8. Abbadon

With a bellow of rage, I launch myself at the massive beast, my talons slashing across its muzzle. It snarls in pain, shaking its head, but I don"t let up. I can"t—Eliza is out there alone, defenseless. I have to end this quickly.

"You"re really starting to piss me off," I growl impatiently.

Here I am, challenging this avatar of savagery for the sake of my innocent human beauty, my sweet Eliza. She is my beating heart, my solitary tenderness in an existence drenched in darkness. I cannot—will not—fail her.

As the Bloodtusk"s putrid breath washes over me, its jaws clamped around my forearm in a vice of agony, I know this is a battle to the death. The beast will not stop until it feasts of my lifeblood or lies broken at my feet. But I am a creature of the Abyss, forged in hellfire and tempered by eons of strife. I will not be cowed by this grotesque monstrosity.

Snarling through the pain, I slash at the Bloodtusk"s face with my free hand, my obsidian claws finding purchase in its leathery flesh. The beast releases me with a squeal, and I seize my chance, locking my arms around its corded neck in a chokehold that would snap a dragon"s spine.

We crash to the forest floor in a maelstrom of flying foliage and spraying gore, two titans engaged in a primordial dance as old as time—the eternal struggle between good and evil, love and cruelty, the beauty and her beast.

Though jagged tusks and scything talons paint my ebon skin with rivulets of cerulean blood, I maintain my stranglehold, pouring all my demonic strength into crushing the abomination"s throat. I picture Eliza"s gentle smile, her luminous eyes, and I roar my defiance to the leering moon above.

I will slay this horror and rescue my beloved, or I will perish in the attempt. Such is the depth of my devotion, the untamed fury of a demon"s passion. In this moment, I am both beauty"s protector and avenging beast, and I will not rest until my property is safe in my arms once more.

Finally, with a horrible, wet, gurgling sound, the beast goes limp beneath me. I hold on a moment longer, just to be sure, before releasing it and staggering to my feet.

I stand over its corpse, chest heaving, my body a map of blood and pain. But I feel no triumph, only a gnawing urgency.

Eliza. I have to find Eliza.

I surge to my feet, staggering slightly as pain lances through my ravaged body. But I shake it off, my injuries inconsequential compared to the all-consuming need to find Eliza.

Her scent, that intoxicating blend of jasmine and honey, is faint on the breeze. But it"s there. A lifeline, a tether, drawing me to my mate. I stumble forward, every stride an agony, but I don"t slow down. I can"t. Not with Eliza out there alone and vulnerable.

As I crash through the underbrush, following her trail, I"m assaulted by unfamiliar emotions. Fear, desperation, a soul-deep ache at the thought of any harm coming to her. I"ve never needed anything the way I need Eliza. It defies reason, this pull to a human woman I barely know.

But she isn"t just any woman. She"s my mate. Destined for me in a way I can"t begin to understand. I think back to finding her abandoned in the woods, so fragile and afraid.

Even then, something in me recognized her, claimed her.

I tried to deny it at first. What could a monster like me possibly offer a delicate human beauty? I"m a being of darkness, rage and ruin, while she is all light and softness. The divide between our worlds seems an unbridgeable chasm.

"But she"s mine," I say, sending the words out for the universe to hear. "She"s mine and nothing will stop me from having her."

In the time she"s been with me, everything has changed. Her presence soothes the restless beast inside me. Her gentle smiles and hesitant trust are water to my parched, lonesome soul. I never knew I was missing anything until she filled the void.

Now the thought of losing her fills me with a terror I"ve never known. Not even when my comrades turned on each other and I was left alone, the last of my kind, did I feel this level of gut-wrenching fear.

I quicken my pace, ignoring the protesting screech of torn muscles and fractured bones. I have to reach her. Have to know she"s safe. Nothing else matters, not the pain, not the exhaustion bleeding me dry with every step. Only her.

My vision tunnels, the world narrowing to the thin thread of her scent weaving through the trees. I"m operating on pure instinct now, the primal imperative to protect what"s mine.

I know these woods, know the unspeakable horrors that lurk in the darkness. Ancient, soulless things that even a battle-hardened demon like myself fears. As a soldier, I can face them, fight them...but Eliza? My sweet, fragile human mate? She wouldn"t stand a chance.

The thought spurs me onward, exhaustion and pain receding under the onslaught of pure, icy terror. I have to find her before the true nightmares emerge. Have to get her to safety.

But the shadows are growing deeper, the forest more still. A hush falls over the land, and every instinct I possess screams danger. They"re coming. The night stalkers, abominations so vile that even the sunlight shuns them.

A furious cry catches in my throat, the bitter taste of despair coating my tongue. I"m weakening, the wounds from my earlier battle sapping my strength. How can I hope to protect Eliza when I can barely keep putting one foot in front of the other?

But I don"t have a choice. I WON"T fail her. Gritting my teeth, I surge forward with renewed determination, the need to find my mate overwhelming the warnings shrieking in my mind.

"I will find you," I promise. "I will not abandon you like your family did."

No matter what fresh hells the night brings, I"ll keep going. I"ll crawl on my damn knees if I have to. Nothing, not the night stalkers, not the very forces of darkness, will keep me from my mate"s side.

A foreign scent intertwines with Eliza"s, wrenching a snarl from my throat—the rank stench of a human male. Suddenly her trail is tainted, defiled by another"s presence. By another"s TOUCH.

White hot rage surges through my veins, searing away the pain and exhaustion. Someone has dared to lay hands on what is MINE. The urge to rend and tear is overpowering, a red mist descending over my vision.

I throw my head back and roar my fury to the uncaring sky, a primal, guttural sound that shakes the very trees. Birds explode from the canopy in startled flight but I barely register them.

"You"re as good as dead," I vow.

There is only the rage, the all-consuming need to destroy whoever has taken Eliza from me.

Claws digging furrows in my palms, I surge forward with newfound strength, my body vibrating with the force of my emotions. Reason deserts me, leaving only the beast behind, single-minded in its purpose.

Find Eliza. Protect what is mine. Tear apart any who stand in my way.

The snarl that echoes from my chest is continuous now, a rumbling growl promising death. Let the human filth try and keep me from my mate. I"ll paint the forest with his blood and adorn our home with his bones.

The love I have for Eliza, so alien to my demonic soul, has transformed into something deadly—a feral, possessive thing that will stop at nothing to have her back in my arms.

Each breath is a roar, each stride an earthquake. I"m no longer a thinking being but an embodiment of wrath, of vengeance. The beast is ascendant and it howls for slaughter.

Eliza, if any harm has befallen you, this world will drown in blood. I"m coming for you and the stars themselves will tremble before my rage. Hold fast my love, I"m almost there...

I charge forward, my powerful legs eating up the distance, the stench of human male spurring me on like a whip to the back. Exhaustion bleeds away, pain recedes, until there is nothing but the driving need to reach Eliza"s side and tear apart the filth that dared to touch her.

And I will protect her with every ounce of demonic strength I possess. I"ll take on an army of men, the night stalkers, the very forces of the abyss if that"s what it takes to keep her safe.

Just a little longer, my sweet. Your demon is on his way, and he will let nothing stand in his way.

Not now, not ever.

You are MINE, Eliza. And I will fight to my last breath to keep you by my side, where you belong. Always.