Chapter 24-Draugr
I dragged a hand through my bed-tousled hair, the coarse strands catching between my fingers as if even they resisted the pull of reality.
How many times had I made love to Serena during the night?
The question lingered, not for the answer—but for the sensation it summoned.
Fragments.
Heat.
Her voice breaking against my name.
Her body arching beneath mine, soft and strong and wholly mine.
How many times had I kissed my way across her skin—memorizing every inch as if it were scripture? As if the Norns themselves had carved her into existence for me alone?
It hadn’t been indulgence.
It hadn’t been excess.
It had been necessity.
My hunger had demanded her.
But more than that—it needed her.
I needed her.
There was a difference.
A terrifying one.
At around five, I had taken her back to her dorm, carrying her as if she weighed nothing—though I knew now she anchored me more firmly than anything ever had.
I’d watched her sleep for a moment longer than I should have, committing the rhythm of her breath to memory before forcing myself to leave.
She needed rest.
Real rest.
Not the kind stolen between waves of passion and blood and bond.
We had no classes today. Saturday.
But I had plans.
Gods help me, I had plans.
I was taking Serena out.
On a date.
With me.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I let out a rough breath, pacing the length of my chamber atop the tower, where ancient stone met wind and sea and isolation. The Draugr did not date.
The Draugr did not court.
The Draugr fed.
Survived.
Endured.
And yet—for the first time in my cursed existence, the hunger had been quieted.
No.
Not quieted.
Satisfied.
Truly satisfied.
The difference was staggering.
Losing my virginity would have been enough to shake me to my core, a ridiculous milestone for a creature like me.
But what we had done?
What I had taken?
What I had given?
That was something else entirely.
I had bitten her.
Drunk from her.
From the vein.
Her blood—Gods.
I braced my hands against the stone wall as the memory slammed into me.
Sweet.
Spiced.
Alive.
It had not been sustenance.
It had been revelation.
Every feeding before her had been hollow. Necessary. Controlled. Refined through the Institute’s processes to keep me from losing myself entirely.
But Serena—she had given freely.
And in that giving, she had undone me.
I had tasted centuries of restraint unraveling in a single breath.
I had tasted home.
“Fuck,” I rasped.
My hands shook.
Not with hunger.
Not entirely.
With something far more dangerous.
Devotion.
I had fed from countless vessels over the years, but never like that.
Never with intimacy.
Never with connection.
Never with the bond blazing between us like a living thing.
I was not merely fed.
I was tethered.
Bound.
Changed.
“Damned slave,” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face.
Because that was the truth of it.
I would burn kingdoms to keep her safe.
I would raze this entire island if anything threatened her.
And that—that was not the Draugr.
That was something else.
Something worse.
Something softer.
Something human.
I hated it.
I craved it.
I didn’t know how to survive it.
By the time I returned to her dormitory at three in the afternoon, I was shaking like a mortal.
Nerves.
Actual fucking nerves.
I had faced down ancient beasts.
Fought creatures that devoured entire bloodlines.
And yet—standing outside her door?
I nearly turned away.
I looked down at myself.
Leather pants. White t-shirt stark against my pitch-black skin. My horns and runes were visible—always visible.
No illusion could mask what I was, not fully.
My wings remained tucked away.
Contained.
Like the rest of me.
The students in the hall parted instinctively as I passed, fear rippling through them like a scent.
Good.
Let them fear me.
Let them tremble.
The more they feared the Draugr—the safer my mate would be.
Mate.
The word hit again.
Heavy.
Unreal.
Serena Notte.
My mate.
Mine.
“Gods,” I breathed.
What had I done to deserve her?
She was everything I was not.
Bright.
Beautiful.
Powerful in a way that did not rot from the inside out.
And yet—she had chosen me.
I raised my hand and knocked.
The door flew open.
“Raven!”
Her voice.
Her scent.
Her presence—all of it hit me like a physical force.
“Unnasta,” I growled, opening my arms instinctively as she launched herself at me.
I caught her easily, holding her against me as if letting go would be impossible.
Because it was.
Her lips met mine—soft, warm, affectionate—and my body reacted instantly.
Too fast.
Too strong.
Control.
I forced it.
Slowed the kiss before it turned into something else entirely.
“I missed you,” she whispered, nuzzling against me.
“And I you, Unnasta Minn,” I replied, my voice dropping, hunger curling beneath the words.
I kissed her again—hard, brief, controlled.
Because if I didn’t—I would lose myself right here.
“Oh—um—hi,” one of her roommates said.
I barely registered them.
Barely cared.
Serena introduced them, and I nodded politely, though my attention never left her.
They whistled.
Catcalled.
And Serena flushed with embarrassment.
Gods.
She was radiant.
Alive with emotion in a way I could feel through the bond.
Pride.
Joy.
Desire.
Mine.
I tucked her against my side as we left.
“They care about you,” I said. “That is good.”
I had not had that for—well, not in forever.
To be the Draugr was to be alone.
“Is that how you feel?” she asked softly.
The question caught me off guard.
Did I feel isolated?
Alone?
I had.
Once.
For centuries.
But now, well, now things were different.
“No,” I whispered. “Not anymore.”
Because she was here.
Because I was no longer alone inside my own curse.
Her kiss sealed that truth.
The bond pulsed.
We descended into the common areas, eyes following us.
Eyes always followed me.
But this time? I did not care.
Because she was with me.
“Why are they staring?” she asked.
“Because of me,” I said simply.
And then I told her.
About the feeding.
About the blood.
About the controlled system Professor Kenna maintained.
And the truth—the truth hurt her.
I felt it instantly.
Through the bond.
Sharp.
Uncertain.
Gods, I hated that.
“You drank from me,” she whispered.
“Yes,” I said.
“But you didn’t hurt me,” she whispered, awed.
“I would never hurt you, And I do not regret taking your vein. Not for a single moment. But the reason I hesitated before was because I feared losing control with you,” I admitted. “I did not trust myself.”
Not with anyone.
Not with anything.
But with her—I had.
And that terrified me more than anything.
We walked to the overlook.
The place where I had nearly lost her.
Where the bond had first truly ignited.
She stood at the edge, the wind catching her hair, her scent drifting back to me.
I stepped behind her, caging her between my arms, my body surrounding hers.
She relaxed instantly.
Trusted me.
Gods.
That trust would destroy me.
Or save me.
I did not know which.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Mmm,” she said softly. “I just want to be with you.”
The bond surged.
Satisfied.
And yet—not.
Because my hunger had changed.
It was no longer just blood.
It was her.
Her presence.
Her warmth.
Her everything.
“I still can’t believe you are here with me,” I whispered.
Because it was too good to be true, and yet it wasn’t enough.
It would never be enough.
“I don’t want to be anywhere else. But I-I feel like something is going to happen,” she murmured.
My body went still.
Instinct.
Danger.
Fate.
Her magic was growing.
Changing.
And with it—so was mine.
“No matter what happens, I will protect you from harm, Serena. Nothing will keep me from you,” I promised.
The vow sealed itself.
Deep.
Unbreakable.
Her eyes glowed violet.
“Promise?”
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation. “I promise.”
And when she kissed me—I was lost again.
Her mouth opened to mine.
Her body pressed to mine.
And I felt it—the bond between us pulsing with every second that passed.
The hunger.
The need.
Colliding.
Rising.
Threatening to break everything.
But this time—I held it.
Barely.
Because I knew now—I would not lose control.
Not ever again.
Losing control meant that I might destroy the only thing in this world that mattered.
My mate.
My Unnasta.
My Serena.
Mine.
And that just wasn’t a fucking option.