I’m that buck, crashing clumsily through the underbrush, leaving a trail of footprints and broken sticks like that poor deer left a trail of blood. I willnotend up like him, run to earth, exhausted and bleeding out on the forest floor as Pop shot him, putting him out of his misery.
All I can do is hope that Red Leather Mask left Marla alone and he’s chasing me. There’s nothing graceful about how I’m running, my clomping steps so noisy that I couldn’t hear him even if he was within grabbing distance.
Or whipping distance.
My fury’s building, and it’s cleansing, like a fire ready to tear through this island and level it all to the ground. There’s a shrillscream to my right, and I almost turn in that direction until I hear the howls. Howling like a pack of wolves, these bastards, laughing. I can hear a masculine cry of pain. I hope it was from one ofthem.
Trying to force my terrified brain to work is like wading through molasses. Are those footsteps? Another glance over my shoulder shows no one there, but it’s enough for my foot to catch on a tree root and I fall, scraping the hell out of my hands.
“Get up,” I whisper between clenched teeth, “get the fuck up and move it!” The howling sounds like it’s coming from all around me now as I bounce off a tree trunk and into another. “It’s just an echo,” I babble to myself. “N- north. The island’s small. If I run to the north side, I can circle and-”
There’s a meaty “thwack!” and another howl of pain behind me.
A branch slaps into me, leaving a red streak on my cheek.
The ground is so spongy here, sinking under my sneakers, the cloying wet in the air soaking into my hair. Shouts and screams echo through the forest, and someone’s crashing through the underbrush. Is it Red Leather Mask? The sounds come from every direction, and finding a clear path feels impossible.
North. I’ll go north.
The moss on the pines directs me, and I take off again. There’s no time to feel betrayal or disillusionment. That’ll come later.
If I survive tonight.
Chapter Four
In which we find Luna is brave and resourceful but fails utterly as a seamstress.
Kai / “Wallace…”
The night is filled with the symphony of screams and the desperate scrabble of the lambs racing to escape the wolves.
No one escapes the Dark Games.
Sucking in a deep breath, I spin my bat again. The chilly night air feels good on my sweaty skin, and the howls from the other Lords make me tip back my head and roar with them. Wearea pack of wolves, slavering, greedy, and ready to rip or tear each other in half just as eagerly as we do with these lambs.
That fierce lass, though, I’ll catch her and keep her safe. No one that clever deserves what she’ll get with one of these arseholes. I’m an arsehole too, but she’s better off with me.
I herded them in the right direction toward the boathouse, and she lights up when she sees it, pulling the redhead along with breathless encouragement.
Good. They’ll be safe for the night.
Mother. Fucker.
Deacon is already there, eagerly striding over to her and her sobbing friend. Stepping into the shadow of a thick bush, I hearher speech, calling him a “Little rich bitch and a pussy who has to pay for sex.” The words roll effortlessly off her tongue, and I have to stuff my hands in my pockets to keep from applauding, because that is some epic shite.
Heisa little bitch and the truth hurts. His knuckles are white, gripping his whip handle, and she takes off like a shot before he can use it on her again. Her redheaded friend makes it safely to the boathouse, and I sigh. Good. She’ll be safe there for the rest of the hunt.
My lass, she’s not hiding. She’s no helpless lamb like the others. Nor is she a wolf like me. She’s a fox.
And she’s gonna to be mine.
“Feels likeDéjà vu,” I murmur, running parallel with her again through the trees. I can see her fury, her narrowed eyes, and her muscled arms pumping as she jumps over bushes, skirting fallen trees.
She trips, falling to her hands and knees. I wonder if she’ll stay down, cry, and surrender. No, she’s up, cursing under her breath and saying something about a deer.
Deacon pops up like a freshly summoned demon.
He rushes into the little clearing after her, he must have taken the shortcut by the generator outbuilding, the sneaky feck.
