Chapter 18
Some miles away, Elias was out in that very wood—his own thoughts even more plagued than Victoria’s. He’d behaved despicably, driven by shame, desperate to conceal his secret. He’d wanted to protect Victoria from it; from the moment he laid eyes upon her that first day in the woods, he’d wanted only to protect her, and instead, he brought her harm. He was selfish, and now—out in his woods, in a place that used to bring him solace, he could not find peace.
Last night the change had been upon him. He felt it boiling over, he felt the loss of control so overwhelmingly. But he had not changed. Even now, long past the hour of drinking his uncle’s protective draft, he still had not undergone the change.
Something was wrong with him—more wrong than usual anyway. In the months before Victoria came to Edenbridge, he had been losing his ability to maintain his control. And now, with her here, it seemed he’d completely lost control of all aspects of himself—both man and beast.
His life was a curse. He was an abomination. Despised by the town, he never thought he would know a loving touch or the affection of a woman.
Victoria had looked at him as if he were any man. She didn’t seem to see his scars, and she didn’t mind his hulking frame, his towering height, or his ugly face. When she should have recoiled at the sight of him, she flirted and declared her affection. Even now, he could picture her face—her beautiful and angelic face, looking up at him with something like love in her eyes. He’d done that woman wrong and for the first time in his life, he felt he deserved the curse his parents had set upon him.
He remained in the woods. Half out of fear that the change would come suddenly, without warning, and half because he hated the thought of seeing her again—of seeing the blossom of love faded and dying.
Still, he told himself, it was for the best. Victoria didn’t belong out here. It wasn’t safe. Lord Reginald should have known that from the start. It was better that this happened now because far worse a fate was always a potential living this near to the Perished Woods.
He hung his head, fatigued. Sleep had not taken him, nor had his curse. This was a place where his emotions usually stretched themselves wide. He was free here. Free to be himself. Free to lose himself to the beast. But today, he was in purgatory and he found no peace. Nor, he thought, did he deserve it.
Elias was lost in his thoughts when there came the snap of a branch. He didn’t notice it. He rubbed his hands over his face and caught her scent. It had been all over him, but now it felt stronger. It was the magic of the wood, surely. It had the power to confuse a man. He surrendered himself to it. Allowing the memory of his intimacy with Victoria to push him over the edge. The change that had eluded him began.
Elias Harrington fell to his knees, his body contorting and changing. His flesh darkened and turned an earthy shade of green. His teeth ached and tore at the gums; they became fangs—lengthening and sharpening. Like so many times before, his clothing tore and shredded. He fought this change so often, but now, he found solace in it. He welcomed the beast, for it felt far more aligned with the way he had behaved. He was a monster, in action and in form. He lay there, huddled on the cold damp soil.
And that is how Victoria found him.