Page 14 of A Very Knotty Halloween
Chapter Six – Marnie
My heart beats fast in my chest as I race through the maze. I’m glad I wore regular shoes; I can’t imagine doing this in heels or even boots. Barefoot might work, but the ground is uneven and there are sticks and stuff on the dirt below. The masked alpha did warn that the maze was basically out in nature, and she was right—the walls might be made of cornstalks, and there might be fake spiderwebs with plastic spiders hanging here and there, but it’s all based off nature. If there’s a large tree, then the path in the maze has a sudden turn. I suppose it could be a way to keep markers, to remember where you are and where you’ve been, if you pay attention to things like that.
Me? I’m focusing on doing one thing and one thing only: running. I’m not going to lay down and let the alphas have me easy. If they want me, they’ll have to put in some work to find me. I just hope, pray that I won’t see Cas and he won’t see me.
I don’t know if I’m going to come across other omegas or not. We might’ve been given different paths—or they might just have taken longer to come out of that pitch-black hall before emerging at the same spot I did.
I don’t know how any of this works. This is all new to me, and as much as I hate to admit it, it is kind of exciting. Sabrina was right.
To my surprise, after a while of running, I make it to a large clearing, where there are no trees to speak of, only grass and dirt. Since there are no trees, it means less shadows, lending to the moonlight shining so brightly it almost feels like it’s day. The light reveals multiple paths I can choose from, all around me, and I hesitate for way too long, not knowing which one to take.
Obviously, I can’t stay in the clearing. I’m out in the open here. Still, how do people make such quick split-second decisions like this? I hate it.
The nighttime breeze blows past me, swirling around me, and with it comes the scent of alphas nearing. Not Jack and Damien, and definitely not Cas. I don’t know what would happen if a different group of alphas find me first, whether they’ll change their minds and decide maybe they want me after all. Regardless, the scent of unfamiliar alphas in the air pushes me to make a decision. I choose the path all the way across the field, to the left, and pray I picked the right one.
Yeah, yeah. It’s a maze. As long as it doesn’t lead to a dead-end, there are no wrong choices in a maze. You’re supposed to get lost, to get confused.
I’m not the most athletic girl around. Omegas tend to not be, while alphas seem to be great at every single sport under the sun. I’m probably not as fast as I should be, and I stumble on things where there is nothing at all for me to trip on. I wouldn’t say I’m the clumsiest omega around, but I’m definitely not ready to join any sports teams.
It goes like that for a while—although I eventually have to slow to a rushed walk instead of a mad sprint. My stamina isn’t great, go figure. It feels as though hours have passed, when in reality it’s probably closer to a few minutes. Crazy how time goes bonkers when you’re in an adrenaline-pumping situation like this.
And then, I kid you not, a certain alpha musk I didn’t want to smell again fills the air, alerting me to his nearness, and instead of hustling away, I freeze up, all the muscles in my body suddenly banding together and deciding not to work.
Burnt vanilla with marshmallows and campfire smoke, crackling wood and the lulling warmth that follows. Freaking Cas.
I try to snap myself out of it, to pull myself back to the present, because there’s no way in hell that my stepbrother would have taken my scarf and gone to hunt me. No way. I don’t think Jack and Damien would let that happen, after what took place between us at the party. He has to be nearby, hunting a different omega.
But, no. As the seconds tick by, his scent in the air grows stronger, thicker, and my heart pumps faster for a whole different reason. Instead of running away, I want to follow that scent. I want to run to it, breathe it in so deeply it becomes a part of me. I want to get lost in it.
What the hell is wrong with me? No, no, no. That’s averybad line of thought. I need to snap myself out of it. I need to get going, otherwise who knows what’ll happen.
Though my body fights me every step of the way, I kick it into high gear again, heading further into the maze. The alphas must have been let out at a different location; otherwise we’d all be on top of each other by now. I don’t smell Jack or Damien anywhere; the only alpha musk I can pick out of the air belongs to Cas.
Where are they? Why do I feel like Cas is right on my ass? Something doesn’t feel right.
I follow the maze’s path, and it’s right after a sharp right turn that I run into a wall of cornstalks. They must be reinforced with something, because I don’t burst through them; it’s basically a wall of dried-up stalks that stop me dead in my tracks. Shit.
I don’t have time for this. I turn around, ready to backtrack, but what would you know? Cas reallywasright on my ass, because right then he rounds the corner with a smug expression on his face. And now that he’s not wearing a mask, I’m subjected to his full alpha-ness.
The sharp cheekbones. The square jaw. The chiseled features that make him look like a Greek statue come to life. He looksboth similar to how he looked years ago and worlds different, no longer a fresh-faced alpha kid but a young alpha man.
And, I regret to inform you, he is incredibly hot. Like, sizzling. Seriously, if you throw water on him, I bet that water turns to steam instantly. He has the kind of looks that make omegas go crazy, and I am no exception. The moment I see his face, my breath catches and my heart practically stops. Everything I am, everything I strive to be, is lost just like that. He has me in his web, and with his thick alpha musk filling my lungs every time I breathe in, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to surface again.
I want to go to him. I want to tackle him to the ground, straddle him, and make him mine—a thought I definitely shouldn’t be having about my estranged stepbrother. Yet here we are.
Somehow, after a long minute of staring and barely being able to resist my pull toward him, I’m able to ask, “Don’t you have another omega to chase?” Just the thought of him chasing anyone else fills me with a strange type of rage twinged with jealousy.
I don’t want him chasing anyone else tonight. He’s mine.
Crap. Bad Marnie.
Cas is slow in tilting his head, to the point where the expression he sends me reminds me of a dog that’s staring at something he doesn’t quite understand. Head half-cocked, eyes open but slightly narrowed. Of course, he’s not cute like a dog; he’s downright sexy in a way he has no right to be. Twenty feet between us, and he might as well be on top of me.
“I think you’re mistaken,” he speaks, and his low voice—no longer muffled by that mask—is enough to send a delicious shiver down my spine. “If you’re expecting Damien and Jack to come along…”
“How do you—” The words barely leave my mouth when it dawns on me, the possibility I didn’t think about before, and his next words back that possibility up, confirming it as truth.
“Waiting for my pack mates to find you?” Cas reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pink scarf, the one I wore around my neck at the party. “Tsk-tsk. Here I thought you knew you’d be mine first.”
