Page 77 of Kat Bethel

Asshole.

I swallowed down the stupid pride that wanted me to go show him a fucking coward. Why? So he could kill me with a flick of his fingers? Or worse stare at me like I was the biggest disappointment on the planet?

No.

I stepped over the dead body and kept going, even as it made my stomach sick.

I’m the one who killed these people.

I was just as much of a monster as he was.

Eye on the prize, Sasha. Focus on the plan.

Get off the main road.

Slow and steady.

Wait for the sun to come back.

A plan formed with ease. The consistent practice made the hunt second nature. There were enough feet still runningaround, that I knew he’d be busy as he sorted through everyone trying to flee. They would be his priority. He couldn’t let me escape after all.

So, I had to sneak under the radar.

Eventually I ran out of building to follow, so every step was carefully tested. Slow and steady was better than fast and dead.

The more space I put between me and the town, the lighter the darkness was. That gave me a sliver of hope that my plan was solid and it made it easier to traverse the terrain.

Once I was far enough that the darkness was more like a new moon night, I realized I’d made it to the edge of the city limits. The trees around me were decaying. Fragments of the bark broke away and disintegrated in the wind.

One of the giant wolves I met in the forest came into view up ahead, and I ducked behind a tree.

Damn it.

The wolf halted and sniffed the air. Did it have my scent from the last time I’d met them?

It answered by throwing its head back and howling. A sound that was obviously calling the others and sent goosebumps over me.

I scratched at the back of my neck. His mark throbbed painfully.

Something on my arm caught my attention, and I realized a bunch of shadow spiders were crawling all over me. Panic welled in my chest, but I clamped my mouth shut to keep myself from screaming, as they crawled under my clothes.

I tried to brush them off, but of course, that did nothing. If anything they crawled more frantically up around my throat and into my hair.

Three growls rumbled behind me and made me freeze. I turned to find them inches away in a triangle formation, likeherding dogs. One snapped its teeth at me, making me stumble back.

I patted my pockets and only found a lighter and pill bottle. I lit the lighter, but as I expected the light was smothered immediately. Teeth nipped at my heels from behind me, making me fall back on my ass.

One of the wolves grabbed my pant leg, dragging me. Its teeth pinched my ankle in the process, making me yelp, as if to warn me that not going wasn’t an option. I kicked with my other foot, but it couldn’t care less. All while the spiders tickled every nerve that made me want to scream.

They were taking me back to him.

Think, stupid bitch.

Chapter 28:

Iclawedatthedirt. 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.