I initially wrote another modern paranormal romance to replace WCTM but when this muse struck, I've been honestly writing continuously every single day for the past 2 weeks! Am now at Chapter 7 (36,000 words) and Chapters 1 and 2 have already been submitted and pending approval.
Similar to how To Love a Were started, this story was also inspired by the relationship between Sesshomaru and Rin from the anime Inuyasha. I would say this is a kind of post-canon story based on the circumstances of the two characters but placed in my own world with new characters and challenges. The anime doesn't proceed with Rin aging nor does it explore the relationship between them but I feel that a story should have been written about them! And thus Taming an Immortal was born.
I have changed the characters' names of course so if you know the anime, you'll be able to roughly guess who is who. But if you've never watch it, that's brilliant, because you can just follow the story from scratch. I am obsessed with our hero. I think the cold distant, unyielding kind of man always turns me on, that's why I love writing about them.
I'm really excited to finish writing the full story and I'm also looking forward to hearing from you! So as always, a short trailer from the two chapters coming up soon on Lit!
***
He didn’t
recognise her at first.
Where her hair had
been jagged and cropped short as a child, it now flowed straight and silky down
her shoulders to the small of her waist. She was so much taller now!
But her brown eyes
were just as wide and curious as she inspected him. Etienne had no need for her
approval but he kept still, allowing her eyes to trail along his body before
resting on his face.
No one dared hold
his gaze for that long. But for Rose, it was an exception.
“Hello Rose.”
The human girl
–no, woman, made no move to welcome him in. She had to be in shock.
“Rose, can I come
in… please?” He moved closer, rubbing his knuckles lightly against her cheek.
It was something he had always done to appease her as a child when she was in a
feisty mood.
Pulling away, she
took a step back and bowed slightly.
“Yes…. I will get
Kirke for you.”
He watched as his
Rose turned to run up the stairs to look for her guardian. Had it been that
long? Gone were the chubby cheeks of the girl that he left, the awkward
stumbling teenager swimming in her clothes.
This was a woman
whose body was ripe for bearing children – just like that of the vendor’s wife.
He had not scented a child in Rose and it had pleased him to know she was still
pure. He would not have allowed that to happen without his permission.
“My Lord!” Kirke
hobbled down the stairs; her hands busily twisting the greying bun on top of
her head. “It is so good to see you. Would you like some tea?”
“Rose will do it,”
he said, watching the young woman’s eyes light up with an emotion he was not
used to seeing. Rose was always happy or scared and sometimes playful but the
look that crossed her eyes were of another kind altogether.
“I am surprised
she barely said a word,” said Kirke, watching as Rose dashed into the kitchen.
“Has she been
troublesome to you?”
“No, never! She is
an obedient child.” The old woman bit her lips slightly. “Although I must say
that I am glad you are here to take her away.”
The finality in
her voice made him raise an eyebrow inquiringly. “What makes you think I am
here for that?”
Cool grey eyes met
his. “Are you not then?”
Etienne tried not
to take offence at the challenging tone of her voice. If not for the fact that
she had cared for his Rose for seven years, he might have swiped her down for
her insolence.
“The choice will
be up to her,” he said matter-of-factly. “It is not my wish to impose on her,
her right to have a family… or choose a human mate.”
Kirke looked like
she was hiding a laugh as Rose walked in with a teapot and some cups. “Of
course my Lord.”
Etienne said
nothing. He allowed Rose to pour tea for Kirke and himself before pushing an
empty cup towards her.
She pushed it
back.
“I must refuse my
Lord. I am needed somewhere else.” Turning to Kirke, she pressed a kiss on the
old woman’s cheeks. “I’ll be back with lunch!”
“Rose!” He knew
she heard him but his little human ward flicked a warning look at him before
running off.
“There was no need
for her to procure provisions,” he said flatly. “I have ordered Keiko to see to
that.”
The old Priestess
smiled, the joke too much for her to handle. “I believe she is exercising her
choice my Lord.” Kirke dared to laugh. “I believe it is what young lovers –”
He was out of the
house faster than her next breath. He did not wish to hear the words coming out
of Kirke’s mouth! Rose was out to meet a lover? How dare she!
Like a predator on
a hunt, he tracked Rose’s scent towards the village centre with vengeance,
annoyed that he lost her to the intermingling of human scents swirling in the
air. The Rose he knew would have had jumped at him, burrowed her tiny head into
his sash and armour in happiness. But this woman… this human had looked at him
straight in the eyes and basically told him to fuck off.
Damn that girl!
Where could she be? Scanning the chaos in front of him, Etienne tried to sieve
through the scents to zero in on the subtle hints of Rose when a high pitched
voice interrupted his concentration.
“Master? You are
still here?” Keiko dropped a bag of provisions at the front of his feet.
“I seem to have
lost Rose.” Looking down at the overflowing potatoes and onions, he frowned.
“Keiko, leave those here and bring Rose to me,” he ordered, leaving the
confused Noble flustering over his purchase.
Etienne continued
along a path bearing traces of Rose’s scent, pausing a second in front of a
shop.
She had stopped
here.
The bell on top of
the door clanged in announcement of his entrance. A quick scan revealed no Rose
but a couple of terrorised human and a pâtissier that was about to faint at the
sight of him.
“Did a human by
the name of Rose pass by here?” Nods were his only answer with a meek finger
pointing in the opposite direction.
It had taken him
five more steps before her scent consumed him. It was one that he remembered –
of flowers and laughter. That was when he spotted them.
A human male had his
hand resting on her knee.
“You obviously do
not cherish your limbs, young man.” His voice boomed over the giggling duo –
one looking extremely livid while the other smiled and continued nibbling at
the pastry in her hand.
“Lord Etienne!”
The young man pulled his hands hastily, bringing his body to a bow.
“Who are you and
what are you doing with my Rose?” Etienne kept her voice level, not wanting to
scare Rose.
“Cha… Cha… Charlie
my Lord! We… we are friends!” He was halfway into apologising when Rose stood
up and simply walked away, licking the honey coating her fingers.
The sight of her
plump lips making contact with the innocent syrup had him shuddering slightly
on the inside. Ridiculous!
But Etienne
allowed her to leave – making sure she had turned into the corner before
elongating his fangs into a snarl; his face inches away from the human.
“You smell of
her.” He grabbed a fistful of Charlie’s shirt.