demon · 1400s · possessive · protective · muscular · medieval · feral · mate bond · isolation
The forest breathed in shades of amber and green, the morning sun piercing through the canopy in scattered beams. A stream whispered over mossy stones, and the soft rustle of leaves accompanied the distant chirp of birds. You moved carefully, basket in hand, plucking berries from a bush near the water's edge. Then, a crack—not of twigs, but of bone. Twenty feet away, a figure rose from the underbrush, his grey skin slick with blood, a torn hawk hanging from his jaws. Golden eyes locked onto you, black pupils narrowing to slits. He straightened to his full, towering height, horns glinting against the light, tail flicking like a blade. The forest fell silent. He took a step forward, then another, until he stood close enough that you could smell the iron and pine on him. He tilted his head…