Dark Need by Clarissa Wild

Chapter 10

April

Present

We walkfor miles on end through the thick luscious forest. I used to love hiking outdoors, but now the sight of trees makes me want to vomit.

That’s how long we’ve been out here.

And there still doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

Where we’re going could be anyone’s guess, although I reckon it’s not back to my home.

Not that it matters. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, and I’m not anywhere close to escaping. Not with this rope tied around my waist that connects straight to my captor.

He hasn’t looked over his shoulder in about an hour. I’ve been staring at his muscular back for as long as we’ve been walking, and it’s getting tiresome. Especially when he’s not the most talkative person.

I wonder why that is, though. I don’t know if he’s just shy by nature … or if he isn’t allowed to speak to me.

Either way, I know nothing about my situation will change unless I make it happen. But what can I do? I have no power, my arms are tied, the only knife in the vicinity is in his pocket, and there’s no way I’m going to reach for that without him noticing.

I sigh as my feet begin to wobble, my balance unstable. I’ve been running on the high of the adrenaline all this time, but now that we’ve been on the road for so long, it’s beginning to sink in that I haven’t had anything to eat in quite a while.

My stomach rumbles.

“Soren,” I say.

He doesn’t respond.

“Can we please take a break?”

He keeps marching, and I keep following him, despite my ever-growing fuzzy vision. I’ve tried before to speak to him, but he just won’t listen. It’s as if he put earmuffs over his ears and called it a day. All because of our falling out.

Did it frustrate him so much to have to promise not to hurt me? Or is something else going on that I’m not aware of?

OOMPH!

I miss a rock and stumble down to my knees, hurting my ankle with the fall.

“Ow …” I groan as the rope is tugged.

Only when I stay put does he finally look at me.

“Move,” he snarls.

“I can’t,” I say, and I clutch my stomach when it roars out loud.

He raises a brow and cocks his head.

I think he heard it.

A blush creeps onto my cheeks as he steps closer and goes to his knee right in front of me. He doesn’t stop staring, which still freaks me out.

He reaches for me, and I flinch, arching away from his hand because I don’t know what he’s planning to do. But then he gently touches my ankle and pushes up my pants to take a look, his rough hands suddenly so very soft against my skin that it makes my whole body glow.

My stomach does another roar, and he looks me directly in the eyes as the sound continues.

I’m so embarrassed I can’t even stop my cheeks from turning strawberry red.

“You’re hungry,” he says.

I swallow, unsure of how to respond. It wasn’t a question, and I don’t think he ever asks them.

His fingers leave my skin and leave a cold draft that makes me shiver. Suddenly, he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me from the ground, carrying me in his arms.

I’m too shocked to even realize what’s happening as I lie cradled against his chest. He stomps forward until we reach a fallen tree and a short stump, where he puts me down and unties the rope around my body. He takes off his bag and fishes out a bandage, which he wraps all around my ankle to provide support. The gentleness in his motions has me completely silent as I watch him patch me up again as though he’s used to doing this.

“Have you done this before?” I can’t help ask.

I’m curious by nature.

“No,” he responds, but I’m not sure if that’s the truth or a lie.

“You’re good at it,” I say to keep the conversation going.

But he merely looks up at me with those same daring eyes he always does. And they never fail to make me gulp either. It’s like he sees straight through me and knows I’m only asking to get him to trust me.

But it’s not just that.

He really is good at this.

And when he puts my foot down again, a part of me wishes it didn’t have to stop.

He gets up and unties the rope around his waist. A spike of joy surges through my body, hoping he’s finally going to cut it loose.

But then he ties it to the next tree, and my mood turns sour again.

“Why do you keep doing that? I won’t run.”

Soren grumbles and grabs his bag, then starts walking. “I’ll be back.”

Geez, could he sound any more brooding?

Well, at least he’s not just leaving me here thinking I’m going to be abandoned and left to die. Guess that’s an improvement.

I sigh and play around with the leaves a little until my legs don’t hurt anymore.

“Back.”

He appears from behind the tree like a wolf stalking its prey, and my heart still does a little jump. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sight of him, especially not when he flexes his muscles like now as he holds out his hands to show me … mushrooms.

Mushrooms?

He unties the rope around my waist a little so only my arms are freed.

I frown, glaring at the mushrooms, which could be poisonous for all I know. “What am I supposed to do with those?”

“Eat,” he says.

I don’t know how to respond to this. “Are those edible?”

“Yes,” he says, coaxing it in front of me again. “Take it.”

“Um … thanks?” I mutter as he stuffs them into my hand and walks off. “You know this won’t be nearly enough for one, let alone both of us, right?”

He sits down on the stump and starts poking around in the ground with a stick until a bunch of ants rises to the surface. He plucks one up and eats it alive, and I’m about ready to throw up.

I tuck the mushrooms into my pocket and say, “I’ll save these for later.”

He raises a brow at me. “Why?”

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

I shiver, watching him eat some more.

“Do you like that?” I ask. “Eating bugs.”

“Food is food,” he replies, and he holds one up. “Want one?”

I shudder at the thought. “No thanks.”

I stay far away from him. Not because I’m scared—well, technically I am—but more because I just can’t handle looking at him when he’s eating those things.

“They’re sweet,” he says. “Like candy.”

“Candy?” I scoff, snorting. “I doubt that.”

“How would you know?”

It takes me a while to form a response. “Look, I know what candy is. I used to make sweet things. This ain’t it.”

A hint of a smile quirks up his lips—quite a sexy smile too—and it catches me off guard.

“You make candy?”

“Not candy. Cakes. And I used to,” I mutter under my breath, forcing myself not to look at him because he definitely isn’t supposed to be sexy. “But I was taken, and now look at where we’re at.”

“Hmm …”

The low, rumbling sounds emanating from deep within his chest set off all kinds of unwanted feelings I have no room for.

“Look, can’t we just hunt for food or something? You know, there must be a rabbit here somewhere.”

He frowns, not in an angry way, but in a surprised way. Like he just took offense to what I said. “No.”

“Why not? Unless you have some food hidden in that bag of yours, we’re going to need more than mushrooms and ants to survive. Meat can fix that problem.”

He looks me dead in the eyes with a razor-sharp gaze. “I hunt people. Not animals.”

My brows furrow as I’m flabbergasted by his response. “What do you mean? Those ants you were eating just now are animals too.”

He shrugs and looks away. “That’s different.”

I snort. “No, it’s not. And what about the bacon you ate at the house?”

“The pig was already slaughtered. Might as well eat it.”

I make a face. “That doesn’t even make sense. You’re just willing to make an exception because it’s a cute little bunny. Admit it.” I laugh a little when he ignores me. “This is ridiculous.”

He stands up and glares down at me from his towering height, and all of a sudden, I feel tiny as hell.

“Are you calling me names now?”

I stare up at him. “No. I just think it’s odd you’d make a distinction. That’s all.”

His nostrils flare. “Some life is worth more than others.”

I narrow my eyes, confused as he walks off. “That’s not true at all.”

But he ignores me and starts picking up more mushrooms and herbs from the ground. Great.

* * *

Soren

I can’t believeshe would equate some ants with rabbits. And then to deny the mushrooms I gave her. What is going on with that woman?

She’s hungry, but she refuses the food I give her and then lambasts me for choosing what to eat. At least I’m not going hungry.

I grumble to myself as I pick the herbs off the ground and hand them to her.

“Eat.”

She looks down at her hands. “Are these even … edible?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“I was taught,” I reply.

I don’t want to make this a bigger deal than it is, but she keeps nagging me about everything, and it pisses me off. But we can’t continue until she’s at least eaten something. She was so pale she looked like she was about to drop to the ground. Can’t have this woman faint on me. I can carry her for a while, but I can’t carry her the entire way.

“Where? When?”

I roll my eyes and sigh. “When I was younger. Does it matter?”

“Yeah. They don’t teach this in the schools at the place where I’m from,” she replies, picking up one of the herbs and staring at it like it’s some kind of alien plant.

I don’t respond. She’s fishing for something, and I don’t like where this is going.

“Eat,” I repeat, hoping it’ll shut her up.

Instead, she asks, “So, where are you from?”

“The House,” I snap.

This is really getting on my nerves now, and I have no patience for a woman too curious for her own good.

“I mean, before that,” she says.

I turn my head to her and throw her a dirty look. I don’t like her digging around in my past. “Does it matter?”

She just raises her brows and sighs. Then she puts one of the mushrooms in her mouth and chews reluctantly. Swallowing seems to take a great deal out of her, and I can’t help but notice how her throat moves with every gulp, her chest rising and falling with every breath she takes.

I force myself to look away before my mind goes off somewhere it’s not supposed to be.

“Let’s go,” I say, and I unfurl the rope from the tree.

“But I’m not finished—”

“Eat while we’re walking,” I retort as I grab my bag and start walking.

She gets up, and by the looks of it, she can walk fine, so her ankle must feel better too.

Good. We’ve wasted enough time.

“Fine,” she responds as I tie the rope to my waist so she follows me. “But if I’m walking and eating these things, I wanna know more about you.”

“Why?” I continue my march through the forest.

“Because talking helps distract from the pain and misery,” she replies, her voice clearly implying sarcasm that doesn’t go unnoticed. “Besides, if we’re gonna spend all this time together, I wanna at least get to know you.”

I roll my eyes. She makes it sound like we’re a big happy family, but we both hate to be around each other, both for different reasons.

“So, where are you from?” she asks. “I mean, you weren’t born at that house, were you?”

“No,” I reply, sighing and shaking off the annoyance. “I was born on an island far away from here.”

“An island? Where?”

Why does she care so much?

“Scandinavia.”

“Oh, wow. That sounds amazing.”

I glance at her over my shoulder. “No.”

She seems taken aback by my abrasiveness. “Okay … guess not.”

I return to walking and focus on the path ahead of me. “The House is my home.”

“You like it there?” she asks, but in a way that it sounds almost unbelievable.

“Eli welcomed me with open arms,” I reply.

“So he was nice to you,” she says. “He isn’t nice to the men and women he locks up, though.”

I throw her another glance with narrowed eyes. “They deserve it.”

She looks down at her feet, probably scared to look me in the eyes when I’m so determined about my job.

“So you just went there out of your own volition because you liked Eli and his ideas?”

She keeps digging farther and farther, and I’m starting to wonder where this is going.

But I suppose it doesn’t hurt to answer as long as she keeps on walking.

“We have united at that House for centuries.”

“Like what, a family reunion?” She scoffs.

“We’re not family,” I respond. “Not by blood.”

My people have always sent one of their best to serve the House. To serve whoever is in charge. Just like his advisor, Tobias, I am part of what makes the House work the way it does.

“Okay …” She snorts. “Three men … united to rid the world of sinners …” she muses, but it doesn’t sound serious coming from her mouth. “What a cruel joke.”

“It’s no joke,” I snap, throwing her another dirty glance. “It’s business.”

“To you, it is,” she retorts, this time not afraid of my obvious glare.

I pause, and for a moment, all we do is stare at each other.

I know she doesn’t like me or what I do.

She doesn’t have to.

But a part of me still … gets angered at the thought, and I don’t understand why.

“Enough talking,” I say, and I turn around again. “The food won’t last long.”

She traipses behind me, and even though she’s still tied to me, I don’t think she’d run if I cut her loose.

Still, I’m not about to waste precious energy on a skittish little kitty.

“Why don’t we just go to a nearby city and get some actual food?” she asks.

I come to a hard stop, and her face bumps into my back from the abruptness, causing her to bounce back while murmuring, “Ouch.”

“No,” I say with a low voice. “Absolutely not.”

She frowns. “But we’re not going to last on some mushrooms and herbs.”

I stay put and stare her down, determined to make her aware of our situation.

She makes a face. “You realize we could die if we don’t get the supplies we need, right? Water, food?”

I raise my brow at her.

It’s enough to make her scoff. “So you’d rather die?”

“Yes.”

The answer is simple.

But she won’t understand.

“Why?”

My jaw tightens as her face contorts, her eyes getting watery again. Because she finally realizes why I have gone on this journey with her, and why I am doing everything in my power to keep her from running.

“You don’t want me to talk,” she mutters.

I lift my head at the sight of the contempt in her eyes.

“I cannot risk the fall of the House … ever.”