The whispers followed Princess Evangeline like a shroud. They were in the throne room, in the corridors, and in the gardens she was no longer allowed to roam. The people didn't speak the word, but she saw it in their eyes: "Monster."
It was a word that had clung to her ever since she saved that child. A wild horse had broken loose, its hooves a thunderous beat against the cobblestones. Evangeline, just a girl then, had seen the fear in the child's eyes and the terror in her parents'. In that moment, instinct had taken over. Her eyes, normally a soft brown, had flared a deep, hypnotic purple, and a silent command had frozen the beast in its tracks. The child was safe, but the people's love for their princess had been replaced with a chilling fear.
The only place she found solace was in the Forbidden Forest, a place no one dared to enter. Here, the creatures she was feared for were her only friends. A griffin would nuzzle her hand, a three-headed beast would lower its heads for her to scratch behind its ears. They understood her, and she understood them.
Evangeline walked through the castle now, her head held high, ignoring the stares and hushed tones. Her wedding was today. A political maneuver to ensure peace with the Dragon Kingdom. She was to marry a faceless prince, a man she didn't know, for a kingdom that despised her. She was a sacrifice, and she knew it.
As she reached the grand doors leading to the carriage, she saw her mother, the queen, give her a look of pity, while her father, the king, looked at her with regret. It was a familiar sight. She would not cry for them. She would not beg. She would simply leave.
But she couldn't. Not when a voice in her head, one she didn't know, told her to run. The whispers and the pity were one thing, but this was a trap. A feeling, a gut instinct she'd learned to trust in the wild, told her to turn back. Her heart, a drum against her ribs, told her to escape.
Without a second thought, she broke free from her guards, her silk dress tearing on a sharp corner of the wall as she ran towards the only place she felt safe: the Forbidden Forest. She didn't look back as her guards shouted her name, their footsteps pounding behind her. She pushed her body to its limit, dodging trees and jumping over roots, her lungs burning with every breath. She had to get away.
And then, she collided with him. A figure in a dark cloak, standing perfectly still in the middle of her path. She stumbled, and for a fleeting second, their eyes met. His were a piercing, golden hue that seemed to burn with a fierce, ancient fire. And then, her own eyes, with a will of their own, flared purple.
The world went still. The pounding of her heart, the shouting guards, the rustling leaves—all of it faded into a dull hum. She felt a connection, a resonance with this stranger, a force as powerful as the bonds she shared with her beasts. It was in that moment she knew. This wasn't just a man. He was a dragon. And he was here for her.
*THE CHASE*
She ignored the feeling, the primal hum that resonated from him, and the burning intensity of his golden eyes. She couldn't allow herself to feel anything. Not now, not ever again.
"I apologize," she said, her voice a clipped, emotionless monotone. "I must be going."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and sprinted back into the woods, her torn dress snagging on the undergrowth. She didn't look back, but she could feel him. It wasn't just a presence; it was a weight in the air, a silent, predatory force that moved with a frightening grace. He wasn't following her in a rush, but with the quiet inevitability of a hunter.
She ducked behind a gnarled old oak tree, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She clutched her side, a sharp pain radiating from a stitch in her ribs. She was a runner, but she was no match for a hunter.
A low, amused voice drifted from the shadows. "Do you truly believe you can outrun me, Princess?"
Evangeline's heart hammered against her ribs. She pressed her back against the rough bark, her eyes darting through the foliage. She could see nothing, but she felt his presence everywhere.
"Leave me alone," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
"I can't," he replied, his voice closer now, directly behind the tree. "I came all this way for you."
She closed her eyes, her mind racing. This was it. The end of her short-lived escape. He was a dragon prince, and she was nothing but a bargaining chip.
Then, she felt it. A warm hand on her arm, gentle but firm. She flinched, but he didn't let go. She opened her eyes, and there he was, standing over her. He had removed his cloak, and she saw the intricate patterns of a royal crest on his tunic. His face was a chiseled work of art, with a jawline as sharp as obsidian and a gaze that held her captive. He was even more handsome than she could have imagined.
"You're not afraid," he said, not as a question but as a statement. "Everyone else runs screaming at the sight of me, yet you just look at me as if I'm... a man."
Evangeline pulled her arm away, her resolve returning. "I'm not a fool. You're here for the same reason all of them are. You want my power, not me. I am nothing but a way to get what you want."
He didn't reply. Instead, he simply looked at her, and his eyes, which had held such a fierce fire, softened. He took a step closer, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something in his eyes she hadn't seen in a very long time. It was a kind of longing, a loneliness she understood.
"You're wrong," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I don't want your power, Princess. I want you."
*THE UNTAMED*
Evangeline scoffed, a bitter, humorless sound. "Lies. I've heard them all before."
She took a step back, her guard higher than ever. His words were a mirror of every lie told to her by her family and the court—sweet nothings that turned into chains. He wasn't a savior; he was just another predator, and she was the prize he sought. Her eyes, with a will of their own, flared to a brilliant, incandescent purple. She focused all her energy, every ounce of her will, on him. She commanded him to leave, to turn his back on her and never return.
For a moment, nothing happened. The prince simply stood there, his golden eyes observing her with an unnerving calm. A silent battle of wills raged between them, a clash of two immense, ancient forces. Evangeline pushed harder, a vein throbbing in her temple. She commanded him to kneel, to bow to her, to feel her power and submit.
And then, a faint smile played on his lips. "It's a beautiful power, Princess," he said, his voice a low, amused rumble. "But it won't work on me."
A flicker of shock crossed her face. How could it not work? She had commanded griffins, tamed beasts of myth and legend, with a single look. Why was this man, this dragon, immune? She pushed even harder, the purple in her eyes burning with a desperate intensity. She felt the strain on her mind, a sharp, searing pain as if a hundred voices were screaming in her head. But it was useless.
He reached out and gently placed his hand on her cheek, his touch surprisingly warm. "Don't hurt yourself," he whispered, his golden eyes full of a strange, powerful light. "My mind is a fortress you can't breach."
He was telling the truth. She could feel it. A profound, ancient magic coiled beneath his skin, a power that dwarfed her own. Her magic was for taming the wild, but his… his was the wild itself.
The knowledge was like a bucket of cold water. Her eyes returned to their natural brown, the purple receding like a tide. Her attempt had failed spectacularly, and now she was more vulnerable than ever. She had just shown him the full extent of her power, and he had proven her to be powerless against him.
"Now," he said, his hand still on her cheek, his thumb gently caressing her skin. "Will you come with me, Princess? Your kingdom seeks to sacrifice you, but my kingdom seeks to cherish you."