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When I get deeper into the woods and the tall trees block out the sunlight, the hairs on my arms begin to stick straight up. The back of my neck prickles.
I stop and look around, growing suspicious at how quiet the area has become over the last minute. That usually isn’t the best sign. Suddenly, I wish Skye were with me. She would warn me if something was approaching far before it had a chance to get close.
I scan the foliage but see nothing out of sorts. That doesn’t mean something isn’t out there, but maybe I should head back home just in case. Riya’s words ring through my head.
“They strung him up in the woods, hanging from a branch.”
I don’t want to share that fate, so I spin around and walk as quietly and quickly back the way I came. As I hurry my way along, I try to control my breathing, so I don’t work myself into a complete panic.
A few seconds later, a loud crack sounds from behind me, sounding like a thick branch being snapped clean in half. Shrieking, I whip my head behind me at the same time that I break out into a run.
I won’t let myself die. I won’t let myself die. This is not how I will go.
Seeing nothing behind me, I focus on the path ahead, running as fast as my legs will carry me. I bunch my dress around my thighs in one hand so it doesn’t catch on to anything while throwing my other hand out to catch myself just in case I fall.
I hear rustling behind me, and tears spring to my eyes. This is really it. I’m actually about to die. I didn’t even get to live. My life has barely begun. I know that it probably wouldn’t have been that great anyways, but maybe I could’ve found someone. Maybe I could have loved someone.
I don’t dare look behind me as it becomes perfectly clear that someone is running behind me. If I look, it’ll be over, and I’m not ready to give in yet. I’m a fighter, until the very end.
My mind betrays me by forcing negative thoughts right to the forefront.
What will Riya do without me? Tears openly stream down my face at the thought of her finding me in the woods, just like she’s been terrified of this whole time. Why did I do this to her? She’ll be all alone now, and it’s all my fault.
I’m gasping, trying to swallow my sobs down. I’m forced to let my dress go and risk it being my downfall in order to wipe the tears out of my eyes as they make my vision blurry.
Almost instantly, my dress gets caught in a thorn bush, but I don’t let it take me down. I keep going, letting the bush rip the fabric of my dress along with my skin. I don’t even care what is now exposed to whatever is after me. Nor do I care about the blood now trickling down my thigh. All I care about is making it out of this alive.
But I’m only human, and my lungs weren’t meant for this kind of exertion. If I were trained, maybe. But my frail body can’t handle this, and if I don’t make it out of here soon then I’ll collapse.
I’m fully sobbing now, and I don’t even bother wiping the tears from my eyes. I just blindly run towards a home I will never reach again. A hope that will soon be crushed. A life that is about to be over.
Suddenly I don’t even care. I submit to my fate, despite the fact that I keep running. Maybe this is what I deserve, for betraying the humans and lying to my best friend. I deserve to die. I deserve to never have that little cottage in the woods that I once dreamed of having.
Whatever is waiting for me on the other side will be well-deserved, and I’ll embrace it with open arms. I will be a coward no more. But I won’t go freely. They’ll have to catch me first.
For some reason, I feel the need to see what or who is about to kill me. I need to know. Fuck it. I decide to risk a peek over my shoulder, holding my arms straight out in front of me as I do just in case I trip.
As I turn my head and glance behind me, my heart skips a beat. Nothing is there. Nothing is after me. Have I imagined this whole thing? Did my paranoia get the best of me? Even though this is a terrible sign for the state of my mind, my heart soars. Maybe I’m not going to die after all.
Turns out, I should stick to listening to my gut. Turns out, hope really is dead. My outstretched arms collide with something hard and unmoving. As my head whips back around, I catch sight of what death is awaiting me, and my eyes widen as I scream.
23
THALI
My dick has never been this hard.
I swear all my blood flow was diverted there the second I saw Brielle take off. I’ve always loved to hunt, but the idea of capturing her as my prey does something unbelievable to me.
Pure fear is radiating off of her and I can’t wait to lick the scent from her skin as I bury myself deep in her, make her come despite how afraid she is.
Brielle is fast, but I’m faster. She bobs between the trees with ease, but it’s nothing like the way a dark elf moves. The only thing that’s kept her so far ahead of me is the head start she got.
But it’s not enough.
I lunge forward, my hand wrapping around her wrist as I jerk her back toward me. Her scream pierces the air, only making my cock throb with excitement. I let loose a growl as I spin us both around, slamming her back into a tree.
“Where are you going?” I snarl as I jerk her hand above her head, shoving it roughly against the bark.
