tray clattered to the floor. Glass shattered, the sound sharp and final. Clear liquid spread across the stone in branching rivers. She did not even look down. Just bolted down a side passage without a sound, her skirts bunched in white knuckled fists.
Good. Everyone should run.
Because if they did not, if anyone got in my way right now.
My hands curled into fists. Blood dripped from my palms, leaving a trail of dark spots on the stone behind me.
Focus. Just get there. Do not lose control.
But the beast was relentless. It pushed and clawed and demanded, a living thing inside my chest that wanted out. Wanted her.
The healing wing doors appeared ahead, plain wood reinforced with iron bands. Unremarkable. The kind of door you would pass a hundred times without noticing.
I stopped in front of them.
My hand hovered over the handle, trembling slightly.
What am I doing?
The question echoed in the sudden stillness. My Lycan had gone quiet, not calm, but waiting. Watching.
She was awake. Alive. Meira had told me as much. That is all I needed to know. There was no reason to go in there. No reason to see her.
Liar.
LIAR.
My Lycan slammed against my skull like a battering ram. The pressure spiked, white hot and blinding. My teeth bared in a silent snarl. My vision went red at the edges, bleeding inward.
See her. Touch her. Make sure she is real. Make sure she is.
I shoved the door open.
The wood hit the wall with a crack that echoed through the chamber like breaking bone. Dust rained down from the ceiling. The hinges groaned in protest.
Meira jumped, nearly dropping the vial in her hands. Glass clinked against glass as she fumbled to keep hold. She spun toward me, eyes wide, then immediately dropped into a bow so deep her forehead almost touched her knees.
"My Lord."
"Out."
The word came out flat. Cold. Final.
She straightened slowly, her weathered face carefully blank. But I saw the flicker of concern in her gray eyes. The way her gaze flicked toward the bed in the corner, then back to me.
Calculating. Worried.
"My Lord, she is asleep. I should stay to monitor her condition. Her injuries are still….”
"Out."
The word cracked like a whip.
Meira's mouth snapped shut. She set the vial down carefully on the side table, hands trembling so badly the glass rattled. Then she moved toward the door, her steps measured and deliberate. Not running. But close.
She paused beside me. Too close. Close enough that I could smell the herbs on her clothes, chamomile and something sharper.
"Please, my Lord." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "She is fragile. Be… “
I turned my head. Slow. Deliberate.
Met her eyes.
Whatever she saw there, whatever expression had settled over my face, made all the color drain from her skin. Her breath caught. Her pupils dilated.
Fear.
Raw and primal.
"I will be in the next room," she whispered, the words tumbling out fast. "If you need me. Just, just call."
She slipped past me like smoke, pressing herself against the doorframe to avoid touching me. The door clicked shut behind her, cutting off the torchlight from the corridor.
Silence settled over the room like a shroud.
I stood there, back to the room, hands curled into fists at my sides. Blood still dripped from my palms, pattering softly on the stone floor.
Turn around.
My Lycan was quiet now. Still. Waiting with an intensity that made my bones ache.
I forced myself to move.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
One foot in front of the other, like I was walking to my own execution.
And then I saw her.
She was asleep.
I stopped mid step, my hand still hovering where it had been reaching for, what? I did not even know.
Her chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm. Peaceful. Like she was not lying in a bed in a monster's castle. Like she had not been torn apart two days ago.
How can she sleep?
My Lycan, which had been clawing and snarling and demanding for the past two days, went. quiet.
Not silent. I could still feel it there, coiled in my chest. But the rage was gone. The need to destroy, to rip, to break.
Gone.
All that remained was something else. Something that burned low and steady in my gut.
Want her. Need her. Mine.
But it was not violent. Was not the usual feral hunger that demanded blood.
This was different.
What the hell is happening to me?
I stared at her, trying to make sense of it.
She looked even smaller like this. Vulnerable. The bruises on her throat had faded to yellow green. The claw marks on her shoulders were hidden beneath the loose nightgown Meira had dressed her in.
But I knew they were there.
I did that.
The thought should have meant nothing. I had done worse. So much worse.
So why did looking at her make something twist in my chest?
My feet moved on their own, carrying me closer.
One step. Two.
I stopped at the edge of the bed.
Up close, I could see the faint freckles across her nose. The way her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks. The slight part of her lips as she breathed.
Beautiful.
My hand lifted.
I did not tell it to move. Did not think about it. It just. did.
My fingers hovered over her cheek, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her skin but not quite touching.
What am I doing?
But I could not stop.
Slowly, so slowly, I let my fingertips brush her face.
Soft. Impossibly soft.
My thumb traced along her jawline, barely a whisper of contact. Her skin was smooth, still faintly warm from sleep.
Mine.
The word echoed through my head, not from my Lycan this time.
From me.
I pulled my hand back like I had been burned.
No. She is not.
Her eyes snapped open.
I froze.
For half a second, those blue eyes were unfocused, confused. Then they locked onto me.
And I watched the exact moment she recognized who I was.
The color drained from her face.
"No."
The word came out strangled. Broken.
She scrambled backward, hands shoving against the mattress, legs tangling in the sheets. Her back hit the headboard with a dull thud.
"No, no, no."
Her whole body shook. Trembled so violently I could hear her teeth chattering.
One hand flew to her mouth, stifling the scream that was trying to claw its way out. Her eyes went wide, too wide, pupils blown with pure, primal terror.
She looked at me like I was death itself.
Because I am.
Something cold settled in my chest.
She tried to make herself smaller, curling into the corner where the headboard met the wall. Like she could disappear if she just pressed hard enough.
"Please." Her voice cracked. "Please, I, I cannot."
She could not even finish the sentence. Just shook her head frantically, that hand still clamped over her mouth.
I stood there, frozen, watching her fall apart.
This is what you are. This is what you do.
My Lycan stirred, uneasy now. Agitated.
Wrong. This is wrong. Fix it.
But I did not know how.
I had broken her. Just like all the others.
The only difference was she had survived long enough to remember it.
"Thea." My voice came out too rough. Too harsh.
She flinched like I had struck her.
Goddess, what have I done?
I forced my hands to unclench. Forced my shoulders to drop. Tried to make myself less. threatening.
It did not work.
She pressed harder against the headboard, eyes darting toward the door. Calculating. Desperate.
She is going to run.
"Stop."
The command came out sharper than I intended.
She froze. Every muscle locked tight. But the trembling got worse.
Damn it.
I took a breath. Let it out slowly.
"I am not going to hurt you."
The words hung in the air between us.
Laughable.
I had torn her apart. Left claw marks down her back. Made her scream until her voice gave out. Broken her in ways that should have killed her.
And now I stood here, saying I would not hurt her?
Monster. You are a monster. She knows it. You know it.
The trembling got worse. She pressed so hard against the headboard I heard wood creak. Her chest heaved with shallow, panicked breaths that were not getting enough air.
"Thea." I tried again, softer this time. "Just."
Then it hit.
A spike of pain drove through my skull like a white hot nail. I staggered back a step, vision blurring.
No. Not now. Not here.
But my Lycan was already surging up, clawing its way to the surface.
Scared. She is scared. Make it stop. FIX IT.
The voice crashed through my head, not words, never words, just raw, violent demand.
Another voice layered over it. Sharper. Colder.
Weak. You are weak. Take her. Claim her. Make her submit.
Then another.
Kill. Blood. Need blood. Need.
No!
I clutched my head with both hands, fingers digging into my scalp hard enough to draw blood. A grunt tore from my throat, low, animal.
The room tilted. Heat flooded my veins, burning through muscle and bone.
Control. Keep control.
But I could not.
The voices were too loud now. Too many. Overlapping, screaming, demanding things I could not give them.
Take her take her TAKE HER.
Protect her fix this PROTECT.
RIP TEAR DESTROY.
"Stop," I ground out through clenched teeth.
It did not stop.
My bones started to shift. I felt them cracking, realigning. Claws punched through my fingertips, slicing skin. My jaw elongated, fangs tearing through gums.
Goddess, no.
I looked up, just for a second, and saw her face.
Pure terror.
She had gone sheet white, eyes so wide I could see white all around. Her whole body shook violently. She tried to scream but nothing came out. Just a choked, strangled sound.
She is more afraid now. Because of you. Because you cannot control yourself.
Another wave of agony crashed through me. My spine arched. The voices got louder.
MINE CLAIM DESTROY PROTECT KILL MINE MINE MINE.
I stumbled backward, shoulder hitting the wall. My vision bled red at the edges.
If I stayed, if I lost control here.
I would kill her.
Just like I almost did two nights ago. Except this time there would be no surviving it.
Move. Get out. NOW.
I turned and lunged for the door, slamming it open with enough force to splinter the frame. My grunt turned into a snarl, low and guttural and wrong.
The corridor was empty. Thank the goddess.
My body was halfway between man and beast now. Too tall. Too broad. Fur rippling across my arms and chest. My clothes stretched and tore.
Keep moving. Do not stop.
I ran.
Guards threw themselves against walls. A servant screamed. I did not care.
The voices were screaming now, a cacophony of rage and need and violence that drowned out everything else.
Let me out. Let me OUT.
My bones cracked again. Louder this time.
I burst through the main doors of the castle, nearly tearing them off their hinges.
"My Lord!"
Kastiel's voice. Coming from somewhere to my left.
I did not stop. Could not.
He moved into my path, hand raised. "My Lord, wait."
A growl ripped from my throat, so deep it vibrated through the stone beneath my feet.
Kastiel froze. His hand dropped.
I pushed past him, my body shifting fully now. The last threads of control snapped like rotten rope.
Heat exploded through me. My spine bent, reformed. My skull cracked and elongated. Muscle tore and rebuilt itself, thicker, stronger.
My clothes shredded completely, falling away in ribbons.
And then I was on four legs.
Massive. Towering. More beast than Lycan.
My fur was pitch black, darker than the shadows pooling at the base of the castle walls. Claws the length of daggers dug into the earth. My jaw could snap a man in half without effort.
The shift finished, and I threw my head back.
The howl that tore from my throat shook the air itself.
Raw. Primal. Furious.
It echoed off the castle walls, rolling across the grounds like thunder. Birds scattered from the trees. Horses in the stables screamed and kicked at their stalls.
I heard shouting behind me. Guards yelling. Kastiel barking orders.
I did not care.
The forest loomed ahead, dense, dark, endless.
Run.
My legs bunched. Then I launched forward.