I turn away from him and scan the trees, walking faster with each step. "You don't have to stay with me. I can look for Eugene alone.”
I hear Fox’s footsteps and his confused voice calling after me. “Aurelia, what?—”
“Go ahead and go back to camp!” I cut him off. “I’m sure they need you. I’ll be back in a bit.”
I hear Fox's footsteps still following me, and I pick up my pace even more, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I'm being ridiculous, I know—literally running away from a conversation—but I can't help it. I’ve continuously put myself out there, made myself vulnerable, and I keep getting knocked back down again. It’s humiliating, and I can’t take it anymore.
I’m not really surprised that Fox is following me. That's just who he is, but I wish he wouldn’t. I need space to breathe, to think. I break into a run.
I hear Fox yell my name, the confusion in his voice transforming into alarm.
I keep running, pushing myself harder when I realize he's chasing me. Of course he's faster than I am, and I can feel the distance between us closing with each pounding heartbeat. I force my legs to move quicker, lungs burning.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he shouts, frustration seeping into his voice.
“You don't have to follow me!” I shout over my shoulder, voice cracking even as I try to keep my tone light.
Then I hear it—not out loud, but inside my mind—his voice answering as clear as if he whispered in my ear:“I’ll always follow you. You’re mine.”
The sound is so shocking that I stumble over a root and nearly pitch forward into a patch of moss peeking out from beneath the snow. I’m so caught off guard that I answer in my head without consciously meaning to.
“I’m not yours.”The words form in my mind with a sharpness I didn't intend.“You never claimed me. How dare you call me yours now?”
A growl rips from Fox's throat behind me, so primal I feel it vibrate in my chest. His voice floods my mind again.“You can hear me.”
“Talk to me, little witch.”Fox’s mental voice is commanding, intimate.“I know you can hear me.”
Oh, Gods. Icanhear him, but I don’t know what to do.
I won’t answer. I can’t. I’m afraid to even think too loudly when my thoughts might betray me. I focus on my breathing, on not tripping over roots and stones, on watching where I’m going as I weave in and out of the trees.
Fox’s tone shifts entirely. The confusion and frustration disappear, leaving something like satisfaction behind."I don’t understand why we’re running, but I don’t care. I don’t understand half of what you do, but I’m going to follow you anyway because you’re mine.”
“I’m not!”I think indignantly.
“You are, and if you need me to prove that, then fine. I will as soon as I catch you, little witch. I’m going to claim you and fuck you so hard that your pussy will be imprinted with my cock.”
My chest constricts, my lungs fighting for air as heat floods my face and my pulse pounds in my core. I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting myself not to turn back.
A whimper escapes my throat before I can stop it, and I hear Fox laugh.“You like that?”
“No,”I lie.
“Don’t lie,”he scoffs, seeing through me immediately.“I know you, Aurelia. You’re just as hungry as I am. You love the idea that I might take you hard on the ground like an animal.”
My lungs burn as I gasp for air, doubling over with my hands braced against my knees. Each breath comes ragged and harsh. When I finally straighten, I can only manage a slow walk, my legs trembling beneath me.
For some reason, Fox doesn’t immediately grab me. I’m sure he could if he wanted to, but he keeps his distance. I feel his gaze hot against my skin, tracking my every movement.
“That’s not the problem,”I finally answer.“Sex was never our problem.”
“Then what’s the problem, little witch?”His reply is instant, and the feeling of his eyes on the back of my neck intensifies.
He's toying with me, and somehow that knowledge makes my heart race even faster and my core grow wet with anticipation.
I keep walking, keeping my eyes trained in front of me as I maneuver around moss-covered rocks and gnarled tree roots, squinting in the growing darkness. I don’t know how to answer the question, but strangely, I find it easier to communicate my feelings mind-to-mind than to speak them out loud.
