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The savage hunger for violence raged through me. This was who and what I was. A beast. A monster. I had never questioned it before, never sought to be anything else.

When the last man fell, I stood amidst the corpses, blood dripping from my claws, and my chest heaving. My breath came fast and heavy, the satisfaction of battle humming in my veins.

Geraldine stepped forward and I stared at my human mate. She scanned the carnage, and her wide eyes met mine, unreadable. The scent of fear clung to her—but something else did too. Something darker, something… accepting.

She stepped forward, close enough for me to feel the heat of her body. The warmth of her breath ghosted against my skin. My instincts screamed to claim her right here and now. But I controlled myself.

Butshereached forme. Her small hand pressed against my blood-slick chest, fingers tracing the ridges of muscle, smearing the gore. She wasn’t repulsed. Geraldine looked at me like I was hers.

Her touch ignited something dangerous in me.

A growl built in my throat, something deep and possessive. My claws curled at my sides as I fought the urge to lay her out on the ground and fuck her here and now. I needed to mark her with the same blood that covered me form horn to hoof.

As Geraldine gazed up at me, unafraid, something monumental shifted inside of me.

She had been a lost princess. Now, she was mine.

I lifted my hand, brushing a clawed finger along her jaw. “I don’t terrify you?”

She exhaled slowly. “No,” she whispered. “How can I be afraid of you when you did all of this?” she said as she looked around at the human body parts. “You did all of this for me?”

A deep, rumbling sound escaped me, something caught between satisfaction and warning. My instincts roared to take her. Instead, I leaned in, inhaling the scent of her, and letting it calm me in a way no other would be able to.

“You will never know fear again. No one will ever touch you,” I vowed. “Never.”

And as she pressed her forehead against my chest, I knew she believed my words.

And if not, I’d spend my life showing her truer words had never been spoken before.

EPILOGUE

Demon

Ilet my little human mate sleep as I prowled the edges of my domain, the dense fog curling around the ancient trees like spectral fingers.

The scent of flora, decay and earth saturated the air, along with my markings that I’d placed around my surroundings. It was a silent warning to any who dared trespass. This land had been mine for eons, and the creatures that wished to survive knew to keep their distance.

I’d kept to myself, hunting to survive and not to maim.

For I was a savage, a barbaric predator.

But Geraldine was fragile, a delicate thing of flesh and warmth, a tiny human that could break easily. And I wouldn’t take any chances with her safety.

I had lined the perimeter of our cave entrance and surrounding areas with remnants of those who had wandered too close—bones gnawed clean, skulls cracked open, and dried bodily fluids smeared across the stones and trees.

Let all see, let them know. This was my home—our home. She was mine, and I would kill for her without hesitation or humanity.

I stalked the perimeter of the cave and, for good measure, dragged my claws against the thick bark of a gnarled tree. I watched as deep gouges marred the surface, the scent of my essence seeping into the wood.

For a second, I stood there and tipped my head back, inhaling deeply before exhaling. Satisfaction curled in my chest. The night was still and quiet. It was time to return to her.

Stepping back into the cave, I descended lower, taking turns, twists, and paths that no one else could ever find. Finally, the warmth of our home greeted me. I stood by the entrance of the main part of our lair and just stared at Geraldine . The firelight loved her as it flickered over her body.

I did not need heat or light to survive, but I had it for her. She needed such things, as well as fresh air, direct sunlight. And I would always provide whatever she needed. The furs were piled thick on our pallet, and her slight form was cocooned in them, her scent filling the space.

She was safe, and that calmed me.

I approached her, setting a bladder of water beside her in case she woke with thirst. But I lingered, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, her lips parted slightly in sleep. The pull toward her was inescapable. It was as if I couldn’t breathe if she wasn’t near.