Page 111 of How to Seduce a Slender

Melody stumbled forward as Smith, head down, rose to his feet. Her wolf melted away as she stumbled over her bare feet, shreds of Agatha’s dress still clinging to her body “Smith…Smith, please…Smith?”

“No use trying to plead with him, stupid girl. He’s mine. Finally and forever. I’ve perfected my collar. I got the idea from when I collared your brother. Makes it stronger. Collar them from the inside. Only, with this one, he can’t whine to me about missing his sister. Now, kill her slowly. I want to enjoy this. See the hope die in her eyes.”

Melody, trembling from head to toe, stared at her Slender who facelessly stared back at her. His lips curled up on his face, showing a mouth full of razor teeth. Smokey tendrils ripped out of his sides, writhing as he took a step forward. Melody stumbled backward a step. The Slender lumbering toward her wasn’t the same lawyer in her section, practically every day she worked, eating the worst flapjacks in King’s Fall. The Slender that lurched forward, causing her to yelp and rush away, wasn’t the man who leaned over her while she died in his bed from infection. The Slender racing after her wasn’t the man she ran through the woods from, and her heart died a little inside…

Chapter Forty:

Servonix

Hunger.Itfilledthecavern of his chest. He wasn’t sure when he got so hungry. How long had it been since he ate? It shouldn’t fill him like this. He’d eaten recently. What did he eat?What had he eaten?His teeth ached if that were even possible. He’d grown fangs somehow and they sat uncomfortably in his mouth.

Feed.

Something beckoned him forward.

“Now, kill her slowly. I want to enjoy this. See the hope die in her eyes.” A warbled voice suddenly became sharp and clear. He stared across an endless graveyard enclosed by magic and found a shaking girl in front of him. She was nursing scratch marks across her collar and arms, a dress tattered around her plush body. He liked it when they were soft. He liked it when he could bury his fingers in their flesh and cling to them. It made it easier to feed. Plus, shouldn’t food be pretty?

Shouldn’t food be appetizing? This meal was delicious. How saliva built in his mouth as he trampled over headstones after her. She raced like her legs were weak. He could catch her. It would be easy. But he was bid to kill her slowly.

Kill her slowly?

Hungry.So hungry. His stomach growled as if someone punctured it with a blade and twisted it. Churned him from the inside. He was starved. Ravenous.

He raced over another stone and broke left as she bolted through the fog. Tears filled the air, flying backward from her.Why is she crying? Why is she not screaming? They usually scream.He’d had them beg before…he’d even stopped to listen to their reasons he should let them go.

But she was crying. The pretty prey glanced over her shoulder at him, and there they were. Beautiful tears streaming down her cheeks. She twisted to face him, jogging backward. “Smith, Smith please, it’s me! It’s your sweet girl.”

“I hope you aresweet,” he growled, lumbering toward her as his tendrils writhed around him. “I like when you’re sweet.”

“Please!” she begged, cute fangs flashing at him as she trembled harder. “You have to fight her. You have to! You promised me! You pinkie promised!”

He slowed to a stop, cocking his head to the side. “Pinkie promise?”

His prey nodded vigorously, striking a hand toward him. Her pinkie was raised like a pole toward him. She jutted it upward. “Please! You pinkie promised me.”

Kill her.

He lunged forward and she screamed, scrambling away from him. His hunger called for her. An ache in his body filled him from edge to edge.Kill her.Eat her. Rip her apart. Feed. Feed. Feed.His mind swirled with commands he couldn’t question. Body acting on its own, he surged forward. Pouncing on her resulted in him flying through the air as she swung her body. Free fall made him tingle. Turning into a staticky mist, he loomed nearby as she stumbled away from the spot. Those tears continued to fall as she called a name he didn’t know. Her voice cracked as she clutched her bruised hands to her chest. A third eye opened in the center of her forehead and immediately, they snapped to his location. He emerged from the fog.

“How did you do that?”

“Because I know your tricks,” she gasped, stumbling backward from him. He charged forward and she kept the same distance from him. “You’ve hunted me before.”

“And I failed? How is that possible?”

“You didn’t fail! You just didn’t eat me before. Smith—” Her words cut out as he snapped forward through the air and captured her by the throat.

“That name means nothing.” His words dripped with venom as he opened his maw.

“You meaneverythingto me!” she roared, punching him square in the head. He was once again knocked through the air. The girl yelled, “You let him go! You let him go right now! This isn’t Smith. Didn’t you want him as he was?”

She didn’t receive an answer as her ruby gaze returned to him. Climbing back to his feet, he snapped his body back into shape. Her tears doubled as she croaked, “Please, please remember me. I know she can rip it from you, but you can get it back. You just need to remember.”

“Run,” he barked, and she obeyed. His pretty prey bolted from him again, pumping her arms. He raced after her. She grabbed and tossed pieces of broken headstone over her shoulder at him, screaming for him to stop. It wasn’t like his prey to scream like that. Her terror…it was palpable. It was like he could taste it. He’d never eaten anyone so flavorful. She filled the air with terror that wasn’t right.Wrong, it’s wrong, she shouldn’t be scared like this.

Kill her.

Feed. Feed. Feed.

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