Sold To A Beast

Like Riding A Horse

Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill.

Andrew's hands around me did not loosen even when I told him to let me go, my small hands prying at his fingers. I wanted nothing more than to run and hide from him, embarrassed and ashamed that he knew so much now and had to witness my past like that.

Many moments passed between us until we were both still, sitting on the bedroom floor with no words between us, his body wrapped protectively around me. I stared blankly at his hands that lay heavily in my own, honestly nothing could have been more important to me than this to me.

"What do you want me to do?" His voice was strong, positive that what he would say next could be reality. "You say 'jump' and I will say, 'how high?'. I will hunt the people who hurt you. All of them."

I shook my head 'no'. The scar so old that the thought had left my mind a long time ago. If I was still as spiteful towards him, I probably would take him up on the offer now that it is in my grasp. "I don't want my father dead."

"He hurt you, Emily. That is not a father."
Andrew rolled his head once and shook out his shoulders. I could tell he was uncomfortable and still very angry from my breakdown.

I tried to comfort him, daring to raise my hand to his face to rest against his cheek. "What's wrong?"

Andrew leaned into my touch, his lips pulling back as he painfully spat his words. "It's a mate thing that will only effect me this way. Being your soul mate, I've received access to deeper parts of yourself that others don't get to see. Your emotions - the anger, the rage, the regret - I feel it all t00, but several times stronger."

What did that mean?

Andrew turned me around to face backwards in his lap, burying his face in my back with a groan. "It means that I'm about to look like a total bitch."

It took me a second to catch on and completely understand what was taking place. When I realized, I couldn't help but reach for his hand to hold.

Andrew was crying.

My tears. My pain. He was feeling it all and instead of neglecting me - he sympathized.

I reached up and wiped the tears away softly. Andrew was strong, mentally and physically. I didn't think anyone would see him this way.

He grabbed my hand, kissing my palm quickly before pushing it away. "It's not safe for you to touch me so freely. I'm a monster who's been angered."

Andrew turned his face away from me as he grunted with pain. His state was getting worse as he fought for more control. After taking a deep breath, he turned back to me eyes wide and unrecognizable. The whites of his eyes were stained red, the color looked as thick as blood and his pupils - a film over them only illuminating gold.

My body felt warm where we touched, like suddenly his body began to heat, the flicker of his eyes downward only sent mine into a spiral to see what he was looking at. That's when I noticed.

His body - hands, arms, all the way to his neck were covered in vibrant red symbols and tribal markings. It was unlike anything I could have imagined.

This was not his wolf.

This was his demon.

And he was terrifying to witness, as I sat there frozen with fear having him sit right in front of me. "Andrew? What - "