Chapter 16
Olivia
The taste of Talon on my tongue lingers, and my pussy aches with each step. I wonder how Callie, Shayla, and Penny are doing as my feet brush against the dirt. A distant howl breaks my thoughts, and fear takes over my senses again. I’d barely escaped that werewolf earlier, and now they’e back, with my creatures nowhere to be found. I pick up my pace, trying to decipher which way to go at a crossroads. Heavy steps come from what sounds like every direction. They’re close.
Shit.
I take a left, picking up my pace, though my body protests.
The moonlight cuts across the field of decaying corn husks that crackle with each burst of howling wind. I can scarcely differentiate between the howls of the roaming beasts, and the ones coming from the windy weather. It all blends into a symphony of terror. My chest is tight from running through the endless labyrinth. I’m being hunted. Corralled to who knows where.
Exhaustion burrows deep into my bones, but I have to keep moving.
The uneven ground and minimal light make it difficult to see where I’m stepping. The hole swallows my foot and twistsmy ankle before I have a chance to realize what happened, I’m face down in the dirt, wind knocked out of my chest and hands smarting from the hard impact. Corn swishes next to me in the breeze as I groan out in pain.
A low growl alerts me to the predator before I’m yanked back into the corn by a roughly calloused hand.
“Shhh.” Matchbox urges and I listen, letting him tuck me against his large body. The obsidian-colored horns on his head shimmer in the moonlight, though we’re mostly covered down in the shadows. He rubs my chilled skin, warming me up. I note he still has hold of the axe from earlier, and that makes me feel marginally better knowing we can defend ourselves if we need to.
With these creatures I’ve met tonight, I feel completely safe around them, which is insane. They’re killers. But I know they’d never hurt me. Instead, they make me feel worshipped. I fucking love it. I love them for it.
Ears straining, I listen intently as a high-pitched whine echoes around us, followed by whimpering and finally a scurrying of paws passing our hiding place.
“It’s alright I got the last of them.” Talon promises, leaning down to offer me a hand. I take it, feeling the coolness of his skin wrap around me as he pulls me to standing.
“That was fucking close.” I murmur. He takes me into his arms, wrapping himself around me in a protective hug.
“I would never let anything happen to you.” He promises, kissing me on the top of my head.
“Are you hurt?” I ask, as he rubs a small circle on my lower back.
He chuckles. “It takes a lot to harm me. I’m fine I swear it. Are you well?” He looks down the length of my body for any injuries, but I shrug him off.
“I’m fine.”
A riot of familiar laughter comes from behind one of the stalks of corn, and I whip my head in the direction.
“Callie?” I ask, following the sound.
I’d know that laugh anywhere, having heard it since we were little. I chase after her.
“Callie is that you?”
As I round the corner, I wish I’d stayed back. The sight that greats me is one that I could never have imagined in a million years. Shock reverberated through my entire body as I see Trent wrapped around Callie in an intimate embrace, with his tongue down her throat.
Heart hammering in my ears, I gape at the betrayal unfolding before my very eyes.
“Trent?” I stare unbelieving at my ex with his arm wrapped around my best friend’s waist. “Where are the girls?”
Panic, more than I’ve felt this whole night, drops deep into my stomach as a million scenarios flit through my mind. It’s clear Callie didn’t expect to be caught, because she tries to shrug off Trent’s slimy embrace, to no avail.
“Relax. They’re fine.”
Talon comes up behind me, arms crossed and fangs lengthening, cocks his head as a deadly stillness takes over his body. “She asked you a question.”
“The fuck buddy, leave us alone, we’re having a conversation.”
Callie shuffles uncomfortably on her feet as her eyes bounce from person to person. I wish I could grab her by the shoulders and shake her, making her answer why the hell she would betray me like this. After all we have been through and how she’s seen first-hand how cruel Trent can be. But what really snags my attention is the fury gathering from the men that have been ravaging me all night.
