"The world broke me... a long time ago. It shattered me piece by piece, beat me down, and threw me out with the trash. It taught me that hope was a lie, that love was just another word for pain, and that my only value was in how much pain I could endure. It built me into a weapon—a monster with blood on his hands, ice in his veins, and a fortress where my heart used to be. I survived... but I didn't come out whole. I came out as a collection of jagged shards, held together only by my instincts and my need to protect the few people I couldn't escape from.

And now, looking at you... you are the one thing in this entire brutal existence that I refuse to see destroyed. You are too bright, too soft, too untouched by the rot that consumes me. My hands are lethal, my instincts are predatory, and my love is a consuming, possessive fire that I fear will burn you alive. That is why I hesitate. That is why I pull back, keep my gloves on, and watch you from the shadows. I am terrified of shattering you the way they shattered me.

I have spent my whole life holding back the darkness, but with you, I am terrified of letting it slip. So I will stand here, broken and bleeding on the inside, and I will tear this world apart with my bare hands before I ever let it—or the monster living inside me—break you more."