I take deep breaths and scurry down a dark corridor that leads the opposite way of the terrifying shrieks. I walk for about five minutes and then pause when I realize that it seems to get darker the further down I move.
Shit on my tail feathers.
At this rate,I’m going to fucking die down here.If something doesn’t reach out and eat me, dehydration and starvation will do it. There’s also a serious chance I might actually just get scared to death with the shit going on down here. My entire body is trembling, despite the fact that I’m trying to buck myself up and keep a brave face. But seriously, this place is terrifying.
I need to get out of here!
Of course, right in the middle of my panic is when I hear a faint clicking of nails on stone. Horror yanks on the reins of my body. I try to hold my breath and listen, but suddenly, all I can hear is the sound of my frightened pulse pounding in my ears with a very faint background noise of what I’m pretty sure is something moving closer to me.
Oh God. I’m too young to die!
A whimper starts in my chest, but I bite it back down.
Oh no you don’t, body! You shut that shit down. There will be no scared noises giving us away and getting us eaten like the secondary character in the opening of a horror flick. Not today.
I breathe through the dread-filled anxiety and just stand there as the noise gets closer. I don’t freeze in fear, because freezing in fear is for scaredy cats and dragon shifters. I’m just...protecting myself. Waiting it out all level-headed like, in case the monster lurking down the pitch-black hallway happens to be a T. rex and my movement allows it to pinpoint my location. Yep. That’s definitely what I’m doing. I’m saving myself from T. rex eyes, totally not scared stiff and shaking in the middle of the dark hallway of death.
The nails click even louder on the stone, and I know it’s close. Any minute now, a horror so bad my mind can’t even conjure an image will come scuffling out of the shadows and into the light and kill me right here and now.
Dammit, I should’ve fucked Rooksomany more times than I did.
Why did I waste our precious time together being mad at him when I could’ve been in a myriad of positions, enjoying all of the things he likes to do to my body?
Stupid move, Sinclair.
I should’ve told him that I like him...a fucking lot. I should’ve made it clear that I’ve never been drawn to someone like I’ve been drawn to him, and then I should’ve twerked all over his mouth while showing him the special set of skills I have when it comes to really getting down and dirty and sucking a cock’s cock. He has no idea just what my tongue can do, I barely licked him, and it’s all my fault.
I’m on the cusp of promising every deity I’ve ever heard of that I’ll build a sweet temple of worship and make whatever sacrifices required if one of them plucks me from this hallway and relocates me directly in front of Rook so I can show him all my tongue tricks and tell him how I feel, when all of a sudden, something comes scampering out of the dark.
I jump back, my warrior cry coming out more like a terrified girl squeal as I plaster myself against the wall, my eyes blinking wide at the terror that rose from the shadows. This is it! This is how it ends.
Except...
That’s...that’s a mouse.
Breathing hard, I stare at the tiny rodent whose nails are clicking over the stone, confirming that the sound I heard was this little creature and not Bloody Mary coming to drag me to hell.
I snort and sigh in relief.
“Oh fuck,” I pant. “You sounded a lot scarier coming from the black abyss,” I say, looking down at it while I try to calm my racing heart.
I shake my head at myself and watch as the ginger rust-colored fur ball with its white face skitters past me. It heads in the direction I just came from, and I scoop it up in a flash. “Whoop, I don’t think you want to go that way, Rusty. I’ve seen some shit that way,” I say as I hold it up to my face.
There’s a distinct look of intelligence in its black eyes, and I take a deep sniff, just to make sure I’m not manhandling a shifter. Smells like a mouse to me. It sits up on its hind legs in the middle of my palm and starts cleaning its front paws. One of them is white, and I watch as it carefully washes itself to keep it as snowy as ever.
“I bet that’s a bitch to keep clean in this place,” I observe as the little mouse just goes about its bath, while I watch like some creeper.
I give it a little pet in between its ears and then set it down on the ground. Rusty looks at me for a beat and then starts moving in the direction that I just came from again.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I call after it.
I swear on my tail feathers that the mouse stops, looks back at me, and then motions with its headandtail, like,are you coming or what, bitch?
Uhh...
I give the little guy the side-eye, because there is no way that just happened. It’s official. I’ve lost my fucking mind. The mouse sighs at me. It fuckingsighs! Like it’s over people always having this kind of reaction to it.
Then, once again, it motions with its head for me to follow it. I debate for exactly three milliseconds and then do exactly that. Fuck Lassie. Rusty’s going to lead the way home.
