Page 39 of Anorthic Anarchy

I run because of what I saw. Because of what I’ve done. If I stay any longer with the monster, that’s all I’ll become. A demon, just like him. Especially if he impregnates me. All he wants is a birthing cow while he makes love to everyone else.

Everyone except me.

I don’t even want his love. Not if it means being one of those women in there. The thought sickens me even as hot tears stream down my face, mixing with the chilly drops from the atmosphere.

What if no one ever wants me or loves me? My parents did and now they’re gone. Wyatt does, and I can’t find him.

Sobs burn my chest as I worry about the truth.

What if he’s actually dead?

“Astrid! Stop at once!”

My husband’s voice cuts through the soothing sounds of the evening’s air and my heart beats harder. If he thinks I’m stopping, he’s crazier than I thought. Darting behind the first pine I come to, I peek around it to see how far away he is. His half-naked figure shines bright in the moonlight as he sprints directly for me. The ripples of his abs and chest sparkle with rain.

Oh, shit.He’s close.

“Angel, do not move.” It comes out in a panicked cry. Like he’s actually out of control…something I haven’t seen from him. That must mean I’m winning.

Spinning, I dart through more trees and see some city lights peeking through the thick leaves. Just as that speck of hope enters my vision, a loud explosion erupts twenty feet in front of me, throwing me back off my feet. Smoke as thick as the fog covers the ground as fire tries to fight the wet earth. Fuck! The bombs. I had forgotten about those!

Arms snag me and swing my body into a wide oak tree, crushing the wind from my chest. The figure steps on my toes as I scream in pain. Slumping to the ground, I scratch at the mud to slip away, but I’m kicked in the stomach. Splayed out, I rest for a moment, then roll over to try to sit, but the person shoves me back down with a thick boot.

A large man decked all in black, donning a hooded mask, looms over me and brandishes a knife that shines in the rain. When he bends to grab my neck with a gloved hand, a flash of lightning hits him from behind as the master jumps on his back. His arms are torn away from me, and the two men grapple in a coordinated attack. For a moment, I think it’s a show for my benefit and wonder if I should slip away before either notice, but my foot hurts so much, I don’t think I can.

The consort is not as large as the man in black, but he’s spryer. Whereas the one using strikes is calculated, my husband fights dirty.

This is a death match.

In their struggles, the master grabs a gun from the other man’s waist.

Focused straight ahead, I scream in shock as another pair of hands grips my neck from behind, pulling me to a stand. My husband’s wild gray eyes shine like the devil’s as he snaps his gaze to the man holding me. Not hesitating for even a second,he lifts the gun, aims at my head, and shoots just over my right shoulder as I shriek, thinking the bullet was for me.

I slump to the ground along with the corpse, landing on its chest. Master uses the opportunity to latch onto the first man’s back but loses his weapon in the dark mud. Scrambling, I try to find it while crawling through the muck. Maintaining a firm grip, the master holds his opponent by the forehead and neck, cranking it upward in an unnatural motion. With a great warrior cry, he wrenches the head so much, it pops until the figure slumps to the ground. Master lays on his back, then sits up, not letting go of the man’s head, except to pull off the hood.

Searching the pocket of his prey, he pulls out a knife and flicks it open, then stabs it into the neck of the dead man. Using a prying motion, I watch in horror as he severs it from the body, holding the hair as he does. Blood and tissue coat his hands but wash away with the rain.

Once finished, he stands, lifting the head up to his own face and staring into its eyes as if it’s his prize for a job well done. Then he curls his arm and tosses it down a ravine with an underhand throw and it rolls down the hill toward the city.

If those men were with my brother’s organization…they were evil. They wanted to hurt me. And if the men the master said are coming for me would do horrible things to me, then what if my safest option is with him? The one looming toward me now like a bull with his nostrils flaring, ready to charge.

Utter devastation overwhelms me. Is this all I get? Is this life?

Falling onto my back in the cold mire, I give up.

I’m done. I’ll just stay here until I die.

Drops of water pillage my eyes until I squeeze them closed.

Everything hurts, inside and out. The torture of losing my last loved one on earth hits harder than I thought possible. I’vealways been lonely, waiting up in my room for my brother’s return, but now…

I’m completely alone in this world.

Warmth shields me as the master crawls over my body and stares into my face with intensity. He doesn’t say anything, only looks at me as if he knows I’m broken. Because I am. Shattered and left here to die.

“Is-is my brother really dead?” I beg him to tell me the truth.

His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, then he says in a low voice, “Yes, angel.”

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