Beloved Beast

Chapter Thirty-Four

They had searched all day and well into the evening, roving uneven terrain partially stripped of its lush greenery; a handful of trees made bare and dull beneath a harsh, cold air as the seasons slowly transitioned, winter edging in.

Dried and wilted leaves crunched beneath the hooves of their horses, many of faded color still clinging to deciduous tree limbs.

The forest had yet to produce any promising signs of Sera, or that of her pack of hounds, as she referred to them.

It made Don restless. Desperate. Willing to do just about anything to put an end to his enemy, and if that meant him too, then so be it.

Sera may have already swapped bodies. Adopted another pilfered face. She could be in the village now, biding her time, blending among the crowd poised to strike at his weakness at any given moment.

The very thought had panic welling up inside of him.

He would tear the village apart if necessary, conscience be damned. If it condemned his soul further, again, so be it. He was past the point of caring. Through with living in the past. This time around, he would embrace his demons – his darkness. Having once perpetuated unforgivable things for the sake of love, he was prepared to do it again if it meant saving her. It was all that mattered to him. It was all that consumed his thoughts, his very being. It was what he should have done from the very beginning when Sera had been within reach. But he'd been too stunned and outraged to discover that the woman who had betrayed him, who had cursed him for all eternity, was very much alive.

This was so much more than about righting a wrong and breaking his curse.

Sera intended to engender carnage at the cost of losing the woman he loved.

He could not bear it. He would not have it.

Denying his feelings for Elle and the attraction between them, had led only to deeply wound her. He thought it had been the right thing to do, that it would be enough to discourage Sera's unwanted attention, to deceive and convince his enemy of his disinterest. But he could have never predicted or expected the series of events that had brought him to this point.

To learn that Elle's body was somehow fashioned by a greater power, created by Sera and Veda's ancestors to sustain immeasurable synergy, was beyond the realm of possibility. It defied logic and reasoning. It went beyond anything he could have ever imagined or believed feasible. But his curse served as a tangible manifestation of just what kind of power – evil, lurked in the world.

His mind still struggled to understand it ... to accept it.

Casting a longing glance in the direction of the village, he felt compelled to steer his horse around and pursue her, to secure her safely in his arms, to plead for her forgiveness for all the horrible untruths he had spouted. But he was driven by a far more pressing need to find Sera first and eliminate the immediate danger.

It was a risk that could cost him everything.

A risk that could devastate him.

With Elle's sight restored, she was probably alarmed and confused as to why and how it could happen, suffering a sensory overload that probably intensified those emotions tenfold. She wouldn't have known about Sera, that his enemy was a breathing, existing threat with nefarious intentions. He had wanted to protect Elle from all aspects of danger, shield her from Sera, by keeping her unapprised of his former lover's existence, but he never imagined that there was something considerably darker working actively against him.