Dangerous Allure

It had to be a dream. Or at least a drunken haze. 

Otherwise, why would she be so brave? Perhaps it was not bravery but complete madness. 

No, she was not brave at all. 

Even tonight, when she got ready to leave the royal palace and visit the Gypsy tribe, it was not the poison she wanted to get. She would never kill herself. She could never do anything. 

After having that unsettling dream last night, Lorelai woke up––she really did; she felt as if she finally woke up and saw everything clearly for the first time in her life. And once she had learned that she was to marry Duke Kalder, it hit her like a freezing ocean wave. 

She was sold into this marriage, traded like cattle. 

Lorelai had nothing of her own. Even her life did not belong to her. 

It belonged to the king, to the queen, to the crown prince, and to her kingdom... but it did not belong to her. 

Nothing belonged to her. She had nothing at all. 

So tonight, Lorelai wanted to get something entirely hers. Something that no one else would be able to know about. Something that no one else would be able to take away from her and trample before her very eyes. 

Tonight, she wanted to rebel and be free. And this man might just be able to grant her this wish. 

It had to be fate. The same pair of bright amber eyes she had seen in her dream might save her once again. Even if only for one night. 

"Will you..." she finally parted her lips, complying with his request. "Will you sleep with me tonight?"

There, she did it. She asked him again. There was no going back from here. 

For some reason, the man swallowed dryly, and the princess noticed something almost animalistic glisten in his eyes. 

Although Lorelai had already noticed how powerful the man's build was, now that he was leaning so closely over her, facing her in all his glory, the ample difference in their sizes was impossible to ignore. 

His strong, wide shoulders and broad chest cast a shadow over the woman's petite body as if she were sitting under a mighty tree.

For some reason, the princess felt embarrassed by the stark contrast in their frames. The man must have noticed, as his lips slowly twisted into a faint smile again.

Then, he moved his hands slightly forward, leaving only a few inches between their bodies, and intentionally placed his face under the wide strip of moonlight, making sure the woman before him could see his face more clearly.

What Lorelai saw was glowing, tanned skin, dark brown hair, and deep yet fierce eyes.

In that cold moonlight, his piercing amber glare remained clear and bright, reflecting the wildness of that incomprehensible animalistic trait that slept deep within him.

The more Lorelai looked at him, the more fascinating he seemed. Though angular, his features were brutally beautiful. His beauty was almost exotic and possessed a dangerous combination of a harsh masculine aura and a surprisingly warm and even affectionate look about him. 

Suddenly, her heart raced like a wild horse. Her throat dried as a realization hit her.

The man leaning over her was not entirely human.

'Could he be..?' She thought unconsciously to herself.

Her lips trembled so slightly as that thought rushed through her already confused mind. Dark skin, huge physique, and that unique amber glow inside his eyes with intensely colored pupils... He had to be one of them. Lorelai was sure of that.

But how was it possible? 

Humans were unique creatures in their nature. They were born with different colors of skin and hair, but there was only one distinct trait that signified that they were entirely human––their eyes. 

Humans could inherit any eye color. Their eyes could be as blue as the clear ocean wave, or as green as the fresh spring grass; they could be as dark as the fertile garden soil, or as light as the morning fog. 

But there were only two colors that human eyes could not inherit unless their blood was mixed: red and golden. 

Red eyes were a feature that only vampires and ghouls could possess while golden eyes... belonged only to beast shifters. 

But the man before her was not a beast. He did not have golden eyes, his eyes were clearly amber, even though there was a sharp golden glow within them. 

But if he was not one of them, who was he? Mixed blood? A Gypsy mixed with a beast? 

Lorelai had been lost in her thoughts for so long, that she failed to notice that she had stayed quiet while staring intently into the man's narrowed eyes. 

Perhaps tired of waiting, or maybe even slightly amused by her stupor, the stranger raised his dark shapely eyebrows and offered the princess a light nod as if he knew exactly what Lorelai was thinking about.

"So? Are you scared?"

He wasn't entirely human. Now that Lorelai was thinking about it, even his voice sounded different than others. 

'Yes,' she finally admitted to herself internally, 'I am scared.'

Humans did not like anything that was different. Especially if they knew it could pose a threat to them. 

The beasts' blend of mixed––or even pure––blood coursing through their veins was perceived as an anomaly—a dangerous fusion of human guise and predatory, animalistic strength and instinct.

Their lineage was rumored to carry the blood of wolves, foxes, and cats, rendering them with an inhumane and incomprehensible nature. For centuries, they had been viewed as impulsive, indulgent, and perilous creatures, guided solely by their primal instincts.

Yet, amidst these descriptions lay an envy-inducing trait: their unparalleled physical strength and beauty. No human could rival their allure, despite the monstrous tales whispered about what lurked beneath their bronzed skin.

This allure ensured that, even in their marginalized state, the beasts remained objects of tabooed desire.

And now Lorelai, too, was subjected to that dangerous allure.