Fiz fist bumps me, but Alf still looks unsure.
When Fiz walks off, I turn to my cousin. “What is it?”
Alf rubs his forehead. “Just… can you not go so hard on her?”
My brows flatten. “Seriously?”
“I know it’s stupid.” His hand goes behind him, scratching his neck. “You’ve seen her. She’s only little.”
“And fucking vicious. I think she’s a lot more hardy than she lets you believe. You get the sweet, innocent El. I get the evil, violent Valor.”
He exhales a sharp laugh. “I know, but she’s still… I don’t know. Just bring her back in one piece, okay? I’m not fixing her again. She’s a lot of fucking work.”
I may have got her physical assaults and disobedience, she may have nearly killed me by making us fall down a hundred steps, not to mention stabbing me with a damn scalpel, but Alf did put in a lot of work for two weeks. He dedicated all his time to building her back up.
I clap him on the shoulder. “I promise.”
This makes his tense muscles relax. “Thanks, bro. Good luck.”
I take his offered palm in mine. “You too.”
I let them head off and go through a couple more stretches. My stomach still hurts like a bitch, and it can definitely hinder me if Elodie decides to play on my weaknesses. I’m planning to get her down and restrained before she manages to hurt me.
Walking outside into the twilight dusk, I take in a long, hard breath. The air’s full of smoke from the bonfire in the open grass just before the trees, the orange embers floating up into the sky. I live for this day each year, honing my mind and my body forthis moment. And now it’s just… a nuisance. A chore. I should be out there with the rest of them, deep in the woods where I can hear distant cries of war and attack. By the sound of it, one subject has already been spotted, if the panic-riddled shriek is anything to go by. I better get a move on.
I set off in a slow jog, testing the muscles around the wound in my stomach. It definitely doesn’t feel good, but once I pick up some speed, enter the forest and get swallowed by the darkness, the adrenaline seeps in, numbing it. It’s just me, these woods, and Elodie Valor tonight.
There’s nowhere for her to hide here – unless you know these woods. She’s probably already lost. I can practically taste the fear that’ll be thrumming through her veins. It’s warm tonight, small drops of sweat are probably already beading on her lower back, around her hairline. Her little chest heaving in and out as she sprints between the thick trunks. My fingers twitch in anticipation of getting my hands on her.
There are voices close by, and then a scream and a thump. I can’t see that far around me, so I don’t spot anyone. I keep pushing.
My skin’s warm now, heart at a healthy pace. Muscles working in sync, grateful to be working for something worthwhile instead of mindless sessions in a gym. We’re meant to be out here, running, hunting, fucking. The caveman blood in me vibrates with intensity. I hear several sounds, so I pause, going completely still and silent, listening, opening myself up to the world around me.
There’s rustling somewhere close by, footsteps farther away. No voices. I close my eyes and tap into my instincts. Let my soul feel the energy close by; let it guide me.
I veer to the left and continue, feeling drawn to this direction. It’s not some psychic bullshit, it’s pure energy. In a lifelessvicinity, energy is magnetic. We’re the foreigners on this earth, we know each other’s presence in a place we’re only just visiting.
The tree trunks get thicker, making the gaps between them seem too small to slip through from a distance. Bars of a prison. The air gets lighter, a tang of wet earth beneath my feet tingles my nostrils. I hear a rustle and stop dead, ears pricking up. I don’t hear it again, so I turn in the direction I think it came from.
I approach a felled tree. Thick, but not thick enough to conceal the silhouette hiding stupidly behind it.
I bring my foot onto the trunk and hover over. “You know, if I were anyone else, you’d already be dead.”
The kid starts at my voice and scurries back. I can’t see his expression, but the outline of short, scruffy hair on top and the smell of stale piss confirm he’s not my target. He doesn’t respond, only scrambles to his feet and continues running. The tantalising fear in the air around him sends a shiver down my spine, imagining just how scared Elodie is right now. The thought sends blood rushing to my cock.
I set off again, senses heightened, hunger peaked.
I won’t fuck her tonight, the thought alone makes me sick, but it’s what to do with her once I catch her. I need to release this tension. Somehow, I don’t think a wank in the shower is going to cut it. There’ll be a party after. A tonne of people will be showing up and partying into the early hours. The idea of all that pussy walking around makes my body tense. Not one of them I can have. And the only one I can have, I don’t want.
Hopefully, Elodie won’t want to join the party. If she does, I’ll be forced to stay by her side to make sure no one goes near her. I’m not worried about all the men there, they’ll know if they so much as look in Elodie’s direction, I’ll flay them. But I’ll have to chaperone to ensure no one gets too drunk and forgets themselves around my fiancé. While Fiz and Alfie get their dickswet in warm pussy. Then I’ll be fucking into my own hand at the end of the night. How is that fair?
I could just fuck her, I suppose, she is mine, after all. But it doesn’t feel right. There’s just this little niggle in the back of my head that’s telling me it’s wrong. The Blackwood pride? The Caden standards? I don’t know, but I don’t want my first nut in forty days to be underwhelming because I fucked into the only option I have. However, in the quiet, hollow darkness of the night, I can silently admit to myself that the only option I have isn’t exactly as bad as I make it out to be.
It’s actually a pretty great option. Elodie fuels a hunger I’ve never known. And I haven’t quite figured out why or what it really is yet.
A faint thump splinters my thoughts. I halt. Listen.
A couple of rustling footsteps.
