Page 62 of The Orc Outcast's Conquest

By Mr. Barker.

He was shoving her down the bank steps. Into the vault.

She had to get away, she had to hide. She had to escape him.

He was going to lock her up alone again.

Underground.

She would suffocate this time. She would scream and bash herself bloody.

She was drowning. The torturous dark flooding down her throat.

There were horrors in that dark.

Horrors she couldn’t remember.

She didn’t want to remember.

But she had to.

She ran blindly. Her panic was relentless. Her lungs were heaving.

But she could not escape.

Chapter

Twelve

GOVEK

Miranda bolted.

She slapped his hands away and dragged herself through the water.

Govek slashed to catch her, but froze when his claws came too close to her perfect skin.

He dragged air into his nose and unhinged his jaw to scent for threats.

There was nothing.

Nothing to trigger her terror.

Except for him.

He’d told her he would hunt her if she ran from him. She was a fool. A wretched beautiful fool.

Yerina had never been so stupid to run like this. She’d known what would happen if she did.

Miranda didn’t.

And after the raging fire Miranda had built in his bones, he had no control.

Govek bounded into action, leaping to the bank to chase his woman down. His muscles blazed and his blood boiled and his instincts drove him mad.

Miranda’s steps were skittering and strange, as if she were running blindly. She tripped on a rock and went down hard enough to make him flinch. Then she got back up and continued as if she hadn’t even noticed.

She did not look back as he pounded up behind her. He cut her off before she made it out of the sand, leaping into her path. She did not recoil as he raged for her to halt.

---