Page 53 of The Slave in A Princess Disguise

Fragments of memory danced in his consciousness. The Lantern Festival. He remembered the lanterns bobbing in the twilight, the festive air, the laughter of the people...Then, a void.

A blank space where memory should have been.

When a male starts to descend into madness, the woods become his greatest friend.The old Urekai saying echoed in his mind, and Vladya was inclined to agree. These days, his episodes of zoning out were increasing, always leading him to the woods.

They said it was the mind's way of familiarizing the beast with its future habitat before the feral transformation. Probably, a blessing in disguise. If these lapses happened within the fortress walls, Daemonikai would surely uncover the truth.

Yet my mind feels clear. Sharper than it has in a long, long time.

The insatiable sexlust that had plagued him, and the constant gnawing blood-lust, had vanished. He feltsatisfied. Peaceful. His beast, usually restless and demanding, now drowsed contentedly within him.

He gazed at the moonless sky, at the tiny stars above, searching his memory for clues.

Memory loss.Another sign of an advanced stage of going feral.

He remembered leaving the fortress, walking out of the tower gates, and strolling the square. He remembered walking with Daemonikai and their entourage, dismissing Yaz and his soldiers, needing fresh air. And he remembered...catching a scent. Her scent. Following it.

He recalled being furious at the shy boy talking to her, seeing red when those worthless humans had tried to hurt her, killing them and enjoying it, and then...hunting her. Mounting her.

Vladya grimaced, pushing himself into a sitting position. A garment lay draped over him like a shroud, smelling of pine and jasmine, its warmth radiating against his skin.

She had covered him up.Him,the monster who had taken her body like a savage, more beast than male.

The memory of his uncontrolled desire surged through him. The weeks of suppressed sexual hunger erupted in a torrent of possessiveness and rage when he had seen her with that human boy. All he had craved was to kill the insignificant creature who had dared to trespass on his property. He craved to claim her so hard she would never doubt who she belonged to again. Mark her so deeply no other male would dare even look at her.

Territorial.A feeling he hadn't experienced in centuries. And now, when he teetered on the brink of madness, it reared its head?

Cruel fates and their cruel jokes.

"Why am I not surprised?" he growled, his gaze fixed on the stars scattered in the sky. "Even as my life's journey nears its end, you still find new ways to torment me."

He rose to his feet, the garment clutched in his hand, its smell a lingering reminder of her. A memory flashed through his mind.

Her gentle hands, smoothing the fabric over him, her expression a mixture of tenderness and concern. "I do not want you to go feral," she had whispered to him. "I hope you feel better when you wake."

Then, she limped away, favoring one leg. As if each step was agony.

Guilt twisted in Vladya's gut, a sharp pang digging in his chest. He had hurt her, again. Yet, she showed nothing but kindness to him.

His thoughts snagged on a troubling detail, and he stilled.How had she known about his declining sanity?

But then, considering how she had always borne the brunt of his increasingly animalistic behaviors, it would not have taken much for her to connect the dots.

I don't want you to go feral. I hope you feel better when you wake.

Her words, spoken with such tenderness, disturbed him. What kind of person was Aekeira?

He had never met a female like her before. Could someone truly be that compassionate, especially towards him? To the monster he had become?

Vladya harbored no illusions that she could possibly feel anything but disdain for him. After all, she had only known thebroken, twisted version of himself, not the Vladya of millennia past. The one who had believed he could find love, have a bondmate. Have offsprings.The one who laughed and loved freely.

Instead, she knew only the monster he had become. The cold, unfeeling, sadistic creature who reveled in pain and destruction, who hated nearly everything that breathed. The one who took her body without consent, devoid of a soul, teetering on the edge of madness.

Why, then, was she sokindto him? What game was she playing? How could someone who had endured such hardships, still possess such a pure heart?

Even tonight, she had given her body to him, knowing fully well the brutal nature of his desires. She had taken all that he had to offer, knowing she was dealing with more beast than male. Yet, she had encouraged him. Held him. Comforted him.

She had shown no resentment.

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