Page 5 of Thrill of the Hunt

A deep laugh escapes my lips as I feel the adrenaline coursing through me, encouraging my cock to strain harder. “Run, run, my sweet gazelle,” I call out, reminding her she belongs to me.

There’s no response, but I know she’s close. Her scent is still strong, so I continue. “You can run, but you cannot hide. Once I catch you, you’remine.”

Stopping, I listen for her. There’s a squirrel in the distance, rustling leaves high up in the trees. Turning my head, I wait for her to move. She stopped running at some point. I’d hear the crack of twigs breaking if she’d continued, but the forest is silent.

An owl makes my head jerk as it flees from a tree branch not far away. Thirty yards, maybe. I begin unbuttoning my shirt, untucking it from my trousers as I take a step toward where the owl fled. I don’t mask my stride as I walk. Iwanther to hear me coming. Ineedher to know she can’t hide from me.

I’m fucking thirsty for blood. I can no longer control my ability to resist marking human flesh. She’s going to bleed sobeautifully for me when I slide my blade across her skin. And she’ll love every second of the pain. I already know she’s sopping fucking wet for my cock. She probably thinks I didn’t notice when she pressed her thighs together, biting down on her bottom lip as I instilled fear within her. She’s into it; I know she is.

She’s as traumatized and fucked up as I am, but she doesn’t know it yet. She hasn’t admitted it to herself. Sheneedsmy help.

I stop ten feet short of the tree I suspect she’s hiding behind.

“We both know you can do better than this,” I confess, rubbing my fingers along my jawline.

Isabelle stays silent as I suspected her to. It’s natural instinct to lay low, freezing in place and letting the predator pass, all the while praying you’ll remain undetected. Unfortunately for her, she sprayed more than enough of that sweet fragrance all over her tight little body to last all night long.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I allow Isabelle to hear me inhaling her, devouring her scent. Iwantto make her uncomfortable. She’s become far too content and at ease with my presence over the last few months. She needs a reminder of who I am and just how far I’ll go to see her bleed.

Ihold my breath as I wait, hoping he’s bluffing and will pass by me.

He’s speaking out loud, but I can’t see him. He’s somewhere behind me, dangerously close.

What will he do if he catches me?

Greyson didn’t actually say he’d kill me if he caught me, just that he’d kill me if I refused his trials. I wanted to refuse to run, but what choice did I have? Could The Exodus really bethatbad? My father was involved with drugs, but I never associated it with the secret society. Sometimes it all blurred together so closely that I couldn’t decide why he did half the shit he did.

Too many drugs. Too many murders. Too much money.

Not that I’ve ever complained about the copious amounts of cash filling our pockets, but he let it get to him. He changed after my mother died, losing who he was and becoming something entirely different.

A monster.

Sort of like Greyson, but the difference between them is I believe Greyson still owns his soul. My father sold himself to the devil long before he died. He lost any redeeming qualities he had when he forced Greyson to watch his father die. I understand how corrupt all of this is, but there’s a line he crossed. He couldn’t come back from it.

A twig snaps behind me. I’ve got my back against the tree, pushing my body against it to make myself as small as possible. My pulse is racing at a thousand beats a minute. I feel like I’ll drop dead any second from the anticipation.

Greyson’s footsteps are soft as he crosses the forest floor, closing in on my location.

Fuck.

Glancing around, I look foranythingI can use. John taught me not to give up or accept defeat until I’m dead. There’s always a chance if I’m still breathing. My eyes land on a stone a few feet away. If I want it, I’ll have to leave the cover of the tree trunk, temporarily exposing myself to Greyson.

I listen, trying to pinpoint his location, but he’s gone silent. He’s stopped moving. Risking a glance to my left, I slide my head around the tree as far as I can without moving my feet.

Nothing.

He’s not there. Turning in the opposite direction, I do it again.

Nothing again.

If I can’t see him, there’s a good chance he can’t see me. It’ll only take a second to grab the stone. Crouching, my knees crack as I bend, and I wince knowing I’ve broken the silence. There’sstill no movement or sign of him, so I use my legs to push my body forward, pouncing for the rock as quickly as I can. It’s within my palms within a second, and I push off the ground, forcing my body back against the tree.

Clutching the rock to my chest and closing my eyes, I calm my breathing, exhaling through my mouth as slowly and quietly as I can manage. I’ve got this. I’m going to live through the night. I will not give up.

I decide to risk another glance around the other side of the tree, holding the rock tightly as I navigate around the tree trunk. He’s gone.

He was bluffing,I silently laugh to myself, sighing in relief. Now, if I can trail him to the lodge, he won’t find me until we’re emerging through the other side of the forest. He won’t be able to catch me if I’m behind him.

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