Shadow’s claws cut into my breast over my heart. They sink in too deep, blood welling up around them.
My end is going to be the best part of my life. I fight to keep my eyes open so he’s the last thing I see before he rips out my heart.
In my last moments, I’m wanted, desired, needed in the most basic possible way.
It's sickeningly poetic, like a fairytale climaxing to its tragic end.
As his claws dig even deeper into my flesh, I let out a guttural cry of agony mingled with pleasure as my inner muscles convulse and throb uncontrollably with orgasmic intensity.
Branches crackle and crunch from somewhere nearby.
Shadow’s head snaps up and lets out a low-pitched rumble, furious someone has dared to interrupt us. There is a strangesound of panic from behind my head, and then Shadow is gone, leaving me empty and alone.
A man’s scream heralds a tussle of shaking bushes, and more snapping branches mix with that of the crunch of bone, followed by wet, sloppy chomping.
With shaking hands, I pull the fabric of my shirt back together to cover myself as I sit up. The cuts from his claws sting terribly, especially in the cold.
Turning, I find Shadow hunched over the body of a man. The obsidian eyes are glazed over as he shoves the rest of the man’s heart into his mouth.
The urge to go to him is overwhelming.
Why?
Because I’m shaky, empty, and have a death wish?
Because I want to make sure Shadow’s okay?
Because it’s my responsibility to bear witness to that person’s death?
My stomach flip flops and sours. I failed. Someone is dead because I lured Shadow here.
Vulnerability sweeps across me and through me, until I feel like a piece of raw meat, exposed and ready to be eaten up and spit out. Blood seeps through my shirt and I shiver.
Shadow’s head snaps up and he looks straight through me.
His soulless black eyes hold no recognition as he feasts.
I don’t move. I’m either frozen solid from the temperature or I’m still in the grips of my death wish.
Why do I feel so goddamn empty? A husk without him.
Shadow’s eyes close. Though his face is always blurry, out of focus, it almost seems like a sense of peace is sweeping over him.
The horns retract slightly, slowly pulling back in toward his skull. When his eyes open, they are now blood-red. I swallow hard.
Eating that man’s heart has lessened Shadow’s monstrous side.
The sense of this clicks in my brain.
The more monster hearts he consumes, the more bestial and primal he becomes. Yet the more human hearts he consumes, the more control and rationality he gains.
Too many thoughts follow this revelation, flooding my brain until I can’t pick any one apart.
How many hearts has he eaten?
How many humans has he eaten?
Are all monsters like that?
