CHAPTER 39 CADEN
CADEN
The sun’s finally going down and we’re gathering in the open space of the lounge. It’s meant to be my father here, but when I told him I’d be chasing Elodie as a form of ‘initiation’, he decided he didn’t need to be here. So I get the joy of running the show.
I make it crystal fucking clear to the amped-up crowd they’re not to touch Elodie Valor. In all honesty, I warn them against even looking at her. It gets a couple of murmured comments amongst them, but no one dares make themselves heard clearly by me.
Everyone’s shirtless, some painted in greens and blacks, like it matters in the dark, but it’s their prerogative.
Fiz and Alfie stand by my side as I preach about purity, masculinity and honour. Once I’m done, the group roars its assent.
I raise my arms above me. “Let The Hunt begin, boys!”
They stomp their feet, and ululation and battle cries fill the space before they all begin filing out the front doors. The subjects, plus Elodie, were released into the woods a little while ago. Enough time to spread them out and give us a decent challenge.
Fiz and Alf turn to me.
“You ready for this?” Fiz drops his eyes down to my stomach.
“Fuck yeah. I got me a little demon to hunt.”
Fiz fist bumps me, but Alf still looks unsure.
When Fiz walks off, I turn to my cousin. “What is it?”
Alf rubs his forehead. “Just… can you not go so hard on her?”
My brows flatten. “Seriously?”
“I know it’s stupid.” His hand goes behind him, scratching his neck. “You’ve seen her. She’s only little.”
“And fucking vicious. I think she’s a lot more hardy than she lets you believe. You get the sweet, innocent El. I get the evil, violent Valor.”
He exhales a sharp laugh. “I know, but she’s still… I don’t know. Just bring her back in one piece, okay? I’m not fixing her again. She’s a lot of fucking work.”
I may have got her physical assaults and disobedience, she may have nearly killed me by making us fall down a hundred steps, not to mention stabbing me with a damn scalpel, but Alf did put in a lot of work for two weeks. He dedicated all his time to building her back up.
I clap him on the shoulder. “I promise.”
This makes his tense muscles relax. “Thanks, bro. Good luck.”
I take his offered palm in mine. “You too.”
I let them head off and go through a couple more stretches. My stomach still hurts like a bitch, and it can definitely hinder me if Elodie decides to play on my weaknesses. I’m planning to get her down and restrained before she manages to hurt me.
Walking outside into the twilight dusk, I take in a long, hard breath.
The air’s full of smoke from the bonfire in the open grass just before the trees, the orange embers floating up into the sky.
I live for this day each year, honing my mind and my body for this moment.
And now it’s just… a nuisance. A chore. I should be out there with the rest of them, deep in the woods where I can hear distant cries of war and attack.
By the sound of it, one subject has already been spotted, if the panic-riddled shriek is anything to go by. I better get a move on.
I set off in a slow jog, testing the muscles around the wound in my stomach. It definitely doesn’t feel good, but once I pick up some speed, enter the forest and get swallowed by the darkness, the adrenaline seeps in, numbing it. It’s just me, these woods, and Elodie Valor tonight.
There’s nowhere for her to hide here – unless you know these woods.
She’s probably already lost. I can practically taste the fear that’ll be thrumming through her veins.
It’s warm tonight, small drops of sweat are probably already beading on her lower back, around her hairline.
Her little chest heaving in and out as she sprints between the thick trunks.
My fingers twitch in anticipation of getting my hands on her.
There are voices close by, and then a scream and a thump. I can’t see that far around me, so I don’t spot anyone. I keep pushing.
My skin’s warm now, heart at a healthy pace.
Muscles working in sync, grateful to be working for something worthwhile instead of mindless sessions in a gym.
We’re meant to be out here, running, hunting, fucking.
The caveman blood in me vibrates with intensity.
I hear several sounds, so I pause, going completely still and silent, listening, opening myself up to the world around me.
There’s rustling somewhere close by, footsteps farther away. No voices. I close my eyes and tap into my instincts. Let my soul feel the energy close by; let it guide me.
I veer to the left and continue, feeling drawn to this direction. It’s not some psychic bullshit, it’s pure energy. In a lifeless vicinity, energy is magnetic. We’re the foreigners on this earth, we know each other’s presence in a place we’re only just visiting.
The tree trunks get thicker, making the gaps between them seem too small to slip through from a distance.
Bars of a prison. The air gets lighter, a tang of wet earth beneath my feet tingles my nostrils.
I hear a rustle and stop dead, ears pricking up.
I don’t hear it again, so I turn in the direction I think it came from.
I approach a felled tree. Thick, but not thick enough to conceal the silhouette hiding stupidly behind it.
I bring my foot onto the trunk and hover over. “You know, if I were anyone else, you’d already be dead.”
The kid starts at my voice and scurries back.
I can’t see his expression, but the outline of short, scruffy hair on top and the smell of stale piss confirm he’s not my target.
He doesn’t respond, only scrambles to his feet and continues running.
The tantalising fear in the air around him sends a shiver down my spine, imagining just how scared Elodie is right now.
The thought sends blood rushing to my cock.
I set off again, senses heightened, hunger peaked.
I won’t fuck her tonight, the thought alone makes me sick, but it’s what to do with her once I catch her.
I need to release this tension. Somehow, I don’t think a wank in the shower is going to cut it.
There’ll be a party after. A tonne of people will be showing up and partying into the early hours.
The idea of all that pussy walking around makes my body tense.
Not one of them I can have. And the only one I can have, I don’t want.
Hopefully, Elodie won’t want to join the party.
If she does, I’ll be forced to stay by her side to make sure no one goes near her.
I’m not worried about all the men there, they’ll know if they so much as look in Elodie’s direction, I’ll flay them.
But I’ll have to chaperone to ensure no one gets too drunk and forgets themselves around my fiancé.
While Fiz and Alfie get their dicks wet in warm pussy.
Then I’ll be fucking into my own hand at the end of the night. How is that fair?
I could just fuck her, I suppose, she is mine, after all.
But it doesn’t feel right. There’s just this little niggle in the back of my head that’s telling me it’s wrong.
The Blackwood pride? The Caden standards?
I don’t know, but I don’t want my first nut in forty days to be underwhelming because I fucked into the only option I have.
However, in the quiet, hollow darkness of the night, I can silently admit to myself that the only option I have isn’t exactly as bad as I make it out to be.
It’s actually a pretty great option. Elodie fuels a hunger I’ve never known. And I haven’t quite figured out why or what it really is yet.
A faint thump splinters my thoughts. I halt. Listen.
A couple of rustling footsteps.
I turn my head to the side, looking over my shoulder, even though I can’t see fuck all.
A few trees away, there’s an abnormal hunch at the bottom of one, just sticking out slightly. I squint, willing my eyes to adjust to the silhouettes of the trunks.
I crouch down and approach in silence, footsteps soundless and featherlight.
When I get a couple of feet away from the trunk, the hunchback disappears fully behind it.
I take a deep breath, knowing I have her.
I can smell her. I can feel her. Her energy is unique to anyone I’ve ever met.
It’s light but heavy. Bright but dark. A weight of pressure to be strong, to be fearless, but it’s overpowered by her natural instinct to fear, to survive.
It’s like a bouquet of flowers wrapped in barbed wire.
I get to the other side of the trunk and inch round, completely silent, unless she can hear the blood roaring in my ears.
As I round the tree, I come up empty. She’s gone.
I straighten up and as I whip my head round at a rustle behind me, something crashes into my stomach and sends me crumbling to the ground, winded and erupting in pain.
My vision’s whited out by pure agony, my insides screeching in a fire I can’t even fathom.
What the fuck was that? A fucking branch or her foot?
Whatever it was, it’s folded me up like a piece of paper.
I see her little silhouette scurry off into the darkness.
I force myself to my feet, wincing and clutching my stomach that’s now thrumming in pain.
She won’t get far from me. No need to rush, I know I have her now.
Ballsy, I’ll admit. She played into my weakness after all.
There’s no way she connected to the stab wound that perfectly by accident.
She knows exactly where it is, she’s the one that sewed it back together.
Again, that irritating reminder. What am I even supposed to do with that information?
I said thank you the best way I knew how, I guess.
I don’t know, all this relationship bullshit is new to me, I don’t know how to be with a woman.
I don’t know what they want. And I get lumped with a woman who’s probably just as violent and evil as I am. What did I do to deserve that?