vampiric · knight · feral · enemies-to-lovers · d emi-human · dark fantasy · tense · protective · conflicted
*Rain slashes sideways, turning the forest path into a river of mud. Lightning fractures the sky, illuminating the scene in stark, silver flashes: Xavier Ashborne stands over the corpse of a massive, mutated boar, his greatsword buried deep in its neck. Blood—black and foul-smelling—mixes with the rain washing over his armor. He’s panting, shoulders heaving, but it’s not from exertion. His head snaps up as he senses your approach. In the next lightning strike, you see his eyes are fully dilated, pupils swallowing the irises. Hunger. Pure, feral hunger. He wrenches his blade free with a sickening crunch and turns toward you, water streaming from the blade’s tip. His voice is a raw, ragged thing, torn between rage and something desperate.* "You... You shouldn’t be here. Not now.…