Nox had said they couldn't. What the hell did that mean?
“Just know that he will be alright, he will be back soon, and he’s only doing this to keep you safe,” Thorne replied again after a few moments.
“I don’t need to be kept safe,” I gritted out. “I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, we know, but some things you won’t be able to go up against alone. This is one of those things, so let us handle it,” Nox tried to reason with me.
“And if I don’t?” I threatened.
“Here’s an idea, why don’t we turn around and go back to the house and stay there for the next few days until Bastain gets back,” Thorne offered, trying to put out the fire, but I interrupted.
“Or both of you can go back to the house and I can continue what I started,” I argued, narrowing my eyes.
“Or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and take you back home anyway,” Nox threatened, and I glanced between both of them.
I didn’t like either of those choices.
I wanted to help Bastian; something was wrong. I could feel it. He wouldn’t have kissed me as if it was the first and last time he’d ever do it.
“Or the third option,” I started.
“There is no third option,” Nox stated matter of factly.
“If you catch me, you can take me back to the house, and I’ll stay there until Bastian comes back, but if I get to the main road on the other side of the woods, I continue to go after Bastian, and you can either join me or leave me to do it alone.”
I glanced at both of them, noting the faintest hint of a grin curving on Nox’s lips.
I ran, not taking a moment to question it or look back.
I darted through the trees, gripping my stakes in my hands, readying for them to pounce from any direction as I made my way to the main road.
Outrunning a vampire would be impossible, but if I played my cards right, I could at least escape them, wound them to win my little bet.
Thorne tackled me first. We rolled through the damp forest floor, leaves and twigs getting caught on our clothes and hair. His grip on me was light; he wasn’t trying to hurt me. This was all a game that I planned on winning.
I wasn’t scared of hurting them. I knew they would heal as long as I didn’t stake their hearts. He watched me, his eyes staring deeply into mine, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me before I plunged a stake into his side.
He groaned from the pain as I shoved him off of me, taking my stake with me as I stood and started running again.
I heard Nox’s dark chuckle before he came out of nowhere, wrapping me in his arms and shoving me against a tree. Invading my space so closely I was instantly brought back to that moment in the alleyway.
The burning fire in his eyes seemed brighter in the moonlight glinting off of his irises. His hard cock rubbed against my abdomen, and I sucked in a breath.
I wanted to get lost in him. Right now, right here. Give in and let him kiss me, mold his body against mine and forget everything else, but I couldn’t.
Bastian…
I played into Nox, into his touch, the way he looked at me with hooded lids as he gazed down my body.
“I caught you, little monster,” he murmured against the shell of my ear as he leaned into me.
I lifted my arms up, running a hand up his back, bringing him closer to me. He practically purred from my touch, and then I used my other hand to shove a stake through his back.
He growled through the pain but stammered backwards, and I took the opportunity to run. Branches slashed at me as I rushed through them with no regard.
A sting erupted across my cheek, but I kept going, kept moving.
I saw a flash of darkness to my left and took another stake. I shifted, noting it was Nox, and sent it through the air. I heard a groan as it pierced him through the gut, and he stumbled to the ground.
