Page 41 of Mine To Hunt

I think about her again. She will understand the design. When it’s her turn. She will feel it.

I set the plate aside, appetite gone. The adrenaline is back, slower this time, but deeper. A slow burn under my skin.

I imagine her tied to the chair. Her hair falling across her face. Light eyes wide with realization. That calm control cracking, piece by piece. The moment she understands she’s next. The moment she understands why.

The rush is intoxicating. Stronger than with Ethan. Stronger than with any of them.

I close my eyes and let the images play. My Little Prey

The hunt has begun. And this time, it’s going to be perfect.

Chapter 12

Her

Stepping out of Dr. Ashcroft’s office, my mind still buzzing from the session, I spot Maddie’s car idling at the curb. She waves at me from the driver's seat, her smile bright but edged with that worry she's been carrying since the hospital. I slide into the passenger side, buckling up as she pulls away from the clinic.

“How was it?” Maddie asks the question almost immediately as she pulls the car away from the curb. Her eyes flick briefly from the road to me and back again.

“Therapy with the doc.” She adds quickly. “Spill everything.” Her brow lifts expectantly. “Did you talk about the stalker? Or Ryan?”

I lean back against the passenger seat, the soft hum of the engine filling the quiet space between us. A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips despite the heaviness still lingering in my chest.

“It was… weirdly good.” I admit. The words surprise even me. “I didn’t think I could open up to a complete stranger about all this crap.”

I stare out the window at the passing buildings. “But once I started talking, it just… flowed.” My shoulders sink deeper into the seat. “I feel lighter now. Like I’ve been carrying bricks around for months and finally set a few of them down.”

Maddie glances over at me again, and the tension in her expression melts into relief. “That’s huge, Ree. I’m so proud of you for actually going through with it.”

She gives me a quick smile before returning her attention to the road. “You deserve that lightness. After everything.”

For a minute the car fills with comfortable silence. The quiet hum of traffic and the rhythmic sweep of the windshield wipers make the moment feel oddly peaceful.

But I notice Maddie’s fingers tapping lightly against the steering wheel. A familiar sign. She’s holding something back.

“Okay.” She says suddenly, her grin returning. “Confession time.”

I glance over suspiciously. “What?”

“I may or may not have searched Dr. Nathaniel online while you were in there.”

My eyebrows rise. “Maddie…”

“And girl,” she continues, completely ignoring my warning tone, “he’s hot.” She shakes her head dramatically. “Like… unfairly hot.”

She glances sideways at me again. “Did you notice?” Her grin widens. “Be honest.”

Heat creeps slowly up my cheeks. Because yeah. I noticed. But admitting it after spilling my entire emotional breakdown in his office somehow feels ridiculous.

“Mads.” I sigh, rolling my eyes. “I was there for therapy, not to check out the doctor. I barely looked at him like that.”

I gesture vaguely. “It was all professional. Talking about feelings and trauma and… emotional processing crap.”

Maddie laughs and nudges my arm with her elbow as the car rolls to a stop at a red light. “Come on, Ree.” Her eyes sparkle mischievously. “Professional or not… those eyes? And that jawline?”

She shakes her head. “You cannot tell me you didn’t notice.” She leans closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “He’s like a model who decided to fix brains instead of posing.”

Her eyebrows wiggle. “So? Hot or not?”