28. Chapter 28
I clawed at the dirt. Nails ripped away as they mercilessly dragged me across the ground. The precious distance I’d created was taken away step by step. All efforts were wasted.
I was surprised Abiel hadn’t appeared yet.
He must not be able to communicate with them.
My breathing hitched. No. I couldn’t go back.
I fought harder, even though it accomplished nothing.
“Let me go!” I demanded, but it was useless. They only answered to him.
Exhaustion hit me, and I sagged in defeat. I guess I couldn’t outrun my consequences this time.
What would he do to me?
My chest locked, making it impossible to breathe. All while my heart threatened to break through my breastbone. I reached into my pocket and came out with my bottle of anti-anxiety pills. It barely rattled, because it was still mostly full.
I paused as I stared at it. A bright orange bottle with a red label ‘in case of suspected poisoning or medication overdose call poison control’.
I tried to swallow, but my throat was too tight as if my body knew I was about to betray it again.
There was one way.
I probably wouldn’t die before I got to him, but I would before I had to live in the mess I’d made.
Fucking hell.
How many self-destruct buttons did I have to push before I realized it wouldn’t work?
One more?
No. Don’t do that to him.
As soon as I unclicked the cap, the wolves yelped in panic. One wolf grabbed that arm in its teeth. This wasn’t the warning of before. Teeth sunk painfully into skin and muscle, pulling the hand with the pills away from me.
The sudden pain startled me into crying out.
It understood what I intended to do.
I clenched my fingers around the bottle, refusing to release it, even when the wolf shook my arm violently. Skin and muscle tore until I screamed in agony.
They hadn’t harmed me before.
What changed?
It took two seconds too long to get my head out of my ass; What were their orders?
One guess.
Bring me back to him: alive and unharmed.
Probably so he could kill me himself. But he’d made the stupid mistake of giving me leverage.
I could do this.
I fought the pain to bring my arm back to me. Every inch closer to my body, the teeth sank deeper and harder.
Countless hot, sharp blades pierced me one layer at a time. Blood spattered all over me. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I finally got the bottle open and put it in my lips. I tilted my head back, letting the pills fill my mouth uncomfortably.
The wolves whimpered like they'd been whipped. They crouched ready to leap, their eyes locked on me. Just waiting for a chance.
“Back off.” My command was muffled and almost impossible to understand. I wasn’t even sure they would listen, but I had to try. “Back!”
They didn’t react.
My heart sank to my stomach. Damn it.
Right as I was about to give up, they stumbled over themselves in their rush to create space between us. Yes!
Okay. New plan.
“Go home.”
I backed up blindly, keeping my eyes on them. They didn’t go home, and barely kept the space I demanded. I could safely assume the moment I turned my back to them was the second that one hit me in the back hard enough to spit the pills out.
I regained my lost distance, but the unease of the wolves hovering ten steps away didn’t make me feel cozy.
The wolves yelped, and one turned tail to run in the opposite direction. It made the need to look over my shoulder itch, but for all I knew it was a tactic to distract me.
The spiders crawled mercilessly over me. Another distraction.
They can’t hurt you. I repeated like a mantra as little legs brushed over places they didn’t belong. Tingles of desire and disgust filled me as no place was sacred. It was like his shadows touching me, but more invasive somehow. More wrong.
They suddenly stilled. Their weight coagulated until they reminded me of something too comfortable and familiar.
My breathing stuttered. Abiel?
I risked looking over my shoulder, expecting him to be hovering above me. I could swear he was even putting kisses on the back of my neck. The disappointment when I only saw the spiders punched me in the gut harder than it should have.
They’d been mimicking him to divert my attention.
It almost worked.
The wolves leapt forward at me, but I made a show of acting like I was going to bite down on all the capsules in my mouth, forcing them to retreat back again.
One more step and the sun beamed down overhead, blinding me.
I’d made it out of his area of control.
All the shadows gathered at the edge, whining and barking at me. The spiders coagulated into something roughly the shape of Abiel, but I didn’t let them fool me.
I’d be in complete darkness if that was real.
I brought something to my attention. Abiel had been controlling himself, the best he could. He could have destroyed Cornwall whenever he felt like it. He’d chosen to stay in his forest.
I forced myself to swallow the vinegar on my tongue.
Until me.