Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I’m doing my best not to move or breathe, but something alerts him. He stops and raises his head, a predator scenting his prey.
Then he swivels and faces the part of the woods I’m hiding in. It’s impossible, but I have the strangest sense he’s looking right at me.
Jaeger
The night is beautiful. The moon overhead might as well be a floodlight on the meadow. I skirt the pond, noting a few streaks of mud on the grass. My prey was here.
I can feel her watching me.
Even though I was born and bred in the city, I’ve honed my hunting skills. I know the little redhead is naked. She stripped off her shift and tore it into pieces, leaving them scattered around the forest like little white flags of surrender, shivering in the breeze.
I clench one in my fist. It still bears her warmth, her scent. She’s not far away. She opted to hide, not run.
I take my sweet time strolling to the next copse. Once I’m there, I make as much noise as I can. I push through the brush, careless of where I step, and kick leaves and branches out of my way.
If she won’t run, I’ll scare her until her primal instincts take over and she makes a mistake.
“I know you’re here, little red,” I call. “I can smell you. You’re not the first prey I’ve hunted.”
I pause, listening hard. I can’t be sure, but I sense someone breathing nearby. “Do you know what my enemies call me?” I turn in a slow circle, scanning the trees. “Nothing. They don’t know who I am at all, not even after I’ve slit their throats.” There’s a dark shape up in the canopy, but it looks like a squirrel’s nest. These oaks don’t have enough low branches for my prey to climb. “But my brothers call me the Wolf.” I keep walking, weaving through the trees. I see a drift of leaves that might be big enough to hide a person and head over and kick it, but it’s nothing but leaves.
There’s a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye. Instead of turning toward it, I continue on.
The night is young, and I want to take my time. I want this hunt to last.
Elodie
I clench my teeth so hard they ache. The hunter walks right past me, carrying on a one-sided conversation. He’s a bigger jerk than St. James. I add him to my mental People I Want to Kill list and try not to dwell on how sexy his deep voice is.
I must be a freak because my body reads my fear as excitement. Every boom of my heart makes my pussy throb. Wetness trickles down my leg.
This guy wants to fuck me like an animal on the cold, hard ground, and I’m turned on? I don’t understand myself.
His voice grows distant. I hold my breath until I no longer hear him crashing through the underbrush. The sounds recede until I’m left with the silence of the forest. But there’s not really silence. There are strange creaks and cracks and rustling sounds. I don’t want to think about what sort of nocturnal creatures are creeping around these woods. I can only hope they leave me alone.
There’s a whine near my ear, and I flinch. The mosquitoes have found me. And the temperature has fallen. I’d be warm enough if I were wearing clothes, but now I’m shivering.
Another whine and I slap my arm where the bug lands. The mud has dried and started flaking off. I roll my lips to keep in a hysterical giggle. If he does find me, he might think I’m too disgusting to touch.
I wait a few long moments. It has to be close to midnight, right? The window of my normal bedtime has passed, leaving me wide-eyed and wired.
And hungry. And freezing.
Maybe I can head back to the Lodge. Sneak in and hide somewhere warm. It’s breaking the rules, but if I produce myself at dawn, covered in mud and leaves, everyone will assume I did my part.
Slowly, carefully, I rise to my feet. I’m lost in the shadows of the huge tree. There’s no one around.
He’s gone.
I slip from shadow to shadow. I won’t take the shortcut across the meadow. I’ll keep to the woods.
I’ve gone ten steps when a deep voice at my back murmurs. “There you are.”
2
Elodie
I dart across the grass with the hunter on my heels.
Crap, crap, crappity crap!
He tricked me. He made it sound like he stomped away from my hiding place when he either snuck back around to lie in wait or never left.
I don’t look back. I run in the direction of the Lodge, my legs pumping as fast as they can go.
I was stupid. My whole plan was stupid. What was I thinking, trying to outwit a seasoned hunter? He’s an apex predator, and I’m at the bottom of the food chain.