Page 99 of The Devil's Hunt

MILA

On the day of her funeral, I lost a piece of myself. My soul clung to her casket, refusing to let her go. I stood frozen, my hands clenched at my sides, unable to accept that she was truly gone. The world seemed to blur around me, colors muted, and voices distant. Archer held my hand, his grip firm yet gentle, offering himself up as a lifeline, steadying my trembling soul.

I wanted to pull away, to run, to scream at the injustice of her absence. But his touch anchored me in the moment, grounding me in reality. As the first handful of dirt hit the casket with a hollow thud, a sob tore through my throat, raw and unfiltered. The weight of grief pressed down on me as I watched the casket lower into the ground. The sound of dirt hitting the wood was like a final, cruel farewell.

Archer's hand tightened around mine, offering silent support as tears streamed freely down my cheeks. The ache in my chest felt unbearable, a physical manifestation of the void left by her departure. As the mourners began to disperse, I remained rooted to the spot, unwilling to leave her side. The graveyard emptied until it was just me and the cold, hard reality of her absence. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it fragments of memories that danced around me like ghosts. I knelt, tracing the letters of her nameon the headstone with trembling fingers. Tears streamed down my face; each drop a silent tribute to our friendship. And in that moment of solitude, I made a promise to her—a promise to remember her, to honor her, and to carry her light within me for as long as I lived.

Archer watched me from the tree line, giving me time to say goodbye before slowly making his way to where I knelt. After what felt like an eternity, I finally found the strength to stand up, my legs shaky and my heart heavy with loss. I leaned on Archer for support, letting him help me into the car.

I went upstairs once we made it home, while Archer checked in with the guys. I stripped out of my clothes and dug in my purse for the pain pills left over from when I cut my leg during The Hunt. I dumped two pills in my hand, popping them into my mouth and swallowing them with a faint grimace. I lay on the bed, closing my eyes, and tried to escape the world around me. The pain of her loss overwhelmed me, and the pills I had already taken seemed inadequate. The lingering emptiness clung to me like a shadow.

My body shook with silent sobs, and I clutched at the pillow, trying to hold onto a fleeting memory of her laugh, her smile, or the last thing she said to me. It felt like she knew she was saying goodbye. I knew there was no way that she would have known her life was going to end that night, but the universe offered me a moment I could hold onto forever.

Archer entered the room, a concerned look on his face. He sat beside me, gently stroking my hair as I struggled to find my voice. "I'm here, baby," he whispered softly. "You're not alone."

I hid my face in his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of him, a comforting reminder of the world that still existed beyond my grief. With each breath, I tried to find a measure of solace in his embrace, but the pain of her absence was too raw.

“I know it hurts,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around me.

“Take my pain away,” I begged him.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be strong right now. Just rest, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I don’t want to feel. I need you to take it away. Just for a while.”

Archer watched me pensively, his deep-set eyes filled with uncertainty as he tried to figure out the best thing to do for me. After a few moments of silent consideration, he nodded and walked over to his end table. He opened a bottle and carefully emptied a couple of pills in his palm before returning to my side.

Sitting next to me, he gently placed the pills in my open hand. “I take these when I can’t sleep,” he explained in a low voice. “They are strong, and they act quickly.”

With tears still streaming down my face, I nodded wordlessly. The pain was too raw to put into words.

“They will help you sleep and, for a little while, take the pain away,” he continued, his voice filled with tenderness. “But promise me you’ll come back to me.”

I hated the way he looked at me. I saw the way his heart was breaking, and I could do nothing to stop it. Hell, I couldn’t even help myself. I was broken, but Archer was caught in the aftershocks, and I was powerless to do anything but watch it happen.

“I promise,” I whispered, my voice barely audible through the sobs that wracked my body.

His eyes bore into mine, his unspoken anguish mirroring my own. Exhausted and defeated, I swallowed the pills and lay back down on the bed, my head resting on the pillow next to Archer’s hand. His presence was a soothing balm to my shattered soul, and I drew him close to me, feeling the warmth of his body against mine as we lay intertwined in the darkness.

The medication began to take effect within a half hour of taking it, softening the edges of my grief and lulling me into a hazy calm. As my consciousness slipped away, I clung to the last flicker of awareness, and the heaviness in my chest lifted ever so slightly, the ache in my heart blurring into a dull throb.

With a gentle touch, Archer wiped away the tears cascading down my cheeks. His lips pressed softly against my skin as he whispered in my ear, his voice muffled by the haze of pain medication. "Take me with you," he said, his words echoing through the vastness of the universe, resonating in every fiber of my being.

I reached for him, running my hands down his tight stomach, slipping into his pants, and wrapping around his cock. His eyes widened at my unexpected gesture, but his body responded immediately, stiffening against me as I stroked him gently.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice ragged with emotion.

“I need to,” I whispered back, my voice trembling. “Please.”

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned into me, his hardness pulsing beneath my fingers. I spit on my hand, covering his shaft with my saliva, and continued to stroke him. His breathing grew ragged and uneven, his hips bucking against my hand. I tightened my grip, coaxing him to the edge, his moans growing louder and more desperate.

I shifted in the bed, pushing him back against the bed, and I straddled him. I reached for him, guiding him to enter me. He gasped as I lowered myself onto him, his cock sliding into me with the familiar feeling of rightness. He groaned as I began to move with him inside of me.

“I’m right here with you, baby,” he told me, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ll always be with you.”

I nodded, my tears falling again, my brain tired, but my body needed to be taken by him. I needed to feel something other than the crushing weight of grief. He reached up and pulled my face down to his, his lips claiming mine in a passionate kiss. His tongue slipped past my lips, and we tangled together, our mouths hungry for each other.

I loved how he felt inside me; it was like we were always meant to be together like this. With each thrust, I felt a little more of her fade away, and a little more of him take its place. His hands were everywhere, holding me close, caressing my skin, guiding my hips to move on him just the way he liked it.

---