An abomination. A cursed one. A monster.

Those, and many more names, they had called him. How long, he didn't remember.

It had been dark in the small underground chamber he had been locked in, enchanted chains shackling his wrists and ankles to the cold stone. No food, no water. Yet he could not die. The humans had simply forgotten him as years passed.

Slowly, gradually the magic had weakened to the point that he could shatter his bonds. Someone had built a church over his prison, but he stubbornly clawed and pushed against the stone floor until it broke. And then he killed everybody within.

That was definitely not where he would have stopped if it wouldn't have been for another enchantment, this one still strong, sealing him inside the large fenced garden outside the church. As it was, he had to settle for the few pilgrims who hadn't heard of the "crimson beast" roaming the area - and the monster hunters who had.

He roused to the sound of someone singing. Rising to all fours, he snarled at the decapitated statue of the goddess adorning what remained of the church and shook himself to rid his crimson fur of the dampness that had gathered on him during the night. He glanced on the remains of a broken mirror and snarled also at the reflection looking back at him. Not quite man, not quite beast. Then he left the building.

The singer was a man wearing a hooded cloak and walking along the stone path like he owned the place.

He flexed his fingers, sharp claws ready to tear anything they encountered to shreds. That would be the last mistake this human would ever make.

He approached slowly on all fours, waiting for this newest intruder to freeze in shock or run.

He didn't. Instead he looked straight at him and -smiled-.

Only one person had ever smiled to him. Had been allowed to smile to him. And after that person had been taken from him, he had wanted to destroy every last human who walked on earth. If they hadn't sealed him in that dark place, he would have done that.

The stranger held out his hand to him. "Come here," he spoke softly.

He growled as he moved closer. "Do you think to tame me? Nobody can do that!"

He smiled again. "I thought I already had."

This scent...Somehow it both calmed him and sent fire running through his veins. Slowly he straightened, confusion passing over his features.

"Come here," the stranger repeated.

Except he wasn't a stranger. He was...the only person he had ever loved. The only person who had seen him as he was and not thought him a goddess-forsaken monster. His appearance had changed, but his voice and scent were still exactly the same.

The beast hugged him tightly, his fur fading away to give way to human features and leaving only a mane of hair the color of blood and fire. "I thought you died...I saw you disappear in flames..."

"It was necessary to shake them off. They wouldn't have stopped until they believed they had slain me." He cupped his chin and drew him into a tender kiss. "I'm sorry I was gone so long."

He was crying, tears flowing down his cheeks like small rivers. "I hate you..."

"Shh, it's alright. I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around the shaking form, covering them both with his cloak. "I won't leave you again." The next words were each accentuated with a kiss. "Not. Ever. Again."