Page 30 of Savage Blood
Torin was a threat all on his own, but add this freakydemon thing controlling him, and he was twice as dangerous—if not more. He wanted to hunt me down and do worse than simply kill me.
I turned the corner, his creepy laughter echoing behind me and bouncing against the slick floor and shiny walls.
“Run all you want,” he called out. “But Iwillcatch you. And when I do…”
Yeah. I got it.
Sweat slinked down my back, soaking into my shirt. He could easily follow my unwashed scent. I’d love a hot shower and fresh clothes. At least in Heldrok, we were allowed shower time. Usually.
I tugged at the Malbraxis manacles on my wrists. If these stupid things weren’t weakening me, I could outrun his ass in no time.
Torin’s laughter skated across my spine again, and in a panic, I tried a few doors, but they were all locked. The move only slowed me down.
My heart pulverized my rib cage as his presence burned my back. I snatched a bronze vase off a table, pivoted, and slammed it against his face. The force of the hit sent vibrations up my arms, and Torin stumbled back, gripping his nose.
“You’re going to pay for that.” The metallic scent of blood perfumed the air, and fury burned in his eerily dark eyes.
“Not likely,” I gritted out.
When he lowered his hands, crimson poured out of his nostrils.
My grip on the vase tightened, and I swung it again, cracking it into his skull so hard the metal dented. This time, I didn’t wait for his reaction. I sped down the corridor, my pulse hammering, hoping the strike had rattled his brain and maybe knocked the sense back into him.
Torin’s footsteps didn’t sound behind me, and when I peeked over my shoulder, no one was there.
A ragged breath burst from my lips, but I kept running.
Escaping this place was a real possibility now. None of the other Collective members had appeared since Torin escorted me to the second level. Were they all out, maybe hunting another innocent bitten shifter to sacrifice?
All I had to do was find an exterior door or climb out of a window.
But I couldn’t leave Enid or Alicia in this hellhole. Plus, if I fled now, it would only lower my chances of stealing the Infernal Sol from Barric and saving bitten shifters.
I just had to get away from Torin until he returned to normal or find another member who wouldn’t allow him to harm me.
I clenched my fists, feeling weak for needing to rely on an enemy to save me.
A hard grip latched onto my arm and jerked me around. Air fled my lungs as Torin slammed me against the wall so hard a framed painting crashed to the floor.
My pulse spiked through the stratosphere.
Son of a bitch!
Stars popped in my vision, and his face blurred while blood coated the back of my mouth.
“I can’t wait to break you in, Tate.” His rough hand dragged down my cheek and then my throat. “I won’t take it soft or slow. You’re going to scream from the pain.”
“Torin, I know you’re a creepy asshole, but this isn’t you.” I tried to break his hold, but his fingers dug into my arm, the slashes from his claws dripping blood to the reflective floor. “Fightthis.”
His unnerving chuckle pickled my scalp. “This will be so much fun.”
Terror clawed at my chest as his fingers tightened around my throat, cutting off my circulation. Black spots popped along the edges of my vision.
Would he choke me out? What would he do while I was unconscious?
The images of what he’d probably do had bile shooting up my esophagus.
As my head spun and my knees weakened, Torin’s grip on my throat vanished. I greedily sucked air into my lungs, choking and gasping as I slumped against the wall.
