Page 4 of Wolf Bitten

I had to stop overthinking and focus on the endgame.

Raffe.

With that affirmed in my mind, I opened the door the rest of the way. The more the gap widened, the harder my heart raced … and my blood jolted.

There.

The drug was almost burned off. Maybe I could get out of here.

I listened again.

Still nothing.

It was time.

I took a step forward and slammed into something.

CHAPTER TWO

My entire body bounced backward, and a sharp ache encompassed my front half, especially my nose and shoulders. A coppery scent overwhelmed me, and warm liquid trickled from my nose onto my lip.

My nose and shoulders throbbed with pain.

I pinched the bridge of my nose to stop the bleeding. As blood splattered my shirt and the beige floor, my breath caught.

There was no way I could get out of here.

The urge to stomp and scream overwhelmed me, but I pushed it down. The one good thing about getting hurt was that my body no longer felt sluggish. The pain and adrenaline burned through the remaining effects of the drug.

Giving up was easy, and when had I ever taken the easy way out? There was no reason to do it now, not after a lifetime of circumstances being stacked against me. This was just one more thing to add to the list. I refused to accept this fate and never see Raffe again, especially since we’d finally gotten our shit together.

Blood oozed from my nose, and I used my free hand to close the door as quietly as possible. The plan hadn’t changed. I needed to find a means of escape, and I couldn’t act carelessly now.

Now upright and thinking more clearly, I scanned the room for another way out. I tried to ignore the strong sensation in my chest and the hopelessness that wanted to crush me.

The door and fake window weren’t options. What else could there be? There had to be a way out.

Behind the bed was a wall, and across from it was a television and a vase of lilac flowers sitting on a shorter dresser. Nothing else appeared to be an exit—until my gaze landed on the air vent in the ceiling in the corner of the room. The hole was small, similar to a unit inside a house or building … not commercial.

Fuck.

I was trapped.

The hopelessness I’d been holding off crashed over me like a tsunami, taking me whole.

Each heartbeat pounded through me, and my head throbbed again. I stumbled to the white chair and sat, leaning my head back to stop the bleeding.

My eyes burned, and tears threatened to spill, causing my nose to get stuffy, which was problematic when it was bleeding.

My blood fizzed, and I locked onto it. Maybe if I fell apart, my blood would help break me out of here.

Footsteps came down the hallway again, and the man scoffed, “I told you I heard something. She’s awake. I can smell her blood from here, and it smellsdelicious.”

I tensed. A vampire was on his way here, and I was bleeding. I stood and stumbled away from the door, wishing I could get out of my clothes and clean the floor before he entered.

“Blood?” the woman asked, her voice strained. “Is she bleeding?”

“Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to smell her as clearly from out here.”

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