Page 154 of The Hunt

Peter cut me off, his hand moving swiftly to his pocket. Before I could react, I felt a sharp sting in my neck.

The world tilted, my vision blurring as a cold wave of dizziness swept over me. My legs buckled, and I barely managed to keep myself upright before Peter grabbed me with one arm.

Out of one half-open eye, I saw him pull out a small gun with his free hand, aiming it at the bed. I tried to scream, but my voice came out in a slurred whisper instead. “N-Nikki…”

There was a faint popping sound. Then Peter slipped the gun away and put both arms around me, his grip uncomfortably tight as he pulled me against his chest. My limbs felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive, and the world around me grew fuzzier by the second.

"No one’s going to save you this time, Everly." Peter's voice was a distant echo in my fading consciousness. "Not even Rhett.”

35

Rhett

Night had fully descendedby the time I crossed the threshold of the hunting grounds and stepped back onto the estate. The air was damp and biting, with the kind of cold that seeped into my bones despite the adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

I’d managed to locate and incapacitate fifteen hunters before an announcement from the Patriarchs came over the radio.All hunters must return to the Lodge immediately, and if you see Rhett Sinclair, he is to be shot on sight. Do not shoot to kill. Bring him in alive.

Obviously, they’d finally figured out that I was the mystery hunter taking shots at the competition. They didn’t seem to know it was too late to stop what I’d started, though. Thanks to Everly’s plan, everything that was necessary to take down The Wild Hunt was already set in motion. Even if those Patriarch fuckers killed me right now… it wouldn’t change a thing.

It was over for them.

My boots crunched softly against the gravel as I approached the west wing of Wildercliff. The grounds were eerily quiet here, save for the occasional rustle of wind through the trees, but that was a good thing. It meant the society hadn’t caught ontoEverly’s presence yet. She was safe, quietly holed up in the room, with Nikki by her side.

When I finally arrived at the door, I found it ajar. Every instinct in me immediately screamed that something was wrong, and I hurried inside and switched on the light to see Nikki lying motionless on the bed with a pool of blood around her head.

Shit.I hadn’t trusted that girl at first, but she’d really come through to help us in the end. She didn’t deserve this shit.

“Ev!” I shouted, dashing into the bathroom. She wasn’t there. She wasn’tanywherein the room.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.Someone had found her after all. Taken her. I had no idea who, or how they—

“Mmph.”

My train of thought derailed as I heard a grunt escaping Nikki’s mouth. Holy shit. She wasn’t dead.

I rushed to the bed, my heart pounding as I took in the scene. At first glance, the pool of blood around Nikki’s head made me assume she’d been shot there, but now that I was closer, I could see the bullet had struck her just below her left collarbone. The blood had trailed upward, spilling over her shoulder and soaking into the mattress behind her head, creating the illusion of a head wound.

“Nikki!” I leaned over her, pressing my hand on the wound. The bleeding had already slowed, but a steady trickle was still seeping out, draining her strength with every passing second. Her pale face and barely-there breaths sent a spike of worry through me. “Just hold on, okay?”

I tore off my belt and looped it around her upper-left side, angling the thick leather strap to cover the wound. I yanked it tight, applying as much pressure as I could. She let out a faint groan, her eyelids fluttering, but I pushed aside the guilt clawing at my chest. Pain meant she was still alive.

She groaned again, and I pressed two fingers to her neck. As I suspected, her pulse was thready. She needed serious help.

“Nikki, can you hear me?” I asked, leaning closer.

Her eyelids fluttered open. When she caught sight of me, her eyes widened, and she began to struggle weakly beneath me.

Shit.I’d forgotten about my skull mask.

I ripped it off and tossed it aside. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

She stopped struggling and let out another pained grunt. “Rhett….”

“You’re okay. I’m going to get you out of here. I just need to find Everly first,” I said hurriedly. “Do you know who took her? Who shot you?”

“W-water,” was all Nikki could rasp in response.

I grabbed a bottle and tilted it to her lips, slowly pouring the water into her mouth. Once she’d swallowed a couple of mouthfuls, she tried to sit up.

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