Page 1 of Wild for the Wyvern

Prologue

Drayce

It seems as if I’ve waited a lifetime for the nymph to be mine. It has been many years of pining. She says she doesn’t love me, but she does need me. I will carry her away to a new home with new trees for her to cherish. I can give her everything she wants.

Standing in our meeting spot by the lake, I think of all the arrangements I’ve made to make my treasure happy in our new home. I’ve been making these plans for weeks. I want her to be comfortable and happy. I want to cherish my jewel for an eternity.

It’s a clear day, which will make our flight more pleasant. I fashioned a sling to carry her away in. As a wyvern, I have no arms, and as a man, I can only take her so far.

The sling will keep her comfortable and safe while I hold the thick rope handles with my talons. It’s a long flight to our new home in the Smokey Mountains. I must keep my nymph safe.

The lake glistens as a light breeze blows through the Catskills.

An owl hoots, then circles overhead.

Narrowing my eyes and shading out the sun with my hand, I get a better look at the bird.

It circles lower before landing on a branch several feet above my head. It’s a great horned owl with tall tufts above its eyes and a regal look about it. Staring at me, it turns its head this way and that for a long moment.

Silly bird.

I cast my gaze back toward the woods, where Astra will soon appear, ready for our journey. She’s begun to wear human clothes, which is slightly disappointing and quite strange for a nymph. Nymphs generally go naked or wear magical sheer gowns, which allow them to pass through nature. For instance, she can become part of a tree or the water in the lake.

Still, if she wishes to wear clothes, I have no objection. She will be mine and that’s all that matters. Soon my obsession will be a reality.

The owl warbles out a few notes.

It almost sounds like speech, and I cock my head to hear the animal better.

There are words hidden in the owl’s sounds.“I’m not coming, Drayce. I’m sorry.”

Rage rushes through me. Not coming. Not coming? How can she do this to me? She asked me to take her away and save her from her father’s tyranny. I made arrangements to make her happy and keep her safe.

My bones crack and grow as I shift into my wyvern.

The owl screeches and flies in the opposite direction. Smart beast. I’m angry enough that no one is safe. A roar erupts from deep in my chest and pushes from my long snout, filling the sky as I take wing.

Staying just above the top leaves of the trees, I scan the forest for my nymph. She will face me.

Moving east, I hit a magical blockade that nearly bumps me out of the air. Regaining my balance, I sniff the magic. It’s foreign, not from a monster I know. Carefully, I circle the barrier. It surrounds a large house on a ridge twenty miles from mine.

There!

With her hand in that of a satyr, my nymph walks up the steps to the house.

Fury rises in me and I batter myself against the magic, trying to push through, but to no avail. I don’t even get the satisfaction of either of them looking up at me.

They will pay for making a fool of me. She sent a bird when I waited half my life for her to realize I was the only man for her. Then that spoiled nymph agreed to marry a satyr she barely knows. I’ve been devoted to Astra for years. How could she do this to me?

Unable to contain my rage, I’ve laid my trap. When they’re captured, they’ll see what it’s like to be humiliated in front of the community. Every monster on the mountain is laughing at me, but I will get the last laugh.

Just because my nature is a wyvern and I’m fierce when in that form doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings.

Covering the net with last year’s leaf fall, I survey the spring on the trap. When the nymph or her satyr step inside the net, the trap will grab them and no magic will free them. Then I’ll leave them to hang there until I get my proper apology.

She thinks sending an owl is enough to make up for all the plans I arranged and all the trouble I went through trying to make her happy, then leaving me for a stranger to the woods. I will have revenge.

One

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