CHAPTER 004: What Creature Are You?

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~~LYRIC VAELGOR~~

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Prince Calix wasn't kidding when he said I couldn't escape from this place.

I’d wondered why none of his guards moved a muscle to stop me when I took off a few minutes after he left.

But I got it now.

They'd enchanted the place. I’d been running around in circles and getting nowhere. Every time I reached a certain distance, it was like I hit a wall. Until I finally found the river.

Calix was staring in my direction, naked from the waist up. His bottom half was submerged in the water.

His wings were nowhere in sight.

“Come out, little wolf,” he said.

Oryx, my wolf, let out a deep growl inside my head. ‘Mate.’

Not this again. ‘Shut up, Oryx.’

It had to be the aftereffects of the wolfsbane messing with Oryx’s head.

There was no other explanation. No way was this creature my mate. My kind had legends about the Khra’gixx, and not a single one ended well for a wolf.

I stepped out from behind the tree, my bare feet making no sound against the damp earth.

“You followed me here, didn’t you?” he said.

“I wasn’t following you.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I wanted to stretch my legs.”

He smirked. “You mean escape.”

I said nothing. The demon prince was already too pleased with himself. No need to feed his amusement by saying I tried and failed to escape.

Water sloshed as he started moving closer, gliding through the river like some dark god born of the night itself. My throat went dry.

“Care to join me?” he asked. “There’s plenty of space for both of us.”

“No, thank you.”

But I couldn’t look away. My eyes were traitors, drinking him in—his inked skin, the way the water licked at his abdomen, the sharp lines of his jaw, the faint curl of arrogance at the corner of his mouth.

“It’s rude to stare, you know.”

I dragged my eyes to his, my chin lifting defiantly. “I’ve never seen a naked Khra’gixx before.”

His smile broadened. “Consider this your lucky day, Princess.”

“There’s not much to see.”

He laughed. “Is that the reason your heart is beating fast? Because you don't like my body?”

“That’s just my body being allergic to your arrogance.”

“You mean turned on.”

I scoffed. “Go to hell. That's never happening.”

“Are you sure, little wolf? I can smell you, you know.”

“What exactly do you want with me?” My voice came out filled with frustration. “You won’t kill me. You won’t leave me to die. You’re taking me into Noctis Vhaelor, a place where everyone hates my kind. What do you want with me, Prince Calix?”

He stopped at the edge of the river.

And then he rose.

The water slid off him in slow waves, revealing inch after inch of bare, rune-marked skin.

I sucked in a breath.

He was naked. Completely, unashamedly, utterly naked.

And still moving toward me.

I stepped back. And back. Until a tree’s bark pressed against my spine.

“I told you before, little wolf,” he said, looming over me, “you’re my pet.”

“I’m nobody's plaything, especially not a demon.”

“You were gifted to me, remember? I can do whatever I want with you. I can decide to make your wolf play fetch.”

Oryx growled in my head. ‘I’m going to kill him.’

‘Same here.’

“Oryx is not a dog,” I said aloud. “You can't keep her as a pet.”

He was close now—too close. His scent surrounded me, cinnamon and moss. It filled my lungs, sank into my skin, made my pulse skitter in a way I hated. That hunger I’d sensed before was stirring again.

“Oryx? That's your wolf’s name?” he asked.

I didn't respond.

“Wolves are like dogs, Princess.”

I bared my teeth. “We’re not dogs.”

“Four legs, hairy. You can pet them.”

My body tensed, fury spiking hot through my veins.

“WE ARE NOT DOGS!”

“You’re shifting,” he observed, watching me with unnerving interest. “Show me your wolf.”

I didn't even realize I’d been shifting. I couldn't let him have what he wanted, so I controlled myself. “I’ll never show her to you,” I said.

“Oh, you will. When I want you to. At some point, Princess, you'll be the one begging to please me, begging for me to command you, begging for me to pet your wolf. I’ll break you into submission.”

“That will never happen.”

He leaned in, his lips a breath from my ear. “Are you sure about that? I can hear your heart pounding. You seem quite flustered. Am I getting to you?”

I pushed him away, and he stepped back laughing.

“Let your wolf know she's my dog now,” he said.

Oryx snarled in my head. ‘Rip his throat out.’

Gladly.

I swung at his face.

But before I could make contact, his wings—those goddamn wings—appeared and lashed forward. A razor-sharp tip sliced across my palm.

I gasped, jerking my hand back. “Aww!”

“Bad move, Princess. I forgot to tell you—I have an inner demon named Tai who’s very protective of me. Those wings are his. And he gets pissed off easily. When he’s pissed off, he gets hungry. When he's hungry, he attacks.”

I swallowed. My palm was bleeding. Deeply.

And Calix… oh, gods. His eyes were darkening. He was staring at the blood, and his fangs peeked from his lips.

I stepped back. He moved forward.

“Stay away from me,” I hissed.

He didn’t listen.

His hand shot out, grabbing my wrist.

Then he lifted my palm—my bleeding palm—to his face.

And licked the blood off.

Heat shot straight through me.

It was like my body recognized him, like it had been waiting for this moment.

Calix jerked back, his pupils blown wide, his entire body coiled in surprise.

He was staring at me strangely.

“Who exactly are you, little wolf?”

His voice had changed. Gone was the smug grin.

“I’m Lyric Vaelgor,” I said. “You know who I am.”

He shook his head. “No. No. That’s not it.” He moved closer, gripping my shoulders. His fingers dug into the flesh. “I meant, what are you? What creature are you, Lyric Vaelgor? Because you're definitely not just a wolf.”