Page 45 of Prince of Never

Maybe I was about to find out.

Chapter 21

Tarian

Ihuntedthatscreamlike I was a mindless creature, all heightened senses and coiled strength, my feet barely touching the ground as the instinct to chase pounded through my blood.Faintly, a rational hiss of fear whispered that I should slow down and get a hold of myself.That I would level the whole fucking forest if I found something I didn’t like when I caught her like this, with magic crawling so close to the surface of my skin.But that was just a whisper to the roar of violence in my head, because if she had screamed, then I was already out of time.

I stumbled down a slope, catching myself against a tree at the bottom, caught sounds up ahead.

And then I found her.She was halfway up a tree, holding a branch that she was swinging wildly, trying to hit her pursuer.The sight of another male drew a snarl from me that was far more animal than anything I’d ever known I could be.He was grinning as he tried to climb after her, reaching to take a hold of her foot, but he paused at the sound and looked in my direction.A look of determination set on her features and she slammed her foot into his face, knocking him back to the ground.

I grabbed him and hauled him away from the tree, dragging him back across the ground.He slipped my grip, twisted round to face me, launching to his feet, his pointed smile glinting in the grey flickers of approaching dawn.He wasn’t royalty, just some Seelie fae I didn’t know.So there’d be no consequences for ripping him apart.

‘I found her first,’ he growled, nostrils flaring, stance widening as he prepared to challenge me.‘This one’s mine.’

I prowled closer as the beast roared in me, demanding that I rip out his throat.‘Wanna say that again?’

I must have looked pretty fucking feral, because he hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face.For a moment, I wondered what I must look like to Imogen, what she must think of me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that now.I lunged for him as he tried to take a swing at me, stumbling backwards as I dodged it, jabbed an elbow into his stomach.He doubled over, and I swung my fist into his face, connecting with his nose in a spray of blood.He cradled his face with one hand and stretched out the other to hold me at bay.I grabbed the collar of his shirt, dragging him up until his feet were dangling and he was hanging onto my wrist, trying to pull me off him.Blood oozed down his face and dripped onto my hand.He gasped for breath, his eyes bulging, wild with fear.

‘Mine,’ I snarled.

He suddenly kicked out with all his strength, catching me off guard as his foot landed in my stomach.It knocked the wind from me, seizing me up with pain.I dropped him, doubling over.He scrambled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of the blood streaming down his chin.‘I’m not losing to you, Unseelie scum,’ he sneered.

I crouched low as I caught my breath, palmed a rock the size of a fist, and he stumbled backwards as I advanced on him.‘Don’t make me break you.’

He must have seen something in me that made him realise I wasn’t worth fucking with in that moment, because he scampered back a few more steps and held up his hands in surrender.‘Alright, alright.She’s all yours.You could stand to be a better sport about it,’ he said right before he turned and fled.But I wasn’t looking at him anymore.I didn’t care about him anymore.

‘Imogen?’I called, and my voice didn’t sound like mine.It was dark and rough.The tree where she’d been was empty and my instincts thrilled, knowing she was near.

I scanned my surroundings, looking for her, and picked up the sound of her breathing, shaky and fast.I followed the sound.She stood behind a tree a few steps away, that branch still held like a sword before her as I approached.She was wide-eyed and trembling.Frightened.Maybe of me.But I went to her anyway.

She shrank back against the tree, her dress torn, her hair wild and stuck with leaves, watching me like she wasn’t sure if I was going to bite her.I might.The wild elation of the hunt was still pumping through my veins, her scent was drowning out my reasoning, and every cell in my body wanted to end this chase by catching her, by dragging her to the forest floor and taking her.I caught a hold of her branch, tugged it from her hands and her eyes didn’t leave mine as it dropped to the ground.She was still trembling, but there was something else in that stare, something that didn’t flinch as I moved closer, as I reached out and caught hold of her wrist.

‘Got you.’

She released a shaky breath.‘Is it over?’

‘No.’

Drawing her in, I encircled her waist, pulled her trembling body flush against me, drowning in her as I pressed my face to her hair.Inhaled.Exhaled.

‘Tarian?’The way she breathed my name sent a shiver through my body.

‘What do you think would have happened if I didn’t catch you?’

‘I’m not even sure what’s supposed to happen now that you have.’

‘Whatever I want.To the victor go the spoils.’I released her just enough for her to pull back, to look up at me.‘No one would care if I killed you.That’s what you risked tonight.’

‘All you ever do is tell me I could have been killed.’

‘And when are you going to start listening?’

She dropped her gaze.‘I shouldn’t have trusted Ves,’ she muttered.

I gripped her chin, tilted her face back up, my gaze drawn to her mouth like a sailor to a siren.‘The only name I want to hear you speak right now is mine.’

I captured her lips, kissing her hard, kissing her like wildfire kisses kindling, wanting to consume, to devour, as I pulled her tight against me, and that feral creature in my chest only demanded that I kiss her harder.I didn’t even know if she was kissing me back, and in that moment, I didn’t care.I tangled a hand in her hair, my tongue in her mouth, and the taste of her wasn’t enough, wasn’t nearly enough, was a drop of water in the desert of my need for her.

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