Page 38 of Ever Dark

Fuck.

Now I’m alone in the woods with monsters.

I pull up my hood and hold my phone out, shining the light in a circle around me. My pulse races as I imagine all the worst-case scenarios for a woman. If this isn’t achoose-the-beartype of situation, I don’t know what is.

Except that I’m a sick fuck. A woman who enjoys being food for monsters.Nox can attest to that.Nope, no damsel in distress here. I’m more of the trip-and-fall-on-purpose kind of girl because catching me is the quickest way to get me wet.

No. I shouldn’t do this. Fuck it. I’ll go back to the truck and wait. I spin around and can’t see my headlights anymore.I can’t see my truck.My stomach drops. What the actual fuck?

It’s pitch dark except for the light from my phone. Which won’t last long. I’m at thirty percent battery. Fucking hell.

I hold the can of pepper spray in front of me and keep walking. “Bones?” I call out. I know he’s here. That they’re all here. I wishthey would stop acting like creeps and just come out. I don’t think Lettie would be too happy with them if they let me die out here. She seems to be the only person they care about pissing off.

Every leaf that rustles, every branch that snaps in the wind sends my heart racing and my adrenaline into overdrive. It’s times like these when I start to entertain the idea of bringing Nox to the surface. If he wasn’t trapped in my dream world, he’d be here in seconds, scooping me up and taking me home. He’d kill anyone who tried to harm me with his bare hands.

But the thought of unleashing him on Ever Graves… the thought of him in a power struggle with Bones, Aries, and Draven… it would be a disaster.

Even now, his voice echoes in my head, taunting me.Let me out, dark one.

I shake it off.Focus, Mia. Stay alert.

Crunch.

My heart almost leaps from my chest. I spin around, convinced something is behind me. But it’s nothing but darkness. Fuck me.

“Guys? This isn’t funny. Please come out,” I plead. Now I’m getting scared for real. Maybe I’m wrong, and it’s not them. There could be a serial killer out here. A sicko who preys on all the adrenaline-fueled women who come out here every weekend to watch hot, sweaty men fight like animals.

With all that sweat and pre cum…I bet our pussies taste the sweetest. Or am I the only one who gets aroused by violence?

Every step I take leads me farther away from my truck and deeper into the woods. I’m so turned around now that it’s too late to go back.

A woosh of air blows past me, tickling my neck. I scream and break out into a run. Fuck. Something is hunting me. I can feel it. I’m not just being paranoid.

My chest hurts as I struggle for breath while I zig-zag throughthe trees. I don’t have time to be careful. I just need to get as far away from whoever that is as possible.

I’m sprinting, leaping, twisting and turning through rocks, branches, and overgrown foliage. The scenery is becoming a blur as I let my instincts and adrenaline carry me.

My heart sinks when I spot the fallen tree up ahead. Fuck it. I have to get over it. I jump up and leap across, praying I don’t break my neck. When I come down, I hit the ground hard and lose my footing. “Ahhh!” I throw my hands out in front of me to break my fall. My knees hit the cold ground with a thud. I yelp as the pain shoots up my legs.

I should’ve stayed in the truck.

My stomach knots when I realize I’ve dropped the pepper spray and my phone. “Oh, no,” I whine as I crawl toward the little trickle of light peeking out of the grass. My screen light is fading with the fucking battery life. If I can just get to safety before it dies…

I claw at the grass, using it to pull me forward. Only a few more feet. Fuck. My knees and shins are throbbing. I’m scared to even try to stand up.

As I cross the last bit of ground that separates me and my only connection to the modern world, heavy footsteps sound in the darkness. My blood runs cold. Everything in my body freezes as a shadow reaches out and yanks me up by my hair.

I’m lifted off the ground and pulled backward. I scream as I’m thrust back against a tree. A shudder so deep and dark ripples through me when we lock eyes.

“Gotcha.” Draven grins, baring his teeth.

I’m hyperventilating, but my fear turns to anger. “Fuck you!”

A sinister laugh erupts from behind him just as another figure steps out of the shadows. “Fuck is my favorite word, little lamb.”

Oh, shit. Aries towers over both of us, his hood up over his ice-blond hair.

“Youscrewed with my truck. Both of you.” I’m livid now. Theylured me out here so I could freeze or starve to death just for their own amusement.

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