Chapter 10
My legs finally give out, and my knees hit the ground.
It’s been hours since I stopped running for my life, and the forest has turned into an endless maze.
I had hoped I would come across another house, but I’ve had no such luck.
Every turn I take seems to lead me further and further into the dark woods.
There’s no telling how far I’ve made it, but the howls of the werewolves faded long ago.
I crawl to the closest tree and rest my back against its thick trunk.
My feet are covered in blood and cuts from running barefoot.
I had to ditch my heels not long after I crossed the treeline, and every step I’ve taken since has torn up the bottoms of my feet.
Every part of me continues to ache even when I’m no longer moving.
I only allow myself a few minutes of rest before I begin tearing strips of fabric from my dress that has been shredded from being raked across the forest floor.
What was once a beautiful gown fit for a dark princess now looks like it was thrown into a lion’s den and ripped apart by claws of greed.
Part of me wonders if that will be my fate, only with werewolves instead.
No, I can’t think like that.
Thoughts like that are what get you killed. I learned long ago that the only way to survive is to believe you can.
I finish tearing the makeshift bandages and wrap each of my feet as best I can. It’s not much, but at least the fabric will help protect them a little bit.
A harsh breeze sweeps over me, and I shiver as the cold injects itself into my bones.
Judging by the position of the moon, it’s probably two or three in the morning, and although I know I should get up and continue on, my body just won’t allow it.
The exhaustion from the past several hours has completely taken over.
I lean my head back against the tree and try to come up with a game plan for surviving, but each thought that comes seems to blur as the sweet promise of sleep calls to me.
Just as I escape one nightmare, I’m greeted by another.
The sun has begun to break through the trees, but it must still be early morning judging by the dew glistening in the golden light.
Between the cold of night and the wounds that cover me, my body has stiffened to the point I feel like a corpse.
If it had been a zombie apocalypse, I’d blend right in, but unfortunately for me, the only walking dead are those with sharp fangs and a thirst for blood.
A loud groan climbs up my throat as I stretch my half-frozen body, gearing up for another long trek.
It’s been two days since I ran into the woods, and I have yet to find any food or water.
I’ve survived years in the forests, but this is different.
I have no idea where I am. For all I know, I could be back in Washington.
No one ever told me where the mansion was located, and all I was able to make out was the treeline that wrapped around the back.
It could be miles before I come across another house, and even that would require luck without a map.
With no source of water, I won’t last long. Starvation is one thing, but dehydration is another. Even if I eventually come across a lake or stream, I have no way of boiling the water. How long can I make it before my body starts to shut down? Another day? Two if I’m lucky?
The air seems to deflate from my lungs as the feeling of panic spikes, but I do my best to take all of the fear welling up inside me and turn it into motivation. Every minute counts now.
Each hour that passes, I continue to pray that I’ll come across a road, or house, or gas station, but I never do.
It doesn’t matter which direction I take.
All I’m met with is a dense wall of trees.
By nightfall, the hope and determination I had started the day with has dwindled to a small flicker in my heart.
I know that if I sit for just a moment, I won’t be able to get back up, but each step takes more effort.
Each breath grows more shallow, and each time I blink, it feels like my eyelids are being weighed down by overwhelming exhaustion.
It’s only a matter of time until I collapse, but I have to keep going.
I have to keep pushing. If I don’t, I’ll die.
And for some unknown reason, I want to live.
I want to feel the warmth of the summer sun on my skin again.
I want to bathe in the salty ocean water.
I want to start a new day not knowing where it will take me.
I want to survive this, because surviving is what I do.
It’s who I am, and I’m not ready to give that up just yet.
My face kisses the ground when my foot catches a root, and I’m almost positive my nose is broken as blood streams down my face onto the dirt in front of me.
Get up, Fallon. You have to get up.
I wince the moment my fingers touch my nose, and tears fall from the corners of my eyes.
As if the pain coming from my nose wasn’t bad enough, it feels like a hammer is pounding against my skull every two seconds.
I try to crawl to the nearest tree, but shadows begin to emerge around the outskirts of my vision, making it impossible to see.
While a cloud of blackness settles over me, a wave of dizziness crashes down, forcing me to the ground. I clutch a fistful of dirt like it’s my consciousness as a quiet hum beckons me deeper into the void.
I jolt awake, breathless, as the ghost of Thane lingers in my head. His soulless eyes burn into the back of my mind like he’s watching my every move.
Even though I couldn’t have been out long, I scurry to my feet, ignoring the throbbing coming from my nose. All that matters right now is finding water. Rest and sleep will have to wait.
There’s no rhyme or reason to the path I take.
Once in a while, I stop to listen for any threatening monsters who might be lurking nearby, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Despite vampires and werewolves being my main concern, there are still other predators living within these woods who could attack.
“You’re a freak, Fallon!”
I turn on my heel to find three of my old foster siblings huddled next to a tree, looking at me with disgust.
“Alex, what are you doing here?” I shout back, as a tornado of confusion whirls around in my mind.
“There’s no way you’ll ever get adopted with eyes like those,” the eight-year-old snickers.
“Fostering her was a mistake. We can’t do it anymore. She’s just too much.”
I turn back around and see my foster parents from when I was seven, standing with their arms crossed.
“What’s happening?” I ask to no one in particular.
When I look back at Alex and the others, they’re already gone.
“Did you really think you could outrun me, Grey?”
Thane throws me against the tree, baring his fangs just inches from my face. I instinctively shut my eyes, but decide showing fear is exactly what he wants, so I open them back up—only when I do, he’s not there. No one is.
Hallucinations.
I’m not sure if they’re from the dehydration or exhaustion. Maybe both. Either way, I know it won’t be long before my body shuts down completely.
Just keep going. You can’t stop.
I use the trees for support as I continue on, but everything feels heavy. My head. My dress. And every time I swallow it feels like I’m gulping down sand.
Images of people from my past continue to appear, tricking me for moments at a time before they vanish in the wind.
More than a few times the dizziness wins, and I find myself stumbling into bushes and tripping over roots.
I’m coated in dirt and filth with at least a couple of twigs sticking out of my hair.
For a second, I think I hear a howl in the distance.
It’s probably just the wind or another hallucination, but in the off chance it wasn’t, I take off in a run.
I only make it a few yards before my legs give out, and I go crashing into the cold, hard ground.
The world around me spins so fast that I can’t tell up from down.
It almost feels like I’m in a vortex. I no longer feel the ground beneath me.
In fact, I can’t even feel my body anymore.
It’s like I’m disconnected from it. Even the pain has gone numb.
Is this what death feels like?
The world goes dark as I sink deeper into an endless pit. I’m no longer prisoner to fear or panic. I am simply a passenger now. Falling through time and space with no end in sight.
The cold, dark woods are gone, and I’m back in my room at the mansion, burrowed beneath the warm plush bedding. It feels so real, but then again, dreams often do.
Odd that my mind would choose this place to conjure up, though I do suppose it is the nicest place I’ve ever stayed.
I roll over and toss the comforter over my head.
If this is how my subconscious has chosen to welcome death, then who am I to fight it?
Lord knows there are far worse places my mind could bring to life if it wanted to.
All of a sudden, the blankets I’m so comfortably wrapped up in are aggressively pulled back.
“Kole?” I ask, looking up at the amused vampire standing over me.
“Rise and shine, princess.”
He starts grabbing different body parts of mine, and I swat him away.
“What are you doing? Get off of me!”
He backs away with his hands in the air. “Jeez, forgive me for checking to see if your injuries have healed.”
I sit up, realizing this isn’t some dream or hallucination my mind has made up. I really am back in my room at the mansion, which means I’m back under Thane’s control. Suddenly, the idea of death doesn’t seem so bad.
“Looks like it worked,” Kole says, running his eyes down my legs.
“What worked?” I demand, standing up from the bed.
He grabs a hold of my wrist and pulls it toward him. “Look.”
My gaze drops to my forearm, no longer bandaged, and I notice that it’s completely healed. There are no signs of puncture wounds from Thane’s claws or a burn, and to my surprise, there’s not a single scratch on me. Not even on my feet that had been cut up from running barefoot.
“How?”
“Vampire blood.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, trying to convince myself I didn’t hear him right.
“You were nearly dead,” Kole says matter of factly. “It was either vampire blood or death.” I sprint to the bathroom, and he follows. “Don’t worry, you won’t turn into one of us,” he adds, leaning against the doorframe with his arms and legs crossed.
I roll my eyes. “I’m well aware that’s not how it works.”
I had hoped the mark on my neck would’ve been healed too, but it’s still very much there.
“Have you started to feel the effects of the bond yet?” Kole asks, eyeing my neck in the mirror.
“Bond?” I question, feeling like I missed a part of the conversation.
He nods to me. “The mark. There’s a sort of bond that comes with it.”
“What kind of bond?” I snarl, as my fist slams against the counter.
“Mm, it’s hard to explain. It’s kind of a mixture of lust and possessiveness. It’s made to feed on our animalistic instincts.”
I whirl around to face him. “How do I get rid of it?”
He laughs as though I’d said something funny. “You can’t.” He pushes away from the doorframe and takes a step closer to me. “But you can alleviate it.”
“Alleviate what exactly?”
“The desire.” He leans closer, his lips brushing against my ear. “The uncontrollable need to give yourself over to the one who gave you that mark.”
He strokes his thumb over the curve of my neck, and I push him away.
“I’d die before I let that happen!”
“So, you’re saying you haven’t felt even a moment of weakness?”
“Absolutely not!”
Kole tilts his head to the side like he’s not convinced. “Mhm, sure…”
I shove past him, making my way to the dresser.
As much as I want to deny it to myself, I can’t.
Even now, thinking back on how Thane’s hand felt climbing up my thigh makes me hot all over.
Assholes have never been my thing, and Thane is the definition of an asshole.
I have no intention of letting some vampire bite make me weak in the knees for someone who finds enjoyment in hurting me.
“If I did have a moment of weakness, how would I alleviate it?” I sift through the clothes, too embarrassed to even look at him.
Suddenly, Kole appears next to the dresser, but I keep my eyes locked on the clothes in my hands.
“You don’t look like the kind of girl who needs to be talked through it.”
My head snaps up, and I toss the clothes at his face. “Ew!”
“Don’t worry, doll. I wasn’t offering.” He tosses the clothes back into the drawer and walks over to the bed. “There’s always Option B.”
I turn around to find him lying on the bed with his arm tucked behind his head.
“Fine,” I huff. “What’s Option B? Surely it can’t be worse than sleeping with a vampire.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says, picking at the cream-colored comforter. “But if vampires and werewolves aren’t your flavor, then you can always take care of it yourself.”
“Get out!” I shout, pointing to the door.
“Sorry, but no can do. I have orders to bring you to Thane.”
“Fuck your orders!” I snap, swinging both doors open.
When I turn around to motion him out, Kole is already standing behind me, holding out the clothes I had previously thrown at him.
“I can always dress you myself,” he threatens with a hopeful grin.
I snatch the clothes out of his hands and storm off to the bathroom. Whatever idea I had of Kole when we first met was dead wrong. He’s just as unbearable as his brother.