We’d find out.
The chase would startin an hour, which gave us enough time to try and center ourselves one last time.
“Remember what we told you, baby girl,” I said to Harlow while cupping her face in my palms. “Don’t trust what you see inside the maze.”
Bale nodded in agreement, adding, “The corn will tell lies, the soil will betray you, and the moon will expose you.”
Harlow’s nerves were on display with the way her rich forest pools kept darting between Bale and me.
“Right. Don’t trust my eyes. Beware of treacherous corn,” she recapped before forcing a deep breath.
Furrowing her brows, she clutched onto the front of my shirt. “What about the two of you?”
“The second you set foot inside that maze, time starts ticking,” I warned Harlow as my hands settled on top of her shoulders.
I shared a quick look with Bale before he hoppeddown from the split rail fence that bordered the land that once belonged to my family. His index finger pointed up at the moon, already taking its position in the sky even though the sunlight hadn’t faded completely. “Once the moon takes up its highest point in the sky, you move those little paws as fast and far as you can.”
She nodded, hanging onto every word we said like gospel.
My hand smoothed back a loose strand of hair towards the messy bun set high on her head. “Good girl,” I quietly praised her willingness to trust what we were telling her.
Harlow bounced on the balls of her feet; the restlessness definitely gnawed at her.
“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” she suggested.
Bale gave a slight roll of his eyes, having the least amount of patience between us both.
Ignoring him, I focused solely on our little black kitty. “You’ll go to the courtyard. They’ll remind you of the rules, all of which are complete horseshit. Then, they’ll find this pathetic excuse for a bell to signal the start of the chase.”
“From there, I keep moving no matter what. Don’t double back. Don’t trust anything.” She repeated the details we had already discussed.
“Don’t trust anyone either,” Bale added. “Even us.”
I wanted to criticize him for being brutally blunt, buthe wasn’t wrong. Neither of us could be trusted the later the night marched on. Instead, I offered what little reassurance I could in the form of what she could expect.
“Bale and I will try to steer clear early on, give you as much time to get as far as possible within the maze. Eventually, we will cross your path. That part will be inevitable.” My thumb brushed over the back of her hand I was now holding.
“The moonlust makes things… enjoyable early on in the hunt,” Bale explained. “It’s after that satisfaction has been met that the need for something darker begins to eat away at what little control we have left.”
Harlow ran her tongue over her bottom lip before lightly dragging her teeth over the plump flesh.
“So get fucked without gettingfucked.” Her attempt at gallows humor was admirable.
A slight grin pulled at my mouth as I leaned in to steal a small kiss from her. “Basically.”
“You should probably get going,” Bale noted with an exaggerated tap to a watch on his wrist.
Despite time marching forward, none of us made an effort to head towards the town’s center. However, in a surprising move, Bale pulled Harlow in close.
His hands settled on the sides of her neck, thumbs beneath her jaw to tilt her face up to look at him. “You’re ours, and we don’t lay claim to anybody who we don’t plan on keeping forever. So let me feel those claws dig deep tonight. Okay, kitten?”
She smirked almost playfully.
“I’ll keep them sharp enough to cut your hearts out, just so you know who you both belong to.”
That’s our girl.
Chapter
