Dark Need by Clarissa Wild

Chapter 5

Soren

One second.

One second of me looking away to take a much-needed drink, and she bolts away like no one’s watching.

But when I hear those feet skid across the ground, I know in an instant what’s going on, and I drop the bottle to start my pursuit.

My muscles kick into action, and I rush after her, not giving a shit how much it hurts after already trekking through a forest with her on my shoulder.

I am not letting her get away.

Not on my watch.

She thinks she can run, but I’m faster.

And when I catch her, it will cost her dearly.

A branch hits my face, but I pay no attention even though I can feel the blood rushing to my cheek. My attention is solely focused on her. And I’m coming for her.

She’s running as fast as she can, brushing past the trees to try to escape my grasp, but nothing in this world could stop me from catching her.

When she takes a peek at me over her shoulder, fear settles in her eyes in an instant.

A pang of pain shoots through my legs, all the way to my groin, and I roar out loud.

Ignore the rush, deny the excitement, no matter how much I enjoy the chase.

She’s just another one of the sinners.

And this is just another game that will only end with her as my prey.

She darts between the trees, trying to shake me off, but it’s no use. Anything smaller than me gets snapped in two when I barge through. I’m not your average guy. I’ve been trained for this. Sinners trying to escape is nothing new to me.

For it to be in the outdoors, though, is.

And she didn’t prep for that either.

Because one simple glance over her shoulder at the predator following her, and she immediately tumbles over a rock she missed.

Her body flops to the ground.

She groans in pain but keeps crawling like it’ll get her anywhere.

Within seconds I’ve caught up, and I step over her body, caging her in with one foot on each side.

I grab a fistful of her hair and lift her head so she’ll look at me.

“Bad Kitty …” I say, towering over her.

My free hand snakes around her belly, and I lift her from the ground. She kicks and screams, trying to punch the air.

“Let me go!”

I shove her up against the nearest tree so the air is knocked from her lungs, and she stops making any sound. With my hand around her throat, I pin her to the wood, and I fish a knife from my pocket, pointing it at her belly.

The second she feels the cold blade against her skin, she stops moving.

The panic really settles in her eyes now, and I can’t say I don’t like it.

But I must stay focused on my task.

“Be quiet,” I say.

The knife is pushed against her skin, but I cannot find it in me to puncture her, despite my anger at her betrayal.

I thought she had finally calmed down a bit, and then she goes and pulls this stunt.

“Please. Don’t do this. I beg of you.” Her eyes turn all watery. “I’m sorry.”

I’m filled with rage, bristling like a bull in heat as I suck in oxygen and blow out the air right into her face. She made me do this, and I hate it.

But what I hate more are the tears rolling down her cheeks.

The look in her eyes full of dread and despair.

I’ve seen girls cry before, but they were all guilty, and they knew it.

But this one … this one is different. She keeps denying her sin, saying she did nothing to deserve this.

All of them would submit under the pressure of this knife.

But not her.

And these tears don’t look like the tears of a guilty woman.

I sigh and look down at her wet shoes. Her feet must be cold as ice.

I try to remember Eli’s words and imprint them in the forefront of my brain.

Get her there safely.

This isn’t it.

I slowly retract the knife and swipe my eyes across her face as the droplets run down onto her flimsy flannel shirt. I’ve done enough damage already.

I tuck the knife back into my pocket and release her throat.

As she rubs it, I grab her by the arm and drag her along with me.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asks, straggling along. “C’mon, the least you can do is tell me.”

I ignore her pleas and head straight back to the place where I left my bag. I need to find it as it’s the only thing keeping me from doing something I really shouldn’t do.

“How do you even know where to go?” she asks.

How could I not know? I use the moss on the trees to pinpoint my location in relation to the sun. And of course, our own footsteps have left marks in the ground.

But it’s easier for me if she doesn’t know that.

When I finally find my bag again, she jerks herself free from my grip with a sigh.

When I throw her a glance, she makes a face. “What? It’s not like I’m going to run again.” She folds her arms. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

“I doubt that,” I retort, and I fish a rope from my bag that’s just big enough to trap one person.

And when I hold it up for her to see, her pupils dilate as though she’s seen a ghost.

* * *

April

A rope.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

But before I can say anything, he’s already thrown it around my arms and waist and tied a knot.

“Hey, what are you—?”

He suddenly grabs me and pins me up against the tree, wrapping the last pieces of the rope around the trunk and securing it tightly.

Fuck.

“Take this off!” I say, tugging and pulling at it, but my arms are so tightly secured I can’t do anything with them.

He’s right in front of me as he ties the final knot, staring at me with a sadistic type of raised brow that only torturers would show while making their victims suffer the consequences of their actions.

And fuck him for enjoying this so much.

“Let. Me. Go,” I hiss in a moment of pure spite.

He just stares at me with an insufferable smirk spreading on his lips. “No.”

Anger overtakes me, and I gather some spit and spew it right at his face.

He swipes it off and glares at me.

BANG!

A fist is planted right into the trunk of the tree I’m tied to, just above my head. I tried to pretend I didn’t care, but my body still flinched.

The smug look on his face tells me he definitely noticed.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he says. His low voice makes my body almost want to forget he’s keeping me prisoner and just let him overpower me.

What the hell is wrong with this … man?

If I can even call him that because he reminds me more of a beast than an actual human being.

He pulls away from the tree, leaving a giant, gaping hole in its wake. Then he grabs his bag and throws me one more look before stomping off.

Sudden panic overtakes me. “Wait! Don’t leave me here!”

But he doesn’t respond as usual and simply continues his trek.

I don’t know why but the thought of being alone out here makes me want to cry.

Of all the ways I could be set free … this wasn’t what I had in mind.

And it makes me want to slap myself for even trying to run in the first place.

Of course he would punish me like this.

After all, he thinks I deserve it because of some sin I know I didn’t commit.

It’s why I was in the house to begin with, to be punished for my supposed “crimes.” Well, the only crime I committed is being an insufferable bitch to the last man who tried to make me his, and I’m not about to rein it in just for some smug bastard who thinks he can punch his way through life until he’s gotten what he wanted.

Whatever it is that he wants.

I roll my eyes and sigh, staring at the beauty around me while trying not to think about the fact that I’m tied up to a tree, possibly until I die.

After enduring what feels like ages of silence, something shuffles behind me, breaking twigs along the way.

Is it even a human?

Or is it a wolf or a bear?

I hold my breath.

Please don’t hear me. Please don’t smell me.

I’m not here. I’m not here.

I close my eyes, sweat pooling along my back as I struggle to face the fact that I’m unable to free myself while facing impending doom.

Hearing a dark grumbling noise right behind the tree, I brace for impact.

Here it comes.

My body tightens against the wood, and oxygen stops entering my lungs. Every second feels like an hour.

And then a familiar snort enters my ears.

My eyes burst open to the sight of Soren throwing some wood onto a pile a few feet away from me.

He looks up at me with a raised brow. “Miss me?”