So many long years, Ruger had dreamed of her. Yet no matter how hard he had wished for her to appear, she had not. Why now? Why did she come to him when he had once again lost himself to the monster that had chased her away? As the mare reached for him, Ruger nearly drew back. The muscles beneath his hide curled as if waiting to be struck, but pain never came. Instead, he felt her dark velvety nose brush against his. Ruger drew in a deep breath, his nares flaring to draw in as much as he could. Despite the foreign scent that clung to her, Zimri’s perfume remained the same.
“You can’t be real.” he murmured, pulling away. Ears folding beneath his pale matted locks, his golden eyes darkened once more. The beast raised his crown, his tail snapping in agitation. “Zimri would not return to this cursed land.” Ruger took a few steps back, tension rippling beneath his painted hide. Darkness warred within his mind, trying to decide what to do with this imposter. He could run her into the sea, and never allow her to return. His heart gave a heavy thump at that, the image of her drowning causing a pain to constrict his chest. Even if this wasn’t his Zimri, he could not bare to watch her die.
Was she just an illusion?
Ruger gave a harsh shake of his head, even more unsure now than he had been in the beginning. He had known he was slipping and losing himself. But was this how it felt to be insane? To not know what was real and what was not? Ruger backed further away from her, placing a gap between them that caused that constricting pain to return within his chest. He longed to embrace her, to feel her sweet touch. But after the things he had done, did he even deserve it? Even if it was all in his mind?
“You can’t be real.”