When Nesta finds herself in one of the worst situations possible, pushed by her own family into the arms of a stranger, she decides no one can take away her freedom. She fights the fate others are creating for her and she runs away, only to find herself falling into the arms of a man, far worse than the one who was her betrothed. Yet, with each passing moment, this so called monster shows more humanity than any man has ever offered her. Will she stay? Will she run? Will she accept him as her husband?
View MoreDespite the calm and collected way, almost laid back, he talks to me, I still feel like I am being preyed upon. Hunted and closely monitored by the same man who was sitting not even two feet away from me.But despite this, the feeling of it was not as scary as it should have been. I wanted to draw him out and play. It was like a strange affiliation the prey has upon its predator. To tease and taunt, to show that it knew it was being hunted.“That’s right-“ I realize I was not as forgetful as I thought I was. He was simply rude enough to not introduce himself at all. “I never got to introduce myself either… yet, you know who I am…” While I know I should be bothered about it, I’m not. Actually, I feel a bit special. Special enough that someone looked at me and decided I was worthy enough to know from a distance. That I was not some backstory character in my own life.“You got to introduce yourself long ago.” He speaks in such an ominous way that I feel a sliver of a threat in his voice
Long before dawn comes creeping, I manage to fall prey to tiredness and I fall asleep, crawled by the fire, on the large sofa. I have pulled the blanket all the way here along with most of the pillows and made myself a comfortable nest. A dreamless sleep that proved to be restless and more or less useless at this point. Fatigue has gripped both my body and my mind and I wake up dizzy and uneasy. The room is silent and by the way the coals look, the fire has gone out long ago. But I was not feeling cold yet. As I crawl out of the bed and make my way to the windows, I'm not surprised to find the sky completely Grey, with thick clouds covering and hiding the sun that's not eager to show its face just yet. The landscape is hurdled under a thick coat of snow and the clouds are still shedding big and fluffy snowflakes. By the looks of it, the room I am in is quite high above the ground and I can't help but try to open the window.But the mechanism is so old and hasn't been opened in long e
He pulls away before any of us can fall prey to our urges. We were so close, I could taste his breath on my lips and I wanted nothing more but for him to lean down further and claim mine. He didn’t though. He might have been the first man to ever turn something like this down. An opportunity for intimacy was rarely turned down, and yet, he pulled away and walked off, towards the couch, where he seemed to fall down like a marble statue.He seemed tired. He - Something inside my mind clicks. I didn’t even know his name! This stranger took me in, tended to my wounds and I did not even ask for a name?! Where were my manners!? But the silence that has set over the room seemed impossible to break, as I remained in my bed, watching the back of the couch. I can’t see him. But I know he is there. I can’t hear him breathe. He doesn’t move either. It’s like I'm all alone in this room, but I am certain I am not. There is a strange tension in the air, and despite knowing he is awake, I can’t brin
Intoxicating. That’s what his scent feels like. And truly, the fact that as soon as it floods my lungs, all the demons scurry away, it’s all I need right now. My frenzied heart feels as if it’s about to get out of my chest, rip right through my ribcage and leave a hole in my chest. The man is silent, but there is gentle care in every single touch he offers me. A gloved hand moves over my face, his fingers hooking under my chin, and making me look up at him. His ruby red eyes pin mine into a soft and calming gaze.“I am not letting anyone lay their hands on you, Nesta.” he whispers, his hand moving up slowly and cupping my cheek. “Now, breathe-” he takes in a deep breath as a demonstration of how I should calm my frenzied and uneven breath.With a few shaky attempts, I follow him and eventually end up breathing slower, following his example. Happy with me, he offers me a smile, a kind one that reaches all the way to his odd eyes.“Good. Now-” he whispers and before I can understand wh
The way the hairs on the back of my neck stand up make me feel almost delighted about his little threat, but my eyes narrow on him and I let out a gentle huff, watching him with skepticism. “Is that a threat?” I ask, in a low voice.He seems stern and unamused with my little bratty attitude. Yet, he does not make me feel unsafe. The way he looks at me, with a dark hunger I can not understand, is not mean, or harmful and with the simple fact he, so gently, took my legs into his lap to tend to them, made me understand a handful of things. I was trapped, but this would not be as bad as the trap that I had escaped.The memories of fleeing home all stumble at once in my mind and overwhelm me. My breath hitches in my chest as the meadow springs up, the memory of dripping blood making me a bit nauseous.“My father-” I whisper with a bit of shock, my eyes cutting back to his face, round with worry and a sprinkle of fear.The man narrows his eyes slowly, the ruby red color darkening a bit as
??? POV:I did not expect her to be this thin. To be this frail and easy to carry. I did not expect her to weigh something close to a child, not to a grown woman. Ever since that evening, I have watched from afar, but I have never noticed the way her cheeks had hollowed until now. I had not noticed that the spark in her eyes was dimming , drowned in sadness and worries no woman should hone and bear within her. Now I can't help but blame myself. And I will not dare blame anyone else for not saving her, because this was my duty. Not theirs. Do I blame them for hurting her? Infinitely! What monster, what creature or wicked animal would ever chase their own child through the woods? What for? To drag them home and have them obey their every whim? When did mankind become so wicked? The scent of blood had filled the forest and was now intoxicating my lungs. The smell of fear and terror had drawn the attention of every single beast, pulling them out of their hiding spots. All wanted a bite
He’s got me. Half of my body feels heavy and frozen and I am sure my feet were bruised and hurt to the point that if I could feel them, I would not be able to walk around too much. I was somehow glad someone had the decency to think of this and was actually carrying me instead of asking me to sit up and follow."I can't let him have her!" Ferdinand screams."You should have thought about this before you allowed her to rebel like this!" Father Cassimir yells back and a loud slap echoes through the meadow. "It's your fault my fiancee is now in his arms, not mine!" the older man adds, full of spite. "Let's get you to your wife before you bleed to death-" his voice dims and I feel his eyes not follow me anymore.Behind the stranger, I could hear muffled yells and threats being tossed our way. I could feel the stranger tense as they carried me and held me tight against him, as if they were afraid to drop me. Or maybe they were afraid that if I slip from his arms, he was going to turn arou
I hear screams and I hear yelling. I hear hounds barking and I can’t believe my father rounded up more than a handful of men to chase me down and bring me back home. Truly, I never expected him to care! Why would a man literally sell me off to someone, only to chase me down and drag me back? Did he not receive his payment yet? Was this not about me being a huge pain for him? If i disappeared, I’d be no one’s pain anymore! Why was he chasing me.. Why did he so dearly want for me to not be free?! If I had the time, I’d break down crying and I’d pull the hair right out of my scalp trying to wrap myself around the frustration that this whole situation had brought to me. But I did not have the luxury of time! I was being chased through the forest, while darkness swallowed everything I could see. I could barely see a few feet ahead, and I was dodging trees at the last moment. My lungs were burning and aching, screaming for me to stop. My legs were protesting every little twig we snappe
There is little shame in how I hold myself while I walk home. The bleeding had stopped and the blood had now dried on my face, on my chin, my neck, my hands and my sore knees. My dress has a few holes in it and stains of dirt and mud. As I walk down the streets, nobody seems to take notice of me. It almost seems like the blood on my face makes me suddenly unappealing and something to be shunned. By the time I reach home, the fires are all burning and the house smells of my mother’s special apple pie. A faint, exhausted smile crosses my lips as I enter and take off my coat, to hang it beside the few others. “Nesta, is that you?” I hear my mother’s voice from the dining room and I hear the way the cutlery and plates ring when she sets something on the wooden table. “Yes, mother!” I reply with a dry and rough voice. Before I made my way through the house and meet my mother, heavy footsteps descend the stairs, coming down to greet me. My father pauses as soon as he lays eyes on me, hi
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