Excitement fills me at the thought. Adrenaline is already rushing through my body, replacing the disorientation. It doesn’t take long before I feel the car come to a stop and the driver’s door slams shut. Seconds later, the trunk is flung open, and light spills into the car. I have to blink against the burning sensation and the throbbing in my head. When my eyes focus, I find a masked man staring down at me. His head cocked to the side like usual. It takes a tremendous amount of effort not to smile.
He’s wearing a wolf mask. My wolf.
If my mouth was free, I’d tell him that before covering his stupid face with kisses. He grunts and bends down, lifting me up. He tosses me onto the ground, and I land on my back with a hard thud. My eyes widen as pain lances up my spine. Okay, that was a bit much, but I am tied up and just spent an unknown amount of time in a trunk. I guess he’s trying something new tonight.
“Up,” he barks, his voice higher and sharper than his usual deep rasp.
I whimper behind my tape as I roll to my side and push to my knees. Wolfe gets impatient when I stumble and fall back on my ass a few times. He snarls and wraps his hand around my hair before yanking me to my feet. I cry out, but the sound is muffled. He ignores me and steps back once I’m steady. It’s then that I finally take him in.
He’s wearing light jeans and a black hoodie that obscures his size. But I’m an observant bitch, and I know what my man looks like, and it’s not this. This man isn’t as tall as Wolfe. He’s maybe 5’11 at most. He’s wider and thicker than my narrow, toned Devil. His hair is peaking out from beneath the mask, and as the moonlight hits him just right, I can make out the graying brown hair that juts out around his jaw. I take a step back as true panic and fear fill me.
He’s not my Wolfe.
He’s not my Devil.
He’s…this…this isn’t a scene.
Everything comes crashing into me with the force of a freight train as genuine terror sets in, replacing everything else. The man falls into a fit of throaty laughter that sounds straight from Hell. I willneversay Wolfe’s laugh is demonic again. I had no idea what true evil sounded like until this moment.
His laughter finally dies down as he notices me slowly retreating. When I’ve made it about ten feet, he takes a step forward. I double my pace, trusting the path blindly, refusing to take my eyes off him even for a second.
“Run,” he barks, and I don’t second guess him, don’t question the command as I spin on my heel and run for my life.
I reach my arms up and rip the tape from my mouth, allowing me to breathe deeply. Idiot should have known you never bind someone’s hands in front of them. I make quick work of shimming the loose ropes from my arms, using my teeth to tug on a knot. They fall off within minutes which tells me he’s probably not a pro at this.
Well, that’s one positive.
All the scenes, all the chases, and all the hunts arenothingcompared to the real thing. There is no excitement. No anticipation or heady intoxication. There is nothing but him and me. The predator and his prey. My body knows nothing but the need to escape. The deep, primal urge to put as much distance between him and me. To save myself. To protect myself at all costs. I have no idea who he is or what he wants, but he isn’t mine, and this isn’t pretend, which means this is a real life-and-death situation. And I refuse to die today.
Heavy footsteps sound behind me, gaining with every second as I navigate the heavily wooded area. My endurance isn’t what it usually is, and I’m guessing it’s from him choking me until I passed out and then tossing me into a trunk. It could also be the stifling fear filling my veins. My head is a ugly, terrifying place right now, filled with anxiety, terror, and questions. So many questions.
Who is this man? What does he want? Do I know him? Is he just and random crazy person who was out looking for someone to terrorize? Does he want to scare me or hurt me? That last one is easy to answer. This isn’t a silly Halloween prank, intended to frighten a random young woman. He bound me, gagged me, and threw me on the ground. The look in his eyes as he lifted me from the ground by my hair proves that assumption. He’s violent, and he’s hungry for my pain.
The heavy weight of my cell phone in my pocket, as it smacks against my hip, calls to me like a siren in the night. I want to pull it out. Want to call for help, but I know I probably don’t have service out here, and the distraction will likely cost me greatly.
My lungs are on fire with every panting gasp. The harsh October wind burns my face and makes me aware of the tears that are freely traveling down my cheeks. I ignore them as I bob and weave between trees, frantically looking for something,anything,to give me a location or a hiding place. I force myself to focus on my surroundings, using my inept observation skills to figure out my next move.
Everything is so dark and quiet. There are no shouts or cries from partygoers and drunks. There is no loud music or bright lights from the yard. There’s just…nothing.We must be far away from Shiloh’s house then. The woods look similar, so maybe we’re still on their property. It’s big, though. Sprawling, even. What had Shiloh said? The Huxley’s land is hundreds of acres. There are supposedly lakes and waterfalls out here. According to Charlie, there’s also bears and mountain lions.
Fuck.
I hear the man behind me stumble and shout a curse. I take advantage of his distraction and veer to the right, hoping to find somewhere to hide so I can catch my breath for even just a moment. No sooner has the thought crossed my mind, than I hear the unmistakablecrackof a gun being fired. I scream into the darkness as bark explodes from a tree to my left. I gape in shock but continue, my pace picking up even more as I push my body to its limits. Terror mounts with every heavy thud against the dirt. My heart is lodged in my throat, making my already struggling breaths heave with exhaustion.Keep going, Ray, don’t stop now.
Another shot rings out, this one just barely missing my foot. I tuck my lips into my mouth and bite down, stifling another scream. I can’t give my position away. I can’t. I have to hide. Have to get away. Another shot hits the dirt in front of me, and I whimper in response. My limbs are trembling, and with every step, I grow more exhausted and dizzy. Everything around me blurs from the intensity of my tears. I’m seconds from falling to my knees when suddenly, everything goes silent. I can no longer hear his heavy footsteps or thick, rasping breaths. I can’t hear anything except the muffled thumping in my ears, an echo from my erratic heart.
I stop, inhaling sharp, pained breaths as I spin in a circle. My brows furrow. Where is he? Another gust of freezing wind blows through the trees, setting my sweaty skin on fire. My hand inches up toward my pocket, needing to check, just to be sure, that I haven’t been holding onto my escape this entire time. My hand wraps around the cold, metal device just as a crushing weight barrels into my side. I go flying before hitting the unforgiving ground with a thud. My head smacks onto something hard, making my teeth rattle in my mouth. I don’t even have time to worry about the pain or injury before the stranger is straddling my hips, much like Wolfe did in the cemetery. But this time is different.So fucking different.I cry and sob, unable to fight the immobilizing fear any longer as I look up at the man who wants to hurt me. Truly and seriously cause me damage…or worse.
He pins me down, restricting my thrashing limbs with his heavy weight. He’ssoheavy, or maybe, I’m just that exhausted. His head cocks to the side, ugly wolf mask and all, in a poor imitation ofmy Wolfe.He stares down at me, saying nothing as he pants heavily. I can feel his thick, hard length grinding into my gut, and revulsion fills me.
“What do you want?” I cry out, pushing against him. He chuckles, and the vile sound grates on my every nerve.
“You,” he says simply. I freeze, a whimper escaping my lips. He laughs harder, squeezing my wrists to the point that I’m worried they’ll snap. “Oh, don’t worry,Little Fox.I don’t want you like that.” My breath catches at his use of my nickname. My brows furrow. He must see the confusion on my face because he merely shrugs. “I’ll definitely fuck you, make no mistake, but what I really want is to see you dead.”
I gasp as blind terror claws at my lungs and chest. Everything inside of me turns ice cold. Colder than my freezing skin. It’s bone-deep, and unlike anything, I’ve ever felt before. I force myself to breathe through the panic, knowing I need to stay aware, present if I’m going to survive this.
“But, why?” I choke out. “Who are you?”
The man pauses for a second like he’s considering my words. He nods once as though coming to a decision for ripping his hand from my wrist and wrapping it around my throat. The pressure is forceful but not restricting. Not yet, anyway. He gives one blindly squeeze before relaxing his grip.