Page 1 of Red (Everdark Tales #1)

I’m not stalking her. I’m only making sure she is unharmed. Isn’t that what a perfect gentleman should do? Ensure she returns home safe and sound from her date?

I’m far from perfect. Nor am I a gentleman. Not even a human.

I also, most certainly, am stalking her and have been for the past couple of months. I keep finding excuses for my twisted behavior, but I simply had to inspect for myself… As I always do, constantly lurking in the shadows.

Tonight feels different, however. The stakes seem higher. It’s their first dinner outing, and in my mind, that makes things more official after weeks of his advances. I realize the implications of what this could possibly mean for the two of them now. Naturally, I wouldn’t allow such an atrocity to ever happen. To be frank, I’m actively looking forward to having a reason to annihilate the son of a bitch already.

Except, she doesn’t invite him inside. Which means he gets to live another day. What a pity.

Awkwardly scratching his full beard, he appears almost as disappointed as myself. Next, frustration sets in as he balls his other fist.

I will rip your fucking throat out faster than you can start praying to your god if you force yourself on her.

Masquerading as decent, he refrains from doing anything unsolicited and stays collected. Nonetheless, I can imagine the repulsive things that are going through his head. I must give it to him, he is surprisingly patient. Much more than me, since waiting for his smallest mistake is pushing me to the point of no return.

Before leaving, he steps closer to her, and I barely get any time to brace myself for what’s to come. His palm reaches low on her waist, under her open red wool coat, while he raises his other hand to graze her cheek. He leans, pressing his disgusting lips to hers.

She reciprocates.

She won’t be able to do that to me. Well, not in this form, at least. I don’t have lips… But I very much intend to lick hers.

Their kiss is a silver dagger to my heart—a toxic poison stinging like the bite of a venomous serpent. An all-consuming jealousy shreds my already fragile sanity, sending ripples of rage through my entire body. The intensity of my envy is a wildfire, fueled by my obsession.

Knowing he’s already a dead man walking, I descent into madness, conjuring scenarios in my mind that give me perverse satisfaction—scenarios in which his mutilated body is lying in the pool of his own blood for daring to touch what’s mine.

In moment of self-reflection, I’m haunted by the realization of the darkness within me. But the moment passes as quickly as it came.

Maybe I could walk away and let her be happy with him if he wasn’t such a piece of scum…

No, not even then.

She’s mine.

Mine.

And mine only.

I refuse to watch, staring at my paws on the ground, and time drags for eternity.

Driven by my possessiveness, I almost lose my restraint and dash toward them to fulfill my sinister urges.

Then I remember why I’m doing all of this in the first place—to control myself around her.

It can’t be going the best because I hear a loud snap, and it registers that I must’ve put too much force on the tree trunk.

Startled by the sudden sound, she quickly says her goodbyes before closing the door on his imbecile face, leaving him alone on her porch. Just like a good girl she is. My beautiful Julia.

She’s the center of my universe, and the mere thought of another orbiting in her vicinity prompts me to assert dominance, to mark my territory, to take her as my mate right here and right now.

This wicked need is my darkest desire that I battle with every second of every day since the first moment she’s captured all my senses and I understood we were fated to be together.

Something she’s entirely not aware of yet. Living each day unsuspecting, oblivious to the severity of my fixation and the future together that awaits us.

However, regardless of how this all might come off, her free will is of large importance to me. I might be a slave for her, but I hunger for a genuine connection, her love born of choice, never shackles disguised as destiny written in the stars.

That’s why I stay unseen, seizing the beast inside, so I wouldn’t harm her with my passion until I’m able to manage it properly.

Perhaps I’m contradicting my own self.

Because deep down I know what I’m doing is unethical, despite what my reasoning behind it is. Yet, my moral compass has been corrupted by the creature I’ve become. Maybe it’s never been right to begin with as I was born and raised with the knowledge of who I am. And the more I watch her the more I feel the tendrils of mania taking a hold of me.

Julia arrived here when her grandmother got ill. After the funeral, I was afraid she might prefer to return to wherever she came from—Before I even had any time to cool myself down. But she inherited the property and… well, Dean took interest in her, of course. He’s quite a catch for a young, single woman, I assume. He’s the governor’s son, after all. His family pretty much owns the entire state of West Virginia. What the public doesn’t know, is that they are hunters. Vicious ones at that. Majority of the government are.

Never before in history has my species been in such danger as today. Humans are escalating their advancement in weaponry and technology fast. Emboldened by their enlightenment, they no longer fear us the way they used to. They are now persistent in their attempts to capture us instead. Because since the beginning of time, all mankind wants is power. And there’s no greater power than to command supernatural beings.

I should execute Dean right away before he becomes a problem. However, that would only cause a ripple effect, and my family could be in jeopardy. Julia, too. It’s her who they currently want the most, after all.

She doesn’t even realize how special she is.

That’s precisely the reason why I originally came here. To inform her about the hidden truth and try to convince her to join us. I never could have imagined she’d turn out to be my mate… But now I’m stuck in the dark, always watching, afraid to step too close. Which means me being forced to observe her slowly form a connection with a bastard who is after her.

I follow him through the woods before he reaches the town, and I then shift into my wolf form. Thanks to my fur being entirely black, I can easily pass as a dog in the night—or that’s what I want to believe. I should be more careful. It’s no safer at not bringing attention since the hunters killed off all the wild wolves in the area ages ago as a precaution, and he’s expecting one of us to come for Julia. But my instinct to protect her goes above any logic.

Although, I can’t stay like this for long. It’s uncomfortable and quite difficult to keep my massive frame in this much smaller one.

Human form, the skin I was born in, is the hardest for me to maintain. Linked directly to my feelings and emotions, any sudden mood switch can cause the shift back. It’s been over three centuries already, however, even after all this time, I still haven’t gotten a full hang of it. I hardly ever phase, remaining the exact same as the day I first changed, unageing.

I find Dean entering the local pub. I wait a bit outside, observing him having a good time with some friends and a lot of alcohol. When I’m ready to head back to her place before she goes to sleep, he finally exits the venue. With another woman to entertain for the night, clinging to his arm.

Typical.

I understand he and Julia haven’t yet been physical—and they never will be—neither they’ve expressed any feelings toward one another, but it doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t imagine her being only an assignment for him. Though, I’ve noticed human men rarely stay faithful.

That’s not the case among my kind. We are devoted to one mate and one alone for entirety of our existence. Yes, we tend to have partners as humans before the first shift. And we can also mate before we are bonded. But it’s tricky and never gives the full satisfaction without the soul tie connection—mind, body, spirit. We are always longing for the one, searching the world in hopes they respond to our proximity.

I found mine already.

And I will claim her as my own.