Page 34 of Shattered Souls

Oh, the things I would do to fuck her right here, right now.

I break away from her once more, but this time I trail kisses and small nips down her jaw. She leans her head back, granting me access to her thrumming pulse. I can feel her lifeline beating against my lips, and the feeling doesn’t help my already aching balls.

Another group of people walk down the hall, and this time, eyes linger and voices whisper. As much as I don’t want to, I slowly place her back on the ground and secure my muzzle back on my face. She watches me with swollen lips and blood from my chest smeared on her the whole time.

She slips away from me and plasters herself in with the group of people to most likely find the exit. Her hour will be passed by the time she returns to the brisk September air no matter what now.

I adjust my cock and find the hidden door down a different hallway that leads me between The Dollmaker and The Morgue. I feed myself back out into the crowd of people but stay close to the exit of the house.

“Well?” Seek comes over to me, his prop machete rested on his shoulder. “How is she doing?” His eyes look down at the fake blood that’s smeared on my chest and raises a brow at me.

“She lost. She got caught by the Dollmaker.” I sign. “I’m keeping her in my room from here on out.”

“Oh, so you can have your fun with her all you please? I thought the deal was we were sharing her.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“You and her seem to be butting heads.” A wave of screams crash into us as the group and our scarecrow exit the house. Her arms are wrapped around her middle and her makeup is streaking down her face. She spots us and lowers her head before coming over.

“Did I do it?” Her voice is tired and shaking.

“No, you got caught.” Seek bites out, obvious irritation radiating off of his skin.

“No fair. It’s his fault.” She points her thumb at me. “I would’ve made it out in time if he didn’t stop me.” Seek looks at her black dress that has a few wet patches from the fake blood and puts two and two together.

“You were caught by the Dollmaker,” He corrects and she immediately reddens.

“Oh.”

“I’ve been asked to prowl the exit of the manor,” Seek tucks a piece of her hair off of her damp face. “Go get her settled in her new room.”

I nod and walk away from him towards the maze. She is on my heel, head still pointed at the ground. Someone bumps into her and she tightens her grip on her middle.

I grab her arms and position her in front of me. I lead her through the maze until we find the hidden entrance to the house, her back pressed into me the whole time. After closing the door behind me, I turn to find her on the couch with her head in her hands.

Softly, I pull her hands away and crouch in front of her.

WHAT?

“I can’t do this!” She sobs. “I went from never seeing anyone other than at my simple job to being shoved in a small box. And then, on days I’m not in that box, I’m in a crowd of hundreds of people being paraded around like some sort of prize.”

YOU ARE A PRIZE

“No! I’m not! I’m scared and just want to go home.” The night is still young but I can see the exhaustion weighing her down.

I know that this is less than ideal for her—but I can’t say I’d ever think about changing the things I did to her. Especially after tasting her. I fear that I’ve become addicted to her in the worst ways possible.

For someone as mentally broken as me, I should know better than to throw myself into something like this. Relationships for me, especially my first one, should be a slow burning path that I tentatively feed tinder until it’s a healthy roaring flame.

But instead, I have a burning blaze that I’m pouring lighter fluid onto. I don’t fear getting burned by her, not when my skin is covered in scars already. What’s the harm in a few more?

LET’S GO

I hold out my hand. She looks at me for a second before slapping hers in mine and letting me lead her to my room. She stands at the foot of the bed like she’s suddenly unfamiliar with the area.

I shed my muzzle, letting it fall to the floor. Her eyes snap to my mouth, most likely replaying the memory of my lips on hers.

“Promise me something.” I take a step closer and nod. She puts a hand on my chest to stop me. “Promise me you will let me go if I make it out before Halloween. Seek says this collar comes off only if I get out. Promise me you’ll honor your word and let me out if I succeed.”

Her eyes flicker with the fear that I won’t make that promise. But I will. I’ll promise this woman anything she wants. But I’ll promise her freedom because I know she won’t want to when the time comes. She’ll be caught so deep in my—or our—trap that she won’t want to live unless she’s here.