Mated to the Beast

A gelid scream did sunder the hush of night, yet for Logan, it had become a grim ritual. The woodland resounded with myriad cries, an unceasing symphony of dread. Each fleeting minute marked the fall of another hero, and the earth beneath his feet was sodden, not with rain, but with the lifeblood of valiant souls now drenching every inch of the soil.

As Logan hied through the wood, he heeded not his own safeguard. Solely the thought that devoured his mind was the quest for his spouse. He had forsaken all when word reached him that the adversary had reached their settlement. All else was left behind to locate and shield the love of his life, she without whom existence seemed untenable.

Upon his arrival in the settlement, the scene proved even more heart-wrenching. Lifeless forms lay strewn all around, dwellings consumed by fire, and the scant spared offspring wailed in grief. Logan felt an intense urge to solace them, to guide them to sanctuary and promise that all would yet be well. However, his sole focus remained discovering his beloved.

His domicile at last met his gaze, and he pushed himself to the brink. Disregarding the searing pain in his ribs, he paused at the open threshold, dreading what lay within.

"Portia, my dearest, where are you?" He cried out with desperation, yet there came no answer, no trace of her.

In that moment, he wished for the senses of a beast. Her scent might have led him straight to her, but he was naught but a mortal. He had no choice but to persist in the search, clinging to the hope that the fiends had not taken her.

He searched with haste in their chamber first, yet it lay empty. His anxiety swelling, he sped down the corridor to the chambers of his offspring, only to find them void as well.

Where could she be? Panic seized him, and he beseeched in silence that the monsters had not seized her.

A faint lamentation drew Logan to the kitchen, wherein lay a harrowing scene, a memory to haunt him eternally. His beloved wife, lifeless and marred by a gaping wound, sprawled upon the floor. Nearby sat their four-year-old daughter, her gaze distant, and the word "mama" incessantly escaped her lips.

"Portia!" His voice quivered as he sank to his knees, clutching his wife's bloodied hands. Alas, it was too late. His cherished Portia had passed beyond.

Tears streamed down his face; he had faltered in his charge to safeguard and cherish her. Their little one remained frozen, reliving the gruesome spectacle of her mother's demise. She had hidden behind a cupboard, powerless to avert her mother's murder.

Only when the assailants had withdrawn did she emerge from her sanctuary, sitting beside her lifeless mother. After a lengthy, mournful hour, he confined his daughter within a chamber and promptly grasped his blade. The malefactors would know his vengeance.

Erupting from his dwelling, he hewed down any adversary in his course, for his sole aim was to vanquish Uno, the leader of the foe.

Upon nearing their lair, a heart-rending tableau presented itself. The formidable warrior beast, Uno, clasped his departed mate in his arms, his laments reverberating through the air. Something within Logan stirred, his sword falling from his grip with a resounding clatter upon the ground. Uno's gaze met his.

The beast simply gazed, bereft of any yearning for combat.

"We've been utterly foolish," Uno uttered, a mirthless chuckle escaping him. "We've slaughtered for nought. Observe us now."

Logan remained mute, regarding the beast. A few more of the creatures congregated in the vicinity, giving him no heed. It was as if they either could not perceive him, or their entire concentration rested upon their leader, who cradled his deceased mate.

"I shall wage battle no longer. It is now either the cessation of this conflict or my demise," Uno proclaimed. "I yearn for conflict no more," Logan replied, and the focus of the beasts shifted to him.

He had lost the most cherished soul in his existence due to this war. Many of his own people had perished as well. The war would yield no transformation, only further inertia and demise. The time had come to conclude it.

With this determination, Logan turned his back on the beasts and strode away from their dominion. The survivors within the village gazed at him for guidance.

"The war has reached its end. Let us inter our own and reconstruct our village," Logan declared, and the proclamation resounded with exultation.

And so, the process of rebuilding commenced. The fallen heroes were given a proper burial, and slowly, the villagers started to rebuild their lives.

In the fourth month following the war's conclusion, Uno, the leader of the beasts, visited the small village. Humans watched in surprise as he walked through the village and made his way to their leader's house.

Logan was taken aback to find Uno in his office. He instinctively reached for a small knife hidden beneath the table, but Uno raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, causing Logan to relax.

"No need for that. I come in peace," Uno said. "Why are you here?"

"I want us to draft a treaty. Since our war has ended and we've silently agreed to live in peace, I think it's only right that we have a formal agreement that safeguards our people," Uno proposed.

Logan nodded in agreement. "My people will no longer harm your people, and your people will not harm mine."

"Agreed. You..."

"Papa?" A small voice interrupted Uno, and they turned to see a little girl with wide blue eyes standing in the doorway.

"Emily, I told you to stay in your room," her father scolded gently.

"I had a bad dream," she explained softly.

"Go back to your room," her father snapped, and she turned away, tears in her eyes, before leaving the room.

The treaty was finalized, and Uno returned to his land. For six generations, the treaty held, and the two species coexisted harmoniously. However, a conflict arose when the reigning human leader, Craig, killed the mate of the reigning beast.

In retaliation, the beast went on a rampage, causing widespread destruction and death. The treaty was shattered, and the beasts began to terrorize the humans, who now lived in constant fear.

Pressured by his advisors, Craig attempted to make amends. In a letter addressed to the beasts, he offered, "The human village will provide a female for the reigning beast."

The beasts accepted the offer, and thus began the practice of selecting females. A family was chosen to provide a female, and when she reached maturity, she would be sent to the Beasts as a mate.

The villagers were against this development, but they were powerless to change it. The girls who resisted were forcibly taken by human guards to the border, where the beasts would pick them up.

As the girls were taken one by one, they vanished without a trace, and disturbing rumors began to circulate. Whispers claimed that the beasts were responsible for the girls' disappearances, alleging that they were killed and their bodies disposed of.

Fear gripped every family in the village as they dreaded the day their own daughter would be chosen. The prospect of losing their beloved daughters was terrifying enough, but even more frightening were the potential consequences should they fail to provide a mate for the beast.