Red's Heart

Red watched me from a distance as I licked over my lips in satiated delight. The taste of blood on my lips made my skin tingle like an addict gone cold turkey. And I was. I was addicted to the feel of the red warm liquid running down my throat. I loved the feel of the hunt as I flawlessly tracked my prey, stalking it until I could sink my eager jaws into its frightened body.

They had a name, or rather, many names for me. The people of the village at the edge of my forest called me monster or demon. Some called me werewolf. None of them were my real name. None of them knew what I truly was. Such absurd myths could not be tied to my being so easily. To be categorised as a man, cursed and doomed by the light of the full moon. Oh, the stupidity of the human race. How little they knew. How ignorant and proud they were to believe they had any understanding.

Red had her own name for me. She called me Wolf, though I had long ago told her my real name.

Taking one last handful of the doe’s flesh, I buried my mouth in the dripping chunk savouring the taste and the smell, until my next hunt. I refrained from diving into the carcass and bathing in the leftover intestines. No, that would take it too far. If I went too far, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from drenching the white snow in Red.

Instead I twisted my blood soaked body to Red and smirked before turning back towards her home. Keeping her at a distance, she followed me silently, her hands brushing against the trunks of the dark trees and staining them with her scent.

“Are you not cold, Wolf?”

I’d stopped at the edge of the clearing. I always did, because I hated the closure of her cottage. Though I wore no fur, I had adapted to the temperature, my body becoming accustomed to the chill crisp bite of the wind.

Red stopped a few steps to the side of me, her wide onyx eyes gazing at me expectantly, but I didn’t bother to grace her with a reply. I grunted carelessly then hungrily watched as she spun away, her red cloak disappearing through the door.

When she returned, I could feel my eyebrow rise in curiosity. Red’s cloak was hidden beneath a thick bundle wrapped around her body. Shuffling through the snow, she sunk down at a tree beside mine, a small smile tickling the corners of her mouth. My eyes narrowed at her strange presence. For weeks we had danced around each other. I would watch her in her cottage, and she would follow me on my hunt.

“I’ve always liked winter,” the girl continued, her voice laced with sadness. “Waking up to newly fallen snow. It’s truly beautiful. A white wonderland.”

A growl hummed in my chest. “Nothing is more beautiful than the sound of a screaming deer as my claws dig into its flank,” I replied with a scoff. “I imagine your scream will be much sweeter on my tongue if I were to hunt you. And oh, I have dreamed of it.”

I expected Red’s eyes to glimmer with the fear that fuelled my lust. That small spike that tempted my body to devour my Little Red, but as her eyes observed me, I realised she wasn’t afraid.

“If you had wanted to kill me, you would have.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, my mood darkened. From deep in the pit of my churning stomach, I could feel renewed hatred bubble into my skin, seeping out of my pores and tainting the air with a wicked stench.

I was on her in seconds, my claw clasped tightly around her neck as she scrambled futilely with her feeble fingers.

“I dream of the day I kill you,” I snarled into her ear. “What a glorious day it will be. To slice my claws into your soft pale skin and rip until I see your fucking organs pool out from your bleeding body. Oh, the snow would be stained with your spoiled soul.” I paused, pressing my nose into her neck and breathing deeply. “Don’t worry, my sweet Little Red. As soon as I am done cleansing my body in your delightful blood, I will lick every drop of blood until every inch of you is inside me.”

Her body shuddered beneath me and I took great pleasure in knowing it wasn’t from the chilly winter air. I stiffened, pressing my nose in deeper, feeling the throbbing of her heartbeat. I scratched my teeth along her neck, the desire to sink my teeth in and drag it down her body almost filling me to the brink.

She let out a small squeak as I punctured her skin and I groaned from the pleasurable sound. Yes, I had to. I needed to. I wanted her to feel pain. I wanted her to feel the desires I dreamed of. I dug my teeth in a little deeper, throbbing at the gasped scream she let out. Yes, this was what I wanted. Oh, the pain on her face would be magnificent.

I pulled away excitedly and gazed down at Red with lustful eyes.

Her neck was stretched out, lines of blood dripping down and sinking into her red hood. Red’s eyes fluttered open, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she focused on me intently. My brows were furrowing, confused as to why she was still unafraid but before I could think any further, Red had hooked her hand around the back of my neck and lunged forward.