“Are you religious?” I say.
Elodie frowns. “No, why?”
I let my smirk grow. “You better pray to someone I don’t catch you.”
She scoffs. “Bitch, please.”
I only find her complacency amusing at this point.
“Well, when I do catch you, you’re going to be praying forsomeoneto save your soul.”
Her brow flattens into an unimpressed line. She sets the plate on the side, getting to her feet. She uses the bed to hoist herself up. I don’t miss the wince. Has she hurt herself?
“You said if I lost, I have to let you be a good husband. The abuse stops.” She folds her arms and juts her hip out at me.
Still grinning at her, I swipe my thumb over my bottom lip as I study her. I risk getting closer, enough to feel the heat emanating from her body. “Yes, and I meant it. But I’m still hunting you. I never said anything about how I’ll treat you if I get my hands on you tonight.”
I see the switch in her face. The plummet in confidence. The little loophole she didn’t consider. I hope the comment will be enough to make her really go for it tonight. I need a challenge, after all.
It seems to do the trick. The mixture of sheer determination and terror swirling in her eyes while the colour drains from her face is exactly what I’m looking for in my prey tonight. I want this little brat terrified.
She pulls on that mask of defiance. “Good thing you won’t catch me, then.” She lowers herself back down in a sequence of stiff and staggered moves.
“What’s going on with you?” I say. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she blurts way too quickly.
“You clearly are.”
“I’m fine.”
I twiddle my snakebite as I scan her. How could she have hurt herself?
When it’s obvious she’s going to stick to her denial, I drop my arm and back away. “Eat up, princess.”
I leave the room with a little chuckle bubbling up. She’s obviously done something and now she’s panicking. Maybe she overdid it in the gym. I shake my head to myself. This girl is not escaping me tonight and she knows it. The nerves were rolling off her. The sweet flavour of her fear seeps into my skin. I could feast on that girl’s fear and be satiated for a lifetime.
CHAPTER 39
CADEN
The sun’s finally going down and we’re gathering in the open space of the lounge. It’s meant to be my father here, but when I told him I’d be chasing Elodie as a form of ‘initiation’, he decided he didn’t need to be here. So I get the joy of running the show.
I make it crystal fucking clear to the amped-up crowd they’re not to touch Elodie Valor. In all honesty, I warn them against even looking at her. It gets a couple of murmured comments amongst them, but no one dares make themselves heard clearly by me.
Everyone’s shirtless, some painted in greens and blacks, like it matters in the dark, but it’s their prerogative.
Fiz and Alfie stand by my side as I preach about purity, masculinity and honour. Once I’m done, the group roars its assent.
I raise my arms above me. “Let The Hunt begin, boys!”
They stomp their feet, and ululation and battle cries fill the space before they all begin filing out the front doors. The subjects, plus Elodie, were released into the woods a little whileago. Enough time to spread them out and give us a decent challenge.
Fiz and Alf turn to me.
“You ready for this?” Fiz drops his eyes down to my stomach.
“Fuck yeah. I got me a little demon to hunt.”
