Page 39 of Bred By Sor'en

I need out.

Off this planet.

Away from these people.

I screwing everything up again.

But god, I’m scared.

For the moment I can’t even pinpoint where the fear comes from, what I’m terrified of.

I just keep running.

I run because that’s what's kept me safe, kept mealiveall these years alone in space.

I run because Mom said there’s somewhere she needs to be.

I run because I think, whatever version of love I can feel, I feel it for him.

The city center isn’t quiet anymore, even muffled behind the dome I can hear the flurry of activity and I feel bad for that too.

Strange sounds filter in from all sides of me; fauna I hadn’t even realized this planethadwaking to my presence as I thrash through their undisturbed home. Something dark and large slams through the odd purple trees ahead and—

My foot catches something, painfully stubbing every single one of my toes at once, as I hit the groundhard. My knees screaming out as they’re ravaged by the rough dirt. Where everything inside the dome is soft and muted, the outside is harsher. I wince as I struggle to lift myself from my ground, taking in the stinging scrapes on my palms.

“Blessing to meet you again, star child. You are a long way from home.”

I barely swallow my scream as I jerk upright, my breath whooshing out of me all at once when I see a Xyrelith there. The older male who intervened when Sor’en went off the deep end, much to his displeasure. The one who bonded us. “Who even are you?” I grumble, sitting back down to check the state of my knees.

“Jin’rayal. Your mate is causing quite the stir in there,” he offers casually, tilting his head toward the sound of utter chaos behind us.

“He's not my mate,” I spit, hating the words in my mouth. Not sure why I even bother. And he can tell as I work myself up from the ground.

He laughs, not the muted, demure laugh of his people but a full belly one that feels warmer, easier. “Run then, star child. Find your broken little pod and run home to wherever you’ve convinced yourself that is.”

“If Ihada pod, I’d be gone by now,” I retort.

He smirks, and it occurs to me a moment too late what I’ve just done. What that could mean for Sor’en. Theydon’tleave; he certainly wasn’t supposed to be on that station. Worry sinks into my gut, melding with everything else there just as a deafening crash fills the forest, one of the long, towering purple trees landing somewhere nearby. I flinch, the eerie sound of my bellowed name leaving little to the imagination of who that is.

My mate is hunting me and he’s angry.

Jin’rayal raises his browless brows in a conspiratorial fashion before dusting his hands off from whatever he was doing out here. “Well, best of luck with that.”

I blanch, that panic that had cooled for a moment roaring to life again. I twist, ready to take off again despite understanding that’s useless at this point before he stops me.

“Perhaps a parting thought to get you through the next few trying moments…”

I shake my head, not facing him, my heart pounding in my chest. Every crash of a tree, every roar of my name making me flinch.

“Perhaps life does not end with the Nysharil, little Hue.”

“What did you just—" Everything blanks as I whirl on him.

He's gone.

For a moment, I don’t react to what he said, the words churning in my mind. My heart is beating more sluggishly now. Like it's suddenly as exhausted as I feel, like the adrenaline and panic have worn off and I’m all that’s left. The sound that comes from behind me takes shape in my mind as a haunting wail of an enraged spirit. A bellowing death cry that warbles eerily, taking form and lacing through my chest. I don’t start running again. There’s no point.

He's found me.