Chapter 53: Forged in Blood: Chapter 51

I scramble through the trees, the sensation of impending doom growing heavier with each step I take, but every second I’m even more convinced that the boys are in some kind of trouble and that I need to help them.

I stumble over a broken branch and fall to my knees. “Ouch!” I hiss as a sharp piece of bark tears open my skin.

Hushed voices and footsteps draw near, and I hold my breath, willing my heart to stop racing. Vampires will be able to hear me from hundreds of yards away no matter what I do, but perhaps they are my vampires.

The noises grow ever closer, and I push myself to my feet, squinting to see any figures dipping between the trees, but there’s so little light. I take a deep breath and make a run for it, repeatedly chanting Axl’s and Xavier’s and Malachi’s names in my head in the hopes that they’ll hear me if I’m close enough, despite the magic they told me about.

But the noises grow closer, and I instinctively know that the source isn’t friendly. They seem to circle me, taunting me. I run faster, using my hands to guide me through the thick trees. The sound of flowing water reaches me, and I recall something I read once about animals using water to mask their scents. With my heart thumping loudly in my ears and adrenaline thundering through my veins, I run as fast as I can toward the river.

But I’m not fast enough. A bulky body collides with mine, bringing me crashing to the ground. He breathes heavily, and I retch as his stench overpowers me. One of the foster kids I shared a home with was once sprayed by a skunk, and it’s the exact same foul smell.

“Hey, Malone! I got her,” he says to his accomplice.

A sinister laugh rings through the trees beside me.

“Is she a pledge?”

He flips me over onto my back and straddles me, and that’s when I see he’s wearing night vision goggles. “Don’t think so. I don’t recognize her.”

Malone steps closer. “She anyone important?”

He grabs my face and squeezes my cheeks together. I buck my hips and shove at his torso, trying to throw him off, but he’s too strong. He pins my wrists in one of his huge hands. “Nah. She ain’t nothing special.”

“What do we do with her, Jensen?” Malone asks. “We could have a little fun, but we don’t have time.”

“Hmm.” Jensen squeezes my cheeks tighter. “I think we use her as bait. What do you think?”

What the hell?

“Bait?” Malone says.

“Yeah. Smear her blood over the trees. Cut off her fingers.” He trails his hand over my jaw, down my collarbone, and roughly squeezes and twists my breast. I yelp. “Maybe a few internal organs. Keep those fuckers distracted. Scent is a big deal, right? That’s what all the prep has led us to believe. You know we all had to hand over our T-shirts and change into clean ones. They must use dogs to track our scent or something.”

“You seriously think you can just cut me up and nobody will notice?” I scoff.

Jensen picks me up and hoists me over his shoulder. “We can do anything during the Hunt, darlin’. There are no rules tonight.”

I punch at his back and kick my legs, but he only laughs. And he only laughs harder when I let out a blood-curdling scream. “Nobody will hear your screams ’round here, darlin’.”

“Get the hell off me. I’m—” A piece of stale cloth is forced into my mouth, and I gag as the taste of gasoline coats my tongue.

“Still fucking annoying though,” Malone says. “Where shall we take her?”

“I’m thinking the steepest part of the ravine. We get a good vantage point and see where we need to go. Then once we figure out our route, we smear ourselves with her blood, chop off whatever pieces of her we need, and stuff ’em in our packs and go. They won’t be chasing her scent, so we’re home free.”

Malone grunts his agreement while my stomach threatens to relieve me of its contents. I swallow down the bile in my throat as tears leak from my eyes. My heart is going to explode with how hard it’s racing now. Adrenaline and fear race through my veins, sending surges of strength to my limbs, but no matter how hard I struggle, Jensen overpowers me. Why am I so afraid when I never have been before? Is it because I see no way out of this? Maybe it’s because for the first time in my life, I know that someone will miss me if I were to die. I recall Axl’s pain and anguish when he needed my blood. Will that happen to all of them? Will they die without me? A strangled sob escapes my throat. What the hell have I done? And where the hell are my boys?

I don’t know how long we walk, but my stomach aches from being carried over Jensen’s shoulder. After my third attempt to get away and him threatening to tie me up, I stop struggling, figuring I’ll have better odds at making my escape once we get where we’re going. If I’m tied up, that will be a hundred times more difficult.

We finally come to a halt, and I’m dropped to the ground with a thud. I force myself to a standing position and glare at the two men. Both are wearing night vision goggles, and both of them are at least six feet tall and three feet wide.

I glance around for an escape route. Throwing myself down the steep ravine would be preferable to what these two have in mind.

Jensen produces a knife from a side pocket of his cargo pants and holds it aloft. The metal glints in the moonlight.

I go to run, but he’s way too fast, and he catches me by my wrist. “Shall we carve you up while you’re still alive, darlin’? Or slit your throat and let you bleed out onto the ground first?” His rancid breath makes me shudder.

I try to pull away, but he holds firm. “A feisty little thing, aren’t you?” His lips are twisted in a cruel smirk.

He trails the tip of the knife over my cheekbone, and I flinch. Oh god, I’m going to die out here in these woods all alone. And just when my life was getting interesting.

My legs are quaking so hard I’m sure my bones are shaking, and my stomach protests at holding its contents in once more. This is really it. There’s no hope of my rescue. I can’t reach the boys. Nobody knows that I’m here. My heart and lungs are unresponsive, frozen. Closing my eyes, I wait for the sting of his blade.

“Get your disgusting fucking hands off her. Now!” The vicious growl reverberates in the space around us.

I’m pushed to the ground, and my knees scrape on the jagged rocks, causing burning pain to lance through me. My chest heaves, and I chance lifting my head, hoping and praying that I didn’t hallucinate the voice. Despite the dim light offered by the moon, I see him. My heart swells to double its usual size, and relief rushes through my veins. He’s real. He’s here.

He’s here for me.

“Alexandros.” His name falls from my lips like a prayer.

He moves so quickly and it’s so dark that all I see are shadows, but I hear it all. Tearing flesh, screams, bones breaking, choking. Death. Within moments, the bodies of the two men who grabbed me lie on the ground around me. Except the scattered pieces littering the dirt can no longer be described as bodies. Bile surges in my throat, and I clamp my hand over my mouth. Then I see his feet planted directly in front of my knees. I follow the lines of his body up to his face. A deep, dark scowl mars his handsome features, and his eyes are narrowed to thin slits. The sight makes my mouth run dry and my throat feel like it’s closing over.

He licks a single drop of blood from the corner of his mouth. “What in all the demons of hell are you doing here?” His low growl vibrates through my body like he’s tuned into the frequency of my soul.

My heart beats so fast I’m worried I’m going to use my entire lifetime’s worth of heartbeats in this single moment. What I’m about to say isn’t nearly enough, and the words are going to sound weak, but I have nothing else. “I’m sorry.”