Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
LILITH
Dear Diary,
Seems I did the one thing I said I would never do again…
I got married.
Though I feel something was missing.
I wasn’t there.
xox
Did he just call me his wife?
Surely not?
Soren’s grip tightens in my hair, and I know for a fact he has already pulled some pieces out. I can feel the burning on my scalp and trickles of blood running down my neck at the back.
“Wife?” Soren scoffs. “Do you think I’m a fool?” He pulls me up now, so I’m standing.
My eyes find Reon’s, and I see he is the only one without his mask.
“You have to the count of three before I put this axe in whoever fucking touches my wife again. One.” He lifts the weapon, and Soren releases my hair.
Instantly, my hands go to my sore head. I try not to shed any tears as my hair comes out in clumps, and I can feel the warmth of blood on my hand.
“I’ll let you live, for the sole fact you didn’t know she was my wife, but don’t think for a second, even one fucking second, that if any of you touch my wife again, I won’t fucking end you all. ”
Someone steps up behind me, and I flinch as they touch me.
I try to step away, but he reaches for my arm, and I feel a stab of pain.
Glancing down, I see a small knife sticking out of my arm, and when I look up at him, I can tell by the look on his puzzled face that he didn’t intend it to just hit my arm.
It didn’t go in deep, but it still hurts like a bitch, just like the rest of my body.
“Ouch.” I spin to face the man as he goes to reach for me again, but as he does, something whizzes past my face and straight into his. I watch in shock when his head cracks in half as the axe embeds itself into his face. If I had a weak stomach, I’m sure I would be sick right about now.
Footsteps and yelling echo around me. Reon approaches the body on the ground at my feet, places his foot on the dead man’s chest, grasps the handle of his axe, and pulls it free.
“Time to go,” he says to me.
“This is our Hunt, Reon. Don’t do this,” Soren says.
Reon looks past me to Soren, his eyes narrowing as his mouth thins into a deadly line.
“How do you like your face?” Reon asks him. “Would you care for me to rearrange it like Benji’s?” He raises a brow. “Or maybe Hank’s?” he adds.
“Where is Hank?” Soren asks. He goes to reach for me again, but Reon tsks at him loudly before he turns to me and offers his hand.
“Caterpillar, come.”
I do as he says. He immediately removes his jacket and places it over my shoulders. I wrap it around me for as much warmth as I can possibly get, while he pulls me in with one arm, the other wielding his axe.
“Where is Hank?” Soren asks again.
“The Hunt is complete. Two kills have transpired,” Reon says, eyeing Soren and the rest of the group before his gaze returns to me. I grunt when he touches my arm, and he loosens his grip on me.
“I’ll kill her,” Soren says.
“You will do no such thing. She is my wife.”
“Liar,” Soren screams.
“She is. Check the records, Soren. You should know better than to play games with me. Did you really think I would go down easily? She even wears my necklace,” Reon says calmly, and I glance down at the necklace that somehow is still on me through all of this.
“Watch your words,” Soren warns.
“Go fuck your sister and leave me out of your fucked-up shit,” Reon snarls.
I feel eyes on me as Reon steps back, tugging me with him. I look around, afraid that at any minute, someone is going to kill him, and I’ll have to run again.
“You piece of shit.” Soren moves toward Reon, and I jump to the side. As I do, someone else touches me, prompting me to turn, kicking him in the shin as hard as I can before I clutch the jacket and run.
I will not stand by as they try to kill me.
“Fucking hell. If any of you touch my wife, I will kill you. This is the final warning any of you will get.” I hear Reon’s words pierce through the night, slicing through the tension like a knife.
Despite his declaration, my body wants to run, but my feet slow down.
Energy drained from me, and with each passing second, my heart beats faster and faster, knowing danger looms closer.
“Caterpillar, it’s fine. Come out.”
I lean against a tree.
I feel faint.
Tired.
Exhausted.
Mentally spent.
My body is drained.
And now I’m someone’s wife again? Surely, he was lying to cover his tracks, and to get me out of here safe and sound.
I hear footsteps coming closer, and I suck in a breath when Reon finally comes to a stop in front of me. “They’re fuckheads, but they like rules,” he says and pulls his jacket off me. He examines my arm and shakes his head. “I don’t think it will need stitches, but we need to get it checked.”
“I want to leave, Reon. I want to leave now.” I somehow manage to get the words out, desperation pouring out of me.
He gently places the jacket back around my shoulders and gives it a quick squeeze. “Follow me,” he says.
Before I do, I say, “Give me the axe.”
He stops and turns around to face me. “Why? Do you plan to bury it in my back?”
“No, but I will if I have to. I don’t want to be left defenseless again.
Once a fool…” My words come out weak because I am weak right now.
And the heat from the jacket barely does anything to help the cold that has filtered through my entire body.
My feet are frozen, and I can barely feel them anymore.
He reaches into the back of his pants and pulls out a knife—my knife.
I swipe it from him and grip it with both hands because they are too shaky to hold it with one.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” he says, laying his palm on my cheek. I flinch at his touch, and he immediately drops his hand to his side.
“I want to go home. I want to get far away from these people,” I tell him.
“Let’s go.” We start walking, I am behind him with the knife in my hand. I will not let it go. I will never be defenseless again.
“Lilith.” I hear Arlo’s voice but I don’t want to stop moving.
Reon stops in front of me and puts his arm around my waist, gently pulling me to stand directly next to him.
“Reon, you need to stop.” Arlo steps out of the trees and removes his mask.
I lean on Reon slightly, unable to stay upright any longer.
I’m so tired.
My eyes are heavy, my feet and legs are killing me, I have a headache that will not stop, and my hands are covered in mud. I would hate to see what I look like.
“You know it’s only going to make him furious,” Arlo states.
“They’re the rules, Arlo. Even you know that,” Reon replies.
“I know. It was very smart on your part. Very, very smart.” Arlo turns to me. “Get some sleep, Lilith, you’ll need it.” Without another word, he disappears back into the forest.
After dragging my body behind him for far too long, I see Reon’s car up ahead, and relief rushes through me. My legs go weak, and I crumple. Reon barely catches me, his hand capturing my arm to stop the fall.
“Fuck, what did they do to you?” He drops his axe and scoops me into his arms, then carries me to his car. When we get there, he opens the door and places me inside. He hurries around to the driver’s side, starts the engine, and blasts the heater.
My eyes feel heavy, but I know I can’t fall asleep.
Not while I’m still here…
In this hell.
“You’ll be fine. I need to get my axe,” Reon says, and I’m unsure if he’s trying to reassure me or himself.
I sit in the car, the knife still clutched in my hand, as I watch him walk to his axe.
At the exact moment he bends to pick it up, four men, still wearing their masks, walk out of the forest and head in his direction.
Reon grips the axe with one hand, ready to fight if necessary.
He glances back at me, and I watch with tired, frightened eyes as the men stop in front of him.
They exchange words, and one nods before Reon turns and comes back to the car.
He climbs in, puts it in reverse, and pulls out, the rear end spinning out.
“What did they want?” I ask.
His hands grip the steering wheel, his axe on his lap.
“They want me dead,” he says through clenched teeth.
“The only way out is death, and they would be fools to think I would let them kill me, though they know they can’t just lift their guns and do it.
There are protocols for things.” He shakes his head, then lifts one of his hands from the wheel and runs it through his dark hair in frustration.
“I don’t have a car anymore,” I say quietly. It’s then that I notice a little bit of blood on the knife.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Reon tells me.
The lights from another car shine at us when we hit the highway. We ride in silence for a few miles before I say, “I have my own money.”
“I have more. Don’t argue. This is my fault.”
“It’s not, though. It’s theirs,” I insist with more venom than I thought I could muster. “You’re sick and twisted, fucked-up friends. It’s their fault.”
“How did you even end up out there?” Reon asks, exiting the highway.
“Soren came over when you left the other night, dropped off an invite, and asked me not to tell you about it. That bastard owes me fifty thousand dollars.”
“Don’t trust anything that man says ever again. Do you hear me?” His knuckles turn white from the tight grip on his steering wheel. “I’d kill him myself if I thought for a second they all wouldn’t ruin me, and he will pay you. Don’t you fucking worry about that.”
“I can kill him,” I say, imagining plunging my knife into his gut. “I can kill him,” I repeat.
“Don’t, Caterpillar. Don’t.” He shakes his head.
“You want him to live?” I ask incredulously.
“I want you to live. They will know it’s you. And when they find you, they will do worse than put you in the Hunt.”
“What could possibly be worse than that?”
We stop at a stop sign, and he turns to look at me. His gaze takes me in, and I wonder what he sees.
A broken woman?
Surely, he must.
So, why does he look at me with such tenderness in his eyes?
Breaking our stare, I look down at the knife.
“Living in a world where you aren’t breathing in it would be worse,” he says, and my heart skips a beat.
“I’m really tired, Reon. So damn tired.” His hand moves from the steering wheel to reach for mine. I move over as far as I can in my seat until I can lay my head on his shoulder, and he taps my leg before squeezing it.
“You’re safe. Go to sleep.”
“Am I safe?” I ask. “Is it better with the devil I know?”
“It’s always better with the devil you know,” he replies.
I close my eyes. The only sounds left are his heavy breathing and the engine purring as we drive, and I whisper, “Why did you call me your wife?”
“Shh, sleep. We’ll talk more at home.”
It’s probably stupid of me to trust him and close my eyes. But what choice do I have? My body won’t hold up any longer. I’m not even sure how I made it this far.
But I did.
And I plan to keep breathing.