Page 6 of Walking in Darkness

Whatever bravery the smaller guy had drained out of him quickly, and he opened his mouth. Kit looked away. He wanted to scream, wanted to pick up a branch and knock the other guy in the head with it… just do something to end this.

He enjoyed choking on a cock as much as the next guy, but this was something else entirely. This was forced, and that wasnotokay.

“Why are you making me watch this?” Kit demanded. “I don’t understand.”

“You will,” Gaura answered.

The fire ring engulfed them again, and when it disappeared, they were watching what appeared to be some sort of ceremony in a village. At least Kit hadn’t screamed this time.

“We’ve jumped ahead by a few months,” Gaura said.

There were a lot of people standing behind a couple. In front of the couple was another man. It reminded Kit of a marriage ceremony. He and Gaura were still far enough away he couldn’t see any facial features, but there was no mistaking what was going on.

The smaller guy was there also, off to the side. His face was blank.

“So, the asshole became the Alpha and married the girl, huh? Poor smaller dude.”

“Mated her, yes. And yes, he did.”

Kit watched as the ceremony ended, and the asshole—what Kit had started calling the bigger guy—dragged the girl into a nearby shack. It wasn’t long before there was a sharp scream from inside.

Kit’s stomach dropped.

The smaller guy stumbled off into the woods.

Suddenly, the scene they were watching sped up. It was like someone hit the fast-forward button and scenes flew past. He saw the girl flash by with a black eye.

He watched the smaller guy being dragged into a mound of literal furs, fighting for all he was worth. That scene hurried on by too, thank fuck. As they stood there in that primitive village, the days and nights marched by.

Leaves fell from trees. What grass there was died and turned brown. The people of that village looked… worn. Haggard. The seasons cycled through, and Kit could tell time had passed, although he did not know how much had passed.

“Gaura?”

“Almost there, dear.”

Time slowed down and returned to normal speed finally, which Kit was grateful for. The movement was making him nauseous. It was night, and it felt like it was late. The village looked to be asleep.

As he watched, the smaller man stepped from the shack. Even from where Kit stood, there was no mistaking the desolate air around the man.

On silent feet, he walked from the village. Then he shifted into a lynx… and ran.

“What’s going on?” Kit asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what just transpired.

“Wait.”

Time sped up again. Night ended, and the sun rose. The village woke and people started moving around. The day moved on, and Kit watched as people went about their business.

He didn’t see the smaller guy at all.

By that night, the asshole had also noticed the smaller guy was missing. The rampage he went on was terrifying. Nothing and no one was spared as he searched frantically for his missing lover. Although Kit wasn’t sure lover was the right term for the smaller guy, not after what he’d seen.

“Dude ran. Good for him.”

“Remember your feelings on that subject, Kit.”

Unease crept up Kit’s spine. His attention was drawn back to the asshole, who was still systematically destroying everything he laid hands on.

The idiot was literally tearing his village apart. He questioned people, and when he didn’t like the answers he received, he resorted to violence.

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