Page 48 of Wrath

I quickened my pace, trying to control my rampant heartbeat, fear lacing my bloodstream like a poison.

At first, I tried going the same direction at every turn. I’d read once that you could get out of any maze by doing that.

But after what felt like the fiftieth left turn, I realized I was completely and utterly lost. Every damn place looked the same. I needed a way to track my progress.

An idea occurred to me then, but I quickly squashed it down.

The only thing I could possibly use was…my own blood. But I had no idea what was in here with me and if it could follow my scent or be attracted to my blood.

Deciding quickly, I ripped off the bottom of my shirt, directly beneath my breasts, and then began to tear it into tiny pieces. It would be my own version of a breadcrumb trail.

I chose to go right this time, dropping pieces of my shirt intermittently behind me. When I ran out of that fabric, I debated what I wanted to use next. I really, really didn’t want to traverse this maze naked. I had a pair of panties on underneath my pants—which were, thankfully, new, according to Ryland—so I shrugged out of my jeans. Surprisingly, my knife had made the journey with me, so I pulled it out of its sheath and used it to cut at the denim.

I walked for what felt like hours, stopping whenever I reached a path that already had clothing running the length of it.

Right. Left. Straight. Left. Left. Right. Straight.

My legs began to ache, and exhaustion settled deep into my bones, weighing me down. Each of my steps became more sluggish the farther into the maze I ventured.

I hadn’t heard that growl since I first arrived, and I wondered if I’d lost whatever creature was in here with me. Did that mean I was reaching the end of the maze? Was one of my mates here as well? Was I supposed to find him? Ice tumbled through my veins at the thought.

What if that monster had my mate? Was that the trial? Was I supposed to?—?

Something growled directly behind me, and I froze, every muscle in my body locking together. A finger of ice touched my spine and cascaded downwards. Slowly, my fingers flexing around my dagger, I spun around.

My breath left me when I caught sight of the “beast” trapped in the maze with me.

It was Jax…but it wasn’t. Fuck, it wasn’t. Not anymore.

His eyes were so red, they seemed to glow in the dimly lit labyrinth. His features looked sharper than normal, his collarbones sticking out like the wings of a bird. He snarled, and his fingers appeared extended, longer than I’d ever seen before. Combined with his hollow cheeks and gaunt frame, he looked as if he had been here for months instead of hours.

And he wasstarving.

“Jax,” I began, my voice cracking, but it was like he didn’t recognize me.

He advanced slowly and methodically—a predator who’d caught sight of delicious-smelling prey and was going in for the kill. His gaze homed in on my rapidly pounding pulse.

“Jax,” I tried again.

Apprehension settled like a lead weight in my chest.

What had Lilith done to him?

“Jax?” I didn’t know why I tried again.

I knew it would do no good.

With a snarl full of rage and hunger, my mate pounced on me.

I didn’t even have a chance to scream before his fangs sank deep into my throat.

FIFTEEN

JAX

Hungry.

So hungry.

---