CHAPTER NINE
I’M UP ON a cliff.
After dragging me away from the cabin, he threw me over his shoulder and carried me into the night for the second time.
I was too frozen by what I’d seen through the window to really grasp what was happening.
It wasn’t until he stopped, righted my body, and brought me down before depositing me onto a saddle that I realized he intended for me to ride on a horse.
The same white one he rode on that morning.
A horse.
My terror was so great that my limbs froze and everything became a blur.
I don’t remember him climbing up behind me, but he did and then snapped the reins, so we took off.
I also don’t remember what direction we took; what terrain, the passing trees or anything else we might have encountered, while he made his horse gallop and fly.
And then, to make matters even worse, I realized we were climbing and I clenched my eyes shut.
All through this, he kept a strong hold on me, his arm banded around my belly, and I dug my nails into his skin every time I felt like I was going to throw up.
Every jolt made me want to scream, but I couldn’t find my voice to do that and my body shook with fear.
Until now.
We’ve finally come to a stop at the top and I manage to open my eyes.
Wide-eyed, I stare at the endless night sky with countless stars surrounding us and the thick woods spread out beneath us.
If the night felt dark and oppressive down there, it’s open and lit up here.
The air’s fresh and cool, much cooler than it should be for summer, and the churning in my belly starts to calm down as I drag it into my lungs.
Behind me, I feel a movement. The arm around my body vanishes, leaving me shaky once again, and I feel him climb down in one graceful motion.
My heart jumps to my throat at the thought of being alone up here when he comes for me.
He grabs me by the waist, his large hands spanning my entire torso, his thumbs meeting just above my belly button—something I completely missed before—and sets me down on the ground.
His hold isn’t tight but firm, and I realize I need it because my body feels weak and heavy after that terrifying horse ride.
I let my hands grip the sleeves of his shirt as, shaking, I look around.
We’re at a clearing of some sort. It’s narrow enough that I can see both edges and the ground beyond.
The other two sides are covered by dense woods, and all I can see is bottomless darkness.
What are we doing here?
Before I can gather my words to ask him that, he breaks away from my grip. My eyes snap back to him just as he goes for my arms. He yanks them both forward, causing me to stumble. “What…” I begin but forget all the words when I see what he’s got in his other hand.
A rope.
That he throws around my captured wrists and begins to loop.
I snap my eyes up to him. “Wh-what are you doing?”
His head is bent and his face is covered by the brim of his Stetson. The only things I’m able to see are his plump lips and his harsh jaw that’s pulsing as he focuses on the task.
Terrified, but now for a different reason entirely, I start twisting my hands, trying to get free, but he doesn’t let me go.
He keeps winding the rope around my wrists without stopping, without sparing me a glance.
And I plead, “Look, I know you’re angry.
I know I shouldn’t have…” I pull away from him again; in fact, I keep pulling as I speak, but nothing seems to deter him.
“I shouldn’t have snuck out of my room… or snooped.
But I had to, okay? I mean, you can see that, right?
It’s obvious. It’s so… I had to do something.
To protect myself. To p-protect my best friend, and I…
There’s no way I can trust you guys. After everything you did, everything y-you…
You toyed with me for m-months. You watched me.
You stalked me. You made me think that you cared when you were just doing it for your family, for… for revenge and…”
No, that’s not what this is about. That’s not why I went snooping.
I didn’t go snooping because I’m angry; rather, I’m heartbroken—over what he did to me.
Over the fact that he knows everything about me when I know nothing about him.
When he won’t even talk to me. That’s not what I was doing, was I?
My idiotic thoughts break when, at last, he looks up.
His green eyes shine like emeralds. Like tiny but ferocious fires that I feel in my own belly.
I don’t know how I can think what I’m thinking in this moment, but it’s unmistakable.
He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.
He’s the most beautiful man there ever was.
In the pale moonlight, his sharp, cutting, angry features glow, just like eyes, and truly make him look like an angel.
But then you see that scar running along the length of his face and you know he’s not just an angel.
He’s a fallen angel who lost his wings and turned into a devil.
And stupidly, you think you can’t even blame him for the horrible things he does because he didn’t ask to be a devil, did he? He was made into one.
My Phantom. No, my Cowboy Phantom with a haunting face and a tragic history.
I step closer to him, keeping my eyes locked with his. “Please. Please, just… I won’t do anything like this again. I promise. I promise, please. Just… Let’s talk about this, okay? I’m sorry I went snooping. I’m sorry I… Just, Radisson—”
“Run.”
He says it softly, this one word that sends chills running down my spine. “Wh-what?”
His nostrils flare with a large breath and without looking away from me, he gives me a shove, letting me go.
I stumble once again, and petrified, I look down and see my hands are all tied up now.
The rope he’s used tonight is slightly lighter in color than the one he used the first time—yesterday morning, was it?
—and feels different too. Coarser, rougher.
Like if I struggle too much, it’ll leave a mark.
Like the first rope he tied me with, the one made of hemp, was to simply bind me, while this one is meant for punishment. It’s meant to hurt.
I flinch when I hear a shrill whistle. It came from him, and I notice his eyes are pinned on the far horizon.
Slowly, I follow his gaze and turn around.
At first, I don’t see it. I see nothing but dark woods.
Until there’s something shining through the darkness.
I immediately know what it is or what they are: a pair of shining eyes.
And it’s not just a pair; it’s more. They emerge like the stars through the dense darkness, these eyes, and my heart drops to the bottom of my stomach.
I feel his breath, thick and heavy, at my neck, my ears, just like back at the cabin.
“I know runnin’ ain’t your strong suit, so I’ll hold them to give you a couple of minutes’ head start.
But after that, even I can’t keep ’em back.
Been too long since they had a good hunt, and you’re fresh meat.
” Then, “Just know that they’re hunters, yeah?
And they’re fast as fuck. The only thing’s faster than them is me.
So for your sake, I hope you’re gonna put some heart into it and run like your life depends on it.
Unlike back at the cabin. Because in two point five seconds, Princess, you’re gonna have to run for your life. ”
The moment he says “life,” my stomach, along with my heart, lurches, and those glittering eyes take shape and become wolves.
I don’t know how many there are; my brain is too dizzy to figure it out.
My brain is too dizzy to even put things together for a second or two.
What does he mean by “run”? Why are there wolves here?
What is happening? How did I… I hear a distant snarl, completely and totally wild, as I watch them emerge fully from the woods and stand, baring their glaring white teeth.
At last, it all clicks. I’m going to die. I’m going to be eaten alive by these wolves. That’s why he brought me up here. He brought me up here to throw me to the wolves.
Another snarl and I move. I don’t even tell myself to do it.
My legs make the decision on their own, along with my survival instinct, and I start running.
My only thought is to get as far away as possible from these beasts, from the hunter who set them on me.
I dash in the opposite direction, toward the thick woods on the other side of the clearing.
Which is when I realize why he tied my hands in the first place.
It’s much harder to run when your hands are bound.
Much harder. It throws you off, slows you down.
But I don’t have that luxury. As soon as I hit the closest line of trees, I hear an earsplitting howl, several of them, and then they’re moving too.
My heart is jackhammering in my chest now.
I can hear their paws pounding against the ground in an alarming cadence and my pumping legs are trying to match the rhythm.
But I need to be faster.