The Impossible Healing
Later that evening, when the exhausted fire department finally gave the absolute all-clear, Sarah and Dmitri climbed the creaking stairs to her apartment in a comfortable, companionable silence.
“Let me carefully check your wound,” Sarah said once they were securely inside.
Dmitri nodded silently, settling heavily onto the small couch and slowly lifting the hem of the borrowed sweater. Sarah knelt gently beside him, her soft fingers working incredibly carefully to peel back the waterproof bandage.
Then she completely froze.
“That’s… That’s absolutely not possible,” she whispered, her eyes wide with shock.
Right where the incredibly deep, violent puncture wound had been just the night before, there was now only perfectly smooth, entirely unmarked skin. Absolutely not even a faint scar remained.
“I completely don’t understand,” Dmitri said, staring down blankly at his own flawless torso with the exact same utter bewilderment she felt.
Sarah ran her trembling finger incredibly lightly over the exact spot where the violent wound had previously been.
“I was so incredibly worried about a lethal infection, about you desperately needing deep stitches,” she murmured, speaking more to herself than to him.
“Maybe it absolutely wasn’t as deep as we originally thought,” Dmitri suggested, but his deep voice lacked any real conviction.
“Maybe,” Sarah agreed hollowly.
They stared intensely at each other in the soft lamplight, deeply sharing a profound moment of mutual, terrifying confusion. But the shock slowly faded, and as the heavy silence stretched comfortably between them, Sarah became acutely, hyper-aware of exactly how close they were.
How she was still intimately kneeling directly beside him on the couch, her small hand resting warmly on his bare, muscular chest. Her breath violently caught when he slowly lifted his large hand. His calloused fingers hovered just a millimeter above her flushed cheek.
Then reality violently crashed back in.
“I absolutely should go,” Dmitri abruptly pulled his sweater back down, standing up completely abruptly.
“Go?” she repeated blankly.
“I am completely better,” he said, his voice tight. “You have been significantly more than kind to me, but I really should give you your private space back.”
Sarah felt an incredibly strange, desperate urge to protest, to find a million ridiculous reasons why he absolutely should stay. But none of them made any logical sense.
He was right. He was impossibly, miraculously healed. The gas crisis was completely over, and she had absolutely no real, logical reason to ask a stranger to stay in her tiny apartment.
“Of course,” she said instead, forcing a painfully fake smile. “Let me quickly pack you some hot food.”
When she slowly returned to the living room, Dmitri was meticulously folding his old, tattered clothes.
“Please keep those,” she said, nodding toward the clean clothes he was currently wearing. “They fit you significantly better anyway.”
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Trust me, I genuinely never want to physically see them again.” The raw bitterness in her tired voice surprised them both.
Dmitri gently took the heavy bag of food, his warm fingers brushing hers exactly as he did so. “Thank you,” he said incredibly quietly. “For absolutely everything. Your immense kindness, your warm home. I honestly don’t know how to adequately repay you.”
“It was absolutely nothing,” Sarah assured him, her heart aching.
“No,” Dmitri told her. And there was something incredibly, almost fiercely intense in his deep voice. “It was absolutely not nothing. You selflessly helped a filthy stranger when you had absolutely every reason not to. You generously shared your limited food, your home, your safety.”
He paused, looking deeply troubled. “I completely don’t remember exactly who I was before this, but I absolutely don’t think I was a kind man. I don’t think I would have ever done what you selflessly did.”
And then he was simply gone. He left her standing entirely alone in her suddenly too-quiet apartment, staring miserably at the empty couch where he had slept.
The Apocalyptic Return
Two agonizing days passed in a miserable blur of ordinary routine that somehow felt completely, utterly wrong. Sarah went to depressing job interviews, came home to her agonizingly empty apartment, and desperately tried to pretend she didn’t keep glancing sadly at the couch where Dmitri had slept.
She aggressively told herself it was entirely ridiculous. She had only known him for less than forty-eight hours. Sane people don’t form massive, life-altering attachments that incredibly quickly to complete, amnesiac strangers.
But then the apocalyptic storm hit.
It started as heavy, relentless rain around noon. It was the exact kind that aggressively makes the city’s entirely inadequate drainage systems violently overflow and rapidly turns the streets into rushing rivers.
By the dark evening, it had upgraded to something truly apocalyptic. Howling, violent winds that aggressively rattled her thin windows. Destructive hail the massive size of golf balls. Rain so incredibly heavy she could barely see the brick building across the flooded street.
Sarah frantically paced her tiny apartment, obsessively checking the terrifying weather reports. All she could possibly think about was Dmitri. He was somewhere out there in this freezing nightmare weather with absolutely nothing but the thin clothes on his back.
By ten o’clock, she absolutely couldn’t stand it anymore. She pulled on her heaviest winter coat, grabbed a useless umbrella, and bravely ventured out into the violent storm.
The screaming wind nearly violently knocked her completely over the exact moment she stepped outside. The flooded streets were almost completely, terrifyingly deserted, except for the occasional blinding emergency vehicle racing past with deafening sirens wailing. Freezing water rushed aggressively down the gutters exactly like violent rapids, and she had to desperately hold on to the brick building walls just to keep from being swept entirely away.
She miraculously made it back to the exact dark alley where she had first found him. It was completely empty, except for wet debris aggressively blown in by the howling wind. Where would he go? she thought frantically. Where could anyone possibly go in this?
She was just about to miserably give up, completely soaked to the bone and shivering violently, when she suddenly spotted a massive figure. He was huddled tightly in a narrow, freezing alcove between two brick buildings.
“Dmitri!” she screamed out, desperately fighting to be heard over the deafening wind.
He looked up quickly, and even through the sheets of freezing rain, she could vividly see his profound surprise. “Sarah.”
They shared a highly charged look entirely across the storm-lashed, flooded space between them.
“You’re actually still here,” she said, gesturing wildly to the dark area near where she’d first found him.
A small, incredibly relieved smile tugged at the corner of his handsome mouth. “Well, I desperately thought… just in case.”
The highly specific way he said it made her exhausted chest incredibly tight. Just in case of what? In case she actually came looking for him.
The beautiful possibility that he might have been desperately hoping for her sends incredible, fiery warmth flooding entirely through her veins despite the lethal, freezing rain.
“Come back home with me,” she said entirely impulsively. “Please. You absolutely cannot stay out here in this lethal weather.”
“Sarah, what if there’s another massive gas leak?” he interrupted, his amber eyes glittering in the dark. “What if you desperately need someone with a supernatural super-smell to magically save the building?”
Super-smell. Dmitri looked exactly like he was fiercely fighting another genuine smile.
A particularly violent, strong gust of screaming wind sent wet debris flying dangerously past them. His large hand immediately came up to fiercely steady her. His strong fingers were incredibly gentle but highly firm on her freezing arm.
“The apocalyptic storm is getting vastly worse,” she said incredibly quietly, looking up at him. “I absolutely won’t be able to sleep tonight knowing you are freezing out here.”
He looked deeply at her for a very long, charged moment. Freezing rain actively dripped from his dark hair. “You don’t even know who I am,” he said softly.
“That is absolutely not true,” she protested. And the sudden, honest admission felt significantly heavier than it ever should have. “You are… you are my friend.”
She grabbed his hand. “Come home with me, Dmitri,” she said incredibly softly. “Just until the violent storm finally passes.”
He nodded finally. Sarah felt pure, unadulterated relief aggressively flood entirely through her body so strongly it was almost dizzying.
“Just until the storm passes,” he agreed.
A Dangerous Domesticity
Back safely in her warm apartment, they stood completely dripping in her small entryway.
“I absolutely should get you a warm towel,” Sarah said. She was acutely, painfully aware of exactly how his wet, clingy clothes adhered to his incredibly muscular frame.
“That would be incredibly good,” Dmitri agreed, his voice a low rumble.
She nervously bustled around, frantically gathering dry clothes and warm towels, desperately trying to ignore the exact way her racing pulse quickened.
“I’ll just… You can easily change in there,” she said, nervously gesturing toward the tiny bedroom. “I’ll just go get some sleep. You absolutely should, too. It is incredibly late.”
“Yes,” he agreed smoothly, but he miraculously made absolutely no move toward the makeshift couch bed.
“All right.”
They stood frozen there in her small living room. The immense, crushing weight of entirely unspoken things actively pressing down heavily on them both.
“Well,” Sarah said finally, her voice cracking. “Good night.”
She desperately escaped into her bedroom, but sleep was completely impossible. Not with him breathing on the exact other side of the thin wall. Every single creak, every tiny shift of the couch, every deep breath he took sounded exactly like it was right next to her.
After what agonizingly felt like a full hour, she completely gave up. Barefoot, she crept silently to the door and pressed her ear firmly against the wood. Complete silence.
She carefully eased it open and peeked out. The tiny living room was beautifully washed in silver moonlight. Dmitri was sitting rigidly on the edge of the couch, his elbows heavily on his knees. He was staring intensely out the window, completely watchful, exactly like he was actively hunting something unseen in the shadows.
“Can’t sleep either?” she whispered into the dark.
He slowly turned his head entirely toward her voice. Even in the absolute dark, his glowing amber eyes fiercely gleamed. “No,” he said incredibly softly.
She took a brave step out, suddenly entirely too hyper-aware of her thin, cotton nightgown and bare, pale legs. The air in the room felt vastly colder, her skin growing tighter.
“I thought maybe I’d make some hot tea.”
“Chamomile,” she said, desperately trying to sound casual. “It actually helps sometimes.”
“Help,” he repeated. There was something incredibly, darkly amused hiding in his deep tone.
She nervously cleared her throat. “Would you possibly like some?”
She was already actively reaching for the metal kettle when she clearly heard him smoothly stand up. Footsteps approached directly behind her. They were incredibly slow, highly controlled, not loud, but massively present.
And when she nervously turned around, he was right there. She backed up entirely instinctively, the hard counter violently pressing directly into her lower back. He smoothly followed, stopping just a fraction of an inch shy of actually touching her.
“Sarah,” he murmured. His deep voice was exactly like dark smoke. It was rough and incredibly intimate.
She nervously wet her dry lips. His handsome head dipped significantly lower, and she physically felt the warm brush of his nose directly against her sensitive throat.
“I absolutely do not want tea,” he murmured, his hot lips lightly grazing her shivering skin.
She swallowed incredibly hard. “No?” she asked breathlessly.
Her shaking hands flew directly to his broad chest. They were meant to forcefully push him away, but they absolutely didn’t. They fiercely curled directly into his soft shirt instead, violently pulling his body much closer.
“You smell exactly like freezing rain and immense heat,” he replied darkly. “And something incredibly sweeter underneath.”
“Dmitri,” she breathed, her entire body actively thrumming with electric anticipation.
“You have been so incredibly kind to me,” he whispered into her ear. “Please, let me finally make it up to you.”
The explosive kiss violently crashed over them exactly like the apocalyptic storm raging outside. It was incredibly hungry, wildly reckless, and massively overdue.
He kissed her exactly like he was actively remembering something vital with his physical body long before his amnesiac mind could catch up. Exactly like her soft mouth was a profound secret he had intimately known in another lifetime. And the chamomile tea was forgotten entirely.
If the person you loved suddenly revealed a terrifying, monstrous nature, would your first instinct be to run away in fear, or to try and save them?
The Billionaire Revelation
Over the next few weeks, they fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Dmitri fixed her entire apartment, organized her life, and looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.
But the fantasy violently shattered one rainy afternoon.
Sarah was walking home when a well-dressed, furious man aggressively blocked her path. “You should be utterly ashamed of yourself!” he spat. “Being with that monster! He ruined my life!”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Sarah said, terrified.
“I am Miller. Former CEO. Do you conveniently ignore all the innocent lives he has utterly ruined because he buys you nice things?”
“He has amnesia! He is homeless!”
Miller laughed harshly. “Amnesia? That man is David Vance. He is worth nearly three billion dollars. He is a ruthless corporate shark.”
Sarah sprinted directly to the public library. Her hands shook violently as she pulled up the archives. There it was. The Forbes 40 under 40 cover. David Vance, CEO. He was standing arrogantly in a glass-walled Manhattan office, wearing a bespoke suit, looking utterly ruthless and entirely terrifying.
She bought the magazine and stumbled blindly back to her apartment. David was in her tiny kitchen, cheerfully wearing her ex’s clothes, stirring a pot of soup. The domestic sight completely gutted her. He was just playing house.
She violently threw the glossy magazine directly at his chest. It fell heavily to the floor, splaying wide open to reveal his arrogant face staring up. The silence was deafening.
“Have you been maliciously lying to me?” she whispered, her heart breaking.
“No!” he protested, looking down at the magazine in sheer horror. “Sarah, I absolutely don’t remember any of that!”
“You are David Vance. Net worth nearly three billion dollars. You destroy people’s lives for sport.”
“I don’t remember being that terrible person,” he pleaded, pure desperation in his voice.
“It doesn’t matter,” Sarah sobbed, turning away because looking at his beautiful face physically hurt too much. “Now that you know exactly who you are, you can finally go back to your mansions. I want you to leave. Right now.”
David’s eyes flashed a brilliant, unnatural gold. “You actually want me to leave?” his voice dropped into a terrifying, guttural growl.
“Yes,” she whispered, her heart shattering into a million pieces.
David winced violently, his entire face contorting in pure agony. He violently stumbled forward, clutching his chest like something inside was trying to claw its way out.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah cried, terror replacing her anger.
He made a horrific sound—part gasp, part primal growl. And then, his human bones began to audibly crack and violently stretch. Thick, dark fur rapidly sprouted across his pale skin as his borrowed clothes tore into shreds. His hands morphed into massive, lethal claws. His teeth elongated into razor-sharp fangs.
Where the man had just stood, there was now a massive, terrifying wolf with glowing amber eyes.
Sarah screamed, pure terror ripping from her throat.
The wolf looked directly at her. In its glowing amber eyes, she saw pure, unadulterated heartbreak. He whimpered softly at her fear. Then, the beast turned and violently leapt entirely through her closed living room window, shattering the thick glass as he disappeared into the dark night.
The Warehouse Trap
Sarah stood completely frozen amidst the shattered glass. She had sent him away. The man she deeply loved was confused, terrified, and completely alone. She grabbed her jacket and sprinted out into the dark streets, desperately searching the alleys.
“David!” she screamed into the void.
Suddenly, rough hands violently grabbed her from behind. A chemical-soaked rag was forcefully clamped over her mouth. As she struggled wildly, she saw the businessman, Miller, stepping out of the shadows.
“Don’t worry,” Miller sneered as the dark chemicals dragged her under. “We just needed perfect bait to draw out the beast.”
Sarah woke up violently zip-tied to a rusted metal chair inside an abandoned, rotting warehouse. Three massive, muscular men circled her like hungry predators.
“Now we wait for the Alpha to come running,” one of them sneered.
Suddenly, a low, incredibly primal growl vibrated violently through the concrete floor. From the deep shadows, the massive, smoke-dark wolf stepped into the yellow light. His amber eyes were locked entirely on the men holding knives.
“Shift back, Vance, or she dies,” the leader threatened, holding a blade to Sarah’s throat.
David didn’t hesitate. He violently lunged.
Pure, bloody chaos erupted. The three men immediately shifted into wolves themselves, but they were significantly smaller. David fought exactly like a demon possessed. It was wild, brutal, and incredibly precise. Blood heavily sprayed across the concrete floor. The sounds of snapping bones and tearing flesh echoed deafeningly in the warehouse.
One by one, the rival shifters fell. The leader finally fled into the dark night, terrified.
David swayed heavily. Dark blood heavily matted his thick fur. He took one single, agonizing step toward Sarah and violently collapsed onto the floor.
Sarah frantically broke free from her weakened restraints and dropped directly to her bruised knees. His massive form began to rapidly shift back. Moments later, he lay completely naked and bleeding profusely on the cold concrete.
“David,” she sobbed, desperately pressing her hands against his deepest, gushing wounds. “Please wake up!”
His amber eyes fluttered open, incredibly unfocused. “Sarah? What happened? Am I truly a monster?”
“No,” she said fiercely, tears pouring down her face. “The man I know is incredibly good. You just risked absolutely everything to save my life.” Her voice violently cracked. “I am so deeply in love with you, David. Whoever you truly are.”
His eyes widened slightly in pure shock at her desperate confession. But before he could even respond, his eyes rolled back, and he went completely limp in her bloody arms.
The Curse Of The Alpha
Suddenly, the deafening screech of expensive tires echoed outside. Three figures impeccably dressed in tailored corporate suits violently burst into the warehouse. They moved with the exact same terrifying, predatory grace as the shifters.
A silver-haired man dropped to his knees. “Alpha, can you hear me?”
“Please help him!” Sarah begged. “He is actively bleeding out! We need a hospital!”
“The Alpha absolutely does not need a human hospital,” a blonde woman sneered dismissively. She quickly produced a massive medical syringe and plunged it directly into David’s bleeding chest.
David violently gasped and sat straight upright, his amber eyes snapping open with terrifying, absolute clarity. The three corporate suits immediately bowed their heads in perfect unison.
“Welcome back, Alpha,” a man with a briefcase said nervously. “If I could just get your signature on this massive merger agreement…”
“Leave him alone!” Sarah screamed.
But David simply blinked, snatched the document, and his entire demeanor shifted back to the ruthless billionaire. “What is this garbage?” he snarled coldly. “I told you to bleed them dry!”
“Sir, where have you been?” the assistant stammered.
“None of your damn business,” David snapped with icy precision. He turned to the woman. “What do we do with the human girl?”
Sarah’s heart entirely shattered. He was looking at her like she was a complete stranger. Like the gentle man who made her coffee had never existed.
“Escort her back home,” David said flatly, his eyes completely dead. “Make absolutely sure she signs all the NDAs.”
Two weeks felt exactly like two agonizing years. Sarah had signed the legal documents. A massive deposit had appeared in her empty bank account. She had even landed a prestigious marketing job thanks to his corporate interference. But she was utterly, profoundly miserable.
One night, walking home in a torrential downpour, she mindlessly wandered back to the exact alley where she had first found him.
Suddenly, the freezing rain stopped hitting her head. She turned around slowly.
He was standing right there. He was wearing an immaculate charcoal suit, holding a large black umbrella over her shivering frame. His eyes were the exact same glowing amber.
“You’re still here,” he said incredibly softly, his deep voice achingly familiar.
“You remembered everything,” she whispered, her throat impossibly tight.
“I remember exactly who I was,” David said, stepping closer. “My ex-fiancée was a witch. She violently cursed me to completely lose my memories and shift into a beast. The ancient curse was designed to only permanently break if someone truly, selflessly fell in love with me while I had absolutely nothing.”
Tears streamed down Sarah’s face. “The confession in the warehouse.”
“You saved my life, Sarah.” He dropped the umbrella, completely ignoring the pouring rain. “I am still a ruthless CEO. I am still a dangerous monster. But the man I was with you is the only man I ever want to be. I love you.”
He pulled her into a desperate, passionate kiss in the freezing rain. In that unremarkable, dirty alley, the girl who found a broken wolf finally found her forever.
True love requires accepting the absolute darkest parts of someone’s soul. If you discovered your partner was hiding a monstrous secret, would your love be strong enough to break a curse? Tell us your thoughts below!
