Page 13 of Locked

Suddenly, he rises from the ground, his lips ghosting across mine. My body attempts to move forward, to close the distance between us, only to be restricted by the rope holding me in place. Just out of reach.

“Because it’s taking all I have to not rip this dress off your body and fuck the soul right out of you.”

He presses one hand to the tree beside my head while his other hand trails up my side, wrapping around my throat with force before his lips crash against mine. The kiss is consuming, my entire body feeling the heat radiating off of him. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes on contact, the overflow of emotion becoming too much to hold in.

“Fuck, Wynn,” he curses, pushing off me and stalking away. My brain short-circuits for a moment, I'm too stunned to speak or call after him even though I want to. I wanted to feel his hands on my skin and around my throat. I wanted to be consumed by him, all from a single taste.

Bale emerges from the treeline, his painfully gorgeous face set in a permanent scowl as usual. “We’ll be around, waiting for the moment to intervene. Don't be an idiot, and you should live to see another day.”

I’ve been here for hours, my shoulders aching from the restraints and a burning pulse shooting through my muscles.

There has been no movement since Bale stormed off in a huff, the bustle of the leaves being the only noise in the otherwise silent woods. My skin feels like ice, the dress doing nothing to combat the cool night air howling through the trees.

Finally, I faintly hear sticks snapping as an extremely large, dark gray, wolf-like beast steps into the clearing with a snarl. He moves closer to me, smoke pouring from his body with each step. This beast looks like the one from my nightmares, only different. Where mine had orange, coal-like eyes, this one has electric blue eyes, shooting glowing embers into the dark mist as he walks.

A loud rumble sounds from his throat as a long, black tongue licks at his already dripping jowls. “Well, well, well. They kill my brothers but leave my feast tied up in a pretty bow. How sweet,” he growls, his voice low.

“Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with your food?” I spit back, keeping my breathing deep and my heart rate as steady as possible, not from fear but from the excitement thrumming through my veins. The beast laughs manically, his mangy fur shifting with the movement. The one in my dreams looked powerful and sleek, with jet-black fur. He was terrifying but beautiful. This one is not like that in any way, shape, or form.

“You’re one of the most delectable gifts. Mmm, yes, I’ll be having fun with you before I tear you to shreds. I’ve heard my brother, Pyro. The way he tastes you. My fucked up little gift.”

His face comes closer, his long, white teeth snapping the strap around my dress and tearing it clean from my body, leaving me stark naked thanks to my panty thief. The hound's wet nose runs down my bare stomach, stopping at the apex of my thighs and breathing deeply. I try to shift away, but my body is tied up tight, so all it does is force the tree to dig further into my back.

The fear starts to creep in, and not the kind that makes my core flood. Tremors start to roll over my body as my heart rate gains momentum, almost feeling like it will burst through my chest.They said they would be here, so where the fuck are they now?

The pure heat rolling off of his body burns my skin as his teeth slice along my stomach, his tongue swiping along my core with brutal force.

A loud sound cracks above us, and then Luka’s large, black wings dominate the space in front of me and behind the beast. He’s taller and broader than usual, his body looking like it was cut from pale stone. The leather-like wings tuck neatly behind him, with the pointed tips looking like large, sharp horns from the front.

The hound turns to look behind him, completely unphased by Luka’s presence. “Where’s baby brother, Luka?” He chuckles, licking his tongue along his jowl. “He's missing the show.”

I watch as Luka crosses his arms along his broad chest before speaking. “Oh, he's coming. He won't want to miss this bitch being eaten alive. Although, we didn't think you would be eating her twice. It's not like your kind to play with your chow.”

The beast’s body shifts, shaking excess smoke into the air as he turns back to face me. His long, black tongue trails from my ear down to my nipple, nipping at the sensitive flesh before he sinks his sharp teeth through my skin. My body jolts as the pain from the bite spreads throughout my chest, the movement only making him bite down harder.

A tear escapes the corner of my eye and runs down my cheek, partially from the pain, but also a little embarrassment of knowing Luka can sense what pain does to me despite where it comes from. I can feel the dull throb forming in my core, the familiar ache building in a situation where it really shouldn’t be.

Luka’s hazy, red eyes rake over my bloodied body, his face impassive while he assesses the damage until his eyes land on the deep cuts through my stomach. I scream out in pain, my body thrashing in the tight bonds and causing them to tear into my skin. It hurts, but it’s nothing compared to the ache radiating through my chest.

The hound chuckles, looking up at me with a wide, manic grin plastered across his face. My blood has stained his white teeth pink, marring his face with dark red patches.

“They dragged you out here against your will, tied you up with rope, and left you here to die, knowing that I would find you. Do you really think they will save you now, you pain-hungry little slut?” He laughs, the smoke burning the back of my throat and making me cough when I take a deep breath.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bale moving out of the darkness. His body is huge, stacked with muscle in his black, fitted t-shirt and ripped black jeans. The black veins around his eyes now pulse, framing his glowing, amber eyes terrifyingly as he takes in the sight of me.

My heart races, beating so hard that it feels like it’ll burst out of my chest any moment as he approaches, stopping right next to the blood-soaked beast.

“I see you found our offering, mongrel. Now, who the fuck is sending you assholes here, and why do they want her?”

The beast turns to face them, with Luka now standing next to his twin and completely at ease. They turn to face each other, a grin spreading across each of their faces in unison. Suddenly, Bale’s black, lengthened claws slice across the hellhound's throat, spraying tar-like blood across my bare stomach. It sears my open wounds, forcing more tears to flood my already tearstained cheeks.

“Don't make me ask again, Mutt!” Bale roars in the hellhound's face, holding its jowls in his large hand, before forcing him to face his brother. Luka whips a long, black tail across its face, slicing from its coal eyes down to its snout in one swoop, as though it were tipped with a razor blade.

“You’ll die either way. You can choose whether we draw it out nice and long, torturing every single piece of you until you break, or you can tell us what the fuck is happening and we’ll kill you quickly,” Luka snarls into his face, his voice dripping with venom.

“You little fucking pricks,” the hound snaps, causing Bale’s clawed hand to tense around his already bleeding face. “FINE! The Leviathan caught wind that your fated was on its way.” He coughs loudly as smoke pours from his wounds. “The demons have been talking. It spreads quickly down there.”

Bale's grip tightens, bringing the beast closer to his face. Two rows of lengthened, sharp fangs snap at the beast as an inhuman growl rips from his throat.

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