"Good luck trying to get away from me now…" The handsome male smiled deviously as his dark emerald eyes burned with the fire of madness as his lips curved upwards into a cruel, sadistic smile…and the girl's breath caught in her throat as a single teardrop rolled off her cheek and dropped heavily into his hand…with a final shuddering exhale, she allowed her eyelids to droop closed as he kissed gently against her forehead and then stood up abruptly…and then walked away.
The girl gasped in shock and terror when she opened her eyes again and saw him standing in front of her once more, leaning over the side of the rock that she sat upon as she watched him curiously. A small smirk played across her pale freckled cheeks as she noticed the tiny tear tracks that had formed in the corner of her eyes. He stared back at her with a soft expression as he leaned forwards, gently brushing aside the stray strands of golden blonde hair that fell into her eyes as he bent closer towards her ear, his lips whispering directly against it.
"It wasn't a trick or some kind of illusion…" He whispered in a low, sensual whisper as he stared deeply into her eyes with a wicked smile upon his perfect features. "I promise you that."
She stared at him in confusion for a moment before giving him a puzzled stare for a few moments longer before she looked back down at herself and blinked several times, blinking rapidly and looking down at herself uncertainly, gasping softly in astonishment as she took stock of all of her own wounds as she lifted her hands up and looked at them carefully, examining the fresh cuts and bruises on both of her palms and the back of her knees and elbows in surprise. There was barely any blood coming from these areas at all. In fact…her hands were beginning to feel rather numb and tingly now and she wondered briefly if perhaps she'd lost feeling along one of her nerves as she gave him another curious glance as he grinned mischievously and winked at her, reaching down to grab hold of the hem of her tunic and tugged the garment downwards so that she would raise her upper body up until she was sitting upright against the edge of the rock again…which caused her to look down at herself questioningly as she gazed intently at her thighs and legs for the first time in weeks as the thin material pooled around her ankles. They didn't seem quite as bruised as they used to be either. But…why?
"What just happened?" She breathed out, gazing up at him expectantly as he smirked knowingly down at her.
"You healed yourself." He explained simply, tilting his head as he watched her gaze drift over every inch of exposed skin from her toes to her neck, noting her surprised expression. "I can sense when you begin to heal yourself. Your body heals itself faster whenever you're near me. It has something to do with your connection to me, I suppose."
A confused look passed across her delicate features as she regarded him quizzically, her brow furrowing as she tilted her head to the side inquisitively as she considered this. Then…she blinked slowly.
"Connections?" She mumbled quietly to him hesitantly as he smiled warmly and nodded his head. "Like what?"
"Well…there are two main types of connections. One is a physical type of connection which allows us to feel each other's emotions as well as communicate telepathically using our minds. The other is an emotional type of connection which is usually far stronger than the one that we have. However…we cannot physically touch each other under normal circumstances…except…" His face hardened as he looked down at himself, scowling angrily at his clothes which had been ripped apart and torn into rags after he'd tried to save her from his brother who was about ready to murder her. "However…this sort of connection is only possible between mates…" He finished grimly as he folded his arms firmly over his chest defensively as he looked down at his ruined clothing in annoyance. "My clothes were ripped apart by my brothers…"
His face became darkly stormy with fury as he thought of his twin brothers that despised everything that he stood for, especially the fact that they were always trying to steal away his mate for their own amusement. They wanted to play with her like some toy that they could torment for fun and then discard afterwards when they got bored of playing with her…because they knew full well that he would never allow any harm to come to her while she lived under his protection. They were determined to kill her as soon as they could manage, but they were forced to wait patiently in the shadows whilst she was protected by his shield of protection as long as she remained within his reach, for now…but eventually…they were bound to catch up with her sooner or later when he could not protect her any more…but they were patient. They knew that he wouldn't give up protecting her for the world even though she was a mortal woman with no ties to their kind whatsoever. It was why he was willing to risk everything for her sake even though he'd known from day one that his brothers hated him for falling for such an unworthy woman. Even though he'd done nothing wrong except fall for a woman whom he loved beyond all reason and understanding for reasons which defied his logic and common sense.
He did nothing but love her from the moment that they met for all eternity, even though he knew fully well how foolish it was to believe in such an unlikely coincidence even though destiny seemed to be guiding them together without fail from the very start. He didn't care though, because he believed wholeheartedly in fate even though his mind told him that there was no such thing as destiny, yet here they were. Here he was…in love with this human girl despite knowing full well that humans existed merely to serve their masters. And yet…he couldn't bring himself to hate her because she was still his equal, no matter what others might think of him for loving a human so much…especially since he'd grown fond of her personality and mannerisms during their time spent together despite being trapped underground for months without contact with the outside world…yet now…now he'd managed to escape…and she was safe beneath his protective presence once again…
And it hurt deep inside to know that he would never lay eyes upon her again because she was going to return home to live out her days amongst mortals instead of dragons…and she refused to see him again because he was too dangerous and unpredictable for her family's liking as he gritted his teeth tightly against this painful reality as he glared down at her tenderly with a pained expression, clenching his jaw as hard as he possibly could as he felt tears threaten to spill from his eyes as he shook his head in disbelief, sighing softly as he looked down at himself in despair and sadness as he sighed sadly at the sight of himself…
"…You really don't have to go anywhere…after all…" He murmured as she looked down at herself uncertainly as tears began to flow freely down her cheeks as she looked up at him with a stricken expression as he reached down and grabbed hold of her slender hand in his, holding it firmly as he gazed into her eyes with a gentle expression before pressing his lips gently against her palm and kissing it lovingly as she stared down at the tip of his nose affectionately as a smile crossed her pretty face as he wiped away the remaining drops of moisture that had escaped her eyes with his thumb as he stroked his thumb over her cheek and then gently pressed his lips against hers, planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead as he whispered to her gently in his sweet voice…
"I will miss you dearly…" His tone held sorrowful regret and sadness, yet also happiness as he kissed her forehead once more. "Now leave me be."
She stared at him silently as a heavy weight settled upon her heart, leaving her feeling empty inside. She knew that it was impossible for her to stay with him and remain hidden among mortals. After all…what good would she be to him if she were discovered by his enemies? No, it would only cause them trouble later if they kept her secret. But she was so happy to have been able to spend even just one last night beside the man whom she loved beyond all reason or reason itself as she swallowed heavily and reluctantly released her hand from the comforting warmth of his fingers, turning to depart as the young girl began walking down the tunnel away from the cavern towards the exit as she turned back to wave goodbye to the handsome male that she had fallen deeply in love with…only to find his eyes staring straight through her as she began to walk away as the young girl left the beautiful cavern behind her forever as she walked away from the only place that she'd ever called home, the only person that she'd ever loved and the only future that she'd ever wanted to dream about…forever alone in the darkness as her footsteps echoed dully throughout the tunnel…