19. Bella

19

BELLA

T he next morning, I wake to the sound of Jytos moving about the cave, his heavy footsteps echoing off the rocky walls. The scent of fresh meat wafts through the air and makes my stomach growl. As I sit up, wincing slightly at the lingering soreness from my injuries, I see him approaching with a wooden platter piled high with food.

"Morning," he rumbles, his deep voice sending a pleasant shiver down my spine. "Brought us breakfast."

I can't help but smile as he settles beside me. "Thank you, Jytos. It smells delicious."

As we begin to eat, I find myself studying his features. The sharp angles of his face, the deep green of his eyes, the tentacles that move with surprising grace. It's hard to believe that not long ago, the sight of him terrified me. Now, I feel nothing but warmth and safety in his presence.

"Tell me more about your life before," he says between bites. "In the village."

I pause, a piece of meat halfway to my mouth. "My life in the village?" I repeat, setting the food back down. "It wasn't... it wasn't much of a life, to be honest."

He tilts his head, curiosity evident in his gaze. "How so?"

I breathe in deeply, steeling myself. "I lost my parents when I was young. Just a child, really. There was a particularly harsh winter, and they... they didn't make it." The memory still stings, even after all these years. "After that, I was passed around from family to family. No one really wanted the burden of another mouth to feed."

"Humans can be cruel," he growls, a protective edge to his voice.

I nod, grateful for his understanding. "They can be. I always felt like an outsider, never truly belonging anywhere. I had dreams, you know? I wanted to help people, to be a healer. But without a family to support me, it was just... impossible."

He reaches out, his large hand engulfing mine. The gesture is so tender that I feel tears prick at my eyes.

"And then they sacrificed you," he says softly, anger simmering beneath the surface.

I swallow hard. "Yes. When the elders announced their decision, I... I couldn't believe it. These were people I'd known my whole life, people I'd helped and cared for. And they just... gave me up. Like I was nothing."

The pain of that betrayal washes over me anew and hot tears begin to spill down my cheeks. The cave walls seem to close in and suffocate me. I realize now, I can never go back to the village. The place I once called home, despite its flaws, is lost to me forever.

"Bella?" his deep voice rumbles with concern. His large hand cups my face, thumb gently wiping away my tears. "What's wrong?"

I lean into his touch, seeking comfort. "I... I just realized. I can never go back. The village, it's... it's gone for me now."

His green eyes darken, a growl emanating from his chest. "Those bastards don't deserve you. After what they did?—"

"I know," I interrupt, placing my hand over his. "But it was still... it was all I knew."

He pulls me closer, his tentacles wrapping around me protectively. The gesture, once terrifying, now feels like home. "I could hurt them for you," he murmurs, his voice a dangerous purr. "Make them pay for what they did to you."

A small, broken laugh escapes me. "As tempting as that sounds, I... I don't want that. I just want to move forward. With you."

His grip on me tightens, and I feel his lips brush against my forehead. "You have me, Bella. Always."

I look up at him, taking in his fierce expression. Where once I saw a monster, I now see my protector, my lover. The realization warms me from the inside out, chasing away the chill of loss.

"Thank you," I whisper, reaching up to trace the sharp lines of his face. "For everything. For saving me, for showing me what it means to truly belong somewhere."

He leans into my touch, his eyes softening. "You've saved me too, you know. From a lifetime of loneliness."

Our lips meet in a tender kiss, full of promise and understanding. As we part, I feel a sense of peace settle over me.

We sit in comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of our shared loneliness and newfound connection hanging in the air between us.

"You know," I say eventually, a small smile tugging at my lips, "it's ironic. The village thought they were condemning me to death, offering me up to a monster. But really, they were giving me a chance at life. At love."

He chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Fate works in mysterious ways."

I nod. "It does. And I'm grateful for it. For you."

As we finish our meal, I realize that for the first time in my life, I feel truly at home. Not in a place, but with a person - or rather, a being. The village may be lost, but I've found something far more precious here in this cave, in the arms of my monster.

Soon, Jytos leads me outside the cave to his favorite rocky outcrop to bask in the sunlight for awhile. We sit down on a flat rock, and he wraps his arm gently around me. As I sit there in his powerful embrace, a new revelation dawns upon me.

With him, the person I'd always longed to be starts to emerge from the timid shell I had inhabited for so long. Strength, courage, passion... these were the virtues I'd whispered to myself in the still of the night, my prayers unanswered. Yet here, under his protective gaze, those whispered dreams have been reshaped into the bold strokes of my new life.

"Jytos," I begin, my voice barely above a murmur, "there's something I need to confess."

His eyes meet mine, a quiet invitation in his steady gaze. My heart races, yet the fear that once clouded my judgment has evaporated like mist at sunrise. "Ever since I was brought here, I've changed. I've become... more. It's as if the weak-willed woman who accepted her fate without a fight has been reborn, stronger and more certain of what she wants."

A slow, predatory smile graces his lips, tentacles shifting restlessly on his back, betraying a hint of pride. "And what do you want, Bella?"

I draw a steadying breath, holding his gaze with a resolve I never knew I had. "You, Jytos. I want you. Not because there is no other choice, not out of gratitude, and certainly not because fate has decreed it." My hands fist in his rough tunic as my next words spill out, raw and sincere. "Because from the moment you picked me up from that cold, lifeless altar and carried me to your world, you've awakened something fierce within me. A fire that refused to be quenched."

The temperature in the air seems to rise with the confession. His massive hands frame my face, his finger gently tracing the line of my jaw. "I never intended to let you go, Bella." His voice is low and resonant, rumbling through me like the first growl of a gathering storm. "The very thought of you walking out of my life, willingly or not... the idea was unfathomable."

His words should terrify me. They should conjure images of cages and chains, of freedoms stripped away. But there's no trepidation, only the pounding of my own heart in sync with his.

A delighted shiver runs through my body as I lean into his touch. "The knowledge that you staked your claim should unsettle me. Back in the village, they painted you as a savage beast, one that desired nothing more than my ruin. Yet, I feel safer with you than I ever did among them."

He places a soft kiss against my neck that elicits a sharp intake of breath from me. "I may be a beast in the eyes of your kind, Bella, but every territorial instinct I possess burns with the need to keep you by my side forever."

His lips soon find mine with bruising intensity. My heart pounds in my chest, a wild rhythm that matches the fervor of our kiss. His lips are fierce and demanding, yet there's a tenderness beneath the surface that makes my knees weak. His hands, strong and sure, hold me close, as if he's afraid I might vanish if he lets go.

"You're all mine, Bella," he murmurs against my lips.

I can't help but smile, even as we continue to explore each other's mouths with a hunger that seems insatiable. "I'm not going anywhere," I assure him, my words punctuated by the gentle nip of his sharp teeth.

When our lips part, my fingers linger on his sharp cheekbones. He says breathlessly, "You are my queen. With you, I stand undefeated, no longer the last of the Umbrath forced into solitude."

We soon make our way back into the cave and lie down on our bed of soft moss. As we lay there with our bodies entwined, I can't help but think how this cave, once so unwelcoming, is now a sanctuary to me. How Jytos, once a creature of doom, has transformed into the guardian of a fierce and unbreakable flame that burns within me. And I find myself yearning for more — more of his unapologetic brutality wrapped in tenderness only for me, more of our shared solitude and whispers in the night.

His green eyes bore into mine as his hand envelops mine in a gesture that seals a silent pact. And in this moment, bound by the primal essence of our unlikely love, I know I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm exactly where I belong: in the heart of the wild, cherished by the monster who teaches me every day how it feels to truly live, not merely survive.