Page 141 of Mortis

My Kael.

Seven feet tall, with thick horns curling from his skull. Dark hair drifting around his face like smoke. Crimson irises surrounded by black, and pointed teeth sharp enough to tear through flesh. Black stained his fingertips, each one ending in a deadly claw. His bare, muscular torso gave way to fur-covered legs and cloven hooves planted firmly in the earth. He was a monster, but he was also magnificent. And this time, standing among the trees, he didn’t look trapped.

He looked like he belonged.

I released his face and stepped out of his embrace. Kael’s brows dipped immediately. He reached for me, but I took another step back.

“Teddy,” he rasped.

I bit my bottom lip, fighting a smile, then lowered my chin and looked up at him through my lashes. “This is your hunting ground, isn’t it?”

Kael inhaled sharply. His fists clenched at his sides as his gaze travelled slowly over me. When he noticed the growing bulge beneath my jeans, his eyes widened. His crimson eyes flared brighter, and for a moment, the Beast stared back at me. Then the glow receded.

“Y—” Kael cleared his throat. “Yes.”

I released my lip. Slowly, I reached for the top button of my white shirt and slipped it free. Kael watched my fingers as I opened another. Then another. Pulling the collar aside, I exposed the skin of my neck. Kael growled, and I knew exactly what he could see.

Fading bruises, yellow and green against my pale skin. A healing bite mark where my neck met my shoulder. His claim on me, still visible days later. And standing here, in the place where Kael had spent sixty years believing he was nothing more than a monster, I wanted to replace those fading marks with something new.

I wanted a fresh one.

“Maybe you should catch some prey.”

Kael’s lips pulled back in a snarl, baring his teeth. A shudder rippled through me. The memory of those teeth sinking into my skin had my cock twitching, precum already leaking into my underwear. Then one of his eyes began to glow. My heart thudded harder. My breathing quickened, and my palms grew clammy as that familiar crimson light burned brighter.

The Beast had joined us.

When Kael spoke again, his voice had changed. His usual deep rumble was layered with something darker. Something old. Their voices intertwined until it was impossible to tell where Kael ended and the Beast began.

“You want Us to chase you, mortal?” They asked, cocking Their head. “You want Us to catch you and pin you down in the dirt? To mount you and fuck you from behind until you scream?”

Jesus fucking Christ.

A moan escaped me before I could stop it. Goosebumps erupted across my skin as the image formed inside my head. Kael and the Beast fucking me against the forest floor. Holding me down and forcing me to take Them. Predator and prey, right here in the place Kael had been terrified to enter twenty minutes ago.

Maybe that was exactly what we needed.

Maybe we could replace some of those horrific memories with better ones.

Something that belonged to us.

I nodded, and Their grin widened. Wild and feral. I almost abandoned the whole idea of being chased entirely.

I was right here.

They were right there.

Why bother running when I could simply tell Them to take me?

But of course, where was the fun in that?

I took another step backwards, and a stick snapped beneath my shoe. The sound cracked through the quiet woods, making me jump. Their grin widened, and claws flexed at Their sides, catching the fading sunlight.

“I’ll give you a head start,” They rumbled. “So you’d better run fast, little rabbit.”

My breath caught, and neither of us moved.

We simply stared at each other.