1
SIENNA
Sharp pain radiates through my foot as I stumble over a jagged rock. The forest is full of them, tiny little circles of hell hidden under leaves and twigs for me to step on like some fucked up game.
Slumping against the huge trunk of an oak tree, I stare around me desperately.
I’m pretty sure I’ve already passed through this way. The forest is deceptively peaceful, the trilling sounds of birds trickling through the thick thatches of branches above my head. Rays of the fading afternoon sunlight cast shadows across the moss-covered floors, and I shiver as I move away from the tree and onwards.
I’ve been walking for hours. There’s no sign of any shelter.
And the sun is fading from the brief glimpses of sky I can see above me.
I’m trying really hard not to melt into a giant puddle of panic, swallowing down the urge to curl up into a ball on the floor and rock back and forth until I wake up from this nightmare.
If I lay down, I won’t be getting back up.
The pain is increasing. It’s everywhere, raging down my veins, in every beat of my heart in my chest, burning the very edge of my fingertips. I choke back a sob, and keep going.
I have to keep going, or there is a very real risk I’ll die here, in this forest where every tree looks the same as the one next to it.
Although if my limited knowledge turns out to be true, I’m not long for this world anyway.
My vision blurs, and I pause yet again to try and drum up just a little more energy.
It takes me a second to notice the quiet.
The birds have stopped chirping.
The cracking sound of leaves up ahead gives me just enough warning to drop down and crawl into a thick gathering of leaves. Twigs scratch at my face as I pull in the edges of my dress, making sure none of it can be seen.
Just in time. I hold my breath as several pairs of large, laced black boots stomp into the clearing I was just standing in. I count three pairs before a deep voice breaks into the silence.
“He’s fucking played us.”
“Shut up,” another hisses. “We’re supposed to be silent.”
The first voice scoffs. “I don’t believe she’s in here. We would’ve spotted her by now.”
My heart jumps in my chest, my whole body locking up.
“It’s this fucking forest,” the third voice grouses. “Everything looks the fucking same.”
“Makes it easy to spot our little prey,” the second voice suggests. “She’s got bright fucking pink hair. How hard can it be?”
I shove my fist against my mouth to try and hold in my absolute panic. They’re looking for me. What the hell? Why?
A grunt. “Better be worth it. I heard omegas have magic pussy. I might even take her for a run myself, since she’s had us walking through this fucking place all day.”
“Don’t be stupid.” There’s a thump, and a curse. “She’s worth a lot of fucking money to someone. We have a job to do, so move it.”
The boots start to move away, crunching into the ground in fading steps. Nausea burns the back of my throat and I swallow it down, staying exactly where I am. I don’t trust them not to come back.
She’s worth a lot of fucking money.
Magic pussy.
The bile churning in my stomach makes a rapid exit, and I turn my head to the side, trying to keep the noise down as I choke up the scant remains of what’s in my stomach. It’s not much.
