Page 173 of Like A Moth To A Flame

I would win. Ihadto win.

I had a baby back home. She was two now, and just starting to speak in full sentences and understand the world around her. One day, I would tell her about my fight and teach her just how strong a woman could be.

In the chaos, I didn’t realize the ground was sinking, loamy soil turned to mud by this morning’s pounding thunderstorm.

I slipped, my ankle twisting painfully beneath me with a lightning bolt of pain that struck at the knee and shot up to my hip. When the pain hit, the scream in my mouth broke free, erupting in an ear-splitting cry that echoed in the forest.

Fuck. Fuck, he knows where I am. There was no denying that now.

As I lay on the muddy ground, clutching my throbbing ankle, panic surged through me. The shadows seemed to intensify as my mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.

I could hide. I could hide under the rotting log, and—

The nearby snapping of a twig shot panic through my mind, and I threw that thought away.

No, I couldn’t hide. I would be a sitting duck.

I had to move. Now. With gritted teeth, I mustered the strength to get back on my feet, ignoring the tingling shooting up my leg. Limping through the muddy terrain, my mind raced.

How could I outmaneuver him like this?

The looming threat hung over me like a dark cloud, making every decision crucial. I had to find shelter, somewhere I could hide until help arrived.

With each step, the sinking ground beneath me only added to the urgency. Once familiar paths now seemed treacherous, as if they were conspiring against me. I couldn’t afford to lose focus, not when my life hung in the balance.

I scanned my surroundings for any sign of safety. The dense foliage offered some protection, but I needed something more substantial.

A growl of thunder sounded above me, and as I twisted around, squinting through the darkness in an attempt to find a reprieve, a bolt of lightning split the sky overhead, and that’s when I saw him.

He was a shadow in the darkness, a void in blackness that had gnashing teeth and razor-sharp claws, ready to tear me limb from limb.

He was a predator, and I was the prey.

Beneath the hood drooping low over his eyes, I saw the glint of a knowing smirk.

“Stop running, Vanessa,” he said, and the growl of his voice sent a shiver rocketing up my spine. “You’ve already hurt yourself. Just give up and—”

“Never.”

Ignoring the pain in my ankle, I shot forward, a limping sprint that did little to aid my escape. Before I knew it, I felt the heavy weight of his forearm loop around my throat and pull me back and nearly off my feet. A choking gasp was all I managed before he tore me back, holding me flush against his chest as my fingers scrambled for purchase and my nails dug away his flesh.

“No!” I screamed, twisting in his arms. “Let go! Let me go!”

“Give up, Nessa,” he whispered, his breath hot against my ear as his free hand came around to my throat. “I won. It’s over.”

I barely caught a glimpse of shining metal in the low light before I felt the blade against my throat and I relaxed against him reluctantly. I did as I was told, falling limp in my captor’s arms as the sharp sting of metal pushed against my throat.

“Now,” he growled, and I shivered as his voice climbed up inside me, strangling the breath from my lungs. “Pant’s off.”

With shaking hands, my thumbs found the button of my jeans and popped it open, my zipper hissing in the shadows before the mountain of denim pooled at my feet. I barely suppressed a moan when his gloved fingers pulled my panties to the side, and without warning or mercy, plunged inside of me.

“Hmm,” he purred, and I shuddered at his touch. “Someone’s excited.”

“Fuck you,” I spat, and he chuckled the second the words left my lips.

“Oh, don’t worry,” he said. “You’re going to.”

I heard the clatter of the blade hitting the ground as his fingers—glove removed—threaded into the hair at the base of myskull and gripped at the roots, pulling just enough to send a wave of tingles running through me.

---